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Bhibhuti Babu The Writer of Pather Panchali

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TIMES OF INDIA: 15/6/25
WHY A SMALL JHARKHAND TOWN STILL ADORES THE WRITER OF PATHER PANCHALI


    Flanked by a restless Subarnarekha river and an unassuming railway line that runs through the small town, Ghatsila reminds you of idyllic Nischindipur, where Satyajit Ray’s iconic Pather Panchali (Song of the Road) unfolds. It’s a drowsy, almost diffident, place that seems to have been bypassed by time.
    Maybe the resemblance is not entirely coincidental. This is where celebrated writer Bibhuti Bhusan Bandyopadhyay, who penned the unforgettable Bengali novel, spent many creative years of his life and breathed his last at the age of 56 in 1950.
    The finest works of Bibhuti Babu, as every one refers to him in Ghatsila, include ‘Aparajito (Undefeated)’, ‘Aranyak (Of The Forest)’, and ‘Chander Pahar (Mountain Of The Moon)’. Director Shakti Samanta’s ‘Amar Prem’ (1972), a melancholic story of unrealised love, starring Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore, was based on a Bandyopadhyay short story, Hinger Kochuri.
    It has been 75 years since he passed away. But Bibhuti Babu remains Ghatsila’s calling card. Hotels are named after him. So are sightseeing spots, libraries and grammar schools. He is present even on restaurant menus. In fact, the writer is everywhere.
    Ghatsila is nestled in the lap of the Dalma hills in Jharkhand’s East. Singhbhum district shares a border with West Bengal’s Jhargram and Purulia districts to the east and north, and Odisha’s Mayurbhanj to the south.
    At the spot where NH 33 turns towards Ghatsila, the Jharkhand tourism department has built a hotel called Bibhuti Vihar. The town also has a Bibhuti Inn, owned by a businessman. A popular hotel on the banks of the Subarnarekha is named after a spot where the writer used to sit on moonlit nights, and that he had named ‘Ratmohana’ (charmer of the night).
    The house where Bibhuti Babu lived is located in Dahigora, now the poshest part of the town. The residence is called Gourikunj, after his first wife, who died during childbirth. The road leading to Gourikunj is called Apur Path– the road of Apu, the protagonist of the semi-autobiographical Pather Panchali.
    There’s more. A local society for the preservation of Bandyopadhyay’s house and his legacy is called Gourikunj Unnayan Samiti. Says its president, Tapas Chatterjee, “Nobody commands more respect than Bibhuti Babu in Ghatsila.”
    “Not an inch of his house was encroached upon, even though nobody lived there for 57 years. In 1950, when Bibhuti Babu died, his second wife, Rama Chattopadhyay, and son Taradas Bandyopadhyay, who was three then, left the town. Taradas ji gave us the NOC to construct this memorial in 2007, three years before his death. In between, the house lay in utter neglect and ruins.” Chatterjee said.
    The Samiti also runs a Bengali language grammar school on Sundays, called Apur Pathshala, and a library called Bibhuti Smriti Sansthagar in Ghatshila.
    A cultural festival is hosted every year on September 12 to mark the writer’s birth anniversary.
    The story of how Bibhuti Babu came to live in Ghatsila is fascinating.
    According to Chatterjee, a contractor from Ghatsila called Ashok Gupta had taken a loan from the writer when the latter was working as a teacher in Calcutta. Unable to pay him back in cash, Gupta decided to register the house in Ghatsila in Bibhuti babu’s name.
    “Bibhuti Babu wanted his younger brother, Nutbihari Bandyopadhyay, who was a doctor, to settle in this town and had visited Ghatsila in 1938. He fell in love with this house and the town and never returned.” Chatterjee said.
    Since he was already an established name in Bengali literature, many other Calcutta writers, including Sahitya Akademi Awardee Gajendra Kumar Mitra (1908-1994), Pramatha Nath Bishi (1901-1985) and Subodh Ghosh (1909-1980), also built homes in Ghatsila. Bimal Roy’s ‘Sujata’ (1960) and Gulzar’s ‘Ijaazat’ (1989) were based on stories written by Ghosh.
    However, all left in due course. Except Bibhuti babu, who stayed on and wrote some of his most famous works in this town.
    As a writer, Bibhuti Babu shared a special bond with the quiet jungles on the town’s edge, the free-flowing river and forest dwellers. He had witnessed the exploitation of natural resources in the name of development when he went to Bhagalpur in Bihar as the assistant manager of a forest estate in January 1924. That assignment left a lasting impression on the writer and funds mentioned in works such as ‘Aranyak’ and the essay, ‘Hey Aranya Katha kao (Oh Forest, Speak)’.
    Ghatsila is full of such natural spots, like Burudi dam, Phuldungri Pahar and the banks of the Subarnarekha, where Bibhuti Babu would sit with a pen and notebook for hours.
    Situated 54 km from Jamshedpur and 240 km away from Kolkata, Ghatsila is a favourite of tourists from Bengal. Nearly 80% of the population here, including tribals, now speak the Bengali language. The locals, however, rue how some things are no longer the same. “Earlier, tourists came for longer durations, a month or, at times even longer. They would rent out homes and stay like locals. Since they came here for a change of air, we called them ‘changers’,” said Rohit Kumar, manager of a private lodge in Ghatsila’s Phuldungri.
    The new-age tourists come for a day or two. The neighbouring hill town of Belpahari in Jhargram district of West Bengal offers better amenities and takes away a major chunk of tourists.
    But appreciation of the legacy of Bibhuti Babu isn’t confined to visitors anymore. Supriti Murmu, wife of prominent Jharkhand state agitation leader Bablu Murmu, says, “I was drawn to this town because of Bibhuti Babu. As a student of Bangla literature, we were influenced by his writings and wanted to experience the rural life he portrayed in his books.
    Supriti Murmu used to be a prominent left-wing student leader and was pursuing her graduation in Bangla literature in neighbouring Jhargram when her activism and her love for the writer brought her to Ghatsila in 1987. “I have been here since then,” she said.
Bandyopadhyay’s works and his love for the forest dwellers resonate with the local tribal population as much as his books appeal to the Bengali intelligentsia.
At Gourikunj, his real legacy is the bond shared by everyone. An artist from Bengal recently painted scenes from Bandyopadhyay’s daily life in Ghatsila on the boundary walls of the house. On his birthday anniversary, girls from tribal communities decorated Apur Path, the lane leading to the house, with beautiful Santhal patterns in the form of rangolis. Everyone and everything is coming together to celebrate their one and only Bibhuti Babu.

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Dramatic Ends, Enduring Bonds: A Tale of Three Love Stories published in City Essence magazine

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Don’t miss my article that discusses and compares three love stories written by William Shakespeare and O Henri. Happy reading.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

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19/7/2025: The Soul Connection … by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Don’t miss my short story ‘The Soul Connection’ published in the Speaking Tree, Times of India, New Delhi Edition on 19/7/25. Happy reading.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Vikings Sagas on Combat and Curiosity

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VIKING SAGAS ON COMBAT AND CURIOSITY
ECONOMIC TIMES 17/2/24
LIFE WAS TOUGH FOR VIKINGS, THEY WERE FIERCELY INDEPENDENT PEOPLE, AND VALUED TRUST AND TEAMWORK
DEVDUTT PATTNAIK… AUTHOR OF BUSINESS SUTRA


The Greeks had inspired the Romans 2500 years ago. The Romans established a great empire around the Mediterranean for over a thousand years. Around the time they turned Christians, they began encountering barbarians from the North. The Celts, the Gauls, the Goths, in the western or Latin end of the Empire, around 500 AD, and later, the Vikings, in the eastern or Greek end of the Empire, around 1000 AD.
    Like the Greeks, life was tough for the Vikings, and they were fiercely independent people. Some, not all of them, travelled on ships to distant lands to raid. The shipping experience taught them the value of trust and teamwork. Vikings lived in Northern Europe (Scandinavia), in cold, dark, wintry lands, close to the Arctic. They had to fight to survive. So their mythological sagas spoke of battle all the time. Their gods fought frost giants in icy lands, and trolls who lived in dark, damp spaces.
    The gods even fought each other. The realm of the gods was located on branches of a giant tree, and it was feared that the roots of this would eventually be gnawed by demons, and everything would one day come to an end, even for the gods. A depressing worldview.
    The Vikings believed that if they died bravely in battle, they would be taken by Valkyries to Valhalla, a great hall to wine, dine, and fight with the gods themselves. This motivated the Vikings to fight. And to face death fearlessly. Those Vikings who died non-violent deaths, because of disease, accidents, and old age, had an unremarkable afterlife in the land of shadows ruled by Hel, a goddess who never smiled.
    The Vikings had two sets of gods, the Vanir, who enjoyed trade and the Aesir, who preferred the raid, as revealed in the following story. The Vanir and the Aesir were both gods, but very different. Vanir had magic, and Aesir had strength. Freyja of the Vanir visited the Aesir and displayed her gold, giving it to all those who made her happy. Under the spell of gold, the Aesir soon forgot all about loyalty to the clan and kept seeking more and more of the shiny stuff, offering gods and services in exchange. They stored more and shared less.
    Aesir blamed Freya’s magical gold for this shift in values. Aesir tried to burn Freya alive, but she resurrected herself each time, for she had magic. This led to war between Vanir and Aesir, which was inconclusive. Finally, the Vanir and the Aesir decided to make peace. Two Vanir went to live with the Aesir, and two Aesir went to live with the Vanir. Thus, they would learn about each other’s ways.
    The two Vanir, Freyr and Frerja, children of the wealthy Njord, taught the Aesir how the fertility of the earth and the sea can help them survive, and how accounting ensures fairness. The two Aesir, Hoenir and Mimir, taught Vanir about the value of loyalty and comradeship over being calculative.
    The Vanir liked the handsome well spoken Hoenir, but not the silent Mimir, who only whispered in Hoenir’s ear and spoke to no one else. Hoenir and Mimir always travelled together, talking to each other secretly, and this made the Vanir so uncomfortable that they killed Mimir. They did not realise that while Hoenir was handsome and charming, he needed Mimir’s counsel to make smart decisions. The two worked well as a team. Without Mimir, Hoenir had no good counsel. All he could say to the Vanir in meetings when they sought a decision was, ‘Let others decide!’
This story reminds us that different cultures value different things, and for a civilisation to thrive, we have to learn how different cultures function. The Aesir had to learn the trading ways of the Vanir based on agreements and negotiations. The Vanir had to learn the raiding ways of the Aesir based on trust, teamwork, and unquestioning loyalty.
The Aesir were traders and accountants who valued policies and profit over people. This creates a fair professional ecosystem where relationships do not matter and nepotism does not take root. The Vanir were all about people, about bonding, about passion and trust. Here, connections matter: you bypass the rule for the relationship, like breaking the protocol for the benefit of a friend.
The Romans saw the Vikings are barbarians and were eager to make them Christian, for they believed their truth was the universal truth. They were not interested in learning from ‘lesser’ people. For Romans, the other had to be subjugated. They were resources and rivals to be enslaved and brought into the Roman fold. In time, the Viking lands of Scandinavia would give rise to the Dutch, who would change the world forever by inventing the stock market, a financial revolution that provided vast amounts of credit to the newly emerging industrial economy. Was this because the Vikings turned Christians, or was it because the Vikings remembered their old ways– the ways of the Aesir and the Vanir? We can only speculate.

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Should India Include All-Time Classic Movies in School and College Syllabi in This Digital Age? by Kamlesh Tripathi

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    In today’s digital world, where attention spans are shrinking and reading habits are on the decline, it is about time we rethink how we educate and connect with the younger generation. A powerful and often overlooked tool is the classic Indian cinema. Just like the manner in which William Shakespeare’s plays are studied in schools and colleges for their literary merit and social relevance, classic Indian films, too, deserve a place in our school and college syllabi.

    It is said that old books and films are windows to the past. They serve as mirrors reflecting the values, struggles, and ethos of a bygone era. A few months ago, on the occasion of Mother’s Day, while reminiscing about my late mother, I stumbled upon the evergreen classic ‘Mother India’ on television. Although I had watched it several times before, especially because my one-time close friend, the late Sajid Khan, had played a role in it as the young Sunil Dutt, this time it felt different. As if I wasn’t just watching the movie ‘Mother India.’ But I was watching the real India of 1957.

    The film tells the touching story of Radha, an impoverished, rural village woman who struggles against all odds to raise her sons in her husband’s absence. She encounters severe poverty, exploitation by a moneylender, and personal tragedy, yet she emerges as an emblem of strength, sacrifice, and moral integrity. In several ways, she becomes the archetype of the traditional Indian woman.

    Mother India is more than just a typical film. It holds cultural and social significance. It vividly depicts the struggles of rural India in the post-independence period. Watching this movie is like stepping back in time to understand what our ancestors endured. ‘Mother India’ is one of the many classics preserved in the archives of Bollywood, as well as in the regional film centres of Tollywood and Kollywood.

    There are many such classic, cult and epic films and TV serials like Dosti, Do Bigha Zamin, Guide, Haqueeqat, Gandhi, Sholay, Pather Panchali, Ramayana, Mahabharat, to name a few, that vividly capture different aspects of Indian life. It could be from social inequality, the British Raj, mythology, penance, the fight for India’s freedom or the wars with Pakistan and China. These films provide context, depth, and real-life visuals to what students might otherwise only read or cram in history or literature books.

    It is about time the Government considers constituting a national panel to select a curated list of classic Indian films for inclusion in school and college syllabi. These films could be rotated class-wise or standard-wise, or stream-wise. They could be aligned with topics in history, literature, sociology, ethics, and more. The way Shakespearean plays are studied for their literary value and insights into human behaviour, Indian classics can also be studied for their cultural, emotional, and historical richness.

    65% of India’s population is under 35. Digital distractions are everywhere; therefore, classic films can be a more engaging add-on to traditional textbooks. Surveys show that young people today often struggle to read even 500 words at a stretch, but they can easily sit through a well-written storyline in a movie. Visual learning is known to improve retention and understanding. It makes classic movies an effective educational tool.

    This approach need not be limited to domestic films alone. Historical and biographical classics from Hollywood or other international cinemas, such as Cromwell, Nuremberg or Schindler’s List, could also be part of an extended curriculum. This will especially benefit students planning to work or study abroad. It will help them gain cultural and historical awareness about the countries they are headed to.

    Incorporating cinema into education doesn’t mean replacing books, but it would mean enhancing the learning experience. Students could watch in-syllabus films followed by classroom discussions, essays, or creative projects. It would not only build their analytical and emotional intelligence. It will also cultivate a deeper appreciation of India’s cinematic and historical heritage.

    Furthermore, in business and professional schools, an extracurricular cinema curriculum could be developed to help students understand global cultures, leadership models, historical contexts, and ethical dilemmas, all of which are frequently depicted in well-made films.

    Cinema is not just entertainment. It is a form of art that captures the values of society, its history, and love for humanity. Though Indian classic movies are rich in content, emotion, and social commentary, they are a forgotten treasure. They can educate, inspire, and connect the youth to their roots.

    In this digital era, where attention spans are short and reading habits are waning, integrating timeless films into the academic curriculum may well be the most impactful way to preserve our cultural heritage and prepare students for a more thoughtfully aware future.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Geography of Solitude … Kamlesh tripathi

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Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

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Dravidian Iron for the Aryan Horse … Devdutt Pattanaik aryan horse

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DEVDUTT PATTNAIK 16/8/25 ECONOMIC TIMES
DRAVIDIAN IRON FOR THE ARYAN HORSE


    (Aryans came for newly smelted iron and offered domesticated horses in exchange. They were neither invaders nor migrants: they were traders.)
PICTURE OF DEVDUTT PATTNAIK
AUTHOR OF BUSINESS SUTRA


    Colonial historians argued the ‘Aryan invasion theory’ that light-skinned chariot-riding people destroyed Harappan cities, conquered India, enslaved local dark-skinned people and created the caste system. To counter this, there was the ‘out of India’ theory popularised by many Brahmins, that Harappa was Vedic, that Aryans were originally India who migrated out of India, taking civilisation to the world. Both were wrong. Neither explained what motivated these Aryans to move in, or out, of India.
    Now it seems increasingly clear that Aryans came for (newly smelted) iron, and they offered (newly domesticated) horses in exchange. Aryans were neither invaders nor migrants: they were traders. And like many merchants and sailors, they had local wives, which accounts for the spread of their genes (R1aZ93), language (proto-Sanskrit) and patriarchal culture in India.
    In Hindu myth, the horse-headed Vishnu rescued the Vedas and gave them to Brahma for safekeeping. For over 3,000 years, Brahmins of India have therefore meticulously transmitted the Vedic songs containing some of the oldest descriptions of horses, chariots and composite bows in the world (Rig Veda 1.163.10 and 6.75.2). The Brahmins saw these Vedic hymns as timeless (sanatan), not of human origin (a-paurusheya). Today, thanks to ancient DNA analysis, archaeology and linguistics, we know that this is not true.
    Horses, originally bred for meat and milk, were fully domesticated only 4,000 years ago, around 2000 BC, in the region north of the Black and the Caucasian sea, west of the Ural mountains. The early horse were too small for adult humans to ride. This led to invention of the earliest spoked-wheel chariots, light light enough to be pulled by horses. They have been found in burial sites in Southern Russia, at Sintashta, east of the Ural mountains, also dated to 2000 BC. Composite bows (made of wood, bow and sinew) were invented around the same time, at the same place. This new military technology (horse, chariot, bow) spread to Egypt (indicated by wall art) in the east, Scandinavia (indicated by bronze statues) in the north and China (indicated in burial sites) and India (expressed in Vedic poetry) in the east by 1500 BC. With the horse-breeders, spread a new language Proto-indo-European (PIE).
    The eastern migration saw the spread of a gene variant found only in Steppe pastoral men, present in Y-chromosome, identified as R1a-Z93. It is currently seen across Central Asia, Iran and amongst all Brahmins of India. Those with these gene have another mutation that enables adults to digest milk. North Indians can digest milk easily. South Indians prefer curd.
The men who came bearing these genes referred to themselves as Aryan or noble (this term was appropriated by racist Europeans causing much academic confusion). Rig Vedic verse (Mandala 4, Sukta 24) refers to bargaining a fair price. These traders would have had to repeatedly return to Central Asia to fetch more horses as horses do not breed in India. A simple fact that most people miss. The monsoon climate is not conducive to horse breeding.
So Aryans were neither invaders nor migrants. They were traders, probably with wives on either side of the mountain trade route. The mothers gave their children voiced aspirated consonants (gh, jh, h, dh, bh) and retroflex consonants (t, d, n, s).
The spoked-wheel chariot pulled by horses could carry two men: a driver and an archer. This image is immortalised in the Bhagavad-Gita, with Krishna holding the reins of four white horses, and Arjuna holding his mighty bow, the Gandiva. Both riders blow conch shells. The Rig Veda does not mention this conch-shell; the Atharva Veda does. They are only found off the Gujarat coast, in the Indian Ocean.
Recent excavations in Keeladi, Tamil Nadu, are drawing attention to iron smelting technology that was invented in India, in regions associated with Dravidian and Munda languages. This requires very high temperatures. Sites in Deccan have ash mounds indicating a long-standing enquiry into fire technology. Along with Anatolia (modern Turkey) and Africa (Bantu people), India seems to be another site where iron was first extracted. This could be a good reason why Aryans came to India from the Oxus river basin through treacherous mountain passes (not flat enough for wheeled wagons).
Horse breeding in India came very late, after 1400 AD, in parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Maharashtra. So for nearly 3,000 years, every year, horse breeders would bring their horses from Central Asia for local Indian kings, who would use the horse in war, to conquer new lands, and even slaughter them as part of land acquisition ceremonies (Ashwamedha). Traders had no reason to ‘invade’ or ‘migrate’ to India. They had to go back to fetch more horses from Central Asia, where horse breeding was easy.
(SKETCH: ILLUSTRATION DEVDUTT PATTNAIK)

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

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Book Review: Awadh Assam And Dalai Lama … The Kalachakra

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‘Awadh Assam and Dalai Lama… The Kalachakra’ has been archived in several prestigious institutions, both in India and internationally. Here’s a summary of its archival presence:

📚 International Archives

Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR), Government of Tibet: The book is archived in the DIIR, which is responsible for the administration and dissemination of information related to the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.

Tibet Policy Institute (TPI): The TPI, an institution that focuses on research related to Tibet, has archived the book, highlighting its relevance to Tibetan studies.

Personal Library of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama: The book is included in the personal collection of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, reflecting its significance in Tibetan history and culture.

The Ohio Digital Library, USA: Your book is available in this digital library, making it accessible to a global audience interested in Tibetan and Indian history. (Holy Books)

Apple Digital Library: The book has been included in Apple’s digital library, broadening its reach to readers worldwide.

🇮🇳 Indian Archives

Friends of Tibet Library: This library, dedicated to preserving Tibetan culture and history, has archived the book.

Maharashtra Mitra Mandal Library, Bandra, Mumbai: A prominent library in Mumbai has included your book in its collection, making it available to local readers.

