He is a smart, brave person who has a penchant for adventures. Shankar Ray Choudhuri - The main protagonist, a young man from a village in Bengal.He ends the book saying that he will return to the cave one day with a large team, and continue the legacy of Alvarez, Carter, and Gatti. Before going back, he writes his account in a newspaper, earning him money. Fortunately, he is rescued by a survey team and taken to a hospital in Salisbury, Rhodesia, from where he sets sail for home. Leaving, he becomes lost in the deserts of Kalahari and nearly dies of thirst. Almost getting lost, he finds the remains of the Italian explorer, Attilio Gatti, and learns that the cave is in fact the diamond mine. He finds the Bunyip's cave and the diamond mines by accident.

Demoralised, Shankar tries to return to civilization. Eventually, they get lost in the forests where Alvarez is killed by the Bunyip. They meet hardships, like a racist gambler, legends about Dingonek the monster and later, a raging volcano. Shankar, inspired by Alvarez's exploits, resigns from his job and accompanies Alvarez to venture again for the mines. The explorers set off into the dense jungle, much against the villagers' advice, and Carter was gruesomely killed, supposedly by the Bunyip. Rumors suggested a mythical monster, the Bunyip, guards the mine. He explains that, lured by the prospect of a priceless yellow diamond from a Kaafi village chief, Alvarez and Carter searched for these yellow diamond caves, on the Mountain of the Moon (Chander Pahar) in the Richtersveld. While recovering, Alvarez describes his exploits in Africa with his friend Jim Carter. Alvarez's arrival becomes a turning point in Shankar's life. While at this post, Shankar encounters, rescues and nurses Diego Alvarez, a middle-age Portuguese explorer and gold/diamond prospector. Later, he takes up a job as station-master in a desolate station amidst the Veldts, where he narrowly escapes a deadly black mamba. By a stroke of luck, he gets a job as a clerk at the Uganda Railway and rushes to Africa without a second thought.Īfter a few months laying rail tracks, he encounters the first of many dangers in pre- World War I Africa: a man-eating lion. He wants to explore the wilderness, passionate for learning about African forests and animals. Shankar loves the subject of geography, he wants to follow the footsteps of renowned explorers like Livingstone, Mungo Park, and Marco Polo. After graduating from college at 20-years-old, his family's financial struggles almost force him take a job in a jute mill in Shyamnagar - a prospect he absolutely loathes.

This novel tells the story of an ordinary young Bengali man, Shankar Ray Choudhuri, as he adventures in Africa in the years 19.

Chander pahar torrent link