A collection as unprecedented as it is captivating, Lapbah—a title inspired by Lapbah Sohra, Sohra’s monsoon deluge—is a magnificent anthology in two volumes that brings together fifty-seven compelling tales by fifty-two of the finest writers from the North-east. It presents, for the first time, voices from all eight states of the region, seamlessly blending original works in English with masterful translations of those written in the regional languages.
The collection offers a rich tapestry of themes and styles through writing by the likes of Indira Goswami, Temsüla Ao, Mamang Dai, Anjum Hasan, Homen Borgohain, Saurabh Kumar Chaliha and Lummer Dai. The stories, emanating from the many different linguistic, literary and ethnic cultures, range from the traditionally heart-rending tales of Arup Kumar Dutta and Rashmi Narzary to the darkly humorous social and political satires of S.J. Duncan and Wan Kharkrang and the fantastical worlds of Jahnavi Barua and Harekrishna Deka, where reality mixes freely with the surreality of dream and fantasy.
Lapbah, compiled and edited by Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih and Rimi Nath, is a celebration of voices as diverse and multifaceted as the region itself, offering readers a profound and moving literary experience.
In sixteenth-century India, warrior Amar Singh, tracker Jingu, artist Qamaruz Zaman and fire-scarred scholar Ferdows travel through a land teeming with clans, languages and deities, stealthily rigging the emperor’s dominion over man, beast and demon.
The unlikely quartet prove adept at engineering spectacles reflecting the Great Moghul’s divine right to rule. Qamaruz Zaman and Jingu’s acting abilities are as sublime as their sketching and tracking; Amar Singh excels at violence; and Ferdows is a skilled linguist and healer. In a series of disguises, they intercept a rogue elephant attacking a riverside caravanserai, face a liger in a subterranean complex under a desert kingdom, and confront a demon in an animistic community in a remote mountain valley. The Great Moghul takes credit for each hunt, and this strategy of empire expansion seems to be working.
But there are challenges. Qamaruz Zaman is frail, hedonistic and allergic to fur. Jingu has dreams of transcending his caste but fears they will only ever be dreams. Ferdows is on a hunt but doesn’t like hurting things. And Amar Singh is a narcissist who cares only about honour and reclaiming lost glory. By the time the quartet reaches the harem city of Zikri to investigate a mysterious death during a symposium on metaphysics, the differences of temperament, belief and ambition between them are causing issues.
In Zikri, Jingu and Qamaruz Zaman are sidelined, Amar Singh learns there is an imperial hunter other than the Great Moghul, and Ferdows the storyteller becomes the story.
The Mother I Never Knew:
Yet another book from the treasure trove of Sudha Murty, The Mother I Never Knew: Two Novellas is a poignant tale of two men, Venkatesh and Mukesh, as they set out on a journey to find out the mothers they never knew. Both men are happy and settled in their respective lives when they come across a shocking truth.
When Venkatesh realises he has a half-brother from his father’s extramarital liaison, his world changes. He finds his step-mother out and is pained to see the pitiful condition she is living in. He must make amends for what his father has done but the question that haunts him deep within is if it is really possible to undo everything. Mukesh is in a similar state of agony when he comes to know that he was adopted as a kid. Pushed by impulse, he decides to find his biological mother. But the farther he goes, the more unclear the picture becomes. He must decide towards whom his true love and loyalty lies: the woman whom he called his mother all his life and who raised him or the woman who has given him birth.
The two men are bound by the same dilemma and the same complexity of emotions. and it is important for them to find their way back to bring stability in their lives. The core interest of the book is in exploring if it is really possible to come to terms with a reality as blaring and as deceiving as that of Venkatesh and Mukesh.
Dollar Bahu:
Dollar Bahu is the story of how money can wreak havoc in the life of any family, if things spin out of control. Vinuta is a young woman, who marries Girish, who is a bank clerk. Vinuta then begins to live in Bangalore, with Girish’s family and starts to get accustomed to her new family. She gets used to this new change quite well and spends her life looking after her in-laws and her husband. She even tries her level best to ignore the taunts of her mother-in-law, Gouramma. Things take a turn for the worse, when Chandru, Girish’s elder brother, gets married. Chandru is based in the US, with his wife, the ‘Dollar Bahu’ and they live quite an extravagant life, because of the fact that Chandru earns well. Vinuta now faces constant comparisons between her and her new sister-in-law, much to Vinuta’s dismay. Now Gouramma, Vinuta’s mother-in-law, decides to pay Chandru a visit in the US, which turns things around.Gouramma now looks at the other side of life in the US, where she realizes that she will never get the respect there, which she gets in India. Even though middle-class life in India is difficult and bound by rules, it is one that is full of love and respect. Can this enlightening trip bring about a change in Vinuta and Gouramma’s relationship?
This is only some of the incredible reads one might find in this collector’s edition!
Who is nameless Naga? What became of the remaining eighteen sadhus and sadhvis who stood against the brutal Afghans? Where does Krishna go with his unflinching devotion? And what does the mysterious Adhiraj know about the real war being fought—inside the hearts of those who dare to pursue their legacy, as much as in the fields? What is the fate of Ahmad Shah Abdali? What will become of Gokul? Will the Nagas retain the Dharma they fought so valiantly to protect? The story follows fate, myth, and history that dance together in a way that is truly epic.
A tale of fidelity, selflessness, and unwavering commitment brings together mystical fighters, mesmerized troops, and formidable avatars. Get ready for an adventure where each response raises a new query and where the shockingly brave and betrayed moments disclose the real stakes.
