‘Yayati’ (Novel) (Hindi)
(Winner of Gyanpeeth Puraskar and Sahitya
Akadami Puraskar)
By Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar
Translated in Hindi by Moreshwar Tapaswi
Rajpal and Sons
ISBN 978-81-7028-559-5
‘Yayati’
is a mesmerizing epic tale as told by the brilliant author VS Khandekar. Yayati
was originally a character from the great epic Mahabharata. In this novel, the
author has used his own literary skills and imagination to develop the story by
adding some character and modifying the story, which he has clearly and
honestly clarified in the introduction section of the book. His is not really a
mythological story but one with which readers of every generation and time can
connect with. Though essentially Yayati is a king and this novel revolves
around his struggle for power and affluence, the finer elements of the story
and the lessons coming out of them are relevant even for today. Here is a novel
which describes heights of greed, lust and craving for materialistic pleasure which
are increasingly becoming inherent part of human nature. It is not a depressing
story but one which shows that there always is light at the end of the tunnel
if we care to find it…
This
is my first reading of Mr. VS Khandekar, which was recommended by a friend. And
how lucky I was for being introduced to it! Though the book was originally
written in Marathi language, it has been translated into many languages. The
same book is available in English as well. I got its Hindi translation and
found it exceptionally good. The language is of very high quality and it’s a pleasure
to read through the book. At some places, the language is so beautiful, with such
relevant and wonderful adjectives being used, that we can’t remain without
falling in love with the book.
A few
lines from the book from pages 52/53:
“Sabhi
Rishi aur pahaad door se ek-se hi lagte hain.”
“Japmala
me jaise ek-ek rudraksh pichhe khisakta jata hai, usi tarah se eke k din bitataa
chala gaya.”
“Gahri
hari vriksh-vaatikaon me we do kutiyan aise lag rahi thin, mano do nanhi-munni
bahnen ek-dusre se lipatkar ek hi kambal me so gai hain.”
I
felt in love with author’s such a strong connection with nature and an eye for
detail…
I
highly recommend the book to all.
-
Rahul
