Winter Evening

by Navtej Sarna

Two men stuck in a small mountain town develop an unspoken friendship; a punctilious bureaucrat becomes briefly reckless at the end of his career; high-class prostitute on vacation reads ‘The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ to a man recovering from the end of a long affair; the ghosts of partition return in 1984 to destroy the equilibrium of a tough Sikh matriarch; an ageing widow finds freedom and peace in poetry. In clean, understated prose, Navtej Sarna’s stories take us through the landscapes of Geneva, Shimla, Paris, Moscow, Delhi and Bombay, where everyday people find or lose their way in life quietly, almost by accident. Marked by rare sensitivity and compassion, this collection by the acclaimed author of The Exileand We Weren’t Lovers Like That is a poignant ode to the human spirit.

148 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2012

About the author

Navtej Sarna is an Indian author-columnist, and diplomat, who is the present Indian Ambassador to Israel.
He was born in Jalandhar, India to noted writer in Punjabi, Mohinder Singh Sarna, and passed out of the 1980 Class of Indian Foreign Service. Before holding this post, he was Joint Secretary for external publicity at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) , since October 2002, and holds the distinction of being the longest-serving spokesperson of the ministry, and served two prime ministers, three foreign ministers and four foreign secretaries, till the end of his term in September, 2008.
Previously as a diplomat served in Moscow, Warsaw, Thimphu, Geneva, Teheran and Washington, DC .
He also writes short stories, and book reviews. His first novel published was 'We Weren't Lovers Like That' in 2003, followed by 'The Book of Nanak' in the same year, his latest,' The Exile', published in 2008, is based on the life of Duleep Singh, the last Maharaja of Lahore, and son Raja Ranjit Singh. Currently, 'Zafarnama', an epistle of victory written to Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, by the Tenth Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, has been translated by him into English from Persian.

Reviews

[Aashna Gill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Below I have written a book summary in exactly the same format we had to follow during school time.
Title of Book: Winter Evenings
Author: Navtej Sarna
Having completed the reading and study of the above book on December 19, 2012 , I would like to make the following notes as a record:
It is a story concerning: It is a collection of stories.
The book describes: poignant, realistic and literary work.
The most interesting part is where: In the story "Barrier Beach", after the male protagonist has followed and interacted with the female protagonist, the reader has been made to believe that the two characters will fall in love. The story takes a twist when he enquires if she is an artist/ poetess and she replies that she is a well-read, elegant, high-class prostitute on vacation.
The character which appeals to me most is the author in the story "Raya" because after listening to Raya, a dying woman, on the other end of the phone, who was looking for a person with the same name as the author, he begins the search for the particular person, going from Delhi to Kalka to confirm if this was the person she seeked.
The one I like least is Biswas in the story "The Superintendent's Formula" for in this case at the end of the story he accepts a bribe.
Of the other characters I would mention:

1.Madam Kitty (story: Madam Kitty), a former prostitute, who turns into a sincere, caring and hardworking nurse.
2. Shekhar (story: Sunrise at Mashobra), a man who takes his new second wife, to the same honeymoon spots he had been to with his first wife, believing he needed to "complete a acript that had been left halfway when the main character had simply disappeared."
3.Mr. Krishnan (story: On Official Duty), a close-to-retirement government employee, who after years of living an organized, disciplined life relives the recklessness of youth.
4.Mrs Lal(story: A Golden Twilight), an elderly woman, who after shifting with her son to a hill station, begins reading and reliving her memories. She also manages to find her zestful self and writes a book.

My selection of the most striking example of good english in the book is the following:
Page 96
"As I boarded the midday ferry to Martha's Vineyard, the vicious knot of hurt and despair I had carried in my heart for so long seemed to escape into the bowl of a grey overcast sky. From there, once again, it descended upon me, the boat, the water and the two edges of land, like the collective sorrow of the whole world. It seemed impossible to roll it back into myself again."
Remarks: Apart from a few grammatical errors, the book makes for good literature with realistic stories.
Signature: Aashna Gill
Age: 22
honestlyaashi.blogspot.in

[Raman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is collection of short stories mostly about people, relations and emotions. Every story has different theme and unique in a way. The stories which really touched my heart are “A death in winter” and “Raya”. I also liked “Madam Kitty”, “Sunrise at Mashobra” and “The Masterpiece”
His writing is simple and has delicacy in the narration. He created various characters in each story and did complete justice to them.

[Kunal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Shelani · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good read. Liked the writers style of discovering beauty in things which go unnoticed. Beautiful descriptions which brought back memories of all my hill station visits. Would like to read a full story from the same writer.

[Divya Pal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book - enuff sed.