Description
The daughter was too young and innocent to understand either her adolescence or her destiny. Having been brought up as a son for years, she now considered herself a man. She believed that she would grow a moustache when she got married.’ Folktales are the collective memories of people, handed down from one generation to another. But often, this process of handing down stops the evolution of these folktales. Vijai Dan Detha, one of India’s most iconic and iconoclastic writers, not only puts these mostly oral stories into words, he also weaves contemporary issues into them and gives them renewed relevance. His stories speak of alternative ways of life and, sometimes, they speak out for the most common victims of feudal societies—women. In ‘A New Life’, two women, Teeja and Beeja, are married to each other to satisfy the whim of an unbending father. They realize the mistake that they have been inadvertently forced into, but they also understand that this is the ideal union for them and, with the help of the ghost chieftain, build a new life for themselves. In ‘The Crow’s Way’ the selfishness of a husband, in-laws and other benefactors convinces a young wife that the only true human relationship is the one between a prostitute and her customer. ‘Discretion’ is the story of a she-jackal who is more virtuous than Sita but unwittingly cheats on her husband with the sun and the moon. The stories in New Life, many of them path-breaking in Indian writing, are refreshingly free of stereotypes. Detha deep understands of human relationships and his matter-of-fact engagement with unconventional themes makes this an unforgettable collection.
About the Author
Vijaydan Detha (1 September 1926 – 10 November 2013), also known as Bijji, was a noted Indian writer of Rajasthani literature.[1] He was a recipient of several awards including the Padma Shri and the Sahitya Akademi Award.
Detha has more than 800 short stories to his credit, which have been translated into English and other languages. With Komal Kothari, he founded Rupayan Sansthan, an institute that documents Rajasthani folklore, art, and music. His literary works include Bataan ri Phulwari (Garden of Tales), a 14-volume collection of stories that draws on folklore in the spoken dialects of Rajasthan. Many of his stories and novels have been adapted for the stage and the screen: adaptations include Mani Kaul‘s Duvidha (1973),[2] Habib Tanvir and Shyam Benegal‘s Charandas Chor (1975),[3] Prakash Jha‘s Parinati (1986),[4] Amol Palekar‘s Paheli (2005),[5] Pushpendra Singh’s The Honour Keeper (2014),[6] Dedipya Joshii‘s Kaanchli Life in a Slough[7] (2020), Pushpendra Singh’s Laila aur Satt Geet (2020)[8]
Source: Wikipedia
