Manas Bakshi’s My India is Great and Other Stories
Reviewed by
Biswanath Kundu,
Poet and Critic,
West Bengal, India.
My India is Great and Other Stories | Short Story | Manas Bakshi |
Authorspress, 2026, pp. 114, INR 295
Existential Crisis
and Alienation: Identifying the Consequent Dread in the Short Stories of Manas
Bakshi
Published by Authorspress (New Delhi, 2026), Manas
Bakshi’s short story collection, My India is Great and Other Stories, offers a
kaleidoscopic exploration of contemporary human reality. Across a diverse array
of single-sitting narratives, Bakshi addresses pressing societal issues—from
the struggles of nuclear families, children of estranged parents, and the
transgender community, to unethical witchcraft taboos, demonetization hardship,
and the mockery of independence. Despite this thematic breadth, a powerful
unity binds the collection. The narrative arcs focus on socio-economic and
political degradation, highlighting three core dimensions: the psychology of
alienation, socio-cultural dislocation, and fragmented relationships. Bakshi
skillfully employs internal monologues to reflect disjointed psyches, while
keeping character counts minimal for maximum emotional impact. Recurring motifs
of loneliness, anxiety, and existential dread expose the focal characters'
acute identity crises, with secondary characters serving as mirrors to their
fractured sense of self. Through a picturesque yet poignant portrayal of moral
decay, widespread corruption, and the stark disconnect between inner desires
and external realities, Bakshi delivers a compelling contribution to
contemporary short fiction that resonates with universal truth.
Thematic Motifs
Bakshi’s collection serves as a broad critique of modern
Indian society, highlighting systemic problems, moral decline and personal
hardship across different social levels. Through realistic portrayal, satire,
and deep psychological insight, the narrative blends personal emotional
isolation with broader economic and social injustices. Out of the 21
thought-provoking and highly enlightening short stories in this collection,
only a few have been chosen for discussion. These selected stories may be
analyzed from the following perspectives-
1. Domestic Breakdown, Familial Neglect,
and the Nuclear Shift
The collection often explores the weakening of
traditional family bonds, showing modern individualism and the breakdown of
extended families lead to a loss of human connection.
In “Missing a Goodbye Kiss,” Bakshi establishes the
emotional fallout of marital estrangement on innocent progeny.
Twenty-two-year-old Ipsita Lahiri, suffering from terminal lung cancer, is the
ultimate victim of a rift between her parents, Rumki and Debdoot that
originated in her infancy due to her mother's extra-marital affair. Her
desperate final call to her estranged father captures both psychological trauma
and raw vulnerability:
“I am Ipsita, your daughter. I have so far heard a lot-
more bad than good- about you but have not shared the same as I have never come
in contact with you. Let me now disclose why I ring you; perhaps you know not-
because none wants to inform you- that carcinoma is sapping my lung. This is
the terminal stage- death is nearing me. I want from you nothing more than a
moment of seeing you in my own eyes- perhaps for the first time and last time
in life, expecting only a goodbye kiss! Nothing more than that”.
This loss of traditional values continues in “Our physics
sir,” where Bakshi contrasts the warmth of extended families with the coldness
of modern nuclear households. The photograph of a respected physics teacher has
no place in his son’s modern flat, prompting his former student, Suvankar, to
mourn the loss of sentimental ties:
“Embracing that photo, Suvankar moaned-“Yes sir, now I
can also visualize another crude aspect of life in the light of reality in this
21st century. It has hardly any place for old values or sentimental attachment.
Sir, had you been alive today, you would have just pondered over such
transparent things as are not explicable even in physics!”
This critique of familial neglect reaches its tragic
zenith in “Unpardonable.” Rupak treats his widowed mother, Suhasini, like old
furniture, sending her to an old-age home to appease his wife, Rupali. By
contrasting Suhasini’s abandonment with her roommate Sulekha’s devoted
daughter, the narrative underscores a stark gender dynamic in filial duty.
Suhasini’s tragic accidental death on her son’s birthday exposes the hypocrisy
of post-mortem rituals:
While Sulekha was emotively telling all this, Suhasini
told herself: Daughters are more dutiful than sons. I can’t remember my date of
birth because nobody ever celebrated it; even if I could, who’s there to
celebrate when my only son considers me a burden!
…All that he was doing in the name of shradh or all that
he offered was just expiatory but nothing could atone for being an ungrateful
son nor could pacify his contrite self!
2. Marginalization,
Rootlessness, and Precarity
Bakshi often
focuses on the struggles of vulnerable groups whose hardships are worsened by
changing demographics, government indifference and systemic neglect
In “Blessed be your Child,” the author highlights the
displacement of the Hijra (transgender) community. Traditionally reliant on
performing at birth celebrations, their livelihood is severely impacted by
family planning trends, urban shifts, and demographic pressures. A dialogue
between a new father, Sandipan, and three transgender individuals—Rakhi, Saira,
and Sonu—captures their rootlessness:
“Look, we ask for money not to save for future but to
pull on somehow at present. While owing to family planning, you don’t have more
than one or two children in city area, in rural area people don’t bother about
us; in semi-urban areas, it is equally disappointing. What else can we do?
