Power-packed cold tales
PAROMITA PAIN
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Stories about the disadvantaged and marginalised, that are a must-read.
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Puffins translation of Premchand’s stories for the young is a must-read. Few authors can write about the disadvantaged and marginalised the way Premchand could. His lines are free of any grand words or allusions. Take for instance the first story “A Winters Night”. Cold isn’t a great feeling but what is poor Halku to do? Debt forces him to guard the fields at night without anything warm other than Jabra his dog. So, can you blame him if he refuses t
o leave the warmth of the fire to drive away the marauding deer?
His stories talk about the old, the ignored and the poor in a way that conveys their angst and poverty without them seeming like objects of pity. Old Kaki is hungry. But life does not always have clear villains and victims. The realisation of Kaki’s family of the injustice they were meting out to her forms the most beautiful part of the narrative.
Translated from Hindi by Rakshanda Jalil, the stories are about a people and time young readers today may have little or no idea about. But the instant connection that Premchand creates between his diverse readers and his tales are a testimony to his genius.
A WINTER’S NIGHT AND OTHER STORIES, Munshi Premchand, Puffin Classics, Rs 150.
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