Explore the thrilling follow-up to The Naga Warriors as the nameless Naga solves the puzzles.
In eleven stories, The World With Its Mouth Open maps the inner lives of the people of Kashmir as they walk the uncertain terrain of their days, fractured from years of war. From a shopkeeper’s encounter with a mannequin, to an expectant mother walking on a precarious road, to a young boy wavering between dreams and reality, to two dogs wandering the city, these stories weave in larger, devastating themes of loss, grief, violence, longing, and injustice with the threads of smaller, everyday realities that confront the characters’ lives in profound ways. Although the stories circle the darker aspects of life, they are—at the same time—an attempt to run into life, into humor, into beauty, into another person who can offer refuge, if momentarily.
Zahid Rafiq’s The World With Its Mouth Open is a powerful collection announcing the arrival of a new voice that bears witness to the human condition with nuance, heart, humor, and incredible insight.
अस्सी से अधिक लोकप्रिय कवियों के चुने हुए शृंगार गीतों का यह संकल नीरज जी ने प्रस्तुत किया है। हरेक गीत ऐसा है कि आप पढ़कर झूम उठेंगे और उसे बार-बार गुनगुनाएँगे।
रस, रूप और रंग से ओत-प्रोत ये गीत आप भूल नहीं पाएँगे।
इनमें से अधिकांश गीतों पर मधुर संगीत भी कंपोज हो चुके हैं और कई गीत फिल्मों में भी नज़र आ चुके हैं। ये गीत अपने आप में बहुत ही अद्भुत हैं।
इंदिरा बंकिमचन्द्र का एक अत्यंत लोकप्रिय उपन्यास है। इसमें सुहाग से बिछुड़ी एक नवयौवना की व्यथा भरी कथा है। नारी के जिस पक्ष का चित्रण यहाँ हुआ है, वह अद्वितीय है। इसके अनुवादक श्रीरामनाथ सुमन ने इसे इस शैली में अनुवाद किया है कि पाठक को यह उपन्यास मूलत: हिंदी भाषा में लिखा गया ही प्रतीत होता है।
पाठक का मनोरंजन करने के अलावा, यह उपन्यास पाठक को उस समय के दौरान बंगाल समाज के सामाजिक मानदंडों और परंपराओं के बारे में अद्भुत जानकारी भी देती है, जब किताब लिखी गई थी; प्यार और रिश्तों के बारे में और जिस तरह से समाज उन्हें आकार देता है, यह सब इस उपन्यास में उकेरा गया है।
कब तक पुकारूँ रांगेय राघव द्वारा लिखा गया एक अद्भुत पठनीय उपन्यास है। जिसमें राजस्थान और उत्तर प्रदेश की सीमा से जुड़ा ‘बैर’ एक ग्रामीण क्षेत्र की कहानी कहता है। वहाँ नटों की भी बस्ती है। तत्कालीन जरायम पेशा करनटों की संस्कृति पर आधारित यह एक सफल आँचलिक उपन्यास है।
इस उपन्यास का नायक सुखराम करनट अवैध संबंध पैदा हुआ एक ऐसा व्यक्ति है जिसके लिए सिद्धांतों पर चलना टेढ़ी खीर है। इस उपन्यास की पात्राएँ अवैध संबंधों से पीड़ित लड़कियाँ इतनी मासूम हैं कि नैतिकता क्या है, इसका ज्ञान उन्हें नहीं है। थोड़े से पैसों की खातिर वे कहीं भी चलने को तैयार हो जाती हैं।
कमल कुमार ने अपनी कहानियों में चतुर्दिक बिखरे क्रूर यथार्थ, विडंबनाओं और विसंगतियों के बीच उम्मीद की लौ को भी प्रदीप्त रखा है। आज की अपसंस्कृति और अवमूल्यन के अंधेरे में मानवीय मूल्यों के प्रति विश्वास और संबद्धता की सार्थक अभिव्यक्ति की है। प्रेम, आत्मीयता, अपनत्व और मानवीय बोध को ये कहानियाँ उजागर करती हैं। ये कहानियाँ पात्रों के बहुआयामी और जटिल पक्षों को उभारती हुई उनके गहरे द्वंद्वों, तनावों, संवेदनाओं और जटिल अंतर्संबंधों को जीवंतता के साथ उद्घाटिता करती हैं। कमल के पास बहुत की समर्थ भाषा है। संकेतों, प्रतीकों, और बिंबों में कहने की कलात्मक शैली इस भाषा का विशेष आकर्षण है।
कर्बला एक ऐतिहासिक-धार्मिक नाटक है जो 1924 में लिखा गया था। भारत के तेज होते स्वतंत्रता संग्राम में मुंशी प्रेमचंद भारतीय समाज में हिंदू और मुस्लिम वैमनस्य से बेहद चिंतित थे। धर्मिक सामंजस्य स्थापित करने के लिए उन्होंने कर्बला नाटक की रचना की।
इस नाटक और घटना की मूल संवेदना यह है कि मुस्लिम धर्म में भी त्याग, समर्पण और शहादत की भावना को बताना था। इस्लाम धर्म के संस्थापक हजरत मुहम्मद के नवासे हुसैन की शहादत का सजीव व रोमांचक विवरण लिए हुए यह एक ऐतिहासिक नाटक है। इस मार्मिक नाटक में यह दिखाया गया है कि उस काल के मुस्लिम शासकों ने किस प्रकार मानवता प्रेमी, असहायों व निर्बलों की सहायता करने वाले हुसैन को परेशान किया और अमानवीय यातनाएं दे देकर उसका कत्ल कर दिया।
