“The Brotherhood” by Sumit Kar

Let me offer you a unique and immersive experience that will take you on a journey to India, into the foothills of the mighty Himalayas!

Here you will learn about the lives of four intriguing individuals as they navigate their way through life ‘s many ups and downs, during their formative years.

You will get to meet a studious academic named Kushal, and his best friend Chubbs, as they settle into a new life in a boarding school within the shadow of the mighty Kanchenjunga. You’ll also encounter KP, full of boundless energy, with a passion about the outdoors, and finally you’ll get to know Rup, full of spirit and adventure, as he lives life on the edge.

In some respects, the story is a homage to my youth, and as I look back, I realise just how fortunate I was to have grown up among the lush tea plantations in Assam, and to have gone to school in those same Himalayan foothills portrayed in the novel.

Whilst the places are very real, the characters are fictional, and I have endeavored to depict the immense joy and deep bonds that can be experienced through authentic lifelong friendships.

I take the reader on a trip with the four protagonists, as they make their way from school into adulthood, with the many ups and downs this inevitably brings. There are unexpected and challenging life events that encompass love, honor and tragedy, yet, as the title suggests, we see the sustaining beauty of an unbreakable bond that sustains these friends and brothers.

The story is very personal to me, as it reflects many of the experiences, I have had in these first fifty years of my life, from Darjeeling, India through to my time living in the US.

My hope is that much of it will also resonate with my readers, as I seek to transport them to the magically ethereal setting of my childhood; a place so wonderful that it is almost surreal.