Book Review: Pratyaasha by Anumita Sharma

 

‘प्रत्याशा’ (Pratyaasha) is a Hindi story collection from the talented writer Anumita Sharma. It is a collection of stories set in different times, genre and taste. The beautiful book of about 160 pages is published by Hind Yugm.

‘Pratyaasha’ means hope or wait. The back cover of the book expresses a hope that this book would become a 'best seller'. It is a recently launched book and I am trying to give my review or opinion on it in this blog post.

The front cover of the book contains a modern art of a woman standing and facing dusk in the background, with sky in red and the surface appearing in shadows. There are sketches of women freely talking and having a good time immersed into it. I think the cover picture tries to depict the aura of freethinking women in a modern world when faced with the realities of this world.    

So, what to expect when you read this promising book?

The book has total eleven stories.

The first story titled ‘दीवार पर लटकती लड़की’ is horror story. This is a superb story with elements of unpredictability, shock, subtlety and horror, all in right places and proportions. After reading this story in the evening, when I went to sleep, I realized next morning that I had seen a horror story in my dream. And even my dream ended with a twist and shock on the pattern of this story. I shall post the story from my dream some other time.

The next story titled ‘सत्तर के प्यार का भूगोल’ is a fantasy. It tells the story of a mysterious woman and her short fling with a neighbor. The manner in which this story is written is unique and I don’t think anyone else could have written this story other than this author.

Next story ‘गरजन-तरजन’ is a literary gem. The story is set in real time but describes a rich landlord from the bygone era who is struggling to come to terms with the realities of the present time. As the cover page of this book depicts, there is a young woman, his daughter, who is mysterious and evokes strange emotions; but by the end, she will get imprinted into the reader’s mind forever. This is an immortal story and I would rate this as the best story of this book. I hope this and some other stories from this book go for nominations of best stories awards in Hindi and I am sure this will be a winner.

The fourth story titled ‘सिरंडिपिटी’ brings forth a wonderful character called ‘Mrinalini’ who is repeated in a few more stories in this collection. She is a writer and a bit disillusioned with this world; as sensitive people are prone to feel, and one day she just vanishes in the mountains. The story is set in the aftermath of global pandemic of year 2020. One of her friends goes in her search and you need to read the story to find out what happens next.

The fifth story ‘वो कहीं नहीं थी’ is again a literary gem. It touches the soul of large complex families and politics behind the close doors and weaves a story which evokes several emotions in the minds of the readers.

Next story ‘सतह के नीचे’ tells the story of a promising writer from the past era who is now lost and forgotten, and what happens when he finds one of his big fans.

The seventh story ‘गुलटेनी को किसने मारा’ is a mystery thriller which depicts the sad story of a man aging alone in a modern city. This is another story which definitely deserves an award. One should buy a book even if it contains just one story of this caliber.

‘एक परिकथा’ is a story capturing the soul of a teenage girl growing up in a city amidst other interesting people. I think this is a story which can’t be written by anyone other than this author. The story appears so real, has so many twists and turns and it is so rare that we read such powerful stories where protagonist is a teenage girl. This story is also written in a great humorous style which makes it very entertaining.

'चेतना के अद्भुत तमाशे', 'आत्मा या आजीविका', and 'प्रत्याशा’ are last three stories in this collection. Some of these stories are ‘conjoined’ where an event from one story is also mentioned in the climax of another story. I don’t know what this style of writing is called, but in this book it is displayed wonderfully. 'आत्मा या आजीविका' has 'magical realism', a talent in which the author holds a strong hand. 

Here is an excerpt from the story ‘गरजन-तरजन’:

Notice how beautifully this is written. Merely the event of a "sun set" is given this magical expression! That sun is looking "अस्त-व्यस्त सा", that clouds were about to be set free of its weak "grip" (निर्बल पकड़), what is this language other than magic? 

After a while in the same story, ".. जीप लड़खड़ाती हुई कंकड़-पत्थर से बिछे एक खुले अहाते में पहुँची। अगल-बगल अँधेरे में प्रेतों जैसे प्रतीत होते विशालकाय पेड़ थे जिनकी बाँहों से बारिश का पानी टपक रहा था।" Here, a tree has been imagined as a ghost and water can be seen dripping from the ghost's "arms"! 

After a while, "फूफाजी के सामने खाने में कई तरह के पकवान परोसे जाते और बासमती चावल के खुशबूदार पुलाव का तो पहाड़ होता। वे ऊपर से कोई सब्जी-तरकारी या भात-पूरी दुबारा नहीं लेते इसलिए पूरा टाल एक बार में ही लगा दिया जाता। Now, Phuphaji who is being described here, is not really a character in this story. He is just being described in order to describe the "family background". But the level of detail mentioned where each word has been placed to perfection is mesmerizing. Wonder why the author mentioned this interesting detail that he did not take any food item after the initial offering. Even I have this habit and now I realize that this Phuphaji was like me. Notice the word पहाड़ to describe a pile of पुलाव! Every word mentioned in this story has a higher purpose and it pays to give a second read of many paragraphs in order to enjoy the 'magic' properly. 

Below portion is from 'चेतना के अद्भुत तमाशे':

I am amazed at how deeply this is written. The ailing man first hears a voice; like someone is panting or grappling to stop a cry... and after some time he realizes that it was he himself who was suffocating! And the colors of teenage loves and infatuations are painted in this tragic story so beautifully. 

To conclude, ‘Pratyaasha’ is a book you don’t want to miss. If you want to spend a few days reading such wonderful stories whose characters and events you are going to remember for a long time, you must buy and read this book. The book is available on Amazon here as well as on Padhega India (Bodhi Tree) at this page. 

- Rahul