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BOOK REVIEW: FRITZ by Satyajit Ray

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Khidki (Window)

–Read India Initiative—

This is only an attempt to create interest in reading. We may not get the time to read all the books in our lifetime. But such reviews, talk and synopsis will at least convey what the book is all about.

    This short story was published in The Penguin Book of ‘Indian Ghost Stories, edited by Ruskin Bond. It is about a Swiss doll named Fritz. The price of this book is Rs 250.

    We all know Satyajit Ray, an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, music composer, graphic artist, lyricist and author, widely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th Century. Ray was born in Calcutta into a Bengali family which was prominent in the field of art and literature.

    In this short story there are two main protagonists. One is Jayant, who works in the editorial section of a newspaper and the other is his friend Shankar, the narrator, who is a school teacher. They are great friends and have finally managed sometime to go on a holiday together. They decide to go to Bundi a small town in Rajasthan around two hundred km from Jaipur. Incidentally, Jayant had been to this town in his childhood along with his parents. Jayant’s father was in the Archaeological Survey of India and that gave him the opportunity to visit many tourist locations.

    They plan to stay at the Circuit House where Jayant had stayed before, when he had come along with his father many years ago on an official visit. But when they reach Bundi, Shankar notices, Jayant is not his usual self. He is in a pensive mood and is thinking about something. Shankar tries to query Jayant about his mood. Jayant says it’s nothing but old memories inundating his mind. Shankar thinks, Jayant being the over-emotional type is now getting nostalgic, so he doesn’t say anything further in the matter.

    They go for a stroll in the beautiful compound of the Circuit House when Jayant suddenly remembers that there was a tall Deodar tree there. He searches for it by looking around and finds it at the end of the compound. He looks at the trunk searchingly and says, it was only here, out here he had met a European in the form of a doll, but doesn’t quite remember who it was or how they had met.

    They return to the Circuit House where Jayant remembers Dilawar, the cook, who had prepared their dinner when he had come with his father. His reminiscences don’t stop there. They continue full flow and then he is inundated with the memories of Fritz. He tells Shankar, the tale of Fritz, the European doll, which Shankar hears amusedly. It was a one-foot tall Swiss doll brought from Switzerland by his uncle for him. He says he was very attached to the doll and was devastated when two stray dogs had mutilated it. He had buried the doll’s remnants under the very same deodar tree.

    Shankar is quite tired so he goes to bed but wakes up abruptly in the middle of the night and finds Jayant sitting on his bed, looking perplexed. Upon asking the reason, Jayant says that something had walked over his chest when he was asleep. Shankar assures that it could have been a dream but Jayant shows him his pillow. Where, there were faint marks pointing to the fact that an animal had walked over it. Shankar does a thorough search of the place but doesn’t find any small animal like mice or rats. Shankar feels that his friend is just exaggerating his pent up emotions, nevertheless, he offers him some soothing words. After which they both go off to sleep.

    The following day, they visit ‘Bundi Fort.’ About which Shankar is happy, as he remembers the famous poem of Tagore ‘The Fort of Bundi.’ During the visit to the fort on the hills, Jayant remains lost in his thoughts. After returning, Shankar queries about his state of mind persistently. Jayant says, that Fritz, the doll, had come back, alive, and it was the doll last night who had walked over his chest leaving its footprints. Shankar, now annoyed with Jayant’s irrational fears, suggests to dig up the doll’s grave and see for himself that the doll isn’t back.

    Jayant agrees. Together, they have the gardener dig the place where Fritz was buried many years ago. To their horror, they find a pure white, 12-inch, human skeleton, lying exactly there, of the same size as Fritz. They both are confused and horrified when they see it. Eerie thoughts and weird assumptions come to their mind. The story ends there, on a cliff-hanger, with various connotations to suit the reader.

    The story is narrated in first person from Shankar’s perspective and that provides a realistic depth into Jayant’s emotions, unclouded by Jayant’s irrational fears and beliefs.

    The story is built on short conversations between the two protagonists. The author within the limited space has also described the scenic surroundings quite well. Even Jayant’s childhood memories are well captured. The story unwinds on flashbacks. Where, the sequencing of flashbacks is quite perfect.

    The characters are well-portrayed. Where, Jayant is projected as a serious person and even emotional. Whereas, Shankar is a smart and rational man who believes only in what he sees. Hence, he is annoyed at Jayant’s assumption that Fritz is back. And it’ll only be right to say that Shankar is quite a determined person, because even when Jayant was reluctant to dig the grave, he was sure about what he wanted to do and how to get it done.

    The story is set in Bundi, Rajasthan. The author has used plain English, easy to understand. It is a good read. I would give the story seven out of ten.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

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KULDHARA—JAISALMER: THE HAUNT REMAINS EVEN AFTER CENTURIES

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By Kamlesh Tripathi

    Rajasthan lies on the spread of the Thar Desert. It has some ghost villages that remain almost unpeopled for various reasons.  But only a few have got as much publicity as Bhangarh located in the Alwar district of Rajasthan and Kuldhara located near Jaisalmer. The unique publicity is because of the myths attached to them. So while we were in Jaisalmer it was only natural for us to undertake the sightseeing of Kuldhara.

