A collection of nine tragedies, nine stories; stories of urban loneliness, lust, death, obsession, memories and marriages, but found together in seductive melancholy when you are or when you haveƒ.. left from Dhakeshwari. The title denotes a dimension that's both a time and a place: a point of departure and the forbearer of journeys. Pensive women with souls of poetesses and violent men with eyes of children, the characters in these interconnected stories are also in search, of a time and place they can call their own. In 'Bomb Church', Aniruddha tries to piece together his mother's identity after her mysterious departure; the only clues available in the existential whodunit being: a soap-box, a brown shoe and the statements of five witnesses, while 'Salt Lake' recounts an unusual affair between a girl with a three-inch scar on her cheek and a mime-artist with scars of his own. Other characters in this collection include a runaway teenage-girl, an agoraphobic writer, a Bengali film actress, a sadistic guitar player, identical twins, a ghostess, and a manic-depressive housewife. These people are at that point in their lives when their cherubic idealism is beginning to fade into disillusionment. They are young but uprooted, rebellious but rudderless. These are stories of their lives.
By Kunal Sen: Grade A+ Mr. Kunal Sen is a multi talented personality. He is an investment manager by profession and an actor, director, writer, film reviewer and book reviewer by choice. ’Left from Dhakeshwari’ is a collection of nine short stories and his first solo book. When I read the name, I assumed that Dhakeshwari was a place, but upon reading, I realized that it is a temple in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dhakeshwari literally means Goddess of Dhaka, which I find interesting. A collection of nine tragedies, nine stories; stories of urban loneliness, lust, death, obsession, memories and marriages, but found together in seductive melancholy when you are or when you have.. left from Dhakeshwari. The title denotes a dimension that’s both a time and a place: a point of departure and the forbearer of journeys. Pensive women with souls of poetesses and violent men with eyes of children, the characters in these interconnected stories are also in search, of a time and place they can call their own. In ‘Bomb Church’, Aniruddha tries to piece together his mother’s identity after her mysterious departure; the only clues available in the existential whodunit being: a soap-box, a brown shoe and the statements of five witnesses, while ‘Salt Lake’ recounts an unusual affair between a girl with a three-inch scar on her cheek and a mime-artist with scars of his own. Other characters in this collection include a runaway teenage-girl, an agoraphobic writer, a Bengali film actress, a sadistic guitar player, identical twins, a ghostess, and a manic-depressive housewife. These people are at that point in their lives when their cherubic idealism is beginning to fade into disillusionment. They are young but uprooted, rebellious but rudderless. These are stories of their lives. Let’s begin with the book jacket. A black background and a mime artist with closed eyes makes for an attention catching cover, and also goes well with the concept of the book. The back cover gives the outline of the book. It’s a collection of nine short stories that straddle between the tragic, dramatic and mildly surreal, but it remains, in the end, a book about life stories of people who lived to their depths and failed in one way or another. The short stories are more targeted than regular novels and ensure that the subtle moments of change are captivating for readers. If you believe that short stories are lighter reads and that you can read them in random order, I suggest not trying the same with ‘Left From…’ because it’s written in a specific order; one that shows how all characters are interconnected. Reading them one after another helps in understanding the relation between stories and characters. However, the characters from a story are only a reference in another, and they join the story at a point where you least expect them to. Mr. Sen has chosen a Bengali background for most of his stories and the usage of so many native words provides authenticity to the characters. A glossary for such words is provided at the end of the book, so whenever you’re stuck on a word such as Choto Cheley or Didun, flip to end of book and search for the meaning. Mr. Sen has done a great job with his remarkable language. Every story of ‘Left from…’ is so alive that you can actually see it happening right in front of you. Descriptions of places, emotions, the minute details and the psychology of characters makes for a perfect narration. The language is somewhere between the beginning and end; it keeps you dwelling between your own intriguing thoughts and the writer’s perspective. Language is a major point of concern in most Indian authors, but Mr. Sen has taken it to a new height. His language is sharp, melodramatic, expressive and pensive. When there is a lesser backdrop, it serves as a counterfoil. There is no humor, no intentions of confusing the reader and no dramatic twists, and yet, none of the nine stories disappointed me. Before concluding my review, I would like to quote Mr. Sen: This is likely to resonate with anyone who has ever felt dislocated, loved Murakami, cried at nights, searched for happiness, drenched in the rains, written poetry on newspaper margins, including anyone born after Guevara’s assassination and before Babri Masjid’s. To conclude, I’ll just sat that each story, every page, every line in the book is written in a very thought-provoking manner and after every story, you will find yourself engulfed with the characters depicted. If you want to read a book that is extraordinarily excellent, ’Left from Dakeshwari’ is just the book for you. It is a must read for everyone who understands literature…or wants to.
