The Forest Beneath the Mountains

After receiving the tragic news of his mother’s passing, a man makes the decision to leave his job in Delhi and return to his hometown in Assam. This homecoming stirs up memories of his father, a forest officer who was mysteriously shot dead in his jeep twenty-five years ago. In the wake of his mother’s death, the man uncovers startling revelations about his father’s life. Determined to reclaim the familiar, yet now unfamiliar, world of his family, he embarks on a quest to delve into the events of the past.

Traversing the eastern Himalayan foothills, where his father had served in various capacities, the man finds that the once thriving forests he roamed as a child have vanished. In their place, settlers have encroached, and the region is now fraught with the presence of insurgents and security forces. While wandering through what used to be the Chariduar reserve forest, he encounters a diverse ensemble of individuals. These characters, seeking solace and stability in an uncertain world, embody remnants of a vanishing era as well as the turbulence of the present. Among them are foresters, elephant catchers, army contractors, insurgents, police commandos, drifters, and double-dealers.

As the man delves deeper into his father’s secrets, he becomes entangled in a local conflict, navigating a world of shifting realities from which extricating himself becomes increasingly challenging. The Forest Beneath the Mountains unfolds with a wide, unhurried pace, immersing readers in a rich tapestry of memory, familial anecdotes, ecological concerns, and historical underpinnings. It portrays the lives of people and places existing on the fringes of the Indian republic, while reflecting on the inevitable domestication of wilderness by mankind.

With its blend of captivating storytelling, exploration of personal and regional histories, and the delicate balance between human and natural worlds, The Forest Beneath the Mountains offers a compelling narrative that captures the essence of a changing landscape.