Bhanga Bridge

When a bridge breaks, does it remain a bridge anymore? That haunting question runs through the heart of Bhanga Bridge, the debut novel by Rohit Dey. The story unfolds in a quiet, border-adjacent town not far from Kolkata — a place where time seems still, yet every life carries its own turbulence. In an orphanage in this small town grows up Raja — surname-less, kingdom-less, and yet a king in name. Around him moves a vivid cast of characters: Sabujda the ironing man, the solitary Lidadu, the eccentric Mombati, librarian Mary Ann, CD shop owner Nadu, migrant worker Pada, barber Shibu, taxi driver Abdul — each tied by invisible threads to the town and to the broken bridge that watches over them all. Through Raja’s curious eyes, the novel unravels the secrets and silences of this town — Mukti Devi of the Mukti Devi Memorial Library, the mystery behind the mica factory’s closure, Lidadu’s hideout at Chand’s house, Mihir and Avanti’s lost tune, Samar and Sagarika’s fragile marriage, Jubin and Meher’s dream café “Sinaggh,” the unspoken love between Abdul and Bipasha, and Christina’s yearning to touch the border. Bhanga Bridge is not merely about a broken structure — it is a meditation on loss, belonging, and the fragile bridges that connect human lives. With poetic restraint and emotional honesty, Rohit Dey, in his remarkable debut, crafts a world both intimate and universal — a town that lingers long after the last page.