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Half a Rupee (Penguin 30 ed) [Paperback] GULZAR
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232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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July 27, 2021
"A good storyteller is the conscience-keeper of a nation. And Gulzar saab is a good storyteller."
– Thus goes a line in the introduction to this book by the translator Sunjoy Shekhar. I would agree with his sentiment: Gulzar saab is a class apart. Unfortunately, even he needs translators for a story to create an impact equivalent to the original language of writing. Converting his mellifluous words to English is no mean task. Needless to say, Sunjoy Shekhar’s work fell short of requirements.
‘Half a Rupee: Stories’ is a collection of 25 stories. At first, the tales seem abrupt and disconnected to each other. But soon you realise that the index of the book provides a big clue. The book bunches the 25 stories in sets of 3-4 and each set deals with a particular theme. The sets aren’t inter-connected. Some sets work fabulously, the rest fall flat. Many of the stories are written in a slice-of-life style, but with an abrupt ending where you can’t even take a shot at guessing what might have happened next. The ending spoiled the rest of the story for me. Add to it the below-par translation and grammatical errors and you have an entirely sullied experience.
When you pick up a book authored by Gulzar saab, you expect a richness of emotions in the writing. And that doesn’t happen. The beauty of the original thought came through at times. Sample this line, referencing the Indo-Pak Partition of 1947: “My roots still remain on the other side. I have only cut loose the branches and tugged them along with me.” What a lovely sentence it would have been originally if even this simple English version evokes so much heartache. But this happens very rarely. Most of the work has very simplistically written lines. I would have let it go if the words were merely bland. But when you see phrases like “Cut it out, man!” appearing in a Gulzar work, you don’t know whether to laugh or cry!
Gulzar saab has vouched for the efficacy of the editor and the translator in his foreword. And hence I don’t know whom to blame for this experience: the author, the editor, the translator, my expectations...? All I know is that this turned out to be below satisfactory levels.
Here’s my story-wise rating.
(Note that the individual sets aren’t named in the index. I’ve added the title based on the common theme across the stories.)
Set I: Real-life Reminiscences.
1. Kuldip Nayyar and Pir Sahib - 🌟🌟🌟💫
2. Sahir and Jaadu - 🌟🌟🌟💫
3. Bhushan Banmali - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Set II: Mumbai Life (Ironically, my least favourite set)
1. The Stench - 🌟🌟
2. The Rain - 🌟🌟💫
3. The Charioteer - 🌟🌟🌟
4. From the Footpath - 🌟🌟
Set III: Indo-Pak relationships.
1. LoC - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
2. Over - 🌟🌟💫
3. The Rams - 🌟🌟
Set IV: Bloodshed
1. Hilsa - 🌟🌟🌟💫
2. The Stone Age - 🌟🌟🌟💫
3. The Search - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Set V: Suicidal missions
1. Farewell - 🌟🌟🌟💫
2. Swayamvar - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
3. Half a Rupee - 🌟🌟🌟
Set VI: Growing up
1. Gagi and Superman - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
2. Ghugu and Jamuni - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
3. The Orange - 🌟🌟🌟💫
Set VII: Close encounters with death
1. Under the Earth - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
2. Shortcut - 🌟🌟🌟
3. Pickpocket - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
VIII Family ties
1. Dusk - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
2. Dadaji - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
3. The Adjustment - 🌟🌟🌟💫
As you can see, the book isn’t so bad. It’s just much less than what I had expected. There are a few gems scattered in the line-up, especially in the latter half of the book. But I will not vouch for the translation at all. If you pick this up, let it be only because it was originally penned by the master himself.
3.5 stars, rounding up to 4.
***********************
Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever! , for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.
‘Half a Rupee: Stories’ is a collection of 25 stories. At first, the tales seem abrupt and disconnected to each other. But soon you realise that the index of the book provides a big clue. The book bunches the 25 stories in sets of 3-4 and each set deals with a particular theme. The sets aren’t inter-connected. Some sets work fabulously, the rest fall flat. Many of the stories are written in a slice-of-life style, but with an abrupt ending where you can’t even take a shot at guessing what might have happened next. The ending spoiled the rest of the story for me. Add to it the below-par translation and grammatical errors and you have an entirely sullied experience.
