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A review by deepan2486
The Greatest Gujarati Stories Ever Told by Rita Kothari
4.0
‘The Greatest Gujarati stories ever told’ was frankly my first exposure to the legacy of Gujarati Literature. Rita Kothari’s experience in translation in trustworthy, therefore I delved into the book feeling that I would soon be welcomed by a coherent, well-curated, thoughtful set of stories that will familiarise me with the kind of lives borne out of Gujarat. I wasn’t disappointed.
Kothari writes in her introduction: “…Gujarat has come to be associated with….the political power of Hindu nationalism….This present-ness is likely to shape our responses to both the production and reception of its literature, if at all we think of Gujarat in context of literature!…One hopes that this act of translation and the discussions surrounding Gujarati literature will nudge Gujarat to own up to its own multiplicities. At the same time, it might help a non-Gujarati reader to appreciate the less acknowledged aspect of Gujarat.”
The introduction flourishes quite well, and reading the piece along with the stories—you might not need a review, or even a critical discourse that can nudge you to read the book. It is all very subtle, the way Gujarat blooms through these writers and how they approach this influential state of Western India.
Kothari chooses the stories by allotting a very sensible emphasis to portray the shift from rural living to rapid urbanisation, the changing tides of values and morales that gets associated with your daily routine. Most of these stories are based deeply in rural or lesser urbanised contexts, but many of them point very ably towards the glittering cosmopolitan that exists not too far. I liked this choice to be honest, because in a way I wanted to know the heart of Gujarat—the land that exists in the towns and villages, and not in flyovers and cars. Through this journey, these Gujarati writers mostly accumulate in two looming pillars of Indian literature—caste and gender, and how their strata dominates Indian living in majority. Kothari writes in her introduction, “This anthology aims to contribute to an understanding of the region, add nuance to the idea of Gujarat…This collection also hopes to hint at the differences in the realm of the social and personal and provide a variegated and unsettled picture of Gujarat, showing how Gujarat itself is constituted by multitudes, each with challenges of its own; and how, on some days, being human is an aspiration, not a fact.”
I didn’t know much about Gujarat up till quite recently, maybe because I was too naive and ignorant to gather understanding of a state that holds no direct relation with me. But I am glad I picked this particular book, and I am also quite grateful that my introduction to Gujarat was through stories— and not through news and jugglery of journalists. Keeping aside all the political colours and battle of words, it is difficult for a non-Gujarati to appreciate Gujarat from the bottom of their heart, since this perspective will largely be curtailed by fabricated, decorated, arranged notions of the Gujarati community, all pointing to some agenda of governance and public policy.
As I wade across these translated anthologies from various parts of India— quite recently I read short stories in Tamil, Assamese, Malayalam— I come to a very large realisation that would be cumbersome for me to put to words. I will say that I see the deep-rooted contexts of India, shaped by generations of differences and harmony—and this realisation is not limited to a particular community, ethnicity or even language—this aspect of fragmented India is indeed very conjoined and aggregated, adding to my humble understanding of this intimidating subcontinent.
Kothari tries to hint at this conjecture yet again in her erudite introduction, and you can easily replace ‘Gujarat’ and ‘Gujarati’ here with any other state and any language born out of it : “…the Gujarati literary community would look for signs of familiarity in this anthology, totems of association, and nostalgia for the stories they grew up on, had conversations with, and remembered as great. Whether a selection such as this fully confirms that that memory is an open matter, for it has been done with a view to making these stories speak to each other, and sometimes disagree with each other.”
Thanks Aleph for my copy.
Kothari writes in her introduction: “…Gujarat has come to be associated with….the political power of Hindu nationalism….This present-ness is likely to shape our responses to both the production and reception of its literature, if at all we think of Gujarat in context of literature!…One hopes that this act of translation and the discussions surrounding Gujarati literature will nudge Gujarat to own up to its own multiplicities. At the same time, it might help a non-Gujarati reader to appreciate the less acknowledged aspect of Gujarat.”
The introduction flourishes quite well, and reading the piece along with the stories—you might not need a review, or even a critical discourse that can nudge you to read the book. It is all very subtle, the way Gujarat blooms through these writers and how they approach this influential state of Western India.
Kothari chooses the stories by allotting a very sensible emphasis to portray the shift from rural living to rapid urbanisation, the changing tides of values and morales that gets associated with your daily routine. Most of these stories are based deeply in rural or lesser urbanised contexts, but many of them point very ably towards the glittering cosmopolitan that exists not too far. I liked this choice to be honest, because in a way I wanted to know the heart of Gujarat—the land that exists in the towns and villages, and not in flyovers and cars. Through this journey, these Gujarati writers mostly accumulate in two looming pillars of Indian literature—caste and gender, and how their strata dominates Indian living in majority. Kothari writes in her introduction, “This anthology aims to contribute to an understanding of the region, add nuance to the idea of Gujarat…This collection also hopes to hint at the differences in the realm of the social and personal and provide a variegated and unsettled picture of Gujarat, showing how Gujarat itself is constituted by multitudes, each with challenges of its own; and how, on some days, being human is an aspiration, not a fact.”
I didn’t know much about Gujarat up till quite recently, maybe because I was too naive and ignorant to gather understanding of a state that holds no direct relation with me. But I am glad I picked this particular book, and I am also quite grateful that my introduction to Gujarat was through stories— and not through news and jugglery of journalists. Keeping aside all the political colours and battle of words, it is difficult for a non-Gujarati to appreciate Gujarat from the bottom of their heart, since this perspective will largely be curtailed by fabricated, decorated, arranged notions of the Gujarati community, all pointing to some agenda of governance and public policy.
As I wade across these translated anthologies from various parts of India— quite recently I read short stories in Tamil, Assamese, Malayalam— I come to a very large realisation that would be cumbersome for me to put to words. I will say that I see the deep-rooted contexts of India, shaped by generations of differences and harmony—and this realisation is not limited to a particular community, ethnicity or even language—this aspect of fragmented India is indeed very conjoined and aggregated, adding to my humble understanding of this intimidating subcontinent.
Kothari tries to hint at this conjecture yet again in her erudite introduction, and you can easily replace ‘Gujarat’ and ‘Gujarati’ here with any other state and any language born out of it : “…the Gujarati literary community would look for signs of familiarity in this anthology, totems of association, and nostalgia for the stories they grew up on, had conversations with, and remembered as great. Whether a selection such as this fully confirms that that memory is an open matter, for it has been done with a view to making these stories speak to each other, and sometimes disagree with each other.”
Thanks Aleph for my copy.