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Usne Kaha Tha Aur Anya Kahaniyaan
चन्द्रधर शर्मा 'गुलेरी' की लोकप्रियता का मुख्या कारन तो उनकी यह कहानी है ही लेकिन उन्होंने कहानियोंke अतिरिक्त निबंध, आलोचना-समीक्षा, विमर्श और शोध जैसी उस समय की अविकसित विधाओ में भी लिखा है।
112 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2014
128 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 31, 2024
The most intriguing part of this book of short stories was that there was no story that was newer than a century. Guleriji left in 1922 and all his works this were written between 1900-1922. There is a reason his writing is called ‘कालजयी’ because unlike many of his other contemporaries, he has been able to capture the social fabric of the country so well and aptly. Stories are visual and rich and definitely recommended.
So why just 3 stars? Because while the writing is world class, coming from Guleriji, the way this book is selfishly put together is just so much of a turn off. There are just 3-4 good stories and rest are just few lines put together to add to the pages. Doesn’t do justice to the works that he has done. Maybe will be good to pick a full fledged book of his soon.
So why just 3 stars? Because while the writing is world class, coming from Guleriji, the way this book is selfishly put together is just so much of a turn off. There are just 3-4 good stories and rest are just few lines put together to add to the pages. Doesn’t do justice to the works that he has done. Maybe will be good to pick a full fledged book of his soon.
May 17, 2025
गुलेरी ने ज़्यादा नहीं लिखा या परमात्मा ने उन्हें अवसर ही नहीं दिया ज्यादा लिखने का, पर जो लिखा वो वैसा है जैसे कोई बारिश की पहली बूँद हो जिसे ज़मीन बरसों से याद कर रही हो।
"उसने कहा था" सिर्फ एक कहानी नहीं, वो एक एहसास है जो बचपन से शुरू होता है और युद्ध की चीखों में कहीं खो जाता है। लहना सिंह का किरदार वो जो आज की दुनिया में शायद 'ओवर इमोशनल' कहा जाए, वो उस दौर का सबसे सच्चा प्रेमी था। जिसने एक बचपन की बात को आखिरी साँस तक निभाया। अगर ये कहानी उपन्यास होती, तो शायद हम उसका हर दिन, हर इंतज़ार और हर डर पढ़ पाते। पर शायद तब वो असर न होता क्योंकि कुछ कहानियाँ अधूरी नहीं होती, वो बस उतनी ही होती हैं जितनी होनी चाहिए।
"घंटाघर" ये कहानी जैसे किसी शहर की आत्मा से बातें करती है।शुरुआत की वो लाइन "एक मनुष्य को कहीं जाना होता है..." पढ़ते ही लगता है कि ये कहानी हमारे बारे में है।हर इंसान अपने हिस्से की पगडंडी बना रहा है, और घंटाघर बस खड़ा देख रहा है। अगर ये उपन्यास होता, तो शायद वो शहर ज़्यादा साफ़ दिखता, और हम उसमें कहीं और गुम हो जाते।
बाकी कहानियाँ "सुखमय जीवन" और "बुद्धू का काँटा" जैसे वो दोस्त होते हैं जो ग्रुप में होते तो हैं, पर सबसे ज़्यादा बातें नहीं करते।शायद वो गुलेरी की कलम की थकान थीं, या बस वो स्पेस जिन्हें भरना ज़रूरी था।
पर अंत में ये कह सकते हैं गुलेरी ने कुछ कहानियाँ लिखीं, पर जो लिखा…वो ऐसा है जैसे किसी ने गुलाब को इत्र में बदल दिया हो कम, लेकिन असरदार।
"उसने कहा था और अन्य कहानियाँ" कोई संग्रह नहीं, एक छोटा सा आइना है जिसमें हिंदी साहित्य अपना सबसे भावुक, सबसे गहरा चेहरा देखता है।
"उसने कहा था" सिर्फ एक कहानी नहीं, वो एक एहसास है जो बचपन से शुरू होता है और युद्ध की चीखों में कहीं खो जाता है। लहना सिंह का किरदार वो जो आज की दुनिया में शायद 'ओवर इमोशनल' कहा जाए, वो उस दौर का सबसे सच्चा प्रेमी था। जिसने एक बचपन की बात को आखिरी साँस तक निभाया। अगर ये कहानी उपन्यास होती, तो शायद हम उसका हर दिन, हर इंतज़ार और हर डर पढ़ पाते। पर शायद तब वो असर न होता क्योंकि कुछ कहानियाँ अधूरी नहीं होती, वो बस उतनी ही होती हैं जितनी होनी चाहिए।
"घंटाघर" ये कहानी जैसे किसी शहर की आत्मा से बातें करती है।शुरुआत की वो लाइन "एक मनुष्य को कहीं जाना होता है..." पढ़ते ही लगता है कि ये कहानी हमारे बारे में है।हर इंसान अपने हिस्से की पगडंडी बना रहा है, और घंटाघर बस खड़ा देख रहा है। अगर ये उपन्यास होता, तो शायद वो शहर ज़्यादा साफ़ दिखता, और हम उसमें कहीं और गुम हो जाते।
