A Conspiracy in Calcutta
by Lesley D.Biswas
“A Conspiracy in Calcutta” by Lesley D.Biswas. Published by Duckbill. A story of ten year old Bithi who desires to join in the struggle for her motherland’s freedom and fight injustice in all its forms.
The story is set in Calcutta in 1928. It is the time when Indian freedom struggle is gaining momentum. Student protests and revolutionary organisations are on the rise. Police atrocities are rising. Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, is infamous for his barbaric methods used to crush the freedom fighters. Bithi wants to join in the struggle for freedom from the oppressive British rule. She is lucky that her Baba and Dada are supportive of girls studying and even contributing their bit to the independence movement. Her Thakuma (paternal grandmother) and mother however are not in favour of her activities though. Adding to her woes, Bithi’s best friend Sulata who lives next door is getting married. Bithi just can’t digest the fact that Sulata can accept the decision taken by her parents so meekly without even expressing her own desires.
Simon Commission is being revolted against. Dada is going to be part of the student protest. Bithi finds a role model in Bina Das who stays near their home and is a revolutionary. She wishes that her mother was like Bina Di’s mother who supported her activities and let her study in college as well. Can Bithi play a role in the protests? Will she be able to fight against those who are her dearest ones? What are the situations that she faces in the course of the year? Will her family understand her desires and choices and stand by her? Can she bring about a change in their thinking? Read the gripping story of Bithi who has decided to fight injustice in all of its forms be it for freedom from British or some of the social practices that need to be stopped.
My eight year old and I found the story so engrossing that we finished reading it in just two sittings. The pace of the story made it irresistible for us to put the book away. My son was amazed as to how someone could get married at the age of ten. He was shocked to know that girls were not encouraged to go to school. After reading the book, he wanted to know more about Bina Das and we read up more about her online. He is now interested in knowing more about the not so well known/forgotten freedom fighters. We also read up about the infamous Charles Tegart.
This book is part of the “Songs of Freedom” series. We had already enjoyed reading the other books from the series- “The Chowpatty Cooking Club”, “That Year at Manikoil” and “The Train to Tanjore”. Like the other books from the series, there is a historical note section at the end which talks about how much of the story is fiction and who/what are the people/events which really happened. We are already waiting for the next set of books from the series and trying to guess where they might be set :) The series has clearly made an impact on him and has become one of his favourites.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 9/10+ for reading on their own. It can be read aloud with a bit of explanation for 8+ year olds.
Reasons to Read
To get to know about India’s freedom struggle from the unique perspective of children living in those times.
To get a glimpse of how the life of people in 1920s India was.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Penguin India (Duckbill), for review. Thank you to Greeshma and Mansi, from Penguin, for sending across the book!