When you pick up a book authored by Gulzar saab, you expect a richness of emotions in the writing. And that doesn’t happen. The beauty of the original thought came through at times. Sample this line, referencing the Indo-Pak Partition of 1947: “My roots still remain on the other side. I have only cut loose the branches and tugged them along with me.” What a lovely sentence it would have been originally if even this simple English version evokes so much heartache. But this happens very rarely. Most of the work has very simplistically written lines. I would have let it go if the words were merely bland. But when you see phrases like “Cut it out, man!” appearing in a Gulzar work, you don’t know whether to laugh or cry!
Gulzar saab has vouched for the efficacy of the editor and the translator in his foreword. And hence I don’t know whom to blame for this experience: the author, the editor, the translator, my expectations...? All I know is that this turned out to be below satisfactory levels.
Here’s my story-wise rating.
(Note that the individual sets aren’t named in the index. I’ve added the title based on the common theme across the stories.)
Set I: Real-life Reminiscences.
1. Kuldip Nayyar and Pir Sahib - 🌟🌟🌟💫
2. Sahir and Jaadu - 🌟🌟🌟💫
3. Bhushan Banmali - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Set II: Mumbai Life (Ironically, my least favourite set)
1. The Stench - 🌟🌟
2. The Rain - 🌟🌟💫
3. The Charioteer - 🌟🌟🌟
4. From the Footpath - 🌟🌟
Set III: Indo-Pak relationships.
1. LoC - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
2. Over - 🌟🌟💫
3. The Rams - 🌟🌟
Set IV: Bloodshed
1. Hilsa - 🌟🌟🌟💫
2. The Stone Age - 🌟🌟🌟💫
3. The Search - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Set V: Suicidal missions
1. Farewell - 🌟🌟🌟💫
2. Swayamvar - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
3. Half a Rupee - 🌟🌟🌟
Set VI: Growing up
1. Gagi and Superman - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
2. Ghugu and Jamuni - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
3. The Orange - 🌟🌟🌟💫
Set VII: Close encounters with death
1. Under the Earth - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
2. Shortcut - 🌟🌟🌟
3. Pickpocket - 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
VIII Family ties
1. Dusk - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
2. Dadaji - 🌟🌟🌟🌟
3. The Adjustment - 🌟🌟🌟💫
As you can see, the book isn’t so bad. It’s just much less than what I had expected. There are a few gems scattered in the line-up, especially in the latter half of the book. But I will not vouch for the translation at all. If you pick this up, let it be only because it was originally penned by the master himself.
3.5 stars, rounding up to 4.
***********************
Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever! , for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.
January 6, 2015
That Gulzar is a magician with words is a given. Notwithstanding his contribution to Bollywood, Gulzar has written soul stirring poetry in Hindi and Urdu that can give you goosebumps. I came across this book while I was reading one of his fabulous poems online. Without giving it a second thought, I ordered for the book. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed.
Half a Rupee Stories is just that: simple, inconsequential stories about everyday struggles of ordinary people. No major plot, no twists in the tale, no larger than life characters. It's a collection of stories of ordinary folk living through their mundane problems.
Why would one read a book about ordinary people? Well, the magic lies in the hands of Gulzarji. His narrative evokes the dormant emotions within you. He touches a chord you never knew existed. He teases the tears out of your eyes. He coaxes you to have a heart. He pulls at your heartstrings with the passion of an artist.
You will be swept away by the lyrical beauty of his prose. Some stories will continue to haunt you, not because they were great stories, but deep down it has opened a festering wound in your heart. Stories of India Pakistan partition are well known and documented. But what is not documented is how the division of land broke the soul of India and Pakistan.
