मध्यरात्रीचे पडघम [Madhyaratriche Padgham]

by Ratnakar Matkari, रत्नाकर मतकरी

"Have you seen him, the one who is totally bald? His face is smooth and black like a marble, his nose is shaped as a parrot`s beak. And his eyes! They look at you intently, they pierce you! I am scared of his eyes. It all started that day, actually it was night. I was sleeping near my daddy. All of a sudden, a noise woke me up. Whole house was shaking violently with the noise. It was a drum beating loudly, rhythmically. The beat was moving everything in the surrounding. Suddenly, the noise stopped. Then it was the sound of a honey fly, goo, goo, again the drum beats started. I was so scared, I tried to wake up daddy, it was then I realized that daddy was not in his bed. I was alone; there was no one else on the bed. Daddy was nowhere, I felt lonely! The darkness surrounded me and that drum beat was getting on my nerves. I screamed at the top of my voice." When you start reading these stories something familiar, something unfamiliar will create fear in your minds. It will freeze you; it will be so very realistic that you will forget that it is unreal. The fear never experienced before, but somewhere within you, deep inside, it will start beating drums in your mind. Listen to it carefully, surely it will clear your mind of all the hidden consciousness you had till today. This great author introduces us to our own fears buried deep inside.

Genres: Marathi, Horror

148 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Matkari's first work, the one-act play Wedi Manase,was presented in 1955 on All India Radio in Mumbai.His play Pahuni was presented the next year at another venue.

Matkari worked as a columnist for newspapers and magazines in the 1970s. He wrote the column Soneri Savalya n Apale Mahanagar for four years.

Matkari's 98 works thus far include 33 plays, 8 collections of his one-act plays, 18 books of his short stories, 3 novels, a book of poems for children, and 14 plays and three collections of plays for children.His works include Gudha Katha --mysteries—for adults which maintain realism.Matkari wrote a few plays in Indian languages other than Marathi.Many of Matkari's novellas have been adapted for the stage.

Reviews

[Rushikesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ratnamkar Matkari is master of suspence thriller genre. some stories are just beyond being suspence. There are psycho-thrillers stories which will create chill and unease for readers. In such small number of pages only a craftsman can achieve effects which Matkari can. Must read for those who seek fear!!

[अनिकेत · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ratnakar Matkari + Marathi Suspense thriller = 100 marks...cant say more than that...full to enjoying..especially few stories like "madhyaratriche padgham", "maskari", "vikhaar" are all time best..!

[Aniket Patil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book, perfect genre and perfect writer. Ratnakar matkari's books are fantastic, Stories are riveting. some are less but almost all are more than just good.

[Aditi C · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

ह्या पुस्तकात छोट्या गोष्टी आहेत, गोष्टींचे स्वरूप चांगले आहे. भयकथा म्हणावे तर तसे काही भीती वाटण्याचे प्रसंग नव्हते, पण पुढे काय ह्याची जिज्ञासा टिकून राहिली ती अगदी पुस्तकाच्या शेवटच्या पानापर्यंत. काही गोष्टींमधे शेवट काय होईल ह्याचा ढोबळ अनुमान लावता येण्यासारखा होता.

तरी मला आवडलेल्या गोष्टी :
अवचिन्ह
झोपाळा
विखार
फिरून त्याच जागी
मध्यरात्रीची पडघम

ह्या पुस्तकाला एक संधी द्यायला हरकत नाही असे पुस्तक !!

- अ. चौधरी - देशमुख

[Nikhil Baisane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of stories bordering on horror/terror/suspense genre. Matkari's crisp writing is apt for creating an aura of creepiness but sometimes it feels like the playwright in him takes over the short story writer. Must read for everyone who's interested in pop-lit.

[Suryakant Chaubal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stories

All the stories in this collection are happening in mysterious circumstances. The mystery keeps the reader engroosed. In spite of unusual circumstances they are quite realistic.

[Ishan Khobragade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matkari and Dharap are the kings of horror, thriller, mystery telling in Marathi. Matkari's this short story collection is worth reading. One you start you can't put it down until you finished it. Must read.

[Samruddha · Rating 4 out of 5]

पहिल्यांदाच मराठा भय/गुढ कथा वाचल्या. कथेची दिशा लक्षात आली आहे असे जरी वाटले तरी लेखनातील गुढता जखडून तर ठेवतेच तसेच शेवटही बऱ्याचदा अचंबित करतो. स्वगत कथनाचा अनुभव नवीन आणि छान होता.

[Namrata Shinde · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice story

[Nilesh Sutar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Need to experience the Author

Ratnakar Matkari starts with simple theme and colours it on the way with his skills. He has unique style and theme

[Rohit Kadam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very impressive, scary and lots of mysterious..

[Nilesh kurangal · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and last stories are avg but rest are pure suspense thrillers. For a story so short, suspense such is unexpected. Truly Masterpiece.

[Noveltea · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 stars for "Zopala" and 4 stars for "Maskari". Otherwise stories were predictable. Not big on marathi literature but this book could sure make me pick more native books in future.

[Atul · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't find it as interesting as it's title.

[Abhijit Jayade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best by Ratnakar matkari

This is the best book of Ratnakarji. यातील सर्व कथा खिळवणाऱ्या आहेत. शीर्षक कथाही सुंदर. डोळे मिटून विकत घ्यावे असे पुस्तक

[Pratik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice creation by author. One cannot guess the climax of the story.

[Shreyas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ratnakar Matkari Signature Book. Must read for Bhay katha lovers.

[Shubham Bhambure · Rating 5 out of 5]

सर्वच कथा उत्तम. वाचताना डोळ्यासमोर चित्र उभं करणाऱ्या आणि मनात विचारांच घर निर्माण करणाऱ्या. झोपाळा कथा जास्त आवडली.

[Hrishikesh Karambelkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique amazing stories

The book is awesome. When I started reading it, I could not stop it until I finished all of its stories.

[Sujay Sawant · Rating 4 out of 5]

ह्या कथांमध्ये थरार आणि हिंसा आहे, ह्याहून खेकडा आणि बारा पस्तीस जास्त भारावून टाकणाऱ्या आहेत.