…Pity is, detached from family, we are rootless and there
will be none to look after us at old age; even there is none to think of us
rationally. Though we always bless everyone, from a new-born to a young person,
there is none to bless us- not even our Creator.”
In “Living a Day, Every day,” Bakshi turns to the
precarious existence of mangrove islanders in the Sundarbans. Facing constant
threats from natural disasters and tiger attacks, their daily struggle for
survival is exacerbated by government corruption and the failure of welfare
institutions like the Sundarban Development Board:
“…And this is Sundarbans in west Bengal. What a pity! She
has no time to cry or wail-for she has a bounden duty to arrange for cremation
of her husband and at the same time, procure some food for her children. But
how to live the rest of her life with her children when nothing stops for a
moment? Fact is living a day, every day is always that much painful to most of
the people of her ilk. Political configurations change but not their fate! Some
vaunted government –sponsored schemes are not duly implemented; even if
implemented, hardly its benefits reach those poor who are unable to offer the
required amount of cut money. Loud talks slip into stingy performance.
Ironically, people like them are born to die falling victim of either tiger or
crocodile. There is hardly any security of life. Let the high islanders, as
usual, shed crocodile tears for them from a safe distance. Amen.”
3. Political
Corruption, Institutional Exploitation, and Moral Degradation
Several stories focus on political opportunism,
institutional decay, and the ruthless exploitation of the vulnerable by those
in power.
In “Pawn,” Bakshi exposes how political syndicates
manipulate unemployed youth. The story centers on a party-sponsored bandh
(strike) staged to distract the public from the political murder of Nilesh
Sen—a clean leader targeted by his rival Paltu Pal to protect corrupt
monopolies (Syndicateraj and Tolabaji). Unemployed youth like Raju Seikh realize
they are mere pawns in elite power games:
“How funny, a high rise in place of school premises! What
the local committee resolved finally was beyond Raju’s prediction but it came
to light that Paltu Pal got a befitting verbal thrashing from the state committee.
It was difficult for Paltu Pal to digest all these…his revengeful eyes started
revolving around Nilesh Sen.
“…Raju realized he was so far, and he will be in future,
used as a pawn in the hands of the hypocrites who play the game as powerful
party men; otherwise, his voice of protest can easily be gagged forever!”
Institutional toothlessness is further satirized in
“Dialogue from a Dump yard.” Using an animal fable format, Bakshi gives voice
to animals in a dump yard who expose human cruelty and legal loopholes. The
narrative shows how racketeers evade regulatory frameworks like the Food Safety
and Standards Act, 2006, Consumer Protection Act, 1986, and Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960:
“…when raids are conducted, only the link men are caught
in the net, the kingpins escape, and this carcass scandal is no exception,”
commented again the chicken.
“That is why administration should have been more
vigilant from the very beginning specially when there is legal provision like
Food supply and Standard Act, 2006 and Consumer protection Act, 1986 to rein in
the miscreants, because the carcass meat episode is continuing unnoticed for a
long time,” confirmed the cow.
“…their racket is so organized that they care a fig, be
it legal enactments or efforts launched by the special investigation team;
legal provisions exist only in the books of law-seldom executed because, in the
Indian polity, moneyed people with high political connection can do anything
wrong, and that does not deter them from attaining social status even
contesting elections.”
Moral bankruptcy is similarly critiqued in “Who is the
real slaughter?” which attacks greedy realtors and predatory medical practices
that force the poor into fatal financial ruin. In a related reformist vein, “To
blame or not to blame” calls for eradicating persistent rural and urban
superstitions, particularly witch-hunting targeting vulnerable women.
4. Identity, Social
Hypocrisy, and the Illusion of Freedom
The collection's final thematic arc questions national identity,
deep-seated social taboos, and the stark gap between patriotic ideals and lived
poverty.
In “My India is great,” Bakshi presents a hopeful
counter-narrative to communal division. The discovery of an unidentified,
brutally mutilated body in Kolkata sparks fears of communal violence. However,
the impossibility of assigning a religious identity forces the community to
prioritize national unity over sectarian conflict:
“…the representatives of both the communities were
allowed to examine the body. They proceeded towards the dead body. People of
each community searched eagerly for something to prove their right on the body
in order to discern if it was to be cremated or buried. But unfortunately, that
body revealed no specific indication. There was no sacred thread, rosary of
beads nor any such identification mark on hand or chest as could prove that he
was a Hindu. The Muslims too failed to identify him as the lower portion of the
body, starting from abdomen, was so brutally slashed by several strokes of
chopper that it looked a lump beyond identification.
“…Sujit Babu placidly replied—“Neither a Hindu nor a
Muslim but an Indian after nearly eight decades of Independence.”
“A Man without Mask” revisits the social climate of the
early 1980s, touching upon societal taboos surrounding honor and self-exile.