If you are looking for poignant stories that reverberate deep inside you, pick up this book.
Half a Rupee Stories is just that: simple, inconsequential stories about everyday struggles of ordinary people. No major plot, no twists in the tale, no larger than life characters. It's a collection of stories of ordinary folk living through their mundane problems.
Why would one read a book about ordinary people? Well, the magic lies in the hands of Gulzarji. His narrative evokes the dormant emotions within you. He touches a chord you never knew existed. He teases the tears out of your eyes. He coaxes you to have a heart. He pulls at your heartstrings with the passion of an artist.
You will be swept away by the lyrical beauty of his prose. Some stories will continue to haunt you, not because they were great stories, but deep down it has opened a festering wound in your heart. Stories of India Pakistan partition are well known and documented. But what is not documented is how the division of land broke the soul of India and Pakistan.
If you are looking for poignant stories that reverberate deep inside you, pick up this book.
March 14, 2014
My rating is not for the book as such. It is for two heartwarming stories-
Ghugu and Jamuni- Oh!! What a lovely lovely tale. A bird in love with a kite. A story that will be in my heart forever.Even if you skip the whole book it is ok, but don't miss this love story
The Charioteer- At first you might feel sorry for Maruti who works as
a sweeper in a ferry and has a hard life. But when he gets back home he is in the warmth of his family's love. Then you realize you have no right to feel sorry for him.You might be insignificant to most. But for some, you mean the world
The book as a whole gave me mixed feelings. Some stories were really good. But the theme of death in most of them is what put me off a little.
Ghugu and Jamuni- Oh!! What a lovely lovely tale. A bird in love with a kite. A story that will be in my heart forever.Even if you skip the whole book it is ok, but don't miss this love story
The Charioteer- At first you might feel sorry for Maruti who works as
a sweeper in a ferry and has a hard life. But when he gets back home he is in the warmth of his family's love. Then you realize you have no right to feel sorry for him.You might be insignificant to most. But for some, you mean the world
The book as a whole gave me mixed feelings. Some stories were really good. But the theme of death in most of them is what put me off a little.
February 24, 2014
The translation killed the stories for me
June 17, 2018
Not exactly a masterpiece I hoped for! 2/5
"Half a Rupee Stories" is little book of short stories consisting of 25 stories divided into 8 parts, each having a motif of it's own. I have been eagerly waiting to read it, reason being the amazing title and a wizard of words "Gulzar" allied to it but the moment I started I realized not every glitter is gold.
I enjoyed only few of the narratives. I feel the stories would have sounded better in Hindi, the translation has just killed it badly. Though some of the stories may evoke the smile on your face but mostly they don't do justice to the context.
Some people may love them, but as a reader I personally did not like the stories much, no proper closure is given to most of them and fails miserably in every attempt to woo your soul.
"Half a Rupee Stories" is little book of short stories consisting of 25 stories divided into 8 parts, each having a motif of it's own. I have been eagerly waiting to read it, reason being the amazing title and a wizard of words "Gulzar" allied to it but the moment I started I realized not every glitter is gold.
I enjoyed only few of the narratives. I feel the stories would have sounded better in Hindi, the translation has just killed it badly. Though some of the stories may evoke the smile on your face but mostly they don't do justice to the context.
Some people may love them, but as a reader I personally did not like the stories much, no proper closure is given to most of them and fails miserably in every attempt to woo your soul.
August 14, 2020
It's basically a collection of short stories. The plot is simply weaved not that of twist and turn one. It discusses the life of ordinary people. But I find this book okayish, none of the stories were influential except Ghugu and Jamuni one. I literally lovee it.❤❤
Overall I find all remaining stories a little boring. So for me, it is 3/5 stars.
Overall I find all remaining stories a little boring. So for me, it is 3/5 stars.
