HYDERABAD: It is easy to record the big events in this journey called life. Irrespective of them being joyous or heart-breaking, we tend to remember the details and how each of them made us feel. However, life is mostly made of the quiet, seemingly commonplace moments that pass us by while we are glued to our smartphones. It takes a discerning eye to notice the beauty, comedy and magic in everyday life, and put it on paper. The affair becomes all the more interesting when three generations of a family present their experiences in the form of drabbles.
‘Our World: A symphony of Drabbles by Three Generations,’ authored by Bishan Sahai, Ruchi Ranjan and Ishika Ranjan, is a delightful patchwork quilt of anecdotes, observations and vignettes. Reading them will bring a smile on your face, and give a glimpse into the world as lived by each of the authors.
A drabble is a work of fiction which has 100 words precisely. This format works perfectly in a world with diminishing attention spans. With bite-sized videos and bite-sized news, why cannot writing be bite-sized too? The drabbles give you a sense of completion within a couple of minutes, and we get to read stories that enrich our imagination.
The drabbles by Bishan Sahai (the grandfather) are about witticism and observations on human behaviour gleaned from a long corporate career. In one of his drabbles, a Ceylonese official goes into a flutter after he cannot his spectacles, but none of his colleagues dares to tell him that the missing item was perched on his brow.
The warmth of human connection is palpable in the drabbles by Ruchi Ranjan (the mother). In one of her pieces, a bed-ridden woman starts her healing process by taking in a lungful of petrichor. In another, a boy stops stealing after he is given the role of a policeman in a skit.
The daughter, 15-year-old Ishika, explores sci-fi, time travel and writes stories of hope. A couple of drabbles in the book mention the pandemic, making it a timely reading for anyone who is looking for a soulful, easy read. The illustrations by Debabrata Biswas and Rahamtul Haq add to the symphony of the drabbles.The book, presented by Rupa Publications, costs Rs 240 and is available online.
What’s a drabble anyway?
A drabble is a work of fiction which has 100 words precisely. This format works in a world with diminishing attention spans. With bite-sized videos and news, why not bite-sized writing?
— Kakoli Mukherjee
kakoli_mukherjee@newindianexpress.com
@KakoliMukherje2