Books by Ranjeet Desai

THE AGRICULTURE TENANCY ACT 1948 A LAW WAS PASSED IN FAVOUR OF THE PEASANTS. IT BROUGHT A DEVASTATING CHANGE IN THE SOCIETY. FOR HUNDRED YEARS, THE SOCIETY HAD DEVELOPED A PARTICULAR SYSTEM, BASED ON IT EVERYTHING WAS RUNNING SMOOTHLY. BUT THIS LAW SHATTERED EVERY THING IN EVERBODY`S LIFE. THE EFFECT ON THE SLOW AND SLEEPING MINDS WAS DEVASTATING. IT RESEMBLED THE BARREN LAND WHICH WAS PLOUGHED FOR THE FIRST TIME. EVERYTHING WAS CENTRED AROUND THE LAND AND EVERYTHING CHANGED. THE INAMDARS, THE WATANDARS, PEASANTS, POOJARI, BARA BALUTEDARS, DESAIS, DESHMUKHS, DESHPANDES, KULKARNI, KHOTS ALL WERE SHAKEN IN GOOD TERMS AS WELL AS BAD TERMS. LABOURES WHO WERE LIVING IN BIG CITIES HAD SAVED AMOUNT OVER YEARS, HAD BOUGHT LAND IN VILLAGES, HAD GIVEN IT TO THE PEASANTS FOR CULTIVATION, THEY ALSO LOST IT TO THE PEASANTS BECAUSE OF THE ACT. THESE WERE THE DAYS WHEN EVERYTHING AROUND WAS CHANGING FAST. THE DEMOCRACY CHANGED INDIA IN MANY WAYS. THE REFORMATION WAS TAKING PLACE ALL OVER, IN ALL CLASSES AND MASSES, AND AT ALL LEVELS. THE MOST SHATTERED WAS THE JOINT FAMILY SYSTEMS IN THE VILLAGES. THE TENANCY ACT GAVE RISE TO DIVISION THAT OF HOUSE, THAT OF LAND AND THAT OF HUMAN BEINGS. THERE WERE DISPUTES BETWEEN ALL POSSIBLE RELATIONS. NOBODY WAS SPARED. FATHERSON, BROTHERBROTHER, FAMILIES LOST THEIR LOVE AGAINST THE LUST. THE RURAL LIFE SUFFERED HEAVILY. THEIR LIFE WAS SHATTERED BEYOND MEASURES. THESE CHANGES ARE PENNED DOWN IN THE TWO LONG STORIES PERAUGAWALA & PANDHUR UTHALI. THEY WILL LEAVE YOU IN TURMOIL.

THE INTRINSICALLY TRAGIC STORY OF `KARNA` HAS ALWAYS INSPIRED CREATIVELY MANY A LITERATURERS. THIS IS ANOTHER SUCH OCCASSION. THE AUTHOR HAS ATTEMPTED TO UNIVERSALISE THE `KARMAKATHA` IN THIS NOVEL. HE TRIES TO SEE INTO IT THE ETERNAL PROBLEM OF VICTORY.

THIS COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES ONCE AGAIN REVEALS THE STRENGTH DESAI`S WORDS POSSESS. IT REVEALS VARIOUS FEELINGS. THIS IS A COLLECTION OF HIS STORIES DURING HIS EARLY YEARS AS A WRITER WITH A MOSTLY A RURAL BACKGROUND. EGO, PRESTIGE, CLASS, HOSTILITY ARE BEAUTIFULLY WOVEN INTO EACH OTHER THROUGHOUT THE COLLECTION. THEY TOUCH OUR HEART LIKE NEVER BEFORE. WRITER IS SUCCESSFUL IN REVEALING SIMULTANEOUSLY TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF LIFE; LOVE AND HATRED. IN HIS STORIES WE FIND PEOPLE WHO GIVE AWAY THEIR LIFE, SACRIFICE EVERYTHING THEY HAVE FOR THE PRESTIGE OF THEIR ANCESTRY AT THE SAME TIME WE COME ACROSS PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HESITATE TO TAKE AWAY SOMEBODY`S LIFE FOR THEIR SELFISHNESS.