July 25, 2014
Half a Rupee Stories is a brilliant translation of Gulzar Saab's works by Sunjoy Shekhar. In this choicest collection of short stories Gulzar Saab , like always, weaves his magic of raconteuring. Encompassing stories from the length and breadth of his homeland i.e. from the panic-stricken valleys of Kashmir, the skirmishes along the barbed borders of India and Pakistan , the fierce battle for existence in the metros , excerpts from the vaults of Filmdom, and across many other poignant fronts. The short stories are crisp enough to not feed you with a ruminating pile of character sketch and the backdrop, but also frugal enough to not cut out on vital information, which the writer( and Sunjoy) lay out in a non-grandiloquent,enticing,rustic choice of language (laced with good,synced bouts of timely satire,melancholy and mirth) , thereby drawing an instant connect with any inhabitant of the nation. The stories cover all the aspects of Indian living through sluices of archaic traditions,brotherhood, poverty, communism and Cultural melange, painting a picture of the Nation's evolution since its Independence from Colonialism to its present day pains and pleasure. Individually as 25 stories and together as one mighty reflection of India, the book is mellowly written but makes sure that the reader ensues and breathes through, with emotions nodding in absolute agreement for the protagonists' and the sub-characters' circumstances, metamorphosing the short story into a phantasmagoria of events-train for you, militating against the passiveness of involvement.
P.S. The book bears references to three great Hindi Film Industry personalities - Javed Akhtar(Well known Hindi Film Lyricist and writer)- and his esoteric association with Sahir Ludhianvi(The great writer from the Progressive Writers' movement and well-known poet,writer); the lesser known writer Bhushan Banmali (co-writer for Mausam). Both the stories add a dash of Filmdom, without which Indian achievements shall stay incomplete. :) Any Hindi Film Industry enthusiast must thereby certain imbibe the trivia from those concerned chapters.
P.S. The book bears references to three great Hindi Film Industry personalities - Javed Akhtar(Well known Hindi Film Lyricist and writer)- and his esoteric association with Sahir Ludhianvi(The great writer from the Progressive Writers' movement and well-known poet,writer); the lesser known writer Bhushan Banmali (co-writer for Mausam). Both the stories add a dash of Filmdom, without which Indian achievements shall stay incomplete. :) Any Hindi Film Industry enthusiast must thereby certain imbibe the trivia from those concerned chapters.
May 1, 2020
Half a rupee is a collection of 25 short stories penned by the great poet and lyricist, Gulzar.Gulzar is a magician. He pours his magic in his words. These stories will make your heart glow and give u a strange sort of felicity. The powerful alchemy of his storytelling transforms the atthanni( half a rupee) into a rupaiya.Moreover the translator of this book also did a good job in translation. He made it too simple ,which is a blessing for begginers like me(though some avid readers don't like this extent of simplicity).
These stories are not the ones with complex plots having twists in their tales. These are just a description of lives of common people. Gulzar spun his narrative around the common man,the events that happen around us every day.He also pointed to the lives of people after the partition of subcontinent.
These stories are not the ones with complex plots having twists in their tales. These are just a description of lives of common people. Gulzar spun his narrative around the common man,the events that happen around us every day.He also pointed to the lives of people after the partition of subcontinent.
August 13, 2020
My personal favourite is “The Adjustment”
April 7, 2021
Tales of yore.. some fiction, some life recollections and some spiced up.
October 16, 2015
[Gulzar] A good storyteller is the conscious-keeper of a nation
Walk through the pages of a book and you'll find characters
Like old friends ― In the corridors of time
A large part of me still lives on that side of the border
My roots still remain on the other side
[Javed Akhter] Poetry flows in his veins
J Krishnamurti. History would be read and then repeated
Dreams heed no border, the eyes sees no visas
With eyes shut I walk across the line in time ― All the time
Both sides stake their claims on Kashmir
And that's the reason why this restaurant of mine is flourishing
What kind of a city this was ― it kicked you but it also caressed you
What kind of a city this was ― it fed you and also bite you
Because "common man" like us only having half of things
Half-plate eating, half-night sleeping, half laughing, half crying, half living
And also half dying ― This aatthanni never becomes full rupiah
Walk through the pages of a book and you'll find characters
Like old friends ― In the corridors of time
A large part of me still lives on that side of the border
My roots still remain on the other side
[Javed Akhter] Poetry flows in his veins
J Krishnamurti. History would be read and then repeated
Dreams heed no border, the eyes sees no visas
With eyes shut I walk across the line in time ― All the time
Both sides stake their claims on Kashmir
And that's the reason why this restaurant of mine is flourishing
What kind of a city this was ― it kicked you but it also caressed you
What kind of a city this was ― it fed you and also bite you
Because "common man" like us only having half of things
Half-plate eating, half-night sleeping, half laughing, half crying, half living
And also half dying ― This aatthanni never becomes full rupiah
May 7, 2015
Atthani would be too much to pay for this sentimental drivel. When he isn't namedropping, Gulzar presents us with excruciatingly crude caricatures of the picturesque poor. He's trying so hard to be like Manto, esp. the story "Hilsa" where a murdered gangrape victim's eyes are compared to that of a fish on the chopping board of a coy Bengali housewife. Manto had compared the necrophiliac energies of Partition violence to thanda ghosht (cold mutton) with such provocative and lyrical force. Gulzar is the pale imitation of that greatness. Now accustomed to a life among the glitterati, the poor are merely stock characters and stick figures to him.
Skip this and re-read Manto's Bombay Stories, Black Milk, or Meena Bazaar instead.
Skip this and re-read Manto's Bombay Stories, Black Milk, or Meena Bazaar instead.
July 18, 2014
Probably Gulzar is better off writing poems. I couldn't manage to complete the book. And then the translation is awful. Somebody should have been paid to proof read the grammar. Overall, the book is just like the title - half baked!
November 27, 2013
Only a story or two had an impact on me, others compelled me to keep the book back in the shelf.
December 31, 2013
25 short stories with immensely captivating endings. Proves the genius Gulzar sahab is renowned for. Brilliantly translated too.
Review to follow!
Review to follow!
September 21, 2016
Touching stories, some, but I didn't like all of them. I believe they might have read better in Hindi.
June 21, 2019
I wish I had read it in Hindi. There is a lyricism to his prose which is lost in translation. Each story shocks or tickles or reminds and awakes a dormant part of what it is to be an Indian.
May 25, 2024
Some of it was obviously lost in translation but Gulzar is Gulzar
August 14, 2022
3.75 rounded off to 4.
I loved quite a few stories in the collection but I think a lot of it got lost in translation. I understand that translating from one language to another is not an easy task but in many of the stories in the collection, I kept feeling that I bet this was waaaay better in the original language.
I loved quite a few stories in the collection but I think a lot of it got lost in translation. I understand that translating from one language to another is not an easy task but in many of the stories in the collection, I kept feeling that I bet this was waaaay better in the original language.
January 11, 2015
Half a rupee stories by Gulzar is a compendium of twenty five stories touching various chords of the human sentiments, woven around those daily emotions of one’s life that there is some inherent oneness that the reader feel once he reads the stories. There are no major plots in the stories to glue the readers…there are no exemplary twists and turns to arouse one’s interest…there are no larger than life characters that remains historic… There is, however, an experience of almost each and every shade of life which makes these enriching and engrossing.
Pick this masterpiece to read leisurely to enjoy it the most, don’t rush upon the stories…read each one of them slowly enjoying the flavor and the intensity. There are some stories which will make you smile, there are some which will make you gush, there are some which will make you heavy and there are some which will make you ponder. There is everything for everyone in this book.
Do grab a copy and find yourself submersed in the magic of Gulzar…once again.
Rating: 3.75/5
Read the complete review here>>>
http://musingsofawanderingheart.blogs...
Pick this masterpiece to read leisurely to enjoy it the most, don’t rush upon the stories…read each one of them slowly enjoying the flavor and the intensity. There are some stories which will make you smile, there are some which will make you gush, there are some which will make you heavy and there are some which will make you ponder. There is everything for everyone in this book.
Do grab a copy and find yourself submersed in the magic of Gulzar…once again.
Rating: 3.75/5
Read the complete review here>>>
http://musingsofawanderingheart.blogs...
July 25, 2016
2.5/5
Out of 25 stories divided in 8 parts, immensely enjoyed 7 stories comprising mostly the first and the last parts. Rest of it were at best mediocre and a total let-down.
The ones which struck many chords in my heart.... and the sole reason to be happy to have picked this :
Kuldip Nayyar and Pir Sahib - Real account of Kuldip Nayyar's memory of Pir Sahib
Sahir and Jaadu - Real account of Javed Akhtar's relation with father figure Sahir.
LoC - On the bondings of family friends split across Indo-Pak borderline
Ghugu and Jamuni - Love story of birds (This was the most interesting and refreshing)
And the 3 stories of Part 8 (Dusk; Dadaji; The Adjustment) all dealing with emotions of old age.
Overall not a good mix.
Out of 25 stories divided in 8 parts, immensely enjoyed 7 stories comprising mostly the first and the last parts. Rest of it were at best mediocre and a total let-down.
The ones which struck many chords in my heart.... and the sole reason to be happy to have picked this :
Kuldip Nayyar and Pir Sahib - Real account of Kuldip Nayyar's memory of Pir Sahib
Sahir and Jaadu - Real account of Javed Akhtar's relation with father figure Sahir.
LoC - On the bondings of family friends split across Indo-Pak borderline
Ghugu and Jamuni - Love story of birds (This was the most interesting and refreshing)
And the 3 stories of Part 8 (Dusk; Dadaji; The Adjustment) all dealing with emotions of old age.
Overall not a good mix.
February 18, 2016
Actual rating - 0.5 star
What would you do if someone starts telling you a story and while it gets interesting he stops? And then he starts another story and even leaves that one incomplete. What if he repeats this 25 times? What if he maligns the image of Indian Army while doing that?
Are these enough reasons for you to not read this book? Do you need more convincing? Last year I read the worst book of my life around the same time. History repeats I guess. Avoid this book unless you want to get beat up by telling stories inside this book.
What would you do if someone starts telling you a story and while it gets interesting he stops? And then he starts another story and even leaves that one incomplete. What if he repeats this 25 times? What if he maligns the image of Indian Army while doing that?
Are these enough reasons for you to not read this book? Do you need more convincing? Last year I read the worst book of my life around the same time. History repeats I guess. Avoid this book unless you want to get beat up by telling stories inside this book.
October 2, 2017
Frankly, I was disappointed nothwithstanding the fact that Gulzar has a reputation of a literary giant. One reason could be the loss of nuances when translating from one language to another. While the prose is terrific and it comes through, it still doesn't read like someone writing in his/her natural language. Stories are short and feels more like a roving camera that goes through people's life. This powerful narration obviously shows his mastery of the art of storytelling. In a nutshell, me reading his book again is sometime in the future, maybe.
June 27, 2013
A few stories might have a slow pace but almost all of them are really good. You got to admire the simplicity and lucidity. The stories were very touching and masqueraded the sadistic life people near the border live due to the partition and other socio-economic issues. Stories involving Kashmir were undoubtedly more interesting and rather black, but really reaffirm the unity that should be binding India and Pakistan instead of separating them.
November 7, 2014
Whatever I read from this short-story collection, sadly, didn't help increase my respect for, probably, the most venerated contemporary poet of India, who happens to be one of my favourites, as well.
Note to self:
Avoid reading Gulzar Sahab's short-stories in English. In order to appreciate the stories of this master lyricist-cum-poet-cum-scriptwriter-cum-filmmaker, those have to be read in its original form and language.
Note to self:
Avoid reading Gulzar Sahab's short-stories in English. In order to appreciate the stories of this master lyricist-cum-poet-cum-scriptwriter-cum-filmmaker, those have to be read in its original form and language.