Mirroring the climax of Satyajit Ray’s Agantuk, a prodigal relative returns
dramatically on his elder brother's shradh, pays homage, quietly surrenders his
birthright to a favored descendant, and departs anonymously into isolation.
In “Kaliyug,” Bakshi employs mythological allegory to
deliver a sharp satire on the contemporary criminalization of politics and
widespread socio-economic decay. The story opens with Duryodhana fanatically
dancing over the rampant lawlessness in modern India, mocking the long-term
outcome of the Kurukshetra war—a battle originally fought to establish
righteousness. When Arjuna raises these concerns before Lord Krishna in heaven,
Shakuni intervenes, highlighting the failure of their ancient mission through
dialogue:
“Sakuni came forward-“My dear bhanja Arjun, you people
have always accused Duryodhana of being vindictive and power hungry. In fact,
after the Kurukshetra war, all of you were determined to establish a kingdom of
law and justice in India. Are you keeping track any more of what is happening
there nowadays?”
“Will you please clarify?”
“Why shall I? You go there and see in your own eyes that
it is now sleaziest than an inferno. And not only has your mission failed but
also the entire socio-economic as also political situation has dreadfully
worsened! And that is exactly what makes my own bhanja Durjadhana celebrate.”
Through this imaginary heavenly discourse among Krishna,
Shakuni, Arjuna, and Duryodhana, the story exposes how current political
corruption and moral degradation have surpassed historical notions of
injustice.
The collection concludes with “Independence Day,” a
satire exposing the hollowness of official celebrations amid structural
poverty. Fourteen-year-old domestic worker Sampa and her younger sister Rumpa
view Independence Day merely as a ritual where power figures give speeches and
distribute sweets. Through the metaphor of a caged bird that has lost its
desire to fly, Bakshi critiques systemic inequality:
“They were really glad to have got three packets which
they did not open-for they were to share it with their mother. On their way
back home, Rumpa looked at her elder sister smilingly to convey-“now I
understand the meaning of Independence day”.
Sampa wondered-“Really? What’s that?’
Rumpa laughingly said-“It is distribution of sweets after
a speech to poor people like us-isn’t it?”
“…And habituated to meager food-not of its choice-without
freedom, life seems to have become meaningless to it; now it’s all the same to
put it inside or outside the cage wherever you want”- commented Sampa
realistically if not satirically.”
Character Arcs/
Perspective
Across the collection, Manas Bakshi depicts a diverse
spectrum of socioeconomic backgrounds to examine how class conditions
exacerbate existential dread and identity crisis. Female protagonists from
marginalized strata—such as Malati, Sujata, Rumpa, and Rakhi—endure severe
material deprivation, where the struggle for sheer physical survival triggers a
profound sense of alienation. Conversely, characters from affluent backgrounds,
including Ipsita, Rumki, Riya, Rupali, and Niva Devi, face an internal crisis
of identity marked by emotional isolation, psychological insecurity, and
unfulfilled longing.
This pervasive alienation extends to Bakshi’s idealist
heroes—Suvankar, Sandipan, Nilesh Sen, Mainak, Rupak, and Subhomoy—who embody
love and humanism but ultimately emerge as defeated figures in an indifferent
society, underscoring the tragic futility of moral integrity in Kaliyuga. In
contrast, opportunistic figures like Raj Kumar Bose, Raju Sheikh, Ramlal Shaw,
Paltu Pal, and Rupak Sanyal trade conscience for temporary gain, only to be
consumed by existential uncertainty and moral decay. Furthermore, intertextual
dialogues featuring mythical figures of the Dwapar Yuga—Lord Krishna, Arjun,
Duryodhana, and Shakuni—serve as a critical commentary on contemporary India’s
moral degradation, political opportunism, and spiritual erosion, highlighting
the complete collapse of identity and values in the modern age. The exploration of ‘identity crisis’ of all
these characters seems to be perspective of this masterpiece collection that
provides aesthetic pleasure and overall meaning to the book.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the twenty-one short stories in Manas
Bakshi’s My India is Great and Other Stories offer a profound exploration of
existential dread and the pervasive alienation haunting the contemporary Indian
consciousness. Culled from a lifetime of observed struggle and trauma, Bakshi’s
narrative universe exposes a stark reality where systemic moral decay, social
degradation, and the relentless fight for survival strip the individual of
purpose and belonging. Through a picturesque yet searing presentation of
societal collapse, Bakshi transforms external corruption and the trampling of
human rights into internal psychological battlegrounds, where his characters
grapple with a deep-seated identity crisis.
Combining thematic richness, nuanced characterization,
and tight narrative pacing, the collection functions both as a reformative
salvo and a poignant mirror to the fragmented modern self. By anchoring the
socio-political disillusionment of post-Independence India in the intimate,
lived experience of personal isolation, My India is Great and Other Stories
transcends mere social realism. It stands as a vital masterpiece in the genre
of Indian English short fiction—a compelling testament to the terrifying weight
of existential dread and the tragic search for identity in an indifferent
world.