Aryatheautistic: post

2026-04-13T18:14:49Z

post

New page

{{Short description|2023 historical fiction novel by Anirban Bhattacharyya}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Copy edit|for=close paraphrasing of publisher material|date=March 2026}}
{{Promotional|date=March 2026}}
{{COI|date=March 2026}}
}}
{{Infobox book | 
| name = '''The Hills Are Burning'''
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = The Hills Are Burning cover.png
| image_size =
| caption = Paperback cover 1st edition
| author = [[Anirban Bhattacharyya]]
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = India
| language = [[English language|English]]
| series =
| genre = [[Historical fiction]]
| publisher = Fingerprint, Prakash Books
| pub_date = 2023
| english_pub_date =
| media_type = Print ([[paperback]])
| pages =
| isbn = 9354406955
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}

'''''The Hills Are Burning''''' is a 2023 historical fiction novel and a semi-memoir by [[Anirban Bhattacharyya]]. Set in the hills of [[Kalimpong]] against the backdrop of the violent [[Gorkhaland movement]] in the late 1980s, the book explores themes of innocence, love, friendship, and survival through the eyes of three young boys in a boarding school, as their lives become entangled in the violence. Based on real events, the narrative begins in 1986, when a long-dormant political volcano in the hills of West Bengal explodes into a violent demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland. The story follows three central characters - Tukai, Roshan, and Norong - whose lives are irrevocably changed by the unrest.<ref name="Hindustan Times- Review">{{citation | title =Review The Hills are Burning by Anirban Bhattacharyya| work=www.hindustnatimes.com| url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/review-the-hills-are-burning-by-anirban-bhattacharyya-101679571816364.html}}</ref> <ref name="The Telegraph- Review">{{citation | title =Anirban Bhattacharyya’s The Hills Are Burning is a semi-memoir that brings back stories from the troubled hills of Kalimpong| work=t2online.in| url=https://t2online.in/goodlife/books/anirban-bhattacharyya-s-the-hills-are-burning-is-a-semi-memoir-that-brings-back-stories-from-the-troubled-hills-of-kalimpong/366097}}</ref>

==Summary==
Arriving from [[Kolkata]] in the midst of the swelling demand for a separate Gorkhaland state, Tukai must navigate a world where ethnic identity, political unrest, and violence intrude upon the innocence of youth. He joins The Residency, a boarding school that becomes a microcosm of the larger conflict, bringing together children from diverse backgrounds— [[Lepchas]], [[Nepalis]], [[Tibetans]], and [[Bengalis]]—who forge friendships, rivalries, and first loves amid growing unrest.

Tukai quickly befriends Norong, a local Lepcha boy, and Roshan, a "bad boy" with a penchant for trouble. As Tukai adapts to his new school and surroundings, he becomes infatuated with Aditi, the daughter of his father’s colleague, leading to a tender yet forbidden romance complicated by cultural differences and her strict father’s disapproval. Their love story unfolds in secret, shadowed by the threat of communal violence and personal betrayal.

The narrative alternates between the personal struggles of Tukai and his friends and the larger events engulfing Kalimpong—the rise of the [[Gorkha National Liberation Front]] (GNLF), the brutal response of the [[Central Reserve Police Force]] (CRPF), and the eruption of violence that claims innocent lives and disrupts the social fabric of the region. The novel vividly depicts moments of everyday life—school rivalries, family dinners, and youthful mischief—contrasted with the trauma of strikes, massacres, and loss.

As the agitation intensifies, Tukai and his circle of friends are forced to confront the reality of growing up in a time of upheaval. The novel explores themes of memory, identity, love, and loss, as Tukai is repeatedly tested by heartbreak, violence, and the choices of adulthood. Over the years, friendships are tested, first loves are lost, and the scars of the past remain, even as the political movement undergoes its own transformation.

As the agitation escalates into a "vicious circle of evil," the boys are forced to grow up prematurely. They navigate the strict environment of their boarding school, Residency, while the streets outside are governed by curfews, bombings, and massacres. The novel follows their path through these "strange times" until the eventual closure of their school years, leaving them with physical and emotional scars that remain decades later

Spanning several decades, the story ultimately reflects on the enduring impact of those formative years, as Tukai—now an adult—reconnects with his old classmates and revisits Kalimpong, seeking closure and understanding for the events that shaped his life and the lives of those around him.

==Main characters==

* Tukai (Tirthankar): A 16-year-old boy who witnesses the 27 July 1986 massacre in Kalimpong, where peaceful protestors are gunned down by the CRPF. Amidst the chaos, he experiences the pangs of first love with a girl named Aditi, a relationship complicated by the deep-seated ethnic tensions between their families.
* Roshan: A 16-year-old boy who is abducted by a rival faction and forced to dig his own grave before being brutally slashed and left for dead. His journey reflects the internal power struggles and "ego-fuelled killing sprees" between different wings of the movement, such as the GNLF and the GVC.
* Norong: Younger than the others, his life is defined by the literal burning of his surroundings. He watches as the heritage Kalimpong Arts & Crafts Centre is set ablaze, a fire that threatens to consume his home and his family’s safety.

==Reviews==
[[Himal Southasian]] called the work ''a bold new book on the Gorkhaland agitation''. The reviewer Anuradha Sharma wrote that
''Writing on 1986 as a Bengali meant Bhattacharyya faced the threat of being labelled "anti-Gorkhaland" by critics in the hills. However, he has walked the tightrope with dexterity, describing with honesty the horrifying atmosphere that prevailed during the agitation – especially due to a fall-out between various Gorkha factions – while also taking a sympathetic view of the long-standing fight for a separate state for Indian Nepalis and examining critically the violent state repression that followed.''<ref name= "Himal Southasian- Review">{{citation | title =A wave of bold new books on the Gorkhaland agitation |work=himalmag.com| url=https://www.himalmag.com/politics/new-books-gorkhaland-agitation-1986-literature-west-bengal}}</ref>

''[[The New Indian Express]]'' describes it as "a blaze of memory" and that it "is a fantastic book. It is sensitive, informative, and entertaining, and contains all the elements to be an action-packed, unputdownable tale." <ref name= "The New Indian Express Review">{{citation |title= A Blaze of Memory |work=newindianexpress.com |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/books/2023/Mar/04/the-hills-are-burning-book-review-blaze-of-memory-2552489.html}}</ref>

''[[The Telegraph (India)|The Telegraph]]'' wrote that the book ''brings back stories from the troubled hills of Kalimpong... a story that was necessary to be told.'' <ref name="The Telegraph- Review">{{citation | title =Anirban Bhattacharyya’s The Hills Are Burning is a semi-memoir that brings back stories from the troubled hills of Kalimpong| work=t2online.in| url=https://t2online.in/goodlife/books/anirban-bhattacharyya-s-the-hills-are-burning-is-a-semi-memoir-that-brings-back-stories-from-the-troubled-hills-of-kalimpong/366097}}</ref>

The book has been inducted into the libraries of [[New York University]], [[Library of Congress]], [[University of Pennsylvania]], [[University of Michigan]], [[Marburg University]], [[University of Chicago]], [[University of Nebraska Omaha]], [[Woodbury University]] and [[Hanover College]] and [[SRH Hochschule Berlin]]. <ref name="World Category">{{citation |title= World Category| work=worldcat.org| url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/1388492436}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:2023 novels]]
[[Category:2023 Indian novels]]
[[Category:Indian historical novels in English]]
[[Category:Novels set in the 1980s]]
[[Category:Novels set in boarding schools]]
[[Category:Novels set in West Bengal]]

The Hills Are Burning - Revision history

Aryatheautistic: post