Balanak Bonihar O Pallavi


Balanak Bonihar O Pallavi is a short story collection, written by Dr Binod Bihari Verma, on the village life of Mithila on the banks of the Kosi River and its tributaries.

Overview

This short story collection has fourteen short stories centering on the village society of Mithila. The focus of the stories and the protagonists are from the middle and lower middle class of the population. It deals with their social interactions, their dreams and aspirations, and their interaction with the predominant forces of their environment namely, the rivers.

Explanation of the Book's title

Balanak Bonihar O Pallavi means the tiller by the river and Pallavi, a common feminine name neing a metaphor for the agricultural produce of the farmer. It is the title of the first short story in this collection and is reflective of the general theme of the stories.

Critical reception

  • has the following review:

Characters

Most of the short stories have certain similar central characters, these are:
  • Balan: The "river" or the flood waters
  • Sounse: Gangetic river dolphin, Platenista gangetica, which populates Kosi and its tributaries, now a species on verge of extinction
  • Oxygen, Hydrogen: Representing the chemicals
  • Various human characters having different names although representing similar socioeconomic strata:
  • * Rannu Sardar
  • * Sulochana
  • * Saheb
  • * Gonour babu
  • Real life characters:
  • * Prof Upendra Thakur
  • * Prof Radha Krishna Choudhary

Major themes

Allusions and references

Stories

  1. Balanak bonihar o pallavi
  2. Kunti karna o parshuram
  3. Sulochnak chatisar
  4. Saheb
  5. Brahma - bisun - rati
  6. Ham pan khelonhh
  7. Fulak katha
  8. Antarmukhi vasundhara
  9. Kasha k ful
  10. Machhak piknik
  11. Jivan - nao
  12. Ka purush
  13. Gonour babu
  14. ''Aakash ful''