Round the World on Twenty Five Rupees
Ambitions are what shape us and differentiate us from the crowd. For some, it may be all about clearing the toughest exam in the world while for a few it might be taking a cycle trip around the world with means that would not even suffice for a day!
Power Publishers has again brought something new and interesting in their ever-proliferating range of published titles and this time it is the memoir of a Bengali, Kumar Ghosh, who went on a peace mission around the world in a bicycle!
To add to the wonder, he had just his bicycle and only rupees twenty five in his pocket, which explains the title 'Pochis Takay Biswa Bhromon' (Round the World on Twenty Five Rupees).
The book is a travel diary that takes readers from Bangladesh to Bangkok to Oman, Paris and to many other countries where the author has been while on his cycling mission.
From being denied visa to being robbed off his bicycle to fighting hunger to enduring extreme temperatures, the man had seen it all.
The writing has been supported by pictures of the places he visited and the people he met, and copies of newspaper clippings from the various dailies that covered his achievements.
But the world tour was only a follow up to his debut as the man who travelled India on a bicycle at the age of 26.
The author said that the India tour was less daunting and challenging than the world tour, not only because he was 52 years by then and had a family in Kolkata but also because not all countries were as warm and welcoming as India.
What appears from the various chapters named after the places he had visited, is that, his never-say-die attitude literally took him places and grounds that even the most adventurous twenty-somethings would find tedious.
In a few words, the book is a pleasant read for all those who believe they need to have pockets stashed with cash to travel around the world.
The book also has something for those who believe life ends at 40.
The only constraint for readers might be the language as the book is only available in Bengali.
However, for readers around the globe well-versed in the language, the book is available on power-publishers.com, readbengalibooks.com, shopclues.com and ebay.in for Rs 400.
(Reviewed by Anupriya Dutta)
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