Sunday, March 27, 2016

A sweet & silent Hindi love story...

When it comes to love stories in Hindi literature the first name that comes to our mind is 'Gunaho Ka Devta' by Dharmvir Bharti.
Indeed this book has a great contribution in Hindi literature and I think like Munshi Premchand's literature which introduces a reader to hindi literture when he is a teenager. It is this book of Dharmvir Bharti that back brings back those teenager again to hindi literature when they are in thier youth.
However, what today I am going to talk is not about these two authors but it is about another book, the book which is kno wn in literary circles but I think it did not get the readership it deserved from common readers. Especially in this era of online books and online bookstores, where English is prevalent, stories like these often go unnoticed.
'Kasap'-A soft and simple love story with the sweetness of Kumaoni language by Manohar Shyam Joshi.
The book is about an orphan boy who was brought up by his relatives. Like most of the orphan children who are brought up on the mercy of their relatives, he too is considered a fool, a semi-lunatic types. The beauty of the novel lies in its simplicity, in scene where the hero meets the heroine for the first time, unlike other romantic creations, this hero is in latrine!
Joshi even comments, on this occassion, when my hero is in latrine how can I make him sit near some very lush green pond.
The use of Kumaoni in the narrative, like people asking any stranger, "Kaun Huey" means they are asking who are you? And the stranger is expected to not only tell his name but also tell his village, his father and his ancestors name.
A very philosophical and tragic scene which is often missed by the readers in this novel is, the scene of the death of hero's father. He was considered as lunatic and used to show people magic. One day he summons all the villagers near a hill and tells them that he will show magic, he will fly in the air. When the villagers gather, he jumps and dies.
The novel ends at the same hilltop, this time the hero and the daughter of the heroine are on it.
Buy books online, read it I promise you will enjoy.
Happy reading!

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