Chance is the pseudonym of God which He uses when He does not wish to put down His signature" could probably be described as the theme of this absorbing novel. But "everything about The Escapist has the irony of a magician who hides his true face behind a mask and drowns everything in a peal of laughter", observed Dr. H.P. Shukla in his deep study of this work in the 'Visva Bharati Quarterly'.
By the time one completes reading the novel, one would have felt the title revealing a sense quite different from its ordinary meaning something akin to the escapism of Francis Thompson in The Hound of Heaven.
This not-too-long novel stirs a reader's sensibility at various planes from the one that shows the play of unexpected forces in our normal life to the plane where we reflect on the very purpose of life.
A saga of soul's journey through life's darkness into the infinity of the blue....
Why do our dreams get shattered?
• Why are we confronted by the unexpected and the inscrutable?
The turbulence of our passion-the pangs of their frustration-do they play any role in our life's journey - and journey towards what? How distant is that goal?
The Escapist is not just an absorbing novel-but a voyage and an exploration.
Born in 1934 in a small village in the eastern coast of Orissa, Manoj Das grew up in a uniquely charming environment marked by palm grove-studded green meadows with lotus-filled lakes between his house and the Bay of Bengal. At the same time he had the harrowing experience as a small boy of having to witness his region struck by a terrible cyclone and the consequent famine and his affluent house being plundered by gangs of merciless dacoits not once but twice.
Manoj Das grew up to be a youth leader with radical views, suffering a term behind bars and taking a leading role in the Afro- Asian Students Conference at Bandung in 1956. But all through this tumultuous phase of his life, he continued his creative writing and his quest for the meaning of life.
The numerous accolades he has received include the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Saraswati Samman, the Padma Award and D.Litt. (Honoris Causa) from five universities. Last but not the least, he has been chosen as the Fellow of the Sahitya Akademi, an honour 'reserved for immortals in literature'. Manoj Das is attached to Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, Puducherry.
Book's Contents and Sample Pages
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