The Return (English Edition) [Kindle-editie] beoordelingen het boek quotes

When Milan told me Anoop’s son died in a freak accident where someone shot him mistaking him for another person, first I was shocked, then as I looked at Disopriyo Park where kids where playing football in mud resulting from a recent shower, it just struck me that life is like that, it twists and turns in ways we neither know nor expect it to. On their way home from Anirudha’s cremation Anoop diverted from his route to go to Princep Ghat where he and Rupa held hands like they had not held for many years to jointly mourn the death of the elder son…and when Anoop heard the voice of Anupam – baba – he felt a sliver of hope piercing through his despair. Later, when I met Anoop at his younger son’s wedding it looked to me that, although the tragedy had left a gnash inside him, he had made peace and learnt to live with it as did Rupa. About two decades later, the narrator (the author) traces the life of Anoop Nandi since his days in the early 80s, when the author and Anoop stayed in Bangalore and the two worked together. The one telling the author about Anoop’s life is Milan Majumdar (a common friend) whose life forms the second strand of the book's narrative. Milan's life unfolded quite differently from Anoop's. While Anoop returned to Calcutta after a somewhat long stint in Bangalore, Milan left Bangalore and went to Bombay. In Bombay, he met Christina Agasta and the two had a brief affair which abruptly ended when Christina left India for studies in Canada. On the other hand, Anoop got married with his childhood sweetheart while in Bangalore and after staying in Bangalore for some time he left Bangalore for Calcutta. About four years later, Anoop visited Bangalore briefly and discussed with the author the travails his marriage was going through. Some of the problems were commonplace marital issues while some stemmed from the fact that Anoop had married above his station. The story ends with the death of Anoop's elder son in a freak accident and the tragedy again brings Anoop and his wife together bringing down the emotional barrier between them which had formed over the years.