तिरोहित

by Geetanjali Shree

गीतांजलि श्री के लेखन में अमूमन, और 'तिरोहित' में ख़ास तौर से, सब कुछ ऐसे अप्रकट ढंग से घटता है कि पाठक ठहर-से जाते हैं। जो कुछ मार्के का है, जीवन को बदल देनेवाला है, उपन्यास के फ्रेम के बाहर होता है। ज़िन्दगियाँ चलती-बदलती हैं, नए-नए राग-द्वेष उभरते हैं, प्रतिदान और प्रतिशोध होते हैं, पर चुपके-चुपके। व्यक्त से अधिक मुखर होता है अनकहा। घटनाक्रम के बजाय केन्द्र में रहती हैं चरित्र-चित्रण व पात्रों के आपसी रिश्तों की बारीकियाँ। पैनी तराशी हुई गद्य शैली, विलक्षण बिम्बसृष्टि और दो चरित्रों-ललना और भतीजा-के परस्पर टकराते स्मृति प्रवाह के सहारे उद्घाटित होते हैं 'तिरोहित' के पात्र उनकी मनोगत इच्छाएँ, वासनाएँ व जीवन से किए गए किन्तु रीते रह गए उनके दावे। अन्दर-बाहर की अदला-बदली को चरितार्थ करती यहाँ तिरती रहती है एक रहस्यमयी छत। मुहल्ले के तमाम घरों को जोड़ती यह विशाल खुली सार्वजनिक जगह बार-बार भर जाती है चच्चो और ललना के अन्तर्मन के घेरों से। इसी से बनता है कथानक का रूप। जो हमें दिखाता है चच्चो/बहन जी और ललना की इच्छाओं और उनके जीवन की परिस्थितियों के बीच की न पट सकनेवाली दूरी। वैसी ही दूरी रहती है इन स्त्रियों के स्वयं भोगे यथार्थ और समाज द्वारा देखी गई उनकी असलियत में। निरन्तर तिरोहित होती रहती हैं वे समाज के देखे जाने में। किन्तु चच्चो/बहन जी और ललना अपने अन्तर्द्वन्द्वों और संघर्षों का सामना भी करती हैं। उस अपार सीधे-सच्चे साहस से जो सामान्य ज़िन्दगियों का स्वभाव बन जाता है। गीतांजलि श्री ने इन स्त्रियों के घरेलू जीवन की अनुभूतियों-रोज़मर्रा के स्वाद, स्पर्श, महक, दृश्य-को बड़ी बारीकी से उनकी पूरी सैन्सुअलिटी में उकेरा है। मौत के तले चलते यादों के सिलसिले में छाया रहता है निविड़ दु ख। अतीत चूँकि बीतता नहीं, यादों के सहारे अप

171 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Geetanjali Shree गीताजंली क्ष्री (She was known as Geentanjali Pandey, and she took her mother's first name Shree as her last name) (born 1957) is a Hindi novelist and short story writer based in New Delhi, India. She is the author of several short stories and three novels. Mai was short listed for the Crossword Book Award in 2001. She has also written a critical work on Premchand.

Her first story, Bel Patra (1987) was published in the literary magazine Hans and was followed by a collection of short stories Anugoonj (1991)

The English translation of her novel Mai catapulted her into fame. The novel is about three generations of women and the men around them, in a North Indian middle-class family. Mai is translated into Serbian, Korean and German. It has been translated into English by Nita Kumar, who was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award for the translation. It has been also translated into Urdu by Bashir Unwan with preface by Intizar Hussain. Furthermore, it has been translated into other languages: into French by Annie Montaut, into German by Reinhold Schein...

Her second novel Hamara Shahar Us Baras set loosely after the incidents of Babri Masjid demolition.

Reviews

[Rajeev Rampal · Rating 1 out of 5]

​Review: A Disorienting Maze
​Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
​I’ll be the first to admit that I may have completely missed the mark with this one, but Tirohit was an exhausting experience. Whether the fault lies with the complexity of the writing or my own expectations for a cohesive story, I found it nearly impossible to follow.
​The Problem with the Prose
​The primary issue is the structure. The narrative is incredibly "jumpy," constantly shifting focus and leaping between thoughts and moments without a clear anchor. Instead of feeling like a flowing story, the prose felt like a series of disconnected fragments.
​Lacks Cohesion: I struggled to find a thread to hold onto.
​Difficult Style: While some might call the prose "poetic" or "experimental," for me, it was simply opaque and hard to digest.
​Disorienting: The constant jumping around made it difficult to appreciate the characters or the atmosphere because I was too busy trying to figure out where—or when—the scene was taking place.
​Final Thoughts
​I couldn’t find a way to appreciate the artistry here because the barrier to entry felt too high. If you prefer a narrative with a clear direction and a steady pace, this book may feel more like a chore than a literary journey. For me, it was a total miss.
​

[Poojan Bhatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first from the author - Loved the sharp writing and that too with neat observation of a rooftop of traditional indian neighbourhoods ( chawl).
The novel’s tone is undeniably sad, but it is the subtlety of Shree’s narrative that truly leaves an impact—the sorrow is never melodramatic, but instead seeps quietly into you psyche. You will not be weeping but your throat will either have lump or corner of eyes will be wet when you think of some of the situations given in book
The writing style is the weirdest part- its like saramago in hindi- you might have to drag your self in some of the pages
The rooftop metaphor is used poetically/beautifully to depict spaces of transgression, forbidden friendships, and loves.
Tough read but worth it!! All the hindi lovers please try this one.