Hitting the shelves, a literary marvel penned down by a pioneer who has shown the world a new way of attaining sustainability in the shipbreaking industry. Rohith Agarwal is a name that has made ripples on international and local borders in this realm owing to his ingenuity but another feather in his cap is his literary brilliance of connecting strings of words to produce a beautiful piece titled “Broken Anvils”. The book has been published under the umbrella of the Notion Press.
From what we have been able to gauge thus far, this novel is a roller coaster of emotions that is based around the narrative of Jeevan.
Jeevan, who was oblivious of what had happened, found himself standing in front of one of the largest ship breaking yards in Gujarat, with the expectation that he might turn his life around. His dream, however, was dashed almost immediately when he realised that the yard itself would prove to be the most difficult obstacle he would face on his quest. The yard was progressively seeking to consume the lives of the workers. After enduring a seemingly endless series of setbacks, he finally finds the person he will spend the rest of his life with and begins to cultivate new relationships. Alongside them, he makes an effort to take a position and fight for the predicament that the employees are in. However, it doesn’t take long for his past to catch up with him, and the responsibilities that he neglected to take care of back at home start pounding on his door like an imminent threat. Jeevan is torn between the challenges that he faces in his personal life as well as in his social life; as a result, it is unclear if he will prevail as a hero for the yard or whether he would give in to the pressure and corruption of the society.
As Jeevan was provided with an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up, this book discusses the subtle shift from rural to metropolitan life. After having lived his whole life in a rural community, the prospect of finding a job in one of the nation’s major cities seemed too good to pass up. It is explained how emotionally taxing it is for Jeevan to leave his family and friends behind, yet he does so without any second thoughts and boards a train to begin a new life in Gujarat. The emotional toll that this decision has on him is heart wrenchingly depicted.
His journey, which begins with the conclusion that the opportunity given was about as defective as it is possible to get, while the working and living conditions of the yard employees was beyond anyone’s ability to imagine, will make you cry. On the other hand, so does his learning curve of building himself up from that point on. Jeevan spends the most of the first year learning new things and getting to know people while he is by himself and isolated from any kind of familiarity. This is a story about having hope, having your heart broken, and pursuing happiness.
After meeting the woman, he will spend the rest of his life with, Darpana, he is sent into an emotional tailspin when his mother passes away. His mother was the most significant person in his life. Jeevan’s narrative is the story of every young person who leaves home in quest of better possibilities. They all start off disliking the city they moved to and end up feeling even more out of place back home.
The instances in this book feel reality similar and life-like. The reason for that stems from the experience the author brings from his years spent in the same domain. One can see how well-versed he is with the issues of the workforce and the nuances of the urban-rural divide.
The following is a remark that was made by Agarwal: “I feel ‘Broken Anvils’ is my first and finest piece of writing I can ever make. I am happy to explore the fictitious category for the first time as an author.”
You may get a hold of a copy of it at Notion Press, Flipkart and Amazon.
Mr. Rohith Agarwal has been outspoken about the need to prioritise the many facets of sustainable development, he has also been a strong advocate for the need to deal with issues like the oil spill, environmental transformations, the consequences of global warming, and green growth ideas.
