Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], July 16: Julie Banerjee Mehta is thrilled to find a storyteller of exceptional insights, relatability and unique compassion in her tete-a-tete with Aritra Sarkar on his riveting new book, Are You Lonesome?
It may remind you of the heart-wrenching Elvis Presley hit song, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” Aritra Sarkar’s latest book, Are You Lonesome?, will most certainly strike a personal chord in you.
Or, it may make you think of The Beatles’ number, “Eleanor Rigby,” that goes:
Sarkar’s book will make you journey inwards. Make you confront your experiences. And help you understand the most important person in your life – you. And you may already be humming the Elvis song that asks the same question. But does not give a solution.
After I read Sarkar’s book, Are You Lonesome?, I found he was, in the Jungian way, a total empath. Caring, analytical, and uniquely receptive. I slowly began to discover his deep-rooted compassion for human beings, which almost borders on the ability to understand a fallen angel, to understand what caused the fall.
This is an author and storyteller based in Kolkata. An alumnus of New York University, he spent several years working in the media industry before turning increasingly to literary and reflective writing.
His books include Goliath of Shenzhen (2016), an experimental dual-format novel told through prose and graphic narrative; Stress to Zest (Penguin Random House India, 2024), the first volume in his Parables for Growth series; Soulful Cal! (Wordphonics, 2025); and Are You Lonesome?, the second book in the same series.
His work brings together storytelling, psychological insight, and spiritual reflection, with a strong interest in emotional life, human connection, and personal transformation. Sarkar is also associated with the ABP Group’s educational initiative, Calcutta Media Institute, where he serves in an advisory role focused on nurturing the next generation of journalists. He continues to write across fiction and non-fiction, drawing on lived experience and acute social observation.
A book like Are You Lonesome? can only be written by a person with an exceptionally high emotional quotient, the Jungian empath, as I’ve stated above. Did this have something to do with Sarkar’s upbringing?
Sarkar’s book has a large fan following across India, with readers identifying with his stories for one reason: the author is not preachy. He does not blame, he does not criticize. He reaches out as a friend.
His mathematical mind uses a multitude of genres, aphorisms, narratives, and conversational modes to draw the reader into the story of the six main characters in his six short stories, and unpack what it means to be lonesome.
More than that, he never pontificates, never judges, nor does he ever criticize the central characters in each of his short stories. Rather, he always suggests we look inwards, to draw on our inner strengths to assess our state of lonesomeness – unable to connect to other human beings. What he does is show us, through gentle guidance, how to reconnect to other people if we have lost that connection.
This is not a self-help book.
He found writing therapeutic, and the only way to get his emotions out on a smorgasbord.
One of the strongest solutions, Sarkar says, is:
Most of us look for explanations “when love withers,” when we blame stress and emotional baggage.
He also reflects on the role of education in nurturing meaningful human connections.
Dr. Julie Banerjee Mehta has a PhD from the University of Toronto, where she taught World Literature. She is a columnist for The Telegraph (T2), Kolkata, and an author.