Here comes a wonderful review of one of our popular titles - Crumpled Voices. Read on:
“Crumpled
Voices-shades of suffering” is a collection of short stories and poems based on
social issues. This book has been published by Gargi Publishers, compiled by
Pulkit Gupta and edited by Ila Garg, both of whom are authors as well.
The
first and foremost thing that struck me as soon as I finished reading “Crumpled
Voices”, are the beautifully written stories. These stories are penned down by
a group of authors of all age groups, published authors and new comers too. And
this is what brings the freshness in the content. Every story is very raw, real
and heart-wrenching. Every story is different, each one with an identity of its
own.
It’s
hard to compare, because there is nothing to compare. Each one of the authors
has brought about a uniqueness of his/her own into this book. Each story is
bound to generate a different emotion, a different reaction. While Ila’s story
(This is who I am) will generate a
feeling of sadness at the plight of the gay community, Pulkits story (Karma returns), will generate a feeling
of sadness at first, but a bit of relief at the end. Then there is a story by
Abhik Chakraborty (It is honorable),
which talks about honor killing, literally had me in tears. Prachi Priyanka’s
story (The Paradise) talks about how
too much of anything can be bad, even if its love. It’s a scary story with a
sad ending.
“Nature’s revenge” by Shruti Mall
generates two opposite emotions- one of extreme sadness because someone bears
the brunt of somebody else’s wrongdoing; and second, a slight feeling of joy,
because the wrong doer gets his due. “Eighteenth
birthday” by Nibha Gupta takes you through a roller-coaster of suspense and
intrigue. Durgesh Shastri’s “Indecent
profession” leaves you shocked and saddened at the evil ways of the world,
and how your trust can be broken, by your own loved one. The story “Light” by Shruti Patole Clarence, wakes
you up to harsh realities, and also gives you the courage to speak up, which is
so damn important in today’s world.
“Freedom” a story by Ketaki Sane,
initially made me very sad, because the protagonist didn’t need to suffer the
way she did, but also brought a smile to my face when she finally found her
artistic freedom, and the love of her life. Gayatri Aptekar’s story, titled “A second chance” highlights the ‘don’t
care’ attitude of today’s parents, who are so engrossed in their careers and
technology, that they forget the most important part of their lives-their own
children. Priyanka Bansal’s “Together we
can make a difference” is a story which talks about ignorance about AIDS,
and how awareness of the same is the need of the hour.
Marital
rape and torture, and the plight of the majority of women in our country, who
suffer in silence, is highlighted in Tanya Srivastava’s “The last whisper”and Smita Salin’s “Indira’s story”. Another slightly different story “The curious case of Missing Brahmins”
by Abhishek Atul, highlights how Brahmins have slowly withered away into
oblivion, and the sad condition of our education system, which is the result of
the same.
Promilla
Qazi’s “Color of a butterfly” talks
about the bitter truth- the girl child is cursed, and is meant to suffer, while
Nitesh Chitranshi’s “The corrupt me”
wakes us up to the sad fact that corruption begins at the smallest of levels,
without us being aware of the same. The plight of old, abandoned, lonely
parents who are left alone by their own children, and have to face a cruel
unwarranted death, is what Sreelekha Chatterjee’s story, “The fatal pride” throws light on.
Then
we have “Letter to God” by Sandeep
Sharma, which takes us on a beautiful journey through a little poor, motherless
girl’s emotions, while “The Newspaper
reader” by Chandrapal Khasiya, takes you on a similar journey, but this
time of a helpless mother who had to let go of her beautiful child due to unexpected
circumstances. Last, but definitely not the least is “The Crescendo of a Grand Symphony” by Harsh Rai Puri, is a
beautifully depicted soul stirring tale of yearning and distress in a German
concentration camp, which is bound to bring tears of joy in the end.
All
in all, “Crumpled Voices” is really the need of the hour. We are all aware of
the evils of society, but it’s very rare that everything has been wonderfully
amalgamated and portrayed in such a manner. It is the kind of book that once
you start reading, you won’t put down, until it’s finished. Pulkit Gupta and
Ila Garg need to be commended on a job brilliantly done. Definitely a must-buy.
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