These archival placements underscore the importance of the work in documenting the historical and cultural narratives of the region.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

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Book Review: Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future … Friedrich Nietzsche

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‘Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future’ … Friedrich Nietzsche

    ‘Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future’ is considered one of Friedrich Nietzsche’s best books. One cannot make out on what criteria this assessment is based on, but it is easy to make out how it comes about. There were many themes in the life of Nietzsche. The book seems to be a comprehensive and detached account of all the themes. Nietzsche was an extremely sensitive and suspicious person. This is evident in everything that he addressed in this book, like knowledge, truth, philosophy, morality and religion. He considered it to be either the source or the result of a misguided propensity in the development of human nature. This led to disastrous, social and psychological consequences. At the same time, Nietzsche is not shy of sharing his constructive views on these subjects. Especially, how he wants us to perceive the world and how we can change ourselves to live up to his new perception.

     He discusses perspectivism as a philosophical principle. Perspectivism preaches that there are no absolute truths, only perspectives. Towards the middle of the book, Nietzsche adds several aphorisms—general truths. He ends the book with a poem, ‘From the Heights’, that hints at the artistic background of life, with the opening line, ‘Midday of Life! Oh, season of delight.

    But why is ‘Beyond Good and Evil’ a stupendous book? This is because it covers the entire range of Nietzsche’s interests, his prejudices, preferences, loathings, hopes, and deep insights into the late 19th and 20th centuries.

   Published in 1886, “Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future” is one of Friedrich Nietzsche’s ground-breaking works and a front-running text in the development of existentialism and modern critical thinking.

    The book is a critique of past philosophy and proposes a modern way of thinking. Nietzsche criticises the traditional European morality. He confronts the primordial binary of ‘good’ and ‘evil’. According to him, such concepts arise from certain weaknesses and social compliances instead of strength and vitality. He also considered the dominant moral systems, especially Christian morality, as demeaning, promoting traits such as humility, meekness and obedience at the cost of individual greatness and creativity. The work is not a systematic treatise. It is rather a collection of aphorisms, essays, and philosophical reflections, organised into nine thematic parts.

    Nietzsche accuses past philosophers of lacking critical sense and blindly accepting dogmatic premises in their consideration of morality. He specifically charges them with founding grand metaphysical systems on the belief that the good man is the opposite of the evil man, rather than merely a different expression of the same basic impulses that find more direct expression in the evil man. The nine thematic parts of the book are as follows:

1. Prejudices of Philosophers

   Nietzsche begins by criticising philosophers for their dogmatic assumptions and hidden moral agendas. He argues that what many call “truth” is often just a reflection of personal bias or cultural conditioning. He challenges the very idea of objective truth and exposes how philosophers construct their systems based on personal values, not impartial reasoning.

2. The Free Spirit

    Here, Nietzsche introduces the idea of the free spirit, ie individuals who break free from traditional beliefs and think independently. These people are sceptical, courageous, and willing to live without the comforting illusions of conventional morality or religion. The “truths” of philosophers are just their prejudices, and no philosopher has even been “proved” right. Philosophers are at their best when they question themselves and free their spirits from their prejudices.

3. The Religious Mood

Nietzsche turns to religion, particularly Christianity, which he finds rooted in “slave morality.” He contrasts it with ancient noble moralities that celebrated strength, power, and pride. Christianity, he argues, emerged from the resentment (ressentiment) of the weak, who turned their impotence into moral superiority.

4. Maxims and Interludes (Apophthegms and Interludes)

This section is a collection of aphorisms on various topics—philosophy, culture, art, morality—written in Nietzsche’s characteristic style: sharp, poetic, ironic. There are 122 short epigrams on a wide range of topics. For example, ‘He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.’

5. The Natural History of Morals

Nietzsche explores the historical and psychological origins of moral values. He suggests that morality evolved from practical needs, psychological drives, and social hierarchies, rather than divine command or rational deliberation.

6. We Scholars

This is a critique of academia and the scientific mind. Nietzsche distinguishes between the true philosopher—creative and daring—and the mere scholar, whom he sees as a pedantic labourer serving existing power structures.

7. Our Virtues

    Nietzsche discusses contemporary notions of virtue and how they are influenced by democratic and egalitarian ideals, which he sees as weakening society. He is sceptical of the claim that all humans are inherently equal and challenges the morality of selflessness and pity.

8. Peoples and Fatherlands/Countries

This politically charged section critiques nationalism, anti-Semitism, and narrow-minded patriotism. Nietzsche advocates for a European “good Europeans” identity that transcends borders and narrow tribalism.

9. What is Noble?

Nietzsche ends with reflections on the aristocratic soul, nobility, and what constitutes true greatness. He emphasises the importance of hierarchy, self-overcoming, and the cultivation of higher types of individuals who can live beyond good and evil.

    Nietzsche’s writing style in Beyond Good and Evil is passionate, aphoristic, and often poetic. He uses irony, metaphor, and bold rhetorical flourishes.

    Beyond Good and Evil is not simply an attack on traditional morality, but a call to rise above simplistic moral dualities and embrace the complexities of life. Nietzsche challenges readers to live courageously, to question inherited truths, and to become creators of new values. It is a provocative, demanding, and enduring work of modern philosophy.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

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Publications of Kamlesh Tripathi

BOOK TITLE: GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in eight prestigious libraries of the US, which include Harvard College Library; Harvard University Library; Library of Congress; University of Washington, Seattle; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Yale University, New Haven; University of Chicago; University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill University Libraries. It can also be accessed at MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in the libraries and archives of Canada; the Open Library; Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai; Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, India; Shoolini University, Yogananda Knowledge Centre, Himachal Pradesh and Azim Premji University, Bangalore and the Library of Cancer Aid and Research Foundation, Mumbai. The title also finds a mention in a book titled ‘Enduring Cancer: Life, Death and Diagnosis in Delhi’ by Dwaipayan Banerjee, published by the Duke University Press).

BOOK TITLE: ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(It is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi; It is also available for reading in the Indian National Bibliography, March 2016, in the literature section, in Central Reference Library, Ministry of Culture, India, Belvedere, Kolkata-700022)

BOOK TITLE: AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(This is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity, which is the undying characteristic of Lucknow. The book was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2014. It is catalogued and included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K; Herrick District Library, Holland; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, USA; Black Gold Cooperative Library Administration, Arroyo Grande, California; Berkeley Library, University of California; The Peshastin Public Library and The George Public Library near Washington, a Northern Central Washington Libraries branch; the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library in Arizona in the US and the Salina Public Library, Kansas, USA.

BOOK TITLE: REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan-India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, which works for child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD, Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2016).

BOOK TITLE: TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is humbly qualified. Yet he fights his way through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read, not only for salesmen but for any reader. The book was launched on 10th February 2018 at Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

BOOK TITLE: RHYTHM … IN POEMS

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems are about our day-to-day life. Poems from this book have been published in Shillong Times, Bandra Times, Bhavan’s Journal and Arunachal Times and Goan net. The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha).

BOOK TITLE: MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories available on Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

BOOK TITLE: AWADH ASSAM AND DALAI LAMA … The Kalachakra

(It is the story of the man who received His Holiness The Dalai Lama and his retinue in 1959 as a GOI representative when he fled Tibet in 1959. The book was launched on 21st November 2022 by His Holiness The Dalai Lama at Dharmshala. The title is archived in the library of the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR), Government of Tibet, Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) and the personal library of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. The title is also archived in The Ohio Digital Library, USA. It was recently included in the digital library of the world-renowned company APPLE. Included in the library of Friends of Tibet and Maharashtra Mitra Mandal Library in Bandra, Mumbai.

BOOK TITLE: RHYTHM IN POEMS

The book was relaunched with additional poems at the Lucknow Book Fair on 7th March.2025

(POEMS, SHORT STORIES AND ARTICLES OF KAMLESH TRIPATHI PUBLISHED IN NEWSPAPERS, JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES)

THE TIMES OF INDIA

Speaking Tree: 1. Basant Celebrates Ma Saraswati, Shiv, And Spring 1.2.25; 2. Mahashivratri: A Night of Divine Illumination, 26.2.25; 3. Kabir Spun Indic Syncretism Through His Dohas, 12.6.25;

    BHAVANS JOURNAL

    Short stories, Book reviews and Articles published in Bhavan’s Journal: 1. Reality and Perception, 15.10.19; 2. Sending the Wrong Message, 31.5.20; 3. Eagle versus Scholars, June 15 & 20, 2020; 4. Indica, 15.8.20; 5. The Story of King Chitraketu, August 31 2020; 6. Breaking Through the Chakravyuh, September 30 2020. 7. The Questioning Spouse, October 31, 2020; 8. Happy Days, November 15, 2020; 9. The Karma Cycle of Paddy and Wheat, December 15, 2020; 10. Power Vs Influence, January 31, 2021; 11. Three Refugees, March 15, 2021; 12. Rise and Fall of Ajatashatru, March 31, 2021; 13. Reformed Ruler, May 15, 2021; 14. A Lasting Name, May 31, 2021; 15. Are Animals Better Teachers? June 16, 2021; 16. Book Review: The Gram Swaraj, 1.7.21; 17. Right Age for Achievements, 15.7.21; 18. Big Things Have Small Beginnings, 15.8.21; 19. Where is Gangaridai?, 15.9.21; 20. Confront the Donkey Within You 30.9.21; 21. Know Your Strengths 15.10.21; 22. Poverty 15.11.21; 23. Top View 30.11.21; 24. The Bansuriwala 15.1.22; 25. Sale of Alaska 15.2.22; 26. The Dimasa Kingdom 28.2.22;27. Buried Treasure 15.4.22; 28. The Kingdom of Pragjyotisha 30.4.22; 29. Who is more useful? 15.5.22; 30. The White Swan from Lake Mansarovar 30.6.22; 31. Bhool Bhulayya 15.9.22; 32. Good Karma 30.9.22; 33. Good Name vs Bad Name 15.10.22; 34. Uttarapath—The Grand Trunk Road 1.12.22; 35. When Gods Get Angry 1.1.23; 36. Holinshed’s Chronicles 15.1.23; 37. Theogony 15.2.23; 38. Poem: Mother 14.5.23; 39. The Nag Mandir 30.6.23; 40. The Story of Garuda 30.7.23; 41. Janmabhoomi vs Karmabhoomi 31.8.23; 42. The Ghost Town of Kuldhara 15.9.23; 43. The Tale of Genji 15.10.23; 44. The Soul Connection 1.12.23; 45.Book review: Jungle Nama … a story of the Sundarban 16.3.24; 46. Book review: A Forgotten Chapter 16.5.24; 47. Exploring Ancient Egypt, 1.8.24; 48. The Story of Dhruva, 16.8.24; 49. Two Hundred Years of Tea in Assam 16.9.24; 50. The Cosmic Messenger 16.10.24; 51. Biblioburro: The Four-Legged Library 16.11.24; 52. The Cologne Cathedral 1.1.25; 53. Gandhi to Mahatma 16.1.25; 54. Huxley’s Take on Translated Works 16.3.25; 55. Ernest Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory 1.7.25;

    THE SHILLONG TIMES

    Articles & Poems: 1. Poem: Happy New Year 8.1.23; 2.Poem: Spring 12.3.23; 3.Poem: Right and Wrong 20.3.23; 4. The Gush of Emotion—Writing, 26.3.23; 5. The Nag Mandir, 7.5.23; 6. Poem: Mother 7.5.23; 7. Poem: Rain Rain 9.7.23; 8. Poem: You Come Alone You Go Alone 6.8.23; 9. Poem: Rain Rain (Second Time) 10.8.23; 10. Poem: Guru Teacher 1.10.23; 11. Poem: Autumn … The Interim Heaven 15.10.23; 12. Poem: Happy Diwali 12.11.23; 13. Overcoming Blindness: Learn it the John Milton Way 10.12.23; 14. The Happy Prince and The Happy Man’s Shirt 31.12.23; 15. Annus Mirabilis -2024 7.1.24; 16. Gandhi to Mahatma Gandhi- Incidents that Shaped Gandhi in South Africa 28.1.24; 17. Poem: Together But Not Made For Each Other, 11.2.24; 18. The Birds Bees and The Spiders of Nicholas Guildford and Jonathan Swift 25.2.24; 19. The Overcoats of Nikolai Gogol and Ruskin Bond 10.3.24; 20. The Ethnic Colours of Holi 24.3.24; 21. A Lesson from Dalai Lama, 21.4.24; 22. Poem: Morning Walk 28.4.24; 23. Trip to Rhine Falls, Switzerland, 19.5.24; 24. Poem: Hurt 2.6.24; 25. Poem: Your Conscience Was My Sign On 16.6.24; 26.Poem: The Eerie Ways of Time 7.7.24; 27.Poem: Celebrating the T20 World Champions 14.7.24;28. Read to Rise above mediocrity, 4.8.24; 29. Poem: Desire vs Reality 11.8.24; 30. Jack Ma’s Pristine Advice to Employers, Employees and the Youth 22.9.24; 31. Tagore and Kipling 3.11.24; 32. Poem: Merry Christmas 22.12.24; 33. Poem: The Sunset Point, 5.1.25; 34. Cancer Warning Labels on Alcoholic Beverages, 12.1.25; 35. Poem: Hope … In the Arc of Twilight, 19.1.25; 36. Basant Panchami celebrates the Arrival of Spring 2.2.25; 37. Poem: The Falling World Order, 9.2.25; 38. A Peep into Native American Literature, 23.2.25; 39. Poem: Good day, Bad day 9.3.25; 40. Reincarnation of Dalai Lama in a free World, 6.4.25; 41. Ambedkar: Fighting the Caste Monster, 13.4.25; 42. Switzerland: The Scenic Mount Titlis & Lucerne 18.5.25; 43. Poem: A Ray of Hope 8.6.25; 44. Poem: Monsoon Melodies 27.7.25;

    THE ASSAM TRIBUNE

    Article: 1. The Magic of Reading 11.12.23; 2. Gandhi to Mahatma 29.1.24; 3. Geography of Solitude 8.4.24; 4. A Lesson From Dalai Lama, 22.4.24; 5. A Source of Inspiration, 29.4.24; 6. The Four-Legged Library, 12.5.24; 7. Age and Achievement, 10.6.24; 8. Read … To Rise Above Mediocrity, 1.7.24; 9. Crusade for a College, 25.8.24; 10. Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory (Panorama) 27.9.24; 11. Short story: Love in the Air, 20.10.24; 12. Short story: The Prick of Conscience, 5.1.25; 13. Lost in translation, 6.1.25; 14. Travellers’ tales 20.1.2025; 15. Audit your days 17.2.25;

    THE ARUNACHAL TIMES

    Poem: 1. Hope—In The Arc of Twilight, 13.8.23; 2.Poem: Spring 3.3.24; 3.Poem: The Morning Walk 10.3.24;

    BANDRA TIMES, MUMBAI

    Articles & Poems: 1. Poem: SPRING, 1.4.23; 2. Poem: Mother, 1.6.23; 3. Poem: Rain Rain, 1.8.23; 4. A Lesson From Dalai Lama, 1.6.24; 5. Read to rise above Mediocrity 1.8.24; 6. Poem: Merry Christmas 1.12.24; 7. Poem: Happy New Year 1.12.24; 8. The Enduring Colours of Holi 1.2.25; 9. Poem: Global Warming, 1.4.25; 10. Pahalgam Carnage 1.6.25; 11. Life Lessons 1.6.25; 12. Poem: Arrogance 1.8.25

    THE GOAN NET

    Poem: 1. Autumn – The Interim Heaven, 6.10.24; 2. Reader’s Rewind 17.11.84; 3. Reader’s Rewind: The Irony of Tash Moustache or Mooch 5.12.24; 4. The Sunset Point 22.12.24; 5. Reader’s Rewind: The Joy of a Morning Walk, 3.1.25; 6. Harmony in creation 26.1.25; 7. Poem: What is truly Good for me? 2.1.25; 8. Poem: We both were left behind, 9.2.25; 9. India Afloat like Ship of Theseus, 23.2.25; 10. Maha Shivratri: A night of divine illumination, spiritual awakening, 26.2.25; 11. Poem: Good Day Bad Day, 2.3.25; 12. After Birth, Death is the First Spiritual Tip, 30.3.25;

    CITY ESSENCE MAGAZINE

    Article: Three Love Stories: A Comparison, July 7. 2025;

      SRIJON MAGAZINE

      Articles & Poems: Poem: 1. Global Warming 1.5.25; 2. India Afloat Like The Ship of Theseus 1.5.25; 3. Reincarnation of the Dalai Lama In A Free World.