MAHARASHTRA, THE STATE IN WESTERN INDIA, HAD BEEN UNDER THE RULE OF THE MUSLIMS SINCE THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. FOR ABOUT FOUR HUNDRED YEARS IT HAD TYRANNICAL AND INTOLERANT KINGS FROM OUTSIDE WHO NEVER ALLOWED THE LOCAL POPULATION TO LIVE IN PEACE. LOOT, EXPLOITATION IN THE NAME OF RELIGION, RAPE AND VIOLENCE WERE RAMPANT UNTIL CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ CHALLENGED THE RULERS AND SET UP A MARATHA EMPIRE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. HIS MISSION WAS NOT A CAKEWALK: HE HAD ENEMIES FROM WITHIN, OUTSIDE THE STATE AS WELL AS THOSE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES (THE PORTUGUESE AND THE BRITISH HAD MADE THEIR PRESENT FELT BY THEN.) LOYALTY OF HIS FOLLOWERS WAS ONE MAJOR FACTOR THAT HELPED CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ BUILD AN EMPIRE WHICH WAS HELD IN AWE. PAVANKHIND IS A HISTORICAL NOVEL THAT COVERS THE EVENTS LEADING TO THE WAR OF PAVANKHIND. (PAVANKHIND IS A PASS NEAR KOLHAPUR.) THE KING SUCCESSFULLY MADE HIS WAY THROUGH A SIEGE OF THE PASS; THANKS TO BAJI PRABHU DESHPANDE WHO MADE THE BREAK THROUGH POSSIBLE.

KINGS ARE EAGLES YOU SAID.EAGLES DO NOT BUILD NESTS ON THE GROUND; THEY BUILD THEM HIGH UP IN THE CREVASSES OF THE MOUNTAINS. ONCE HER FLEDGLINGS DEVELOP WINGS, THE FEMALE EAGLE PUSHES THEM OUT OVER THE EDGE OF THE NEST. ONLY THE ONES WITH STRONG WINGS SOAR AND RETURN THEY ARE TRUE EAGLES. IF THE KING IS INDEED AN EAGLE HE WILL RETURN TO THE NEST. OTHERWISE, ONE WILL HAVE TO SADLY CONCLUDE THAT THIS HOUSE NEVER GAVE BIRTH TO AN EAGLE. - THE HUNTER WHO WOULD CATCH THIS EAGLE IN HIS NET IS YET TO BE BORN!

THE WHOLE WORLD IS AN OCEAN. EACH ONE OF US HOLDS A NET IN HIS HANDS, AND IT HAS TO BE CAST WHILE MAINTAINING ONES BALANCE ON THE UNDULATING WAVES. THE CAUTIOUS ONES DO NOT VENTURE MUCH BEYOND THE SHORE TO CAST THEIR NETS. WITH THE SHORE CONSTANTLY IN SIGHT, THEY ARE SATISFIED WITH THE SMALL FRY THEY ARE ABLE TO CATCH; BUT SOME OF US ARE MORE DARING. THEY DREAM BIG. THEY ENTER DEEPER WATERS, BRAVING AND FIGHTING THE STRONG WINDS. THEY STRIKE GOLD. ONE CANNOT SCALE THE PEAK OF WEALTH THROUGH STOLEN MONEY; RATHER IT IS THE CAUSE OF ONES DOWNFALL. PRAY, DO NOT RUN AFTER SUCH ILL-GOTTEN, DECADENT WEALTH. IT WILL DESTROY YOU COMPLETELY. THE SAD SAGA OF YOUTH GOING AFTER QUICK MONEY DHAN APURE.

SNEHDHARA: THE FINAL, PLEASANT MANIFESTATION OF THE DIVINE TALENT OF THE LATE RANJIT DESAI! A PERSON’S LIFE IS SHAPED BY HIS FATE, HIS CHARACTER AND HIS CIRCUMSTANCE. IN THIS COLLECTION OF CHARACTERSKETCHES – HIS LAST SUCH WORK – RANJIT DESAI GRATEFULLY REMINISCES ABOUT THE DIFFERENT HUMAN BEINGS ­– SIMPLE BEINGS AS WELL AS GREAT ONES – THAT TOUCHED HIS LIFE AND WITH WHOM HE DEVELOPED SOME SORT OF BOND. THIS IS NOT A CONTINUOUS AUTOBIOGRAPHY. AS IT HAPPENED, DIFFERENT MINOR OCCASIONS HAVE SERVED TO TRIGGER RECOLLECTION OF INTENSE MEMORIES OF CERTAIN PEOPLE. THIS IS AN EMOTIONAL RECOLLECTION OF EACH SUCH INDIVIDUAL AND THE EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH HIM, WRITTEN BY A SENSITIVE PEN. THE CHARACTERS DESCRIBED HERE ARE NOT ‘COMPLETE’ BEINGS. THESE MEMOIRS AND SKETCHES TELL US ABOUT THE ENCOUNTERS DESAI HAD WITH EACH OF THESE INDIVIDUALS AND THE WAY THESE ENCOUNTERS MADE A LASTING IMPRESSION ON HIM. OUR JOY AT PRESENTING THIS COLLECTION WRITTEN BY THE LATE RANJIT DESAI TO THE READER IS TINGED WITH SADNESS…BECAUSE THIS IS THE LAST OF HIS UNPUBLISHED WORK THAT WE ARE PRESENTING IN BOOK FORM…

