New Delhi, Dec 20: A new collection of short stories by Sahitya Akademi-winning writer Gauri Shankar Raina seeks to capture the nuanced realities of contemporary Kashmiri society, navigating the complexities of environment, identity, social divides, and cultural memory.
“U-Turn and Other Stories” unravels the lives of Kashmiri-speaking people, set against the socio-cultural backdrop of the land. They are stories that reflect the deteriorating environment of the valley, the plight of the minority community as well as the resolve of the younger generations to rise above the divides.
Spanning three decades of writing, the stories have been translated from Kashmiri by Pankaj Bhan.
From love at first sight between two youngsters from different worlds, colliding on a bus journey, to an archeological longing for Kashmir’s glorious past, Raina seeks to explore several aspects of contemporary life in the valley and its environs.
In the title story “U-turn”, Raina blends personal narrative with pressing social concerns. Through a professor’s struggle to protect the Dal Lake from encroachments and short-sighted developmental agendas, Raina highlights the tension between commercial interests and ecological preservation – a theme that resonates far beyond Kashmir.
Other stories, such as “The Shroud-Maker”, “Mannequins”, and “The Umbrella Man”, explore social and political divides, displacement, and the resilience of communities navigating change.
Raina’s third-person narrative style provides both an intimate and analytical lens, allowing readers to see characters’ inner thoughts while contextualising them within the larger social and cultural landscape of Kashmir.
The collection, published by Niyogi Books, oscillates between brooding realism and moments of hope, between personal longing and universal concerns, making it a multi-layered exploration of human experience. (Agencies)
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