'कुछ आपबीती, कुछ जगबीती' is a Hindi story collection from author Anumita Sharma. Published in 2019 by भारतीय ज्ञानपीठ, it is beautiful hardbound book. As the title suggests, the stories in this collection are inspired by life experiences of the author as well as of others. Social touch in the stories is clearly visible; and many of these stories touch the challenges brought upon by modern lifestyle in metro cities.
At the very beginning, I loved the way the author wrote about "क्या कुछ" phrase from TV news channels in the introduction of this book as a pretext to explain the word "कुछ" in the book's title. I am sure you would find it interesting too.
The first story in the collection is titled 'रामचरित्तर की दुल्हन' and tells the story of a marriage under complex circumstances. When young people are made to write "essays" in the school on social topics, they often take very clear stands by denouncing some customs while appreciating some others. Growing up also consists of looking at the other side of the coin and appreciating the fact that most people are not totally evil or totally good. The male lead Ram Charittar or his wife and son are interesting characters. The climax of this story is surprisingly non-predicable.
The second story is 'चन्दर की बिलाई' and loved it too. This story has elements of tragedy and irony in it. Loved the reference to a 'cat' in this story. It is symbolic but so inherently woven into the story, that a mere village-cat has become a prime character in this story. Things like these show the power of writing skills of the author. Such stories are expert level.
The third story 'पाया' is about finding love and rejection in the metro cities and the dilemma people face when choosing a path 'less traveled'. It has a happy ending and I liked it. The next story 'जड़ों की जड़ता' took a similar plot to a different level and though it is based on a very relevant topic of finding the right partner for marriage; it is a difficult path to tread since there are too many variables involved and each person is bringing a different set of stuff on the table. By the end of the story, the lead character who is a strong woman made a decision which looked like a 'mistake'. One mistake we do in our life is to burden our partners with our own baggage of expectations. Just because we are very sensitive about something does not mean our partner would also be sensitive about it. Everyone grows up in a different environment, not everyone goes through the same life experiences which shape us, and hence expecting some differences is necessary to do justice with any relationship.
The next story 'उसकी सर्वश्रेष्ठ कलाकृति' abruptly brings us to a different genre. It is from the genre of 'magical realism' and the writer has a great knack for it. This story and its symbolism have come up excellently. It started like a tragedy but ended on a different note.
I think the best story of this collection came up next in the form of 'अतीत का नया मोड़'. This story has the depth and soulfulness of highest quality and depicts emotions like sorrow, loss, irony and love very well. It is written in a descriptive manner which only this author can write in. A few small portions are mentioned below:
"मैं जानती थी कि वो फिल्म देखने गयी है पर मुझे उसके रोज आने की आदत थी। पूरी शाम मन बहुत विचलित रहा और अँधेरा तभी छँटा जब वो उसकी अगली शाम फिर आयी। मगर वो तो जैसे कोई और रेखा थी। उसके अंदर का प्रकाश बुझ सा गया था, बस एक चिंगारी शेष थी। वह अपनी भींची हुई मुट्ठियाँ कभी बंद करती, कभी खोलती और जब कुछ बोलती तो उसके शब्द लड़खड़ाने लगते।
"ये शहर, ये भी कोई रहने की जगह है? यहाँ कोई क्यूँ रहे? जहाँ देखो वहाँ गंदगी। सभी लोग लालची। पैसों की होड़ है। यहाँ मुझ जैसे गँवार की कोई जगह नहीं। सभी चमक-दमक के पीछे लगे हैं। मैं, मैं, मैं यहाँ क्यों आयी?"
"साफ़-साफ़ बता क्या हुआ?" मुझसे उसकी ये दशा देखी नहीं जा रही थी। दिल जैसे तार-तार हो रहा था।
"कल शाम..." वो बोलते बोलते रुक गयी और बाहर मुरझाए हरसिंगार के फूलों को गौर से देखने लगी.... (continued).
This tells how matters of heart and no small matters and those cruel people who can easily "move on" will never understand what crimes they do against people who are sensitive in nature.
After a while following paragraph comes touching the magic of childhood:
"हम एक साथ इसी मोहल्ले में बड़े हुए थे। वो बस मुझसे साल-भर बड़ी थी। मैं हिरणी की तरह कुलाँचे मारती चंचल और बिजली की तरह कौंधती चपल थी, तो वो चाँदनी सी शांत सुन्दर और रेशम सी कोमल। हम दोनों हमेशा साथ रहते और एक साथ जहाँ भी जाते लोग बस हमें ही देखते। हमारी जोड़ी आस-पास के गली मोहल्लों तक मशहूर थी..."
And look at the wonderful allegory below:
"राख जैसे मटमैले आकाश में जब सूरज धधकते कोयले की तरह उगा तो उसकी रोशनी खून सी लाल थी।"
I liked the second-last story 'राजाराम' also very much. It sounds like a real-life story of a young boy from a village. In villages, each boy is a hero and has a tale of adventures to his own credit. This story has come up so very well and even the ending is perfect.
The last story is titled 'कुछ आपबीती, कुछ जगबीती' and I realized it is the flagship story of this book. It is a kind of 'master-story' where six stories are imbedded in it; some of which are fascinating, e.g. the one which was told by Chandrabhan. But the six stories are so diverse that the reader is made to do time-travel too often and I think while this idea of a master-story was novel and fantastic, stories could have been set in the same time/era, to make it more appealing. The setup of this story in the form of a mysterious palace is wonderful.
As a conclusion, 'कुछ आपबीती, कुछ जगबीती' is a wonderful book and it clearly displays the author's brand of writing. Several of these stories concern with women's point of view or cover different aspects of lives of modern women. Whenever author delves into the past and tells stories about the folk life, the stories become magical. The book is highly recommended for a soulful read.
- Rahul
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