अंतराल

by Mohan Rakesh

कुछ सम्बन्ध ऐसे भी होते हैं जिन्हें कोई नाम नहीं दिया जा सकता। परन्तु ये नामहीन सम्बन्ध कई बार अन्य सम्बन्धों की अपेक्षा कहीं सूक्ष्म और गहरे होते हैं।‘अन्तराल’ एक स्त्री और एक पुरुष के बीच के ऐसे ही सम्बन्ध की कहानी है। दोनों की पारस्परिक अपेक्षा शारीरिक और मानसिक अपेक्षाओं के रास्ते से गुज़रती हुई वास्तव में एक और ही अपेक्षा है—एक-दूसरे के होने मात्र से पूरी हो सकनेवाली अपेक्षा—हालाँकि इस वास्तविकता की पहचान स्वयं उन्हें भी नहीं है। दोनों के जीवन में दो रिक्त कोष्ठ हैं—श्यामा के जीवन में उसके पति का और कुमार के जीवन में एक दुबली पीली-सी लड़की का जिसके साथ कभी उसने घर बसाने की बात सोची थी। इन रिक्त कोष्ठों की माँग ही उन्हें इस सम्बन्ध की स्वाभाविकता को स्वीकार नहीं करने दे

216 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

जन्म: 8 जनवरी, 1925; जंडीवाली गली, अमृतसर।

शिक्षा: संस्कृत में शास्त्री, अंग्रेजी में बी.ए., संस्कृत और हिन्दी में एम.ए.।

आजीविकाः लाहौर, मुंबई, शिमला, जालंधर और दिल्ली में अध्यापन, संपादन और स्वतंत्र-लेखन।

महत्त्वपूर्ण कथाकार होने के साथ-साथ एक अप्रतिम और लोकप्रिय नाट्य-लेखक। नितांत असंभव और बेहद ईमानदार आदमी।

प्रकाशित पुस्तकें: अँधेरे बंद कमरे, अंतराल, न आने वाला कल (उपन्यास); आषाढ़ का एक दिन, लहरों के राजहंस, आधे-अधूरे, पैर तले की ज़मीन (नाटक); शाकुंतल, मृच्छकटिक (अनूदित नाटक); अंडे के छिलके, अन्य एकांकी तथा बीज नाटक, रात बीतने तक तथा अन्य ध्वनि नाटक (एकांकी); क्वार्टर, पहचान, वारिस, एक घटना (कहानी-संग्रह); बक़लम खुद, परिवेश (निबन्ध); आखिरी चट्टान तक (यात्रावृत्त); एकत्र (अप्रकाशित-असंकलित रचनाएँ); बिना हाड़-मांस के आदमी (बालोपयोगी कहानी-संग्रह) तथा मोहन राकेश रचनावली (13 खंड)।

सम्मान: सर्वश्रेष्ठ नाटक और सर्वश्रेष्ठ नाटककार के संगीत नाटक अकादमी पुरस्कार, नेहरू फ़ेलोशिप, फि़ल्म वित्त निगम का निदेशकत्व, फि़ल्म सेंसर बोर्ड के सदस्य।

निधन: 3 दिसम्बर, 1972, नई दिल्ली।

Reviews

[Ved Prakash · Rating 2 out of 5]

सम्बन्ध क्या होते हैं ? एक अभिनय मात्र ? जीवन के इस रंगमंच पर एक कुशल अभिनेता की तरह सम्बन्ध वाले रोल को अदा करना ?

या फिर किसी से सुकून भरी बात कर पाना भी उन सम्बन्धों से गहरा होता है जिन्हें समाज द्वारा एक नाम प्रदान किया गया होता है ?


यह एक ऐसे पुरुष और स्त्री की कहानी है जिनके जीवन में एक खालीपन है। यह खालीपन शारीरिक और मानसिक दोनों स्तर पर है। दोनों इस खालीपन को भरने की अपेक्षा एक-दूसरे से जाने-अनजाने पालते हैं। लेकिन यह अपेक्षा दोनों के सम्बन्धों के बीच की स्वाभाविकता पर अपना असर डालती है। दोनों के बीच के इस स्वाभाविक सम्बन्ध पर अपेक्षाओं का भार लादना और इसे एक नाम देने की व्याकुलता से उपजी मनःस्थिति और घटनाएं ही इस उपन्यास की कथावस्तु है।


कहानी वैसी नहीं लगी जो मन को छू ले। यह उपन्यास एक औसत स्तर का ही लगा मुझे।

[Bookish Reshuffle · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the surface, Antral looks like a typical novel looking into the relationship of Kumar and Shyama from a glass prism. Their story begins by giving an outsider's insider perspective on how they both met and started on this tumultuous journey of developing their bond over the next few weeks.

Read the complete review here: https://charantiandchai.com/antral-mo...

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Antral (Hardcover) by Mohan Rakesh-Social Novel- - In brief, the story is that Dev a resident of Pune. He own a residential house. He family includes his mother Bebe and his younger sister Seema. Dev marries Shyama. They had a civil marriage in the Registrar office. A daughter is born. Dev is a silent lover. He does not react much to situations instead he observes his wife’s reactions. His behavior with his mother and sister is normal. He respects his mother; he calls her Babe. He scolds his sister for being overactive and playful. He dies one and a half year after the marriage. Shyma has one sister and her brother in law Prof Malhotra is Head of the Department in a College in Bombay. Shyama gets the job of a teacher in Kullu Himachal Pradesh. She lives alone in a rented house. Her colleagues visit her every Saturday and Sunday and they all have a gala time. Shyma visits his sister in Bombay and being a teacher herself, she visits the college, the college library and other teachers Kumar, Neelkant, P N Pant, Kamal. She concludes that she must study further. With the help of her brother in law, they decide that Kumar should give her tuition. Amount of tuition fee will be decided between Prof Malhotra and Kumar. Shyama has to visit Kumar’s house to take tuition in the evening hours. Her daughter will stay with her mother in law. Her mother in law does not wish to stay with Shyama in Kullu. Once her mother in law and her sister in law had visited her at Kullu but they did not like to stay there. One reason was that Poona and Kullu have different climate. Second reason in their mind was that might be, Shyama wishes to sell the house in Pune. Her mother in law suggests that she must sell her house in Pune and purchase an apartment in Bombay. Shyama finds a suitable apartment in Bombay for Rs. 3500/- The house in Pune being old, is sold for Rs. 17500/- Shyama takes a loan from her GPF from School and adds her savings. Still the total amount is Rs 2000/- short. Shyama takes a loan and purchases the apartment. Her mother in law, her sister in law, her daughter stay at Bombay. Her sister in law gets a job of a telephone operator. Shyama is lonely and she is not able to decide whether to re-marry and live with Kumar. She has a job in Kullu Himachal Pradesh while Kumar is serving in Bombay. She meets Kumar. They are undecisive. The dialogues are helpful keeping the script interesting and moving fast. The description of flora, sea shore, landslide in Mumbai and description of Kullu is impressive. The author is an expert at understanding the feeling women characters. The author has quoted the following poem of John Keats.

BRIGHT STAR, WOULD I WERE STEDFAST

By John Keats

Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art---
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priest like task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors---
No---yet still steadfast, still unchangeable,
Pillowed upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever---or else swoon in death.
Second quotation is from the story "Prito" by Krishan Chander. This a good novel on city life. It is a must read book for all. The link of the book is https://ia801605.us.archive.org/26/it...