Search Of Selfhood and Alienation in Bhabani Bhattacharya’s 

Shadow From Ladakh

S. Umadevi

Assistant Professor In English,

Sree Sowdambika College of Engineering, Aruppukottai.

Abstract
                   One of the prominent writers in Indian Writing in English, Bhabani Bhattacharya is a notable novelist, who depicts social crises for the readers. Bhattacharya’s fifth novel Shadow from Ladakh was published in the year 1966. This novel brought the novelist, Sahitya Akademi Award for the year 1967. The novel is not set against the crucial background of the Chinese aggression in 1962. The power of the military encounter with the unknown enemy at Ladakh is defined everywhere. The major theme of this novel explores the different opinions of ideologies during this unpredictable juncture of Indian history. The love travels between Bhaskar Roy and Sumita is initially opposed by the Indian society. And the ideology, which is discussed in this novel is an allegory, and never fails to find out the resolution for various conflicts of ideologies. It is really proven that Bhattacharya plans to explore the vision of social regeneration in Indian society by connecting the ideology of Gandhism and Nehruism. This paper is an analysis of social issues, which explains a synthesis of the spinning wheel and the spindle. Another notable synthesis discussed in this novel is of Gandhiji’s asceticism and Tagore’s aestheticism.

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