बाकी कहानियाँ "सुखमय जीवन" और "बुद्धू का काँटा" जैसे वो दोस्त होते हैं जो ग्रुप में होते तो हैं, पर सबसे ज़्यादा बातें नहीं करते।शायद वो गुलेरी की कलम की थकान थीं, या बस वो स्पेस जिन्हें भरना ज़रूरी था।
पर अंत में ये कह सकते हैं गुलेरी ने कुछ कहानियाँ लिखीं, पर जो लिखा…वो ऐसा है जैसे किसी ने गुलाब को इत्र में बदल दिया हो कम, लेकिन असरदार।
"उसने कहा था और अन्य कहानियाँ" कोई संग्रह नहीं, एक छोटा सा आइना है जिसमें हिंदी साहित्य अपना सबसे भावुक, सबसे गहरा चेहरा देखता है।
September 18, 2024
Some of the tales, despite their beautiful prose - are transient thoughts at best. Good Devnagari practice nonetheless.
But the titular short story is one of the most poignant pieces of prose I have laid eyes on.
But the titular short story is one of the most poignant pieces of prose I have laid eyes on.
June 4, 2025
This short story, which became so popular it's considered synonymous with the name of its author, could very well be conceived as a melodramatic misfire, a tragic romance drowning in saccharine sentimentality. Although it is problematic, I want to draw attention away from the usual suspects to a bigger issue.
I remember watching the film Veer-Zaara had a deep emotional impact on my ten-year old self. Fast forward 20 years, I found it irritatingly cloying the last time I watched it. Who, in a sound frame of mind, sacrifices 22 years of his life for a girl he met 24 hours ago?
The theme of sacrifice for the sake of love underlies at the heart of this story. Lehna Singh goes the way of all flesh for saving his superior because Usne Kaha Tha, a promise he made to a girl whom he has met a grand total of two times. Unlike Gunahon ka Devta, there's nothing morally baleful undergirding the story, as evidenced by the customary riposte I get to these types of questions, 'Chill, it's just a book!' And herein lies my existential reservation about art, for life imitates art (and vice-versa).
Lest it sounds like I am making a mountain out of a mole hill, I want to point out an important difference between reality and realism in art, something that's technically outside the scope of a review, but here goes nothing.
When we say something was portrayed 'realistically' in a book or a movie, we more often than not mean it had dark, gritty undertones. Reality is a lot of things, but uniformly terrible isn't one of them. So why? We seem to have conflated the two terms. Realism is basically shorthand for acknowledging generally ignored negative consequences for the sake of the plot (for example, the absence of police in any potboiler movie, even after the main lead kills a thousand men on the fly). It makes it feel less idealistic and more grounded, at least when it's done right.
A preface to the story introduces Chandradhar Sharma as the harbinger of yatharthvaad, realism, in Hindi literature. My point is, we should aim to keep that subtle difference in our sights and not be overly influenced by it. Lehna makes a girl he met as a kid once the raison d'être of his life, but that's not how it works.
To be honest, I did enjoy the story despite my thorn, mostly because I found the language exquisite. In an obscure alternative short story (titled Heere ka Heera) Guleri didn't finish due to his untimely death, Lehna returns alive at the end of the war, marries a different girl, has a baby, is summoned yet again to a different war, and comes home again, this time with an amputated leg. Now this story may not be as famous as Usne Kaha Tha, but certainly it's not as far-fetched and more realistic.
