Written in the wake of the Kedarnath flash floods of 2013, Himmat Sawar gives a fictional twist to the devastating events that unfolded during the flood. A novel for children, the book attempts to initiate a conversation between literature and ecology by bringing together the relationship between humans, animals, and the physical environment
Life is akin to an amusement park and birth itself is an entry ticket. Exposure to as many experiences as possible is normal to a person fascinated by life.’ The author lived by his words and the book is a testimonial to it. The book presents snippets from his boyhood to adult life and in no particular order.
When I was to select a book for reviewing, the title Bana Banaya Dekha Aakash, Bante Kahan Dikha Aakash itself drew me towards this book. As if it was asking me, ‘Have you ever seen something like this?’ And the cover illustration too appears to have assimilated all living and non-living beings into the folds of the sky.
On hearing the word melancholia, I imagine—crooning of a musical instrument, the sound of the rain, evenings spent in solitude, sailing on the boat during sunset, reading a pensive book, having a conversation with a person who lends an open ear and objective mind, watching sky change its colour, gazing stars under the night sky.
Vinod Kumar Shukla’s Ghoda aur Anya Kahaniyan has six stories apart from the one titled ‘Ghoda’. These are : ‘Bahiya’, ‘Cinema Line’, ‘Heera’, ‘Kotwar’, ‘Sacchai ki duniya’ and ‘Gali-mohalle ki Jalvayu’.‘Bahiya’, alias a madman, replies to all questions people ask him in a particular pattern. The mystery of his unique ways and the pattern of his answering questions is revealed later in the story.
Around five-six years ago, it would have been easy to say that nothing was happening in the world of Marathi children’s literature. I would have simply left my comment at that. But since the situation today has changed, it needs a mention as well. It is high time that we acknowledge the bits and pieces of contributions and explorations, initiated and ongoing despite the odds.