So Many Hungers!: Character Mind Map & Summary
The key characters of Bhabani Bhattacharya's So Many Hungers! (1947), grouped into branches, with the key episodes, a quick summary and the exam facts that come up again and again in UGC NET.
The Character Mind Map
Tap any name to open the details.
Rahoul & Kajoli
Rahoul is a Cambridge-educated scientist who turns from the stars to India's freedom; Kajoli is a peasant girl who survives the Bengal famine of 1943 without selling her honour.
Ending: Rahoul is jailed; Kajoli chooses dignity over prostitution👑 The Basu Family
CalcuttaRahoulAn astrophysicist
Role: Joins the Quit India movement and is arrested.
Outcome: JailedSamarendra BasuRahoul's father
Role: A profiteer who hoards rice during the famine.
Devata (Devesh Basu)Rahoul's grandfather
Role: A Gandhian leader in Baruni village.
🏠 Kajoli's Family
Baruni villageKajoliA village girl
Role: Raped by a soldier on the way to Calcutta; she sells newspapers rather than her body.
Kanu & OnuHer brother and little brother
Role: Kanu goes to jail with Devata; Onu suffers in the famine.
Key Episodes
The turning points examiners love to ask about.
Quick Summary
The story, stage by stage.
Stage 1War
- The Second World War and Quit India in Bengal.
Stage 2Profit
- Samarendra and others hoard rice.
Stage 3Famine
- Villagers walk to Calcutta and die in the streets.
Stage 4Survival
- Kajoli's ordeal and her refusal to sell herself.
Stage 5Hope
- The spirit of freedom stays alive in prison and village.
Must-Know Exam Facts
Quick points for UGC NET, SET and PGT.
Debut
Bhattacharya's first novel (1947).
History
Based on the Bengal famine of 1943, in which about three million people died.
Theme
Hunger for food, for money and for freedom.
Author
Won the Sahitya Akademi Award (1967) for Shadow from Ladakh.
Additional Revision Notes
More plot, character and literary details for UGC NET English revision.
Two Kinds of Hunger
The title links literal starvation during the Bengal famine with the hunger for political freedom. The book juxtaposes the suffering of ordinary people with the struggle against colonial rule.
Kajoli's Experience
Kajoli and her family confront displacement and desperate choices, bringing the famine down to the scale of individual lives rather than abstract statistics.
Historical Link
Read the novel against the background of 1943 Bengal and the wartime independence movement. It connects social realism, nationalist commitment and questions of human dignity.
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