Gulab

by Annie Zaidi

Gulab tests the limits that our mind sets upon a ghost’s powers. If you see her as a woman clinging to life, there is not much to fear. Yet: what if she wants to return to your life? And what makes you think you can make her leave?

It is a warm, muggy summer’s day. Nikunj is in a Muslim cemetery to attend Saira’s burial. Saira, the long-lost love he has been looking for since the earthquake, even through all the years of his marriage, never sure what he would do if he found her. But what are Usman and Parmod doing at her grave? Who are these women – Gulab, Mumtaz – that lay claim to his Saira’s resting place? This is a love story. But what sort of relationship can you have with a dead person, and what sort of future? Ghosts don’t grow old. Or have children. We know that, don’t we? But how do we know? If they can walk through walls and reclaim a body for themselves, perhaps they can cover that body with scars. Or stretch marks. In the afterlife, possibilities stretch into infinity. Why would they not grow bored of one man, one life?

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Paranormal

200 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2014

About the author

Annie Zaidi writes poetry, essays, fiction, and scripts for the stage and the screen.

She is the author of The Comeback (2025), City of Incident: A novel in twelve parts (2021), and Prelude to a Riot, which won the Tata prize for fiction (2020). She is a recipient of the Nine Dots prize (2019) for Bread, Cement, Cactus: A memoir of belonging and dislocation.

Her other books include Bantering with Bandits and Other True Tales (collection of essays, short-listed for the Crossword Book Award (non- fiction) in 2010, Gulab (novella), Love Stories # 1 to 14 (short stories), and The Good Indian Girl (co-authored with Smriti Ravindra), and Crush (poetry).

She is also the editor of 'Unbound: 2,000 Years of Indian women's Writing' and of 'Equal Halves'.

Her work has appeared in various anthologies, including Mumbai Noir; Women Changing India; India Shining, India Changing, and in literary journals like the Griffith Review, The Massachusetts Review, Big Bridge, Out of Print, and The Aleph Review.

Her work as a playwright has been performed and read in several cities. She received The Hindu Playwright Award (2018) for Untitled 1. Her radio script ‘Jam’ was named regional (South Asia) winner for the BBC’s International Playwriting Competition (2011).

She has also written and directed several short films and the documentary film, In her words: The journey of Indian women.

Reviews

[Indiabookstore · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a book this was! Completed it in one seating and I am still pondering over what happened. It will make you wonder – is it wise to mingle with the supernatural in the quest for true love? Is holding on too long wise?

Though most of the book may feel like it is easy to predict, the end will still leave you baffled. Read the full review.

[Sreerekha Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very eerie story .. but the suspense was good .

[Leya Biswas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story wasn't that much thrilling. At some point it felt to be cliched.

[Karthika Shaji · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book finally came to me after a long search. I never used to buy second hand books because the smell of new books and the freshness of the covers attracted me a lot rather than the old ones. But Gulab's first two lines made me buy it and it was like this "This is a love story
But what sort of relationship can you have
with a dead person, what sort of future?". Although there was a lot of suspense throughout the story, the climax felt very confusing. I thought it was just me but when I looked at book websites like good reads, I realized that many readers felt the same. The book was literally just a escape from reality and the writer did it very well too.

[Rajaa Bokhari · Rating 3 out of 5]

My score for this book is solely for the writing style, which is crisp and impactful. While the first third of the book is gripping, it begins to drag a little bit (which should be difficult for such a short book) and the ending completely loses me. It seemed like the conclusion was meant to be compelling, but it was too far-fetched to be that.

[Abhyudaya Shrivastava · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a fast paced book in parts. It is good in parts. The first half drags and the rants are unnecessary. The ending leaves the reader hanging but it works. Annie Zaidi first lowers your expectations with ordinary prose and then slaps you across the face with her genius.

[Ramya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully fast-paced thriller. The author maintains the eerie atmosphere both through the actual story as well as the interludes where the characters philosophise about the living, the dead and the connections between the two.

[Annie Zaidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

My expectations from Annie Zaidi were very high, the plot is interesting but at times it feels the plot is getting dragged. I finished this book in one go. Nothing much to talk about, just that if youare scared of sporits and graveyards ,avoid it .

[Dhruv Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really interesting and engaging plot with a slow build up but keeps you hooked to the end.

[Richa Bhattarai · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's got some really interesting ideas on death and beyond. Interesting characters, and fluid writing, too. I always enjoy Annie Zaidi's works.

[Sucheta · Rating 4 out of 5]

(one extra star for having a character called Sucheta in it who also likes graveyards).

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little novella with simple yet beautiful illustrations throughout which I really liked. I am still thinking about the ending.... not sure what was real and what was not.. 🤔🤔🤔

[Lobstar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Th story seems to be grasping at straws to read interesting or thrilling or creepy but sadly it left me confused and lost. Was this a ghost story? Or someone's imagination gone lost?

[Deepak]

‘Gulab’ is cute, it’s original ;eludes reviewing space, a near body experience.

Saira is buried in a graveyard,and Nikunj her lover gets a telegram, to come to the funeral; fifteen years after he has lost touch with her.Carrying rajnigandha flowers, Nikunj walks towards the grave.Thoughts of yesteryears come to him; what if, what if not.

There he bumps into Usmain her husband. They are not able to discover the grave of Saira as there is the robbery of marble and name stone. They end up quarreling to which Pramod too adds his frustration.

It is common in the graveyard to bury people in the same grave and take but little care to change the name or year.

I like this bit where he meets Usmain:

” I glanced at him and thought I saw a shadow pass over his eyes. He must be wondering what a man called ” Nikunj ” is doing inside the Muslim graveyard. For a moment, I felt bad about the unspoken question in his eyes. But then I reminded myself that I too would have wondered if I saw a man wearing a white skullcap standing at a shamshaan- ghaat. It’s alright, I told myself. It’s just curiosity.”

The author has captured frivolous talk so well in her story.This bit was hilarious:

” Nikunj bhai, stop. get up.’

It was Usman. he was trying to pull me to my feet. I shook and swayed from side to side like one maddened by grief.

‘ Let me cry. Let me at least cry in peace. All our life, they kept us apart. Oh god, let me cry! I cannot tell you what I have lost. I have lost everything.I was going on in this way and Usman seemed to be getting more and more upset. He forced me to sit up upright, and then started shaking me slightly.”‘Stop it! You’re crying at the wrong place!’

The author has dealt with the whole complex of emotions around death in everyday language. Really like the use of this word, “shifty-eyed”.Such a lovely deconstruction of English language in Indian parlance. It explores every inch of emotion in the mind.Gulab is such a breaking dawn. Do grab a copy!

[Anam · Rating 5 out of 5]

What sort of relationship can you have with a dead person? A fantasy, a horror story, you say. But is it a horror story when the only horror is losing the love of your life for fifteen years and discovering that she lived parallel lives with two other men, a wife to one and a mistress to another? A mystery story, where the only mystery is why, if you loved her so much, could you not see her even though she could see you? Why she decided to depart from your life and enter someone else’s, even though you loved her for twenty years and waited for her to come back to you? Meet Nikunj Seth’s girlfriend Saira Hasnain, Usman’s wife Gulab and Parmod’s wife Mumtaz Saira Singh, who are the same person. Nikunj gets a telegram from an unknown Hasnain for a funeral announcement; which spirals into a male ego war of who is buried in that grave. The headstone says Saira Hasnain with the year 1990. Usman claims his wife Gulab, who loves roses, was buried there the day before and the headstone is someone’s idea of a joke. Parmod, on the other hand, says his wife Mumtaz, who loves bela and chameli, and died in 1998 is buried there. Nikunj is lost and all he wants is to find his beloved’s grave, pay his last respects to her with his bouquet of rajnigandha, or tuberose, which he always knew were her favorite. But who is Rani who keeps appearing mysteriously at the grave, and calmly states that Saira loved petunias and cornflowers and bright flowers with delicate structures. And how does Rani know Saira and every single detail of the lives of the three men? Annie Zaidi speaks of the lives of the middle-class, the May sun, interracial love, friendship, religion, and the unquenchable thirst a man can have for a woman. She makes her characters speak in the Indian English of using present continuous in every sentence. Gulab also dwells on the otherworldly themes of shadows, out-of-the-body experiences and paranormal sightings. Add to that Yasmin Zaidi’s wonderful illustrations to this novella. This book is a must read.

[Akshay · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a moving tale, narrated with utmost sincerity and passion, Annie Zaidi takes us to a parallel world where one can fall in love with a ghost without realising this. They build a house of dreams until a day when the ghost decides to move on. Conceptually, Gulab is a promising read and the story does not disappoint. The novella has long monologues and dialogues with right doses of suspense that are injected at necessary intervals by creating a level of intrigue. Together, such situations keep one hooked to the book. The time frame of the book is narrow: 24 hours within which the story makes many unexpected turns. It is the simplicity with which the author narrates the love story between the living and dead that gives rise to intrigue. The black-and-white illustrations sketched out with a pencil which lends perfect support to make the narrative stronger. With her powerful imaginative skills, Annie Zaidi creates a tale which not many might be able to digest but many who believe in. ‘Gulab’ is a fascinating read and the unique concept is one of the main reasons why this book is an enjoyable read.

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Annie Zaidi but this book was really disappointing. I finished it in one sitting not because it was good but then out of curiosity. It's none like her books usually are. The concept is really different and maybe I liked the concept but she should've written this one as a short story because I found it was really dragged for no reasons and kind of repetitive things one can say. Well! Not really sure how did I like it. I would've written better review...had I read it in parts. It ended up giving me a headache. 2 men fighting in graveyard over one grave saying it was their wife's grave and the third one searching for a long lost lover's grave who received a telegram and was there for his long lost love. He too searching for his lover's grave and the digger kept saying he dug just one on that particular day. Absurd. Right? Two men keep fighting among themselves and third trying to resolve it who actually forgot about his own problem. Anyway, I got to stop here else I'll end up writing the whole story and it would sound really funny at one point.

[Saileena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a completely new genre for me.I got this copy as a gift.This is an Indian authored book,so I was happy to get hold of it. The concept is fascinating,its got supernatural element and a good twist midway. I liked the prose and the fact that the characters are totally relatable.The ending again will leave you thinking and wondering about the book for a long time..Overall,I recommend this book for a good read:)

[Apurva More · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I was contemplating between giving 3 or 4 stars to this book and I ended up giving it a 4.
No spoilers just listing what I liked about the book: it’s a quick read, it keeps you intrigued and gripped until the end and the style of writing is also good.
What I didn’t like is that, it was a slow build up (definitely gets interesting towards the end) and it had an open ended climax.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

a sweet story giving goosebumps

[Pramathesh Borkotoky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unputdownable.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy and quick read. Good story-line with good pace.

[Vishesh Unni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like her writing style.