Bureaucrat Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma’s Latest Andamanush Nicobarese Is A Pleasant Break From Routine Travelogues
Lucknow || Read IAS officer Partha Sarathi Sharma’s new book Andamanush Nicobarese published last week, by Rupa Publications. The book is based on the author’s sojourn in the remote islands, as an Observer, for the Parliamentary elections of 2019.
The book brilliantly narrates the author’s experience, in a totally new format, quite different from the ones of traditional travelogues, which are descriptive and subjective.
The author has tried to narrate the history, physical geography, culture, society and cuisine of the islands from the perspective of the residents of the islands, rather than his own.
The book is based on author’s interactions and interviews with locals, drawn from a variety of social groups like government servants, migrants, local borns and even tribals. He has chosen to describe his new book as a Travenovel - a new concept in the field of travelogues.
He is able to successfully communicate his observations and feelings to the reader which reflects not only his sensitivity as an author but also his linguistic mastery. The book is lucid and the thoughts and words flow like a cool stream and hence extremely readable.
One is deeply impressed by Parth’s remarkable understanding of political, social and cultural history of the islands. He adopts a completely neutral view of the islands evolution and prefers to relate the story with objectivity but deep empathy and width of knowledge. Thus he ties the story of the islands with tenuous threads from Lucknow, Bihar, Punjab, Denmark, Bangladesh and Scotland.
The history of the monuments and residents transport the reader to far away lands and regions, by way of ancestry and historical connections. Reading the book, one can palpably sense the author’s intimate romance with the landscapes, sounds of the seas and silences of the skies and hues of the days, sunsets and nights.
This book is the fifth one written by Parthasarathi, two of which were also travelogues. One must compliment the author for a completely unique flavour that he has imparted to this book. The book is certainly one of the best contributions to the valuable body of literature on the islands.
— The book review is done by a retired UP cadre bureaucrat who is also an avid reader