This book is a collection of 19 short stories by different Punjabi authors. Most of the stories written originally in Gurmukhi are translated by Khushwant Singh. I wonder why most of the stories have a tragic end – do tragedies sell?
exchange of lunatics – saadat hasan manto
bishen singh was one of the many inmates of a lunatic asylum in pakistan. after the partition, when it was decided to exchange lunatics of either country, he got upset and wanted to know which part of the earth was his native place tob tek singh – a village. his relative told him it was in pakistan but the asylum people to pacify him told him that it would also be moved along with him to india. and when the asylum van reached the border, toba tek singh [as bishen was called by that name] would not budge from the pakistani land. the authorities did not force him that moment and continued transferring other inmates to the indian side. after some time toba tek singh let out a cry and died between the indo-pak border.
a paragraph from the story: “no one knew where this Pakistan was or how far it extended. This was the chief reason why inmates who were not totally insane were in worse dilemma than those utterly mad: they did not know whether they were in India or Pakistan. If they were I India, where exactly was Pakistan? And if they were in Pakistan how was it that the very place had till recently been known as India?”
the night of the full moon – kartar singh duggal
there was this person who for years used to knock at this lady’s house on full moon day. he had proposed her several times but she would just ignore him. her husband used to be out most of the times and her daughter was due to get married in a week’s time.
it was full moon night once again and this lady wearing her daughter’s dupatta and red bangles was sitting in the courtyard when there was a knock. she had this urge to be with the person who was so determined to win her, and so she opened the door…
next day the villagers came to her house and started abusing her daughter for having illicit relationship. people told her that they saw her in her dupatta and bangles leaving for the fields with her lover. the lady was shocked and could not utter any word. before she could think of anything, her daughter took her life by jumping in the well.
lajwanti – rajinder singh bedi
this man used to ill treat his wife when they lived together. during partition they got separated. he started living in delhi and used to participate in the refugee rehabilitation programs. he used to miss his wife and always regretted about ill treating her. he pledged if he was given another chance he would take care of her like a queen.
after some time he found his lajwanti. he was surprised that she was hale and hearty. apparently a muslim had taken care of all her needs, she wanted to tell her husband about this person but he never wanted to hear about the stranger. he now took care of lajwanti and never hit or ill treated her. she was a little upset for she thought he had changed. earlier even when he used to hit her, she used to accept it as a ritual which she thought was practiced by all husbands.
stench of kerosene – amrita pritam
guleri and her husband were married for seven years but they were childless. every year guleri used to visit her parents, and someone from her village used to come to every year to escort her home. the time had come for her to leave, but this time her husband insisted she stayed back. guleri was not sure why he was unhappy this time. he accompanied her up to a distance and then she asked him to return.
his mother, who would not want another year to pass by without any hope of a grandchild, married her son to another lady. next day someone acquainted to both guleri and her husband informed him that guleri had doused herself with kerosene and set herself on fire after hearing about his second marriage.
