Sakshi Dogra
ITIHAAS KI ATMAYEIN (SPIRITS FROM HISTORY) by Shefali Jha and Rekharaj. Illustrations by Chinan and K.P. Rezi. Translated from the original English into Hindi by Swayam Prakash Eklavya Publication, 2020, 44 pp., 100.00
November 2020, volume 44, No 11

Itihaas ki Atmayein is a collection of two stories from English into Hindi, namely, Badshah, Mera Dost (My Friend, The Emperor) by Shefali Jha and Pyaari Atmayein (Beloved Spirits), by Rekharaj. The former narrates the story of a young boy Adil who is disinterested in the subject history, or as he puts it, history hates him. One evening, as he takes a visit to the mosque, a stranger, dressed as an emperor, appears in front of him. As this man and Adil start conversing, the emperor reveals to the young boy that history is not about boring, overwhelming details like names and dates that need to be memorized. Instead, history is a complex social science that takes into account a wealth of factors that precipitated certain events. The short story emphasizes how history can be studied in a meaningful way, just like mathematics or English. The connection between history and storytelling is also brought forth, reflected in the history teacher’s narration of historical occurrences. As the story comes to a close, we find that in befriending the emperor, Adil has also befriended the subject, history.

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