Sahibganj

Sahibganj enters the novel through family memory rather than an extended account of the town: it is where Satyasundar Bose’s mother died in a hospital while giving birth to another child. The place thus anchors a formative bereavement in Bose’s early life and the limited family care that followed.

The Hospital and Bose’s Childhood

Bose was in fifth grade when his mother died. The narration recalls that, had she lived, she would have asked him the same question being considered in the scene. Sahibganj is therefore tied not only to the fact of her death but also to the continuing absence of her voice in her son’s life.

Family Distance and Narrative Significance

Bose’s father remained at a distance, sending money each month to the address of his hostel. The account contrasts this regular financial provision with the mother’s irretrievable absence and the father’s withdrawal from other responsibilities. The novel gives no further description of Sahibganj; its significance lies in this concise recollection of loss, childhood, and separation.