The author – Kunal Sen started an ideal genre of writer that India should muse on currently. After a long time, I read an Indian author who comprehended in non colloquial Indian English. The entire format initiates as scattered around in small parts and finally comes together only through the rich imagination of the reader. Being one of the initial reproduces of the author, I am highly expecting a more playful language.
The book - One of the best cover pages I have come across. The color of the page is dark with the most difficult art form to display. The content has 9 stories in it; all has a different form of human emotions. They are diverse in their own ways yet similar in one. The best and the diverse part of all the stories is that it tell us about the psyche of people and situations that stop them from running behind their instinct and holding on to our social glitches. The connections of human emotions and the real world are definitely the objects that thrive around us. That has helped the author to create a Melodrama of the stories. There is no humor anywhere in the book and the minute details of the pain and anguish of a person is conveyed well. The detailing to link the protagonist of each of the story is done by a small but permanent association. The love affair of Salt Lake has been associated with a scar. More that anyone who views the scar, the one having a scar will see it through her mind, even though not through her eyes. In another, the protagonist finds the link of his lost mother finally through the small case hidden far away from his eyes but would run through his mind.
On the Whole - An amazing read. Not at all ambiguous or something you can give away easily. The ideas of the stories are authentic yet very thought provoking. Language is an outlander in its own way. This book offer relationship the justice of truth and pushes it to the harsh reality, away from the fairy tale.
To The Author - Wish you success all the way for offering modern Indian literature a new step. All the Best Kunal for your next coming write-up.
Not easy to write a review about a book when the author is someone you know.(even though only through a few conversations on goodreads!). You wonder whether you should be totally honest or not. I have decided to go with being honest as it helps the author and anyway, it is just my opinion. It is an excellent book. Very well written. The writing style is lyrical. The characters come alive with his words. As you read, you become emotionally involved and you start hating that man K, you wonder what sort of a man S really is, you partly understand the anguish of F realising that you can never fully understand it,you sigh with R at the state of the marriage and how it has changed. Kunal lets you get into the head of all of his characters. Now, for what i did not like about the book-the chart at the beginning of the book was blurred-was it deliberate? when i tried to decipher it at the end, it gave away a couple of twists in some stories. It may have been a good idea to include it at the end of the book rather than the beginning or if the plan was for it to be at the beginning, a clearer image would have been better. Although maybe it was just my copy of the book that had this blurred print? I would have preferred the name of the short story I was reading to be at the top of the page so that I did not have to flip back a few pages to see what the title was while reading it- it was the title of the book in all the pages and the author's name. Of course these are just technical issues. Some short stories were too ambiguous. Too much left to the reader to surmise, especially the first few. I preferred the latter part of the book. I hated reading one story. I think it is the concept of that short story that repelled me not the writing. I think the author's next attempt should be a novel which I feel would suit his style more, with most loose ends tied up!! I did enjoy reading this book. Just not all the short stories. But then, this is what I end up saying for nearly all short story collections! Finally, I would definitely read all the books this author will publish in the future! Good luck Kunal!
Wow! This is writing at its very best. Well, I don't think this book was written. It's been sculpted, by a sculptor with a great eye for detail and a flamboyant skill to spare.
Brilliant passages leapt at me and constantly attacked me with a distinctive verve. Whoever said, 'Show, don't tell' must have referred to this one, I believe. What stood out more was it's authenticity, in reference to how well it evokes fresh, new images in the reader's mind. Not to forget, the outlandish writing style. Each story's been crafted in such an ingenious way, that it leaves a strong lingering feeling when you finish it. Infact, I read each story twice. For the purpose of indulgence.
The book scores equally well in all the other areas that matter to me: characterization, dialogue, scope, plot construction, pace, descriptions and what not. Even the length of each story is perfect. In short, if I were a publisher, this is exactly the kind of book that I would like to publish. Many congratulations , Kunal! This isn't just a beautifully written book, but it's one that would resonate with me for ever.
WOW!!!! Awe-spiring and absolutely thrilling book. Even though the stories are tragic, author keeps you hooked on till the end. It is a MUST READ. Stories are beautifully narrated and makes you read more and more.
Kunal writes about different kinds of pain through various characters who are dissimilar from each other. The essence of the Bengal culture,food,festivals esp Durga Pujo is clearly underlined. The stories are more poetic than a collection of prose. I have been a reader of Kunal's work and I recommend that everyone read it.
There are nine stories, depicting real life characters and emotions. Tragedy, love and loss of people, place and overall a a depiction of human emotions and their evolution is being addressed through them. The stories are sent in background of bengal, so the characters and especially their love for reading and poetry is reflected. The stories will imbibe you into them, make you think really hard about relationships, emotions and life. The best part is that the stories are written in the form of a play which you feel it before your eyes as you read.
There is a son's quest for his mother in a story followed by another part where they are seen together at peace, but whether its a dream or after death is left open-ended to the readers imagination. There is a story where people find love despite imperfections and loss in earlier relationships which has a message to get through anything as light awaits one, sometimes at far end of a tunnel. A striking story where an assitant director within himself deeply loves a supporting actress but unfortunately circumstances prevent him from doing her role a justice. He however finds her much later and life and the the turn of events then are deeply touching. A love story of a girl with a deep scar on her face to a mime artist whose deep wounded scars remin unravelled, will they remain hidden in love? Does love win or the fear of showing your weaker side? These emotions keep you thinking for a longtime after reading each story.
If you are thinking about just a casual short story read this is not the type. Its deep, requires time and some stories being interconnected its advisable to read the chapters in order.
Negatives: None (this is the first time I have all good things to write about and i am proud that its an Indian i am writing about!)
Positives: The language is good. Writing style is snapshot view into an ongoing frame and from there the stories continue. Charcters are simple (to relate to) and realistic. Stories worth to ponder upon. Kunal Sen surely has a long way to go.
I had no idea about a book called Left from Dhakeshwari by Kunal Sen until we became part of the Left From Dhakeshwari Read-along along with a few other Indian bloggers. I do enjoy short stories once in a while, but they leave me feeling empty and wanting for more. I think that the trick with these types of stories is that if you do them well, they make for really good reads. Left From Dhakeshwari has a total of nine stories which are all inter connected. A people map or tree at the beginning of the book shows us the relation between all of the characters from these nine stories. While I really liked some stories, there were some that went over my head and were beyond my comprehension. I did not understand their significance at all and I didn't even want to try. But the ones that I did like were really good and some even had me thinking deeply about them. Although it was difficult to get some points the author tried to put forth, he does an excellent job at capturing certain emotions and sentiments. Author Kunal Sen's writing is different, in a good way. It has got a nice flow and literary touch to it. I loved how, in an already short story, he made further numerical divisions. I go by numbers of chapters, of pages, etc. when reading and so I really liked how the author managed to make a short story seem like a small novel. Overall, Left From Dhakeshwari didn't exactly live up to the 4 and 5 star reviews I'd seen for it on Goodreads, but it was a dazed, decent and different read.