      ARTICLES IN THE DIGITAL MAGAZINE ESAMSKRITI

      Aritcles: 1. 29.12.2020: Indica by Megasthenes; 2. 14.3.22: About The Dimasa Kingdom Assam; 3. 10.12.22: Grand Trunk Road–Uttarapath; 4. 5.10.23: The Ghost Town of Kuldhara Near Jaisalmer;

      (ALL THE ABOVE BOOK TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE ON AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES, OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

      *****

      AGE AND ACHIEVEMENTS: 5 LIT LUMINARIES

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      AGE AND ACHIEVEMENTS: 5 LIT LUMINARIES

          What is the right age to achieve something in life? Is 40 years, too little time, or adequate time to achieve something in life? Let us consider the lives of five luminaries of the 19th century who were more or less contemporaries and who became world-renowned figures in their short lifespans. Let’s start with Swami Vivekananda, an Indian Hindu monk, a spiritual guru and a literary luminary, lifespan 12 January 1863- 4 July 1902, a total of 39 years. Then you have the American writer Edgar Allan Poe, who was born on 19 January 1809 and died on 7 October 1849, a life span of 40 years, followed by the French writer Guy De Maupassant, born on 5 August 1850 and passed away on 6 July 1893, a life span of 42 years. On the rostrum, there is also Nikolai Gogol, a Russian writer of Ukrainian origin. He was born on 20 March 1809 and he died on 21 February 1852, a life span of 42 years. And last but not least, we have Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, a Russian playwright and short-story writer born on 29 January 1860, and he died on 15 July 1904, at the age of 44. They all left behind a phenomenal legacy of success and heaps of lessons for future generations within the ebbs and flows of their limited lifespan.

          The mean life expectancy in the 19th century was 40-45 years. Global life expectancy today is around 72 years. There are two offshoots to this. One, the subject authors lived for around ninety to a hundred per cent of the average life expectancy of those times. Two, they only lived for a minus-plus of some forty years – a period, perhaps, too short for any milestone achievement, barring sports and maybe some other careers. When we compare 40 years with today’s life expectancy, it is only 55%. So then, does life expectancy have anything to do with your major achievements? The case study of the quintet doesn’t say so. There are authors, poets, and literary figures from other countries too, who gained fame but died very young, prominent among them is John Keats, to cite an example, who died at the age of 25. So, isn’t it ironic that some in a short lifespan of 25-40 years made gigantic strides, while others couldn’t manage to do that even in a century?

          In the 19th century, when these five were alive, they witnessed watershed changes in their countries. Some major events were as follows: India had the First War of Independence in 1857. The British East India Company was replaced by the British Crown in 1858. Russia had the Crimean War between 1853 and 1856; the Caucasian War, between 1817 and 1864; and the capture of Tashkent by the Russian Army in 1865. In addition, Alaska was sold to the US in 1867; the Russian-Turkish War happened in 1877, and the Russian famine in 1891. Alexander III, the emperor of Russia, passed away in 1894, and the first congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) was held in 1898 in Minsk, now in Belarus. In America and Europe, slavery was abolished through an act; the First and Second Industrial Revolutions, which overlapped with the 18th and 20th centuries, respectively, led to massive urbanisation. Construction of the Suez Canal commenced in 1859, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean through the Red Sea, providing a more direct shipping route between Europe and Asia. The Islamic gunpowder empires (Ottoman Empire, Safavid and the Mughal) were formerly dissolved, and European imperialism brought much of South Asia, Southeast Asia and almost all of Africa under colonial rule. It was also marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Zulu Kingdom, First French Empire, Holy Roman and the Mughal Empire.

          Even with all the hullabaloo in their country and continent, there was calm and composure in these five lit luminaries. They had a single focus, just like Arjuna’s concentration – the eye of the fish, and that was to keep writing till their last breath. Though born in a Bengali Kayastha family in Calcutta, Swami Vivekananda was inclined towards spirituality. He was influenced by his guru, Ramakrishna, from whom he learnt that all living beings were an embodiment of the divine self. Therefore, service to God could only be rendered by service to mankind. Anton Chekhov, even when he fell sick in 1885, kept writing till he died of tuberculosis in 1904. Some of them even had financial problems, leading to trying times to obtain education, and some even had to support their education by writing scripts for magazines and even by selling fish. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, the second child of actors David and Elizabeth Poe. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and his mother died the following year. He became an orphan, yet he fought back to become one of the most formidable writers of short stories. When Maupassant was 11, his mother, an independent-minded woman, divorced her husband. Afterwards, Maupassant lived with his mother, who was the single biggest influence on him, but that entailed hardships. Gogol lost his father at the age of fifteen, yet he aspired to become a writer.

          The short lifespan of these great writers only teaches us that achievements are not a function of your age.

      Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

      Author, Poet, & Columnist

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      https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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      Like it and Share it

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      Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

      NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

      Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

      IFSC code: BKID0006805

      ***