I remember watching the film Veer-Zaara had a deep emotional impact on my ten-year old self. Fast forward 20 years, I found it irritatingly cloying the last time I watched it. Who, in a sound frame of mind, sacrifices 22 years of his life for a girl he met 24 hours ago?
The theme of sacrifice for the sake of love underlies at the heart of this story. Lehna Singh goes the way of all flesh for saving his superior because Usne Kaha Tha, a promise he made to a girl whom he has met a grand total of two times. Unlike Gunahon ka Devta, there's nothing morally baleful undergirding the story, as evidenced by the customary riposte I get to these types of questions, 'Chill, it's just a book!' And herein lies my existential reservation about art, for life imitates art (and vice-versa).
Lest it sounds like I am making a mountain out of a mole hill, I want to point out an important difference between reality and realism in art, something that's technically outside the scope of a review, but here goes nothing.
When we say something was portrayed 'realistically' in a book or a movie, we more often than not mean it had dark, gritty undertones. Reality is a lot of things, but uniformly terrible isn't one of them. So why? We seem to have conflated the two terms. Realism is basically shorthand for acknowledging generally ignored negative consequences for the sake of the plot (for example, the absence of police in any potboiler movie, even after the main lead kills a thousand men on the fly). It makes it feel less idealistic and more grounded, at least when it's done right.
A preface to the story introduces Chandradhar Sharma as the harbinger of yatharthvaad, realism, in Hindi literature. My point is, we should aim to keep that subtle difference in our sights and not be overly influenced by it. Lehna makes a girl he met as a kid once the raison d'être of his life, but that's not how it works.
To be honest, I did enjoy the story despite my thorn, mostly because I found the language exquisite. In an obscure alternative short story (titled Heere ka Heera) Guleri didn't finish due to his untimely death, Lehna returns alive at the end of the war, marries a different girl, has a baby, is summoned yet again to a different war, and comes home again, this time with an amputated leg. Now this story may not be as famous as Usne Kaha Tha, but certainly it's not as far-fetched and more realistic.
July 18, 2025
यह किताब चंद्रधर शर्मा ‘गुलेरी’ की लघु कहानियों का संकलन है, कुल जमा 24 कहानियां हैं पर याद रखने जैसी बस दो – "उसने कहा था" और "बुद्धू का कांटा", अन्य सभी कहानियां बहुत छोटी हैं जो नीरस हैं। कई कहानियों का अंत बिलकुल साधारण है, इतना कि कुछ जगहों पर गुलेरी बस एक अनुभवहीन कलमकार लगते हैं हिन्दी के बड़े लेखक नहीं।
पर हां, ये दो कहानियां "उसने कहा था" और "बुद्धू का कांटा" पढ़ने योग्य हैं।
पर हां, ये दो कहानियां "उसने कहा था" और "बुद्धू का कांटा" पढ़ने योग्य हैं।
October 15, 2020
One Story that .....made him a great story teller.
August 15, 2024
Do teen kahaniyaan hi aadhunik hain aur achhi hain. 'Buddhu Kaanta' kahani mujhe sabse achchhi lagi.
October 11, 2024
उसणे कहा था ये एक खास कहानियो मे आती है, मुझे उसणे कहा था से जादा बुधू का काटा जादा प्रिय लगा, वो कहाणी कलो तक शायद मेरे एकदम कारिब ही रहेगी, बाकी कहानिया भी बहूत सुंदर थी ।
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March 20, 2025Achha laga
June 28, 2025
Great read. The stories are short but have many layers within then. Once the reader catches the subtle satirical note, then it’s sheer joy.
July 1, 2025
दो या तीन कहानियाँ ही आधुनिक और अच्छी लगीं। उनमें से 'बुद्ध का काँटा' मुझे सबसे अधिक पसंद आई।
July 30, 2025
not my type
August 2, 2025
Good read. Ahead of its time.
November 4, 2025
Fun short stories. Liked the wit. Easy filler read. Has great cultural references. Some regressive thoughts were reflecting through the turn of events but all over a fun read.
September 3, 2016
कुछ कहानियां बेह���रीन है जैसे 'उसने कहा था' , 'पाठशाला' , 'सुखमय जीवन' ।
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews