Jakh Baba
Nilotpal Mrinal
2019
Storytel
Set in the Hindi hinterland, this book is the story of a young man who buys a bike. That is essentially the whole story, the young man wishing for a bike, his father agreeing to buy it, the trip to the city to buy it and the ritualistic worship at the village temple. The book is funny and realistic and the audio rendition is brilliant. There is a lot of rustic appeal but it is touched with the realistic intervention of urbanisation in the lives of people in rural India. It also captures beautifully the dreams and aspirations, and fears of people. What money means and the potential it has to bring joy to the lives of people… It is cliched to say that money isn’t everything but as Mrinal puts it beautifully, a good rainfall not just means a good crop but also new appliances, new luxuries and some fulfilled dreams!
This book is a short, Storytel production available both as an audiobook and an ebook.