Search of Selfhood and Alienation In Bhabani Bhattacharya’s Shadow From Ladakh

S. Umadevi

Assistant Professor of English, Sree Sowdambika College of Engineering, Aruppukottai.

Abstract

Bhabani Bhattacharya is a prominent Indian novelist who is notable for her depiction of social crises. His fifth novel Shadow from Ladakh was published in the year 1966. This novel brought him the Sahitya Akademi Award in1967. The novel is set against the threatening background of the Chinese aggression in 1962. The shadow of the military encounter with the unexpected enemy at Ladakh is defined everywhere. The theme of this novel explores the conflict of ideologies during this critical juncture of Indian history. The love track between Bhaskar Roy and Sumita, initially opposed by the lifestyle of the society and its ideology, is an allegory of how such various conflicts of ideologies can be resolved. It is proven that Bhattacharya is aiming at a vision of social regeneration in Indian society, by connecting the ideology of Gandhism and Nehruism. A full analysis of the novel explains a synthesis of the spinning wheel and the spindle. 

Keywords: Threat, Chinese aggression, Military encounter, Asceticism, Aestheticism.