From Fear to Freedom: The Liberating Journey of Banka Harichandan

Abstract

Combining different literary and formal dimensions, Dipti Ranjan Pattanaik’s novel The Life and Times of Banka Harichandan is a coming-of-age story in which we follow the psychological and moral growth of a young boy for more than a decade, from childhood to college. It is the story of Banka Harichandan and his journey to understand himself, family, and community, and, gradually, the world beyond, a philosophical and psychological journey from fear to freedom. Form and theme reflect each other in this composite novel where connections on structural levels reinforce continuities and discontinuities on the levels of theme, characterization, and narration, underpinning the central theme of the hero’s development and his turning to writing. Pondering universal questions concerning God’s omnipotence as related to the suffering in the world, the eponymous hero moves through conflict, desire, and disappointment toward an increasingly enlightened state of mind.

Keywords: Indian literature, Odia literature, Bildungsroman, coming-of-age story, composite novel, education, pedagogy of fear, psychological development, spirituality.