May 21, 2013
the first few stories are about film personalities like javed akhtar and others and apart from his tale,the rest are average. but despair not.
once the book moves to mumbai,it literally takes off and stuns with the poignant insights.
fantastic collection with nearly twenty stories out of the twenty five being truly world class.
once the book moves to mumbai,it literally takes off and stuns with the poignant insights.
fantastic collection with nearly twenty stories out of the twenty five being truly world class.
July 1, 2016
I am sure there are a lot of elements that get lost in translation. However, the humanity of this work transcends the boundaries of language.
November 4, 2019
Beautiful
July 28, 2022
I listened to this book on audible. Except for one or two stories, none are that great and the narrator Shahzad Bhiwandiwala made it worse, it felt like he is reading from the book. Disappointed.
September 13, 2017
'Because "common man" like us only having half of things –half-plate eating, half-night sleeping, half laughing, , half crying, half living and also half dying. This atthanni never becomes full rupiah.'
Gulzar. Gulzar. Gulzar. I am absolutely in love with this wordsmith. His words will definitely melt your heart. Even the toughest cannot survive when stroked by the pleasantness of his word power. So I began reading this book by Penguin India. I had finished it a long time ago but owing to the pressing issues, legal matters, I couldn't sit and pen down the review.
The book consists of 25 stories divided in 8 sections. Every section spells out a theme. All the stories are slice of life stories. Quiet earthy, meaningful and wanting. Every section is preceded by a couplet pertaining to the theme of the section.
First section deals with death. Second section speaks for the spirit of Mumbai. Third section is about the life at LoC or that of military officers. Fourth section speaks about man made disasters. Fifth pertains to terrorism of all kinds. Sixth talks about growing up, seventh about natural disasters and eighth about relationships. The stories are translated by Sunjoy Shekhar.
The sole drawback I feel about this book, the couplets should have been in Hindi. It would have added a zest to the whole experience.
Every story is beautiful in itself but the stories I loved the most were The Stench, Half A Rupee, Ghugu and Jamuni, Hilsa, Pickpocket and Dusk.
Here's quoting Gulzar, if this won't make you pick up the book then nothing ever will.
"Tum hee se janmoon toh shayad panah miley..."
I do not have any right to rate this book I would definitely give it no less than 5 stars if it were in my power. As for rating it on the scale of readability, since it is translated, I would rate it 9 on 10.
If you have read this one, then do let me know your reviews in the comments below.
#HappyReading
Gulzar. Gulzar. Gulzar. I am absolutely in love with this wordsmith. His words will definitely melt your heart. Even the toughest cannot survive when stroked by the pleasantness of his word power. So I began reading this book by Penguin India. I had finished it a long time ago but owing to the pressing issues, legal matters, I couldn't sit and pen down the review.
The book consists of 25 stories divided in 8 sections. Every section spells out a theme. All the stories are slice of life stories. Quiet earthy, meaningful and wanting. Every section is preceded by a couplet pertaining to the theme of the section.
First section deals with death. Second section speaks for the spirit of Mumbai. Third section is about the life at LoC or that of military officers. Fourth section speaks about man made disasters. Fifth pertains to terrorism of all kinds. Sixth talks about growing up, seventh about natural disasters and eighth about relationships. The stories are translated by Sunjoy Shekhar.
The sole drawback I feel about this book, the couplets should have been in Hindi. It would have added a zest to the whole experience.
Every story is beautiful in itself but the stories I loved the most were The Stench, Half A Rupee, Ghugu and Jamuni, Hilsa, Pickpocket and Dusk.
Here's quoting Gulzar, if this won't make you pick up the book then nothing ever will.
"Tum hee se janmoon toh shayad panah miley..."
I do not have any right to rate this book I would definitely give it no less than 5 stars if it were in my power. As for rating it on the scale of readability, since it is translated, I would rate it 9 on 10.
If you have read this one, then do let me know your reviews in the comments below.
#HappyReading
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