Orchid Books' launch Pahilo
Premko Sansmaran is a collection of short stories, written
by Dhruba Chandra Gautam. The book enshrines published stories written four
decades ago, until the present in different papers and magazines, those that
might have been out of print. Roshan Thapa 'Niarav' edited the copy. Readers
will be able to compare Gautam's writings from the past decade to his present
style.
Fifteen stories consist of
multiple issues of youthful vigor of a guy to the inanimate life of a retired
character. Different plots revolve around the story of childhood nostalgia,
bureaucratic idiosyncrasy, societal pretensions, youthful spirit and the war
melancholy. The events, even though seem realistic, due to the narrative style,
few might loose focus while reading the story.
The importance of this book lies further. Most of the stories included are
experimental in nature dealing with absurdist and existential issues. As most
of the stories match the theme of Absurdism, the characters, somewhere, do
nothing precious. And thus, their proceedings seem often unsolved and useless
as well.
A reader's wish of reading, Gautam's story collection will not be available
in the future. "It is my last collection of stories. My focus will now be on
writing novels in the coming days." reveals Gautam.
"Antya: mrityunirai" narrated in third person; depicts the loathsome concern of human beings.
The settings are pessimistic in nature. The characters loiter below fainting
sky. One of the actors, marked on futility feels that the city where he lives
is not a place rather a "deferred time". A long nostalgic narration
does not make readers dehydrated for probable incidents.
The modern man's pretensions are neatly weaved in Ekanta. Characters
posture of being bookish. And the episode philosophizes some matter ineffectively.
The characters carry hollow intellectuality and idealism. In addition, their nonsense idiosyncrasy becomes irritable too.
The content of generation gap and property affections within a middle class
family is apparent in the story Antar.
Pramaad is the story on
bureaucracy. A bureaucrat attempts to prove
he is humane and follows an unfortunate street girl. But is compelled to loose
his lenient nature in the process. It is
Gautam's renowned vigor that makes him experimental in his writings (be that of
a novel or a short story) without any profound discoveries. Likewise, Gautam's
writings juxtapose the sentiments of time and myth. His post modern
experimentalism can be seen in Pramaad as well.. Because of this very
trend, his style differs from the traditional stories of some other writers.
Moreover, his informal writing style could be a fine ingredient to enjoy the
reading in this book. Experimental way of presentation lies in the character, the
plot, various points of view and other technicality. Along the way, a writer's
self is revealed in the plot.
One of the most remarkable stories of an experimental type in this
collection is Shatabdiko mahan upalabdhi. Ten plots of different headings,
unfold itself, in just two or three lines regarding ironical issues of
politics, familial relation, health, loneliness etc.
Antya sambad is another
experimental fiction demonstrated in a dramatic manner. It floats around the
severe issues of load shedding, eco-system, disease and politics, faced during
contemporary times. A character addresses the issues of load shedding in a
humorous way, "My wife became ready
to be undressed supposing electricity will be cut off for 3 hours..."
One of Gautam’s favorite concerns is love.. He does not allow his pen to
deviate away from this angle. The story, which entitles the book - Pahilo
premko sansmaran is about the love in nostalgia. A guy is expected to have
an affair with a lady. Later the lady is found to be non-existent. Boy looses
his emotions.
Regarding the theme, almost all the stories here are concerned with
realistic footprints. Some other things notable in the book are that neither is
there a preface nor a writer’s point of view. Rather the editor's critical
review at the end page is more fruitful. The appraisal contains the forte of
Gautam's writing style.
The story of an innate life of a retired soul is Samriddhi. It
mostly consists of flashbacks of his child hood memories.
We have incidents of hollow love and idealism in our surroundings. Gautam
understands this reality and depicts it in Purba Premika. In order to
get involved in a physical relationship, with a woman the modern man can
perform his role in a fake way, as if everything is going fine on his guise. Once
his traits are revealed we can console our soul believing, "It's a story
of a modern hero." Regarding the human traits a character reveals here,
"Human is no more efficacious, to keep an intense relationship."
Preclown-60 is a symbolic story
targeting humor. Similarly, Niskarsha too is symbolic, containing ironic
qualities. It severely satirizes the horror aspects of war. As the title
suggests, the story concludes- war is not fruitful. Characters target to
contemplate themselves in a war with a pillar. The pillar symbolizes old, deep
rooted superstitious values of our society.
When a person reaches acme, s/he prefer or choose to forget the distasteful
past. This theme is revealed in Prem aayo, kina aayo? Asafal
reveals how a person needs to possess a hollow identity, to grab the fruits of
life. It reveals the wish of the ambitious guys. Kalpanik depicts the
worrisome aspects of the writer. A writer, in our society, is a matter of
abhorrence. The remuneration s/he gets couldn't kill the hungers of breakfast.
The story depicts a pitiable aspect.
In concern of language, Gautam expenses more words just to express a
miniature matter. He tends to linger on facts, which are trivial.
The out of reach stories are again reachable, so it is worth a reading.
Title : Pahilo Premko Sansmaran
Author : Dhruba Chandra Gautam
Genre : Fiction
Pages : 113
ISBN : 9789937902663
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