What holds readers to your book is the experience of revelling in its sheer simplicity. Was that a conscious decision?
I have always valued simplicity. Great writing has the ability to communicate, to get through to the reader. And if you can do this simply and clearly, it’s even better.
When I was writing this book, I intended it to be solely for myself and for about 2-3 other people I know. You could say it’s almost childlike in its style.

How did setting the story in a particular time and context come about?
When I was initially writing the story, it wasn’t based at any particular point of time or place. There were no side characters
and the storyteller was just an ordinary man. But my editor at Penguin suggested that I flesh out the characters of the protagonists
and set the context. At that time
I was working on a project on the poets of Delhi and I loosely based

the book on the great Urdu poet, Mir Taqi Mir. It all just slowly fell into place on its own. In fact, I showed the first story in the book to a friend and she said that I was being unfair to the Begum. So I wrote a story from her point of view, which in turn, left space for a story in return and it went on like that.

What were the influences and the inspiration behind the stories?
Each of the stories has been inspired from those we have heard as children. Some of them stayed with me, though I had not fully comprehended them then. Vague memories of the same inspired me to retell them in my style. It’s like you have heard these tales as kids, but when you grow up they assume different complexities
and each one has his own way of
interpreting that. And though it’s aimed at an Indian, because of its cultural context, it also has resonance across cultures.

Set during the Qin Dynasty, at the time when Emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered men across the country to construct the Great Wall as a physical defence against the northern invaders, is the story of Binu which chronicles a peasant's journey across China, which ends at the Great Wall of China. Qiliang, Binu's husband, is captured against his will and transported to another province to work on the Great Wall. When Binu realises that Qiliang is missing, she sets off on foot with only a blind frog to bring winter clothing to him. What follows is an unforgettable story of passion, hardship and magical adventure. When Binu reaches the Great Wall, she is told that Qiliang has passed on and she is forbidden from bringing home his remains as he was buried along with others,
at the foot of the wall. Upon hearing this, she wails and unleashes a flood of tears, which brings down an entire section of the Great Wall. Binu’s tragic story and writer Su Tong’s perspective of life is bleak and negative, but nonetheless realistic enough to connect with the readers.

Hiren Kumar Bose

singing solo

Solo
Rana Dasgupta,
Harper Collins
India, Rs 395

The extraordinary stories of ordinary people are ultimately about the triumph
of the human spirit. Ulrich, a 100-yearold man, does not wish to fade away into
meaningless oblivion. He sets forth to share whatever he can still remember of
his own story. Ulrich’s story begins in Sofia, Bulgaria, where his engineer father dies in dishonour and despair. He is immersed in ‘philharmonic sadness’ and his love for music is stifled by an authoritarian father. Due to family misfortunes, Ulrich cannot complete his university studies or pursue his love for music. His friend Boris is executed because of his political beliefs. Ulrich marries Boris’ sister, but she deserts him. His mother’s intellectual dreams are snuffed out inside a concentration camp. In his old age, Ulrich is blinded by an accident. The upheavals in Ulrich’s life reflect the turbulent world outside. Seeking emotional escape, Ulrich finds solace in daydreams. This haunting story rife with magical realism, pain and failure elicits deep insights. Doesn’t every success ultimately stand upon the ruins of many failures?

Monideepa Sahu