BOOK REVIEW
By Sudhir Kumar Sahu
From Baharagoda, a remote region of Odisha bordering Jharkhand, Dr. Binny Shadangi has produced a remarkable short story collection titled “Asamartha Purusha”. The fourteen stories in this volume portray human compassion, inner torment, and the struggles of life with striking depth. Most of the stories depict shattered lives and the intense struggle to rebuild them, weaving human curiosity with profound empathy and values. Despite sorrow, defeat, and hardship, the stories ultimately resonate with the triumph of life.
The stories reflect everyday incidents of family and social life, capturing laughter, tears, dreams, curiosity, and conflict. They reveal the erosion of values in contemporary society, yet remain rooted in realism. Themes of strained relationships, inner emptiness, guilt, repentance, and the relentless quest to reconstruct life make the narratives powerful and poignant.
The stories can broadly be divided into two categories: social/familial and political. Even the political stories are closely tied to social realities. Although the author often notes her characters’ disinterest in politics, her own background in a political family naturally brings reflections on leaders’ influence and character. There is no ideological propaganda, but the stories carry respect for socialist and reformist ideals of leaders like Vinoba Bhave, Ram Manohar Lohia, and Madhu Limaye.
Stylistically, Shadangi often uses flashback, which not only enriches the narrative but also probes the depths of human psychology. The stories explore misunderstandings that corrode individuality, women’s struggles with loneliness, and the yearning to reshape life. Women are central characters—ordinary rural or semi-urban women whose resilience gives feminism a distinctly local flavor.
For example, in “Asamartha Purusha”, the marriage of Antu and Ruki collapses under Antu’s mistaken belief in his own impotence. A single doubt, like a poisonous insect, destroys his life and family. Similarly, “De-Addiction Center” begins with the death of Bijendra, a politician whose alcoholism and abuse leave his wife Shri in anguish. Yet from her suffering emerges a new path: she is entrusted with running the city’s first rehabilitation center.
Other stories like “70 Tughlaq Road”, “Rajanigandha”, and “Seema” portray the emptiness of women’s lives—wives left isolated by ambition, indifference, or neglect. These narratives highlight the silent struggles of women, their endurance, and their search for meaning.
