Namak Swadanusar
Nikhil Sachan
2017
Westland
pp. 160
Namak Swadanusar is a collection of short stories that revolve around the most common theme that I read : Life. In the initial few stories, I was wondering why I picked up this book. I know why I picked it up: I was craving Hindi. It is not chaste Hindi but the conversational everyday Hindi that a lot of contemporary Hindi writers seems to be using. I like the light heartedness of the stories. I also liked the complex relationships that the second half of the book presents. The stories present different shades of grey in relationships, in life, and within a person. I liked the story Topaz the most. I like how everyone can be a saviour for someone. The character of Keshav has been built up really well and the way he unfolds layers of his own life to find meaning and how it changes his life course. Most of this process is unconscious, happening automatically. I also liked Mugalate. It brings in a new perspective to the way people interact with each other, and how perceptions cloud our relationships.
What I didn’t like in the book is the resorting to abuse. It almost appears an attempt at cheap publicity. It wasn’t required. I also felt that the book had tremendous potential in putting across a message in a very subtle manner. This is lost if the writer chooses to conform to what is popular and what will sell. Finally, what I really like is the book title- Namak Swadanusar.
Nikhil Sachan
2017
Westland
pp. 160
Namak Swadanusar is a collection of short stories that revolve around the most common theme that I read : Life. In the initial few stories, I was wondering why I picked up this book. I know why I picked it up: I was craving Hindi. It is not chaste Hindi but the conversational everyday Hindi that a lot of contemporary Hindi writers seems to be using. I like the light heartedness of the stories. I also liked the complex relationships that the second half of the book presents. The stories present different shades of grey in relationships, in life, and within a person. I liked the story Topaz the most. I like how everyone can be a saviour for someone. The character of Keshav has been built up really well and the way he unfolds layers of his own life to find meaning and how it changes his life course. Most of this process is unconscious, happening automatically. I also liked Mugalate. It brings in a new perspective to the way people interact with each other, and how perceptions cloud our relationships.
What I didn’t like in the book is the resorting to abuse. It almost appears an attempt at cheap publicity. It wasn’t required. I also felt that the book had tremendous potential in putting across a message in a very subtle manner. This is lost if the writer chooses to conform to what is popular and what will sell. Finally, what I really like is the book title- Namak Swadanusar.