I have lost count how many times I have read this book growing up. As a city girl, I yearned to see the beauty of nature that Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay describes in Aronyak. He conjured up rural Bengal right in my bedroom with the magic of his words. I truly believe Bibhutibhusan played a major role in opening my eyes to the splendor of nature.

The story follows the journey of a young man named Satyacharan. Unable to find a job in Kolkata after completing his undergraduate degree, Satyacharan accepts a job as a manager in a forested land in the remote parts of rural Bihar, neighboring state of West Bengal. As the young man creates a life for himself far from everything he has ever known, he becomes aware of the vast beauty of nature that surrounds him along with the innate goodness of the villagers who become dear to him over time. The story is about opening of Satyacharan’s sensibilities to the beauty of nature. It is one of the astounding realizations that we are surrounded by inexplicable beauty if we have the eye to look for it. The simplest of wildflowers that bloom every year without fanfare contributes to the glory of nature. Every little composite creates the big picture. Satyacharan discovers it as he falls in love with his surroundings. I discovered it with him as I read Bibhutibhusan’s descriptions of each unknown flower, blades of grass, sunlight shimmering on the foliage, and human kindness.

Maintaining the World Language Collection at my library is my responsibility. I lovingly look at the books in different languages and marvel at the vast wisdom and treasure that these books contain that is locked away from me because of language barrier. But it makes me happy that our diverse community can find themselves in their public library.

Our library system fulfilled my request of including Bengali books in our collection. I visit the collection often to see if I find anything new. I found Aronyak nestled between books by Humayun Ahmed and Jayanta De. I touched it. It took me back many years, reminding me of summer afternoons, our cool bedroom, ma’s presence, and my thirteen year old self completely immersed in the pages of Aronyak, roaming the forests of Bihar with Satyacharan, discovering nature, worshipping nature, finding the divine in nature.