Nothing significant happens in this book. Still, everything feels alluring.
Can you write a novel upto 245 pages, that too, around the everyday life of some ordinary characters, without any significant plot or sub-plot? Some of you might say, ‘What’s a big deal about it?’ But the real question isn’t ‘can’, rather it’s ‘why’. Why would you write such a novel?Will it cater to the interest of the readers?
Title: Deewar Me Ek Khidki Rehti Thi
Author: Vinod Kumar Shukla
Publisher: Hindi Yugma
Genre: Fantasy, Social fiction
Award: Sahitya Akademi Award
Pages: 245
Price: 148/- flipkart
I hadn’t come across this book anytime soon if a friend hadn’t sent it. The moment I posted this book on social media’s stories, several reactions flooded in, quoting it a masterpiece. It’s also evident from the fact that the book has already won the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997. Curious as I am, I promptly decided that it’ll be my next read.
The novel has a simple rural setting woven around some even simpler characters and their everyday life. There is no complex plot, twist or turn in the book. On the other side, it’s highly allegorical and symbolic. Two things at the heart of the novel are the ‘elephant’ and the ‘window’. The window demarcates the two world- reality and imagination. There is a different world outside the window. Amidst Nature. There is no sorrow. No hardships. A world where only happiness and fun prevail. It is symbolic of the dream where you let go of your usual life and enter into it. The elephant bridge the gap between professional and personal life. The hermit who rides the elephant symbolises the uncertainty of life. The old woman outside the window symbolises the coming of an old age. Time and again, cycle also becomes the part of debate. Everything mentioned in the book has an inherent meaning that demands an active readership.
The remarkable aspect of the book is its language. It appears fragmented and imaginative. The chapters’ title are similar to the book. The description of nature is one of a kind. The book upholds several familial values that is/was the part of rural life.
There are several aspects of the book that is worth praising. However, at certain points, it appears repetitive. Characters are caught in their mundane life, and the only way of coming out is taking respite across the window. Perhaps, the authorial intention is to keep it as simple and rustic as possible. One must go through this piece to know the answer to the questions I posed above.
©Shashank
P.S. Thanks Preeti for gifting me this beautiful piece.
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