Nadi Ke Dweep by Agyeya | Books That Stayed With Me

 

I found this review tucked away in my notes from 2018, and it felt right to bring it here, to Books That Stayed With Me. I had written it about six months after reading Nadi Ke Dweep, a book that had stayed with me long after I had put it down. Eight years later, I am bringing these words back, with very little change, because some reading experiences deserve to be preserved just as they were.

An imagined visual inspired by Agyeya's Nadi Ke Dweep — its characters, their inner worlds, and the currents that connect them.

I was surprised when I heard Osho say this: 

“This book is a Hindi novel which has not yet been translated into English. Strange to be mentioned by a man like me, but it is worth mentioning. The Hindi title is NADI KE DWEEP, which may be translated as ISLANDS OF A RIVER, and it was written by Sachchidanand Vatsayayan. This novel is for those who want to meditate; it is a meditator’s novel. No other novel, neither by Tolstoy nor Chekhov, can be compared to it. It is unfortunate that it is written in Hindi. (and not yet translated)

Just wait………..! It is so beautiful that I want to enjoy rather than say anything. To talk at this height is so difficult. No interruptions please...!”

I was excited to find this book through him, as I had read various Hindi books but had obviously missed this masterpiece.

I am writing this review after a period of around six months since I laid my hands on this book. Why so long? Because this book takes time to seep into your consciousness. Because it is so beautiful that even after you put down the book, it remains playing in your heart and you remain in a state of reverie — filled with multiple questions and conflicts at the same time.

Through its characters and situations, Agyeya, like a master, has been able to connect with each reader individually. He brings out your inner questions to the forefront and beautifully presents the tensions of each life situation wherein, as a reader, one feels the pull and push of various thought waves and finds oneself, (un)knowingly, participating in the dilemmas, loves and sadness of the characters.

Bhuvan raises the sensitivities inside one to an extraordinary level. He is the vulnerable one, with a heightened quotient of intelligence, emotional sensitivity, understanding of beauty and, above all, purity of heart. He instills such a positive outlook towards life and sows seeds of trust in each heart.

Rekha, to me, brings a certain solidity and strength with her, notwithstanding the fact that she is the one who is in the most "weak" life situations. Rekha is the principal character of the novel and is the most active one. The picturisation of Rekha’s pain and the expression of her recurring agony is the central point of attraction of the novel. I feel deeply indebted to Agyeya for creating such a beautiful character.

On Rekha’s pain and tragedies, Agyeya says: 

“Rekha’s tragedy is the tragedy of imperfection of this surrender of hers - that is as much imperfect as that is perfect because that is towards the imperfect. Tragedy takes place when the ‘punishment’ that is received is not because of the faults of the bearer, but is received because of the errors of his qualities - ‘for the fault of their virtues’.”

What I especially loved in the book is the way Agyeya has interwoven English poetry and Bangla songs, along with nicely crafted visual renderings of nature and scenes, while the characters and the reader sway through the waves of varying emotions.

Gaura is such a lovable character, while Chandramadhav brings the thrill of over-practicality and those evil elements present inside us.

While there is so much to write about the book, I would like to enjoy it in its quietness, while letting my fellow readers know that this is one book out there which shall demand patience on your side — both because of the preciseness of language used as well as the depth of its characters. But if you are willing to immerse yourself into it, you shall come out having bathed in the river of immensely pure waters.

It is a book to relish, to live and to re-live, to understand yourself and to meditate on the creation of Agyeya, which is extraordinary yet simple.

This is one book that you must have if you are reading Hindi literature.

About the book: Nadi Ke Dweep by Agyeya — Google Book

I am simply in love with each word of this unique book.

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