Anirban Bhattacharyya, author of the book “The Hills Are Burning” published in 2023 had an active interactive session with the readers and literary enthusiasts at Café The Twins in Salbari, Siliguri on the evening of 24th July 2023. “The Hills Are Burning” is a work of non-fiction set against the backdrop of violent Gorkhaland agitation in 1986 that engulfed the whole of Darjeeling hills and the surrounding regions but written in a ‘fictional narrative’ as per the author. The readers are often confused as in the book it has been mentioned that it is a work of fiction by the publishers. For the same reason eloquent readers have often criticized the book for the world that the author has created which lies in between the world of reality and fiction.
Anirban was involved in active conversation with B2B Marketing Professional and book blogger Sudeepta Pradhan. During the conversation, he gave a few insights into his journey as a writer. As per Bhattacharyya, during his school days, he often used to get bullied and that is when books became his best friends. It didn’t take him much time to realize that he was interested in reading and writing. He credited his grandmother who couldn’t complete her education as she got married at the age of just 12 (quite common in old days) for his love for books as she wanted people in her family to get educated because she couldn’t. Anirban who has produced shows like Saavdhan India, Crime Patrol, and Fear files: Darr ki sacchi tasverein, and authored two books on crime which were highly successful when asked if he has a natural inclination for such stories replied that it has been accidental. It was never intentional as the channel wanted to present purely crime-based shows then. But he also shared that he has been into books and every book somewhere or the other does have a crime though the kind of crime may differ from one book to the other.
Talking about the book he shares it is a story of three friends set against the backdrop of Gorkhaland agitation. His life though was normal behind the safe walls of Dr. Grahams Homes, Kalimpong but the world outside was erupting like a volcano which he at that age couldn’t comprehend. He claims that there are several facts presented in the books that one can find nowhere because history has been erased, and the narrative has been selective and biased throughout history. He cites the reason behind writing the book to be the memories that are left in the soul of people shouldn’t die along with them and people should know what happened in this part of the world during the late eighties. He further added that the massacre of 27th July 1986 at Kalimpong was dreadful and along with him, there were many children whose life has been impacted by that violent incident for a long time.
He admits the issue of Gorkhaland being complex with many dynamics that he doesn’t fully understand. He says for a movement like this to be successful all the stakeholders must find a way to come together because it is not just about a single party or the individual. For this to become a reality everyone needs to step up.
However, the evening wasn’t easy going for Bhattacharyya amid questions from the learned readers that pointed out several flaws and criticism in the book. The author has a hard time dealing with those challenging questions that often ended him in serious awkwardness.
In the context of the book historian Dr. Sonam B. Wangyal, a renowned figure known for his extensive researched works on the History of Darjeeling, threw a googly towards the author stating that a book like this which narrates non-fiction in a fictional approach should have proper citations and references. To this, Anirban replied that he has done the homework for the book properly and there are citations available for every quoted fact in the book. He went on to elaborate that everything including the love story in the book is a work of non-fiction.
Anuradha Sharma, who is active in Journalism raised the basic question of the author claiming it to be non-fiction when the book itself mentions that it is a work of fiction. Anirban himself admits to not being happy about the way publishers have made it fiction due to some legal reasons. The author however solidifies his take saying that there are enough truths in the book which is not the work of fiction.
Anuradha further questions what took him so long to publish this book if the Gorkhaland revolution of 1986 had impacted him so much during his early days. The book has been published now when several others have already been published in recent times and was it the other published works that made him realize that it is now time for him too to publish. Anirban clarifies that there is always a right time when things are destined to happen. He was working on the book for several years and it was in the course of late two years that he met people who made the completion of the book successful.
As the session progressed, Anirban found himself get trapped in between the audience that was already throwing challenging questions at him one after the other. Anirban went on to say that he doesn’t understand politics and that if someone wants to talk politics he would be the last person to opt for. Raja Puniani, a renowned poet was quick to see this as an opportunity to throw his sets of questions. On one hand when someone says that he doesn’t understand anything of politics but that the same time writes about a sensitive movement like Gorkhaland which is politics from top to bottom. So how can one rely on this book? To this, Bhattacharyya replied that his book is not the book that talks about the politics behind Gorkhaland but it is more of the story of people and how that violence affected the people for a long time in the future.
Raja even raised questions on how and why Bengal Government showed no support to this revolution despite the Communist Party being in power. The ideology that leaders in those times believed, in their conscience should have easily supported the movement such as the demand of Gorkhaland. To the question, Anirban had no conclusive answer though he agreed that the state government shouldn’t have opposed much or even it should have occurred naturally to them since it was the communists that were in power in those times.
“The Hills Are Burning” was severely questioned for its lack of authenticity.
Gyanendra Khatiwada who claimed to have read just the preface of the book pointed out several facts written in the book as misleading. He didn’t shy away from expressing his disappointment as he termed the book as something that diverted the simple straightforward history. Khatiwada questioned the effort put into the book and bluntly called it a work that lacked proper research. Defending himself Bhattacharyya said that he reviewed his work from three different people based in Kalimpong who are aware of the history and they didn’t point out any mistakes as such. However, acknowledging the mistakes that may have been made he requested Gyanendra to provide him with truths and facts so that he can make necessary changes in the upcoming edition.
He was even questioned on the damage that has already been done as the first edition is already sold out. Thousands of people have already read the book which has some facts that are not true. To this Anirban didn’t have justifying answer, however, he agreed to incorporate a disclaimer in the upcoming editions.