    Ghostly villages and vicinities often attain our attention. Concurrently, they also unleash our wild imagination to some hair-raising and eerie trepidation. But their character remains subdued when compared to the overwhelming ruins of the arrogant castles and Qilas like the ruins of the Bundi Palace in Rajasthan, or the mighty Roman ruins to name a few. Kuldhara is located in the deep-seated desert region of western Rajasthan. While standing there under the hot blistering sun you might not get to see a single human form till the horizon. In all earnestness, such unspeaking and phantom villages and towns may not utter a complaining word but then they relentlessly semaphore about the enduring trauma that their inhabitants might have undergone and that gives us a chance to peep into their distressing lives.

    Kuldhara simmers in the deep desolate wilderness, about 18 km, southwest of Jaisalmer. And it certainly has a cruel story to narrate. In Kuldhara we came across a young man by the name of Bhairo Sharma. He narrated the aghast happening in an emotional tone and tenor. This was when I reflected after years that there was someone doing justice to the forgotten art of storytelling.

    The story dates back some three hundred years ago. Kuldhara then was a prosperous and well-doing village under the state of Jaisalmer. The inhabitants were a congregation of Paliwal Brahmins. The legend throws up a spine-chilling event. It starts when the devilish eyes of Salim Singh, the all-powerful oppressive and pervert Chief Minister of the state of Jaisalmer fall on the lovely daughter of the village Pradhan and he wishes to marry her by force. He also threatens the entire village with grave consequences, if they do not acquiesce to his wishes.

    The entire clan of Paliwals lived in those 85 villages there. They forthwith held a meeting. In the meeting, it was decided that instead of acceding to the demands of the depraved Chief Minister Salim Singh, the Paliwals would instead abandon their village and homeland. This will save the honour and purity of their daughter from the devilish eyes of the monster. And soon, they all left for good. But before departing they put a powerful curse on Kuldhara that after they leave no one else shall ever be able to settle and prosper in the village. And from that day onwards the village remains unoccupied, barren and totally deserted. The place gives an isolated and godforsaken look. Perhaps, it is similar to the unseen yet imagined faces of the residents of those times, and that too, centuries ago. It is also believed that the people who have attempted to stay there overnight have been haunted by some strange and abnormal occurrences.

   The parallel story that runs and appears to be as plausible as the first one is that Salim Singh, upon, not being obliged by the Paliwals jacked up the taxes to such an extent that it became practically unbearable for the local community to survive in the village.  They, therefore, decided to move to fresh fields. But people are more inclined to believe the first story that has a tinge of both bedevilled lasciviousness and wickedness in it.

    There are also murmurs that the village was abandoned in the early 19th century for reasons such as dwindling water supply and earthquake but the story of Salim Singh holds more credence.

    The dilapidated and tale-telling houses and monuments are now maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). One can enter the village only after purchasing a ticket. Thereafter, you drive along the prime street which appears to be the main boulevard of the erstwhile settlement. There, even now, after centuries one feels gloomy and sad for there are mud houses in a row with fallen roofs. And the ruined walls give you a sense of a melancholic past. The entire landscape is dry, dusty and sun stricken. It conveys a blaring message of atrocious human upheavals, even when, the era denoted happiness through righteousness.

    We halted at a location that appeared to be the hub of the ghost village. Close by, there was a house in good upkeep. We entered to see the rooms. They were all well-maintained. Following the path we went upstairs and up to the terrace. From there, the entire hamlet was in sight. I couldn’t feel any supernatural presence there but the chill of sombreness struck me while I was moving around. One could say the animation was missing. The ladies in the group could not withstand the countenance of destruction so they slowly moved away. I could sight an unvisited and left-alone temple nearby. Gradually, we cruised past the pitiable ruins standing there in the form of crumbling walls. For a moment, it conveyed the story of the lives that lived there, centuries ago. There was definitely something spine-chilling even when everything around was so calm and unmoved. Perhaps, the collective curse, of the helpless citizens was still pulsating there. Everything around was looking so recent. And, it felt, as if someone was whispering at you from those dilapidated houses behind.

    Kuldhara remains a sorrowful place with deserted looks. Curses don’t die so soon, they say. The ambience brings a kind of seeping dejection in you. Especially, when, one thinks of those disgraced citizens, who were forced to flee from the land of their ancestors. The place doesn’t appear to be ghostly for any other reason barring the wicked crime spelt in the story.

    Even when the ASI has taken over the settlement, it remains to be seen if this village will ever flourish. By flourish, I mean– will the lineage of the people, who left generations ago, ever return, or come together to salvage the village? And last but not least was this the quintessential example of migration that moved a civilized settlement? My answer would be no. It was time to move on.

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