From Agra to Agartala

From Agra to Agartala, a travelogue, also the first book or Pannalal Roy, was released in 2002. Publisher: Tripura Publishers, Agartala

799007; Price: Rs. 100/-; No. of pages: 150

Past and present have been packed together in this book. It gives a long commentary on the period from Dara’s empire in Delhi to the reign of Bir Bikram Manikya in Tripura. The journey is nothing less than the incessant war of the Kurukshetra or the rat-race of the multi-national companies like Pepsi, Coca Cola in the cricket field of Lagaan and beyond Lagaan; horse-dependent postal system to Internet age; community life to globalization. Life gets etched in the mirror of clock. Indian culture, language and sculpture stand witness to the composite character of the country. It is the story of war, rise and fall of empires and cities; taking a round of Agra, Delhi, Jaipur, Guwahati, Shillong, Aizawl, Silchar \n even Dharmanagar, Kailashahar, Kumarghat, Khowai, Udaipur, Amarpur, Pilak and at last Agartala, nothing remains untouched. The journey extends from the blue Yamuna of Delhi to the ever-flowing Brahmaputra. North and North-East India are radiant in their own characters but yet the history has bound them together by the thread of unity. And this feeling is beating in everybody’s heart living in Agra to Agartala.

: “…….Detailed information on different states of this region will prove useful to many. In the way, history of Assam and other states, has also been rediscovered”, said Dainik Sambad, the premier Bengali daily of the North East in its March 23, 2003.

The Newspaper goes on saying : How violence-ridden Mizoram regained peace, how the king of Kachar was dethroned and killed, even the incident of Rabindranath who did not visit Silchar, though he was passing through Badarpur and how his admirers rushed to the Badarpur railway station to have a glimpse of their idol \n nothing has been remained untouched in the narration.

It is, indeed, amazing as to how the author has accommodated so much information in a book of 150 pages only.. Perhaps, through all these the writer tried to reiterate the message of love among the people living in different parts of the country. Flow of writing was quite smooth and that made it reading interesting from the beginning to the end. Spreading the message of national integrity the book is recommended for collection in the libraries and for students.