एक और सूरज अस्त हुआ
एक और शाम आई
शाम हुई फिर रात हुई
फिर सुबह, फिर दिन गुजरा
बस जिंदगी यूं ही गुजरती रही
अक्सर सूरज को डूबते देख
लोग तन्हा हो जाते हैं
पर मुझे यूं महसूस होता है
मानो या जानो कुछ पा लिया हो
कुछ अधूरा सा
कुछ पूरा सा
एक अहसास।
आज फिर एक सूरज डूबा।
मार्च ०९,२०२३
When the pandemic hit upon us and the physical world came to a standstill, it was important to engage oneself creatively and to stay away from the negativity prevailing around. Amongst many other activities I started listening to podcasts quite regularly to keep me updated on world affairs on a variety of subjects.. business, organisational psychology, stories and experiences of leaders in their respective fields of interest... entrepreneurs, CEOs, academics, authors, coaches and many others. Amongst many interesting podcasts I found "After Hours" produced by TED audio collective and hosted by Harward Professors quite informative, educative and engaging. Mihir Desai is a professor of Finance at Harvard Business and Harvard Law schools and is a co-host of After Hours. At the end of 40-45 mins podcasts hosts usually give recommendations on various subjects.. food, books, TV shows, cinemas etc. In a recent podcast Prof Mihir Desai recommended the book Ghachar Ghochar and that's what prompted me to read the same.
Vivek Shanbhag is a story teller who writes in Kannada and it is the English translation by Srinath Perur that made it possible to read this 115 page novella.
It's a family drama that could have been set anywhere, not exactly from rags to riches but somewhere in between. It has all the elements that keep you engaged ...head of the family who is an honest salesman just making ends meet, a housewife, a boy and a girl, a younger brother who takes up the responsibility of the household and runs a business that is not exactly run in an honest manner. The easy money for the family makes them change their spending and working habits and arrogance and lethargy sets in every member. A broken marriage due to the arrogance behaviour of the girl and a simple but confused man married to an idealistic woman who doesn't know how to keep a balance in the family and finds solace in a coffee house.
It's a racy, engaging, moralistic and "to the point" short novel that leaves many things to your imagination in the end. I wonder if it would hold the reader's interest had there been more details and the pages had doubled. Simple language and I suppose great translation. This is one of the few books that I finished reading within a day or two of acquiring.
Recommended for a light weekend reading, those who read with good speed could finish it just in 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Delhi/ Sunday March 19, 2023
