On A Dusty Road

On a Dusty Road is Subhas’ second novel. Imagination Drift: A Prince for Three Days, his first novel, was a satire on human perceptions and behaviour. On a Dusty Road is a documentary-novel that constructs the life and death of a promising young man. The fictionalized story is told through the recollections of those who knew Ravi and is revealed through short, impressionistic episodes and his close friendship with Sunny and the Dusty Road Boys. Part I follows the childhood escapades of the two friends. Sunny’s 'joie de vivre' and Ravi’s staid character are drawn into imagination and entrepreneurship when Ravi is given a bicycle. The joy of the pedal-power is short-lived and the boys, mainly through Sunny’s ambitions and Ravi’s desire, engage in raising money to fix the bike. Part II exposes Ravi’s sheltered life on the Dusty Road when he meets Daniel who is killed in an accident and learns of Sunny’s death as a 'murder for science'. In Part III the community coalesces to nurture Ravi's abilities with the expectation that he would bring recognition and change to the people on a Dusty Road, but life has it's own destination.