Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee – författare

Putting Gandhi center stage on the Hindu-Muslim conflict spanning from the Khilafat Movement (1919) to Partition (1946-1947), Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee critically engages with the ideas of Mohamad Ali, Iqbal, the Arya Samaj, Ambedkar, Vivekananda, Aurobindo and Savarkar. The tragic repercussions of Jinnah’s declaration of ‘Direct Action Day’ on 16th August 1946 leads Manash to ask probing questions on the persistent malady in our political history: How does communal politics descend into genocide? What is the psychology of communal violence? Attentively reading the exceptional witness accounts of Pyarelal, Nirmal Kumar Bose and Manu Gandhi.

"Memory's barriers are without barriers," writes Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee in the opening of his touching and thoughtful memoir, Your Own Will Leave You. Bhattacharjee eloquently reflects on family, care, and memory as he chronicles his experiences with his elderly mother who suffers from dementia. Working from his journal, Bhattacharjee ruminates on the ways we understand dementia and memory as well as end-of-life issues. He is not only a loving son, but also an Indian with a universal sensibility who turns to ancient and contemporary thinkers that inform his perspective.Bhattacharjee focuses on the last months of his mother's life and her changing demeanor—her stubbornness, humor, and vulnerability. He traces her interactions with family members, neighbors, and caregivers, while also addressing burden-of-care issues. Recounting his moments of grief and guilt with candor, Bhattacharjee also re-evaluates how Western culture prejudices popular perceptions of mental illness.Lyrical, penetrating, occasionally aphoristic, and full of insights, Your Own Will Leave You is a heartfelt, and at times heartbreaking, memoir and a warm elegy for the author's late mother.