सदाचार का तावीज

by Harishankar Parsai

A collection of satires by Harishankar Parsai, who is known for his famous satirical stories, including Bholaram ka Jeev.

Genres: Satire, Fiction

138 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Harishankar Parsai (हरिशंकर परसाई) was one of the greatest hindi satire writer. Despite holding a MA degree in English, he never wrote in this language. Started his career as a teacher, he later quit it to become a full time writer and started a literature magazine "Vasudha"(it was later closed because of financial difficulties).

He was famous for his blunt and pinching style of writing which included allegorical as well as realist approach. He was funny enough to make you laugh but serious enough to prick your conscience. There would be hardly any dimension of life left which has not appeared in his satires. He received Sahitya Academy Award(biggest literature award in India) for his book "Viklaang Sraddha ka Daur". He has penned down some novels also.

Reviews

[Preeti · Rating 5 out of 5]

The easiest place to start reading Hindi again. It's a collection of satirical short stories, that are hilarious, thought-provoking, often dark. And it's a glimpse of what India was during the time of Parsai.

There's a story about a devout man who ends up in hell instead of heaven and his conversation with god about why it shouldn't be so.

Another story about how a charm ("taveez") can eliminate corruption from the kingdom, and how.

There are two stories about men and women in love, first story where they decide to kill each other because their families don't approve of their love, and second, where the story is basically a bollywood movie written down and keeping a count of how many songs each actor gets.

There is more, of course. Many different slices of life all in a simple, short book from an author criminally underrated and under-read today.

[Aryan Prasad · Rating 4 out of 5]

परसाई जी की अन्य रचनाओं की तरह ही ये भी ५ स्टार के योग्य है, पर इसका मुद्रण अच्छी तरह नहीं हुआ जिससे पढ़ने में काफ़ी दिक्कत आई।

[Divya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blunt, Honest, Bashing! A socio political commentary utterly witty and intelligent . Parsai truly proves to be the torch bearer of hindi satirical stories. Right from school days till date I find a complete package of humor, satire, crisp story telling and informed criticism in his writings.

[Ankur · Rating 5 out of 5]

परसाई जी की कहानियाँ भले ही 20वी सदी में लिखी गयी हो लेकिन वो आज के समय में भी उतनी ही सटीक बैठती है जितना की उस समय।

[Manish Kumar · Rating 2 out of 5]

मुझे व्यंग्य कथाओं कि इस संग्रह में भोलाराम का जीव सबसे उत्कृष्ट रचना लगी। इसके अलावा आत्म ज्ञान क्लब, गांधीजी की शाल, एक तृप्त आदमी की कहानी, भगत की गत और 10 दिन का अनशन भी पसंद आए।

बाकी आलेख परसाई जी के स्तर से कुछ खास नहीं लगे। खाना की हालांकि इस किताब में उनकी भाषा शैली उसी तरह सरल और रुचिकर है जिसके लिए वे जाने जाते हैं। लगभग डेढ सौ पन्नों की इस किताब को खत्म करने में शायद ही आपको दो दिन से ज्यादा का समय लगे।"

[Kiran H · Rating 1 out of 5]

i feel good.

[Anubhav Srivastav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome