Review | ‘Register me as Kulbhushan’ by Alka Saraogi is about one man’s determination to be seen

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In Hindi writer Alka Saraogi’s novel, Register Me as Kulbhushan , set against the turmoil of the Bangladesh Liberation War, one story stands out for having more fact than fiction: that of a refugee named Kulbhushan, whose uncertain life is shaped by displacement, memory and the search for identity.

Lost in a maze of memories, he seeks to reinvent himself by adopting different names — Bhushan chacha , Kulbhushan Jain and Gopal Chandra Das. Hailing from Kushtia in what was then East Pakistan, he drops ‘Kul’ from his name to marry a Bengali woman in Calcutta. This reinvention of his name, however, raises questions among the elders in the family: “Did the bride’s side change their ancestral name?”

Sahitya Akademi Award-winning author Saraogi explores these questions in her novel, translated from Hindi by John Vater. Can reinventing one’s name help reclaim an identity in a new nation? Set in the historic city of Calcutta (now Kolkata), the novel captures a period when survival often demanded the reinvention of identity. At a time when identity is increasingly reduced to official documentation, changing one’s name without a corresponding record can itself become a source of uncertainty and risk.

At the heart of the novel is one man’s determination to be officially recognised — a poignant reflection on how identity is shaped, and sometimes constrained, by borders, memory and bureaucracy.

Register me as Kulbhushan is a novel about the trauma of Partition, a deeply observed account of exile and the fundamental human desire to belong. The protagonist moves through an unfamiliar world with the grace and humility of a refugee, learning to navigate the daily ordeals of displacement. For him, forgetting the immediate past becomes a means of survival. By mentally erasing a painful bygone time, he creates a distance from trauma. The act of “pressing the button of forgetting” — a technique he learns from a childhood friend — helps him endure the suffocating streets and the drudgery of family life.

The novel is ultimately the story of a refugee whose self-awareness offers the reader a nuanced understanding of the fractures within society. It raises a profound question: can a displaced person ever find a place they can truly call home? Whether in the Partition of Punjab or Bengal, the scars of communal violence have been etched deeply into collective memory. Partition was not merely the redrawing of national boundaries; it uprooted people from their homes, communities and histories. Its consequences extend beyond geography, becoming a psychological condition that continues to shape the lives of those forced into exile.

Eight months may seem like a long time since Kulbhushan arrived from Kushtia, yet he is still unsure where to rest his long legs each night. His journey through the inhospitable, dense forests of Dandakaranya adds to his growing understanding of displacement and survival. Ever since he alighted at Sealdah, he has seen refugees sleeping on the floor, their meagre belongings and dirty sheets spread beneath them.