Generational narratives
A grandfather, mum and granddaughter, trio publishes a compilation of drabbles that makes for quite a (short) read
It was a dream come true for grandfather Bishan Sahai, daughter Ruchi Ranjan and granddaughter Ishika, when OUR WORLD: A Symphony of Drabbles by Three Generations, a compilation of eighty-six drabble stories written by them, was published recently.
A drabble story is a short work of fiction exactly hundred words in length — not a word more or less!
OUR WORLD: A Symphony of Drabbles by Three Generations has varied works, reflecting the thought processes and writing styles of the three generations and evoking a myriad of emotions. Each drabble story in the compilation covers a plethora of interesting stories spanning several genres, showcasing interesting facets of the human predicament, sometimes ending with a twist that leaves the reader bemused. While some stories are humorous and quixotic, others skirt around tales of soft sci-fi and adventure. Still others in the compilation evoke feelings of nostalgia and empathy.
INSPIRED IDEAS
The inspiration for the collection goes back to 2016, when Ruchi and her 16-year-old daughter
Ishika came across Lilliput Stories on an online community, with stories in the same format.
“We talked about it in one of the meetings we have in our book club, called Dog Ears Society, which is made up of the three of us,” says Ruchi. “It turned out to be a novel idea and all of us were quite excited and began penning down a drabble each.”
Ruchi tells us that Ishika was twelve years old then, but even at that age, she wrote long stories. Ruchi then shortened one of her stories to suit the hundredword format. “But I remem
ber it took a long time to edit it to fit the form, longer than it would have taken her to write that very story!” says Ruchi with a laugh.
The oldest among the three,
90-year-old Bishan Sahai, took it upon himself to share his experiences with the world. “People who have seen a lot in life owe it to successive generations to share their best experiences. If the experiences can come out in the form of a readable book, there is nothing like it,” says the avid reader and debutant author.
Despite the start of the book in
2016, however, the trio conceived the idea of writing a book and getting it published only in 2020. “We wanted to impress upon our readers that we need to rise above negativity and not be deterred by the existence of the Coronavirus,” Ruchi explains. “These stories have been presented as a potpourri for the reader to derive maximum reading pleasure from.”
THE GOOD WORD
OUR WORLD: A Symphony of Drabbles by Three Generations could even be an answer for frustrated parents trying to motivate their
child to read.
“I understand that those of my age group are full of excitement and curiosity and get carried away by digital games and chatting with friends, posting pictures on WhatsApp and on Instagram. While all this is indeed fun, I think we should also spend time reading books. I agree some books are very lengthy and some of us don’t have the patience to read such lengthy books. But let us make a start,” says the XI-standard student Ishika.
However, Ruchi assures that even seasoned readers will find this book an interesting break from serious work and other long reads they are into.
Published Rupa Publications, OUR WORLD… was recently launched digitally by Harinder Sikka, author ( Calling Sehmat, which was made into the Bollywood movie Raazi) and filmmaker. The launch also saw the presence of renowned author Ruskin Bond as well as the managing director of the publishing house, Kapish Mehra.
In fact, Ruskin Bond also had a few words of praise for the book. “This book is an entertaining collection of tiny tales for tired COVID-19 survivors. A drabble a day should keep the doctors away,” the reputed author says.
The excitement of the launch aside, the pandemic has caused the publisher and the authors an unprecedented situation of not being able to ensure stores across India carry sufficient copies of their book. However, Ruchi is still optimistic. “For the moment, it is only the online sales on Amazon and word of mouth that’s selling the book. However, the response is quite encouraging and I am happy that even Shashi Tharoor has read the drabble stories and has written praise for the book,” says an obviously excited Ruchi. by
We wanted to impress upon our readers that we need to rise above negativity and not be deterred by the existence of the Coronavirus