What do you think?
Rate this book
स्वामी
Novels
144 pages, Paperback
10 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Mannu Bhandari
53 books96 followersMannu Bhandari was born on April 3, 1931, in Bhanpura, Madhya Pradesh, India. She attended school in Ajmer and later she graduated from Calcutta University in 1949, followed by an M.A. degree in Hindi from the Banaras Hindu University in 1953.
She is wife of famous Hindi writer Rajendra Yadav, with whom she co-wrote the book, Ek Inch Muskaan (A Little Smile).
In post independent Hindi literature many new women writers emerged
and attracted the attention of readers and critics but after initial shining some
of them did not make writing of their successful career. Many women writers
have entered the arena of literary writing. Several highly talented writers have
enriched Hindi literature with their creative writings. To name a few Usha
Priyamvada, Malti Joshi, Dipti Khandelwal, Mridila Garg, Mannu Bhandari,
Shubha Verma are some of the most accomplished contemporary Hindi
women writers. Their writing reflect how modernism, contemporary social
situations and currents and cross currents at life have molded their writing and
subject matter as well as impact on them. Moreover these women writers
have written about Indian women, their pains, conflicts, predicaments against
the background of contemporary India. They have focused their attention not
only on the outer situation and conflict but also on inner turmoil of modern
women. In this reference writer like Mannu Bhandari deserves special
attention. Her contribution to the world of fiction dates to the 6os. She has
written in and experimented with varieties of genres of literature like the short
story novel, political novel, literature for children, drama, screen play, and
dialogues for film etc. Mannu Bhandari has also chaired the directorship of
Premchand Srujanpith in Vikram University, Ujjian. In 2008 Mannu Bhandari
was given for her autobiography Ek Kahani Yah Bhi the prestigious Vyas
Sanmaan for year 2008, which is instituted by the K.K. Birala Foundation and
given every year for outstanding literary work in Hindi authored by Indian citizens.
She is wife of famous Hindi writer Rajendra Yadav, with whom she co-wrote the book, Ek Inch Muskaan (A Little Smile).
In post independent Hindi literature many new women writers emerged
and attracted the attention of readers and critics but after initial shining some
of them did not make writing of their successful career. Many women writers
have entered the arena of literary writing. Several highly talented writers have
enriched Hindi literature with their creative writings. To name a few Usha
Priyamvada, Malti Joshi, Dipti Khandelwal, Mridila Garg, Mannu Bhandari,
Shubha Verma are some of the most accomplished contemporary Hindi
women writers. Their writing reflect how modernism, contemporary social
situations and currents and cross currents at life have molded their writing and
subject matter as well as impact on them. Moreover these women writers
have written about Indian women, their pains, conflicts, predicaments against
the background of contemporary India. They have focused their attention not
only on the outer situation and conflict but also on inner turmoil of modern
women. In this reference writer like Mannu Bhandari deserves special
attention. Her contribution to the world of fiction dates to the 6os. She has
written in and experimented with varieties of genres of literature like the short
story novel, political novel, literature for children, drama, screen play, and
dialogues for film etc. Mannu Bhandari has also chaired the directorship of
Premchand Srujanpith in Vikram University, Ujjian. In 2008 Mannu Bhandari
was given for her autobiography Ek Kahani Yah Bhi the prestigious Vyas
Sanmaan for year 2008, which is instituted by the K.K. Birala Foundation and
given every year for outstanding literary work in Hindi authored by Indian citizens.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 21, 2024
Swami is a sweet romance, or love triangle - Mini (short for Saudamini) falls hard for Narendra, and he wants her too. They share a rain-washed summer, and there are nights full of yearning. But when Narendra travels to Kolkata for a bit, and Mini's uncle unexpectedly dies, her widowed mother marries her off to Ghanshyam from a respectable family.
The said "respectable" family doesn't treat her very well, and it's hard for Mini too to get interested in this home life. There's an element of hypocrisy here, because Mini's mother who was widowed at 19, with less than a year of marriage under her belt, has never had to deal with the nonsense going around Mini's home and is of course hardly one who will be helping her navigate it.
More tragedy ensues, but peace is also made. While waiting and waiting for the day Narendra returns for her, and trying to understand this new family, she starts to sympathize for Ghanshyam. There is compassion, understanding, a shared sense of duty etc, but I'm not sure how much the basis of love and building a life together is "sympathy"; worrying about abandoning your partner to their not-great family.
The best part of this book though is the last third, where there is a lovely translation into Hindi of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's original Bengali "Swami". Even over a hundred years later, Chattopadhyay's own writing shines brighter than any adaptation of his work -- even though Mannu Bhandari deserves credit for giving us something more feminist than what Bollywood wanted to do with this. Chattopadhyay's Saudamini is bold, embodies that unbridled lust, that yearning where you can't peel yourself away from someone. The scenes he writes are vivid and fast-moving. If this is any example, I'm sure the original Devdas, Parineeta, etc probably exceed their countless adaptations. Their Hindi translations must be worth a read; sadly I cannot read any Bengali.
Want to read
July 1, 2020Online reading ke Liye donwload karen Please
August 10, 2025
स्वामी मन्नू भंडारी का एक और संवेदनशील और गहराई से लिखा गया उपन्यास है, जो एक महिला के मन की उलझनों, रिश्तों और आत्म-संघर्ष को बेहद सादगी और गंभीरता से सामने लाता है। कहानी मालती के इर्द-गिर्द घूमती है - एक ऐसी स्त्री जो अपने जीवन, अपने निर्णय और अपने ‘स्वामी’ के बीच फँसी हुई है। मन्नू भंडारी की खासियत यही है कि वो बहुत ही साधारण स्थितियों में भी असाधारण भावनाएँ खोज लेती हैं। उनका लेखन सादा है, लेकिन हर लाइन में एक चुपचाप गूंजती हुई गहराई होती है।
अगर आपने आपका बंटी पढ़ा है, तो स्वामी भी उसी तरह आपको धीरे-धीरे अपने भीतर खींचता है। हालाँकि यह उपन्यास उतना तीव्र और भावनात्मक रूप से झकझोरने वाला नहीं है, फिर भी इसके किरदार और परिस्थितियाँ आपको सोचने पर मजबूर ज़रूर करेंगी।
कहानी कुछ जगहों पर धीमी पड़ सकती है, लेकिन अगर आप मन्नू भंडारी की शैली से वाकिफ़ हैं, तो आपको ये रचना भी ज़रूर पसंद आएगी।
अगर आपने आपका बंटी पढ़ा है, तो स्वामी भी उसी तरह आपको धीरे-धीरे अपने भीतर खींचता है। हालाँकि यह उपन्यास उतना तीव्र और भावनात्मक रूप से झकझोरने वाला नहीं है, फिर भी इसके किरदार और परिस्थितियाँ आपको सोचने पर मजबूर ज़रूर करेंगी।
कहानी कुछ जगहों पर धीमी पड़ सकती है, लेकिन अगर आप मन्नू भंडारी की शैली से वाकिफ़ हैं, तो आपको ये रचना भी ज़रूर पसंद आएगी।
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews