Chhattisgarh Express

Chhattishgarh Express a classic novel penned by Anuurag Mishra revolves around the life journey of a simpleton in UP and his experience encounters in every phase of his life.

This is a story of passionate, hard working, honest man lives in a small C class city in UP with his old parents and elder brother and his wife. In the first part of the story he was waiting for the Train i.e. Chhattisgarh Express, he goes into flashback while travelling in the train. He memorizes what circumstance has made him to travel to which destination and why? He memorizes his college life, his first affair, his marriage and friendship.

After completion of his graduation he started a small industry in Jhansi with his brother. He did not get sufficient support from his brother/partner because to become a better entrepreneur by consolidating and expanding the industry. He felt handicapped due to recalcitrant, uncooperative and perverse system which treats the industry and businessman mostly as financial guinea pigs. He was involved perhaps not but that time he was considering himself seriously involved with the girl from Muslim and Christian parents. He ultimately compromises to end his affair due to prevailing social and family circumstances at that time, and submitted for an arranged marriage with beautiful girl because to please his parents wish.

 

He withdrew from the industry and left it entirely for his elder brother without any legal process thinking that whatever he is doing is not only right but will give it a chance to his brother to grow the industry alone but later on he was trapped by his brother into various litigation and social conspiracies.

He tries to convince his brother about his innocence but it didn't work. In this fight he was lonely with his old parents and his wife and 5 years of daughter who all suffered and shared the mental torture due to this family feud. He never wanted to leave his old parents but had to leave the city for the sake of peace for his parents and his family’s survival.

He recovers from the flashback to face the present hard reality of interview and uncertain future. He finds that he selected in the interview for the post of Administrator of a reputed residential school and his journey in the residential school begins. He sees unimaginative and incompetent employees trying to manage the school like a grocery shop. He finds that the management is also treating the institution purely as a business venture with the least care for the schooling and future of children; the quarrel and dispute for money and power among the directors was more than visible. No one in the organization seems to be interested in finding out the reason why this school is not progressing. He makes efforts and unravels the truth which is bitter and shocking when he found that his views and plans did not get due appreciation from management. He focuses on the current education practices and non seriousness of the teachers towards the students.

 

 

The hardcore story of students staying in the hostel, doing mischief, destroying and damaging school property, he felt perturbed when he finds that students get frustrated and involve themselves into mischief.

He comes out with a solution to the problem and introduces administrative measures to improve the conditions but before the positive results are in the sight he suffers a fatal malady and was admitted in the nursing home for a long time. He was admitted in the hospital as suffering from a Steven Johnson syndrome and in the school his pregnant wife was mentally tortured by the principal on the issue of a girl running away from the hostel without knowledge of hostel warden. He felt terribly alone and disturbed when he finds that he could not help his wife in anything. The police raids the school, the principal, director run away and his wife singly faces them, the girls from the hostel help the wife and stand solidly behind the lady.

 The beautiful part of the story is that when his wife gives birth to baby boy, the celebration among children’s delights him but the exchange of dialogue between parents and management frustrates him because he finds no logical response from the aggrieved parents who rejected his views for the betterment of students. During his struggle in the school, he tries to balance the emotion for his old parents and his family simultaneously while trying to develop the school. At the end he was trapped and caught by his own emotion and frustration. The people whom he motivated and makes them devoted to work has gone against him under the conspiracy by his seniors. He elucidates the different government schemes of education department and their

 

 

 

failure in providing any benefit to the school children from the schemes.

Some part of the story highlighted the Naxal (Lal Salam) movement and its effect on the parents and children. Some of these children are brought to the school and makes all efforts to help them recover from the psychological depression of the Naxalite movement on the children.

At the end of the story he left the job and waiting for the same train Chhattisgarh Express at the railway station with his wife and daughter for another journey.   

Reviews

[barleygirl]

I hope you don't mind if I say that your storytelling needs to be improved. The main issue is that you are cramming WAY TOO MUCH STORY into each paragraph. You need to slow yourself down and take your time letting your story unfold at a more leisurely and natural pace. Take time to show us your characters, little by little, how they talk, how they act . . . but you try to load up everything about your character in the opening paragraphs, telling us too much information to follow and remember. This feels more like an outline to a story. It feels like you are trying to get everything down on paper, so you can remember where you want this story to go. Whatever it takes to get started on writing a story. Don't worry. This can be your road map, a condensed version of where you want to go in your story. Now take each paragraph and make it into a page or two. Show us, using dialogue, how the characters came to various disagreements or decisions. This all takes time. You need to take the time to let your story unfold with all the details of living life -- talking, mannerisms, disagreements, laughing, eating, traveling. Good luck in finding your storytelling groove. You have a very strong voice & a distinct point of view, so you will be able to tell powerful stories when you slow yourself down (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie