Title: Daura
Author: Anukrti Upadhyay
Publisher: Fourth State India
ISBN:
978-9353570019
Pages: 160
Genre: Literary Fiction
What I loved most about Anukrti
Upadhyay’s Daura, was how mystic folktales of Rajasthan was integrated into the
story.
Author has written this book in a
form of series of documents and journal entries. I liked the way characters
were explored and dissected. It transports you deep into their lives. Writing is clear and unique without any dramatic
peaks.
Story begins with an excerpt from the
journal of Collector, who got posted into rural Rajasthan, while working on the
water-canal project amidst desert he felt instant connection to lives of tribal
people.
As the story progresses, Collector Saheb
meets with a wonderful set of characters, Saranagiya, Camel-herder, Chief Secretary,
Nat Girls and Guard. There are bits and pieces of everyone journalized throughout
this book, representing their foils and reflections. It made me feel happy
inside, author even worked on minor characters with so much dedication, and managed
to capture the heart of nomadic lives.
“The Sarangiya used to come often, I
think oftener than he does now. He does not need roads to travel, the desert is
full of paths, but it seems that none of them led to the place, he is trying to
reach… Then as now, he used to come to the Dak Bangla, sit under the tree or by
the large rock you can see at some distance, and play his sarangi. Sometimes
especially on full moon nights, he played until the moon set. When morning came
around, his arms would be as stiff as the wood of sarangi and his eyes would be
like sun-mirrors. His sarangi has learnt to speak due to his penance. It has
learnt to cry. Not everyone knows how to cry. The Sarangiya himself doesn’t
know how to – he is too proud. His eyes burn but not a drop falls. That
instrument of his has to do all the crying for him”
When Collector met with this nomad
sarangi player, he understood an art is the answer and immersed himself into
their world. Author shows his new perception about art and beliefs, collector’s
obsession about folktales, and his longing to get a single glance of a
princess, trapped into mystic tree.
“Who has told me that collector saheb
has been bewitched? Why would anyone need to tell me? Don’t I keep my ears open
all the time, and keep one eye open even when I sleep? The people around are
illiterate and most of them are full of nonsense, gibbering about this and
that, but they are as cunning as they come”
Besides that, In Anukrti’s Daura, the
subject of bureaucracy in India treated in the most glancing way. Author played on the ground of freedom and
courage. She explored human emotions, greed and disheveled morality as well. Many
parts of book read like a monologue, with startling cadence of desert. Her
sentences are hum and vibrant, ability to suck you into the story. It makes you
think and suffer and then leaves you with questions that don’t need to get
answered.
“To me, though, everything that has happened
in the past is fresh, as if it has just happened. Each day, as my age
increases, my memory burnishes, grows lighter like silver coins published with
use, I can’t explain why it is so, I know that the older you grow, the less you
are supposed to remember. Age gives you Maan – the honour to be remembered and
the right to forget. At time I think I myself am the memory from the past… I am
the only one left who knows the past now, the only one who can tell old
stories, and with each telling, I remember them better. Usually, I tell them to
myself, for who else is there to hear them” — The guard’s story
Like, Author’s twin novel, Bhaunri, it
offers the taste of Rajasthan by delivering story with colloquial words, though
it didn’t interrupt the reading, even enhanced the beauty of prose.
Anukrti upadhayay has woven her
characters with so honesty, it won me over instantly. With her sparkling
writing, author managed to keep me hooked till the end. If you are music lover,
you are going to savour it.
Daura is surely a riveting tale. I
applaud the author; she dealt an important issue in such an interesting way. I
couldn’t wait to read her next one.
ABOUT AUTHOR
Anukrti Upadhyay has post-graduate
degrees in management and literature, and a graduate degree in law. She writes
in both English and Hindi; Daura and Bhaunri are her first publications in
English. She divides her time between Mumbai and Singapore.