A RECITAL IS LIKE THE FULL-MOON NIGHT, BILAS. THE RAGA THAT IS RENDERED IS THE MOON OF THAT NIGHT. AT SUCH TIMES, THE DULLER STARS CANNOT EVEN BE SEEN. ONLY THE BRIGHT ONES ARE THE MOON’S CONSORTS. THE REST DISAPPEAR IN THE MOONLIGHT. WE SEE ONLY THOSE STARS THAT HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO ACCOMPANY THE MOON. IT IS THE SAME WITH THE RAGA THAT WE SING. WE MUST LOOK ONLY AT THE VAADI AND SAMVAADI NOTES. ONLY THEN DOES THE RAGA BLOSSOM’. …GULSHAN, IT IS INDEED DIFFICULT TO FIND A GURU LIKE ABBAJAAN! HIS FIRST NOTES ARE ENOUGH TO BRING CONTENTMENT TO ONE’S EARS! A PLAY THAT PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE RECITALS OF TAANSEN – THE VOCALIST PAR EXCELLENCE.

PAPAJI, AN ARCHITECT DRAWS THE PLANS OF A HOUSE, AND THE CONTRACTOR CONSTRUCTS IT. BUT WHO STAYS IN IT? WHEN THE CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETED, THE RUBBLE, LEFT-OVER CEMENT, BRICKS, AND MORTAR ARE DISCARDED. THE CONTRACTOR DOES NOT DWELL THERE. ONLY THE ONE WHO HAS THE DESIRE TO MAINTAIN THE ‘HOMELINESS’ OF THE PLACE DOES. ALL YOUR LIFE YOU PURSUED THE DREAM OF INDEPENDENCE, BUT YOU NEVER REALISED THAT YOU DID NOT POSSESS THE CAPACITY TO NURTURE THE NEWLY-INDEPENDENT COUNTRY. THE DREAM WAS DEFINITELY THERE. BUT YOU HAD NEITHER THE VISION, NOR THE STRENGTH TO GIVE SHAPE TO THIS DREAM… “…WHO IS ENJOYING THE FRUITS OF THIS INDEPENDENCE OVER THE YEARS? ONLY THE LOOTERS, THE SELFISH, AND THE CHARLATANS…” THIS PLAY IS A CANDID CRITIQUE OF THE POLITICS OF POST-INDEPENDENCE INDIA.

EACH NATION HAS HISTORICAL FIGURES TO WORSHIP. APART FROM THIS, MANY A TIMES EACH STATE OF EACH NATION HAS ROLE MODELS FROM THE PAST BUT NOT FORGOTTEN HISTORY. MAHARASHTRA HAS ITS OWN IDOLS. THE GREATEST AND MOST LOVED OF THEM ALL IS SHIVAJI MAHARAJ.

ONE IS BOUND TO RETURN TO SOBRIETY SOME TIME OR THE OTHER, AFTER THE INEBRIATING HIGH OF ALCOHOL, POWER, OR MONEY WANES. BUT THE HIGH OF RELIGION IS THE WORST FORM OF ADDICTION. ONE SHOULD NOT TEMPT IT, MR…. WHY IS RELIGION ‘BAD’? WHO SAYS SO? RELIGION IS INNOCENT, IGNORANT. WHEN RELIGION GOES HANDINHAND WITH HUMANITARIAN VALUES, IT IS LIKE HEAVEN ON EARTH. BUT RELIGION DEVOID OF HUMANISM IS THE ROAD TO HELL, NOT HEAVEN. NOT ONLY ONE’S BELONGINGS BUT ALSO ONE’S COMPANIONS ALONG THIS ROAD FIND IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO REACH THEIR DESTINATION UNSCATHED… THIS HIGH DRAMA CAPTURES THE INSEPARABLE BOND BETWEEN TWO FRIENDS, AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE PARTITION.

RANJIT DESAI`S SHORT STORIES ARE DIFFERENT THAN OTHER SHORT STORIES. THEY ALWAYS TAKE PLACE IN WONDROUS SITUATIONS, ALMOST HAVE AN ENVIRONMENT AS IF IN A FAIRY TALE. THEY ARE NOT RESTRAINED TO MAHARASHTRA. THEY HAVE A VAST BACKGROUND, THAT OF WHOLE INDIA. THIS AUTHOR LITERALLY LIVES THE LINE, "INDIA IS MY COUNTRY`. THE STORIES ARE MORE HISTORICAL THAN REALISTIC. MUSIC AND ROMANCE ARE THE INEVITABLE FACTORS OF THE STORIES. THE CHARACTERS ARE ROMANTIC AND LOVE TO BE IN THEIR OWN WORLD, ALWAYS LOST IN THE DREAMY ENVIRONMENT. FOR THEM, NOTHING VALUES MORE THAN LOVE AND ART, NOT EVEN THEIR LIFE. THE FEMALE CHARACTERS WHICH MEET US THROUGH HIS STORIES ARE ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL, PETITE, FRAGILE, WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR LOVE WITHOUT ANY HESITATION IN THEIR MINDS. HE HAS ALWAYS PENNED THEM DOWN VERY DELICATELY, WHATEER THEIR OCCUPATION IS, BE IT A SINGER, A DANCER, A PROSTITUTE OR A HOUSEWIFE. HE HAS ALWAYS BEING CONSIDERATE OF THE DELICATE FEMALE MIND. HIS STORIES TAKE US TO PLACES FAR AWAY, MAKE US FORGET THE REAL WORLD. THE BACKGROUND IS EQUALLY COLOURFUL WITH ALL THE DETAILS PENNED DOWN MINUTELY. THIS SHOWS HIS OBSERVATION SKILLS. THOUGH HIS STORIES TEND TO BE MORE ON THE WONDEROUS SIDE, THE CHARACTERS ARE TYPICAL HUMAN BEINGS. HE HAS SKETCHED THEM VERY REALISTICALLY SO MUCH THAT WE AUTOMATICALLY AND UNKNOWINGLY GET INVOLVED, LAUGHING WITH THEIR HAPPINESS AND CRYING WITH THEIR SORROWS.PRALHAD KESHAV ATRE

SANKET IS YET ANOTHER COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES BY RANJIT DESAI. THE STORIES ASSEMBLED IN THIS BOOK WERE PUBLISHED EARLIER UNDER ANOTHER TITLE. IN THE LATER YEARS, HOWEVER, THEY WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE READERS.IN ALL, THERE ARE 12 STORIES IN THIS BOOK. EACH STORY HIGHLIGHTS A PECULIAR FEATURE OF THE RURALITES. ONE MIGHT THINK THAT THESE RURALITES ARE VERY INNOCENT, THEY ARE VERY CUNNING, VERY SELFISH, VERY HELPING, VERY... THEY ARE NOT JUST ONE QUALITY OR OTHER. THEY ARE A MIXTURE OF QUALITIES. AS AND WHEN REQUIRED THE HIDDEN EMOTIONS, HIDDEN QUALITIES COME TO THE SURFACE REVEALING THE TRUE NATURE OF THE BEARER. SOMETIMES, THEIR INNOCENCE IS TESTED AND SOMETIMES THEIR CUNNINGNESS. BUT STILL THE WILL TO LIVE IS THE BASIC NATURE BEHIND EVERY LIVING THING AND THAT REFLECTS WELL IN THE LIVES OF ALL THESE FARMERS AND PEASANTS. THE AUTHOR HAS CHARACTRISED ANIMALS AS WELL WHICH HAVE A VERY NOBLE PLACE IN ALL THE RURALITIES MINDS. HE DESCRIBES THIS NOBLE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANIMALS AND HUMAN BEING VERY WELL.

THIS IS A COLLECTION OF 18 OF DESAI`S SHORT STORIES. THE STORIES WERE PUBLISHED EARLIER. BUT MEHTA CATEGORISED THE STORIES SUBJECTWISE AND PUBLISHED THEM UNDER THE HEADING OF ASHADH IN JAN. 1989. THESE STORIES HAVE A RURAL BACKGROUND. THE LANGUAGE IS USED VERY APPROPRIATELY. IT TAKES US TO THE VILLAGE LIFE IMMEDIATELY. EACH STORY HAS A DIFFERENT STORY TO TELL. THEY ALL REVEAL DIFFERENT MOODS, DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF HUMAN MIND. THIS HUMAN MIND IS SOMETIMES VERY SOFT, SOMETIMES DIFFICULT, YET SOMETIMES IT HANDLES THINGS DELICATELY. THE MORE YOU READ THE MORE DIFFICULT IT BECOMES TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF VILLAGE PEOPLE. WHEN YOU FEEL THAT THEY ARE CONCERNED ABOUT EACH OTHER THEY STOOD TO BE DIFFERENT, WHEN YOU FEEL THAT THEY HARDLY BOTHER ABOUT ANYONE ELSE, THEY REVEAL THE SOFTEST CORNER OF THEIR MIND. THEY REVEAL THE SIMPLICITY, THEY UNMