‘If, rather, I had been an Arab Bedouin…’ Originally written in 1942 by Mohonlal Gangopadhyay, Charanik beautifully captures the trials and travails of the author and his friend Mirek while trekking through pre-World War II Czechoslovakia, when it was still independent and posed no problems of entering or leaving the country.­ The duo set out on an adventure of a lifetime, walking through the tranquil and beautiful Czechoslovak countryside. As they cross villages and small towns, and climb hills and valleys, they discover the sheer joy of walking. Meeting strangers and making new friends on the way, they realize that sometimes you have to lose your way to find yourself. Charanik has been translated by Jayanta Sengupta, who had earlier translated Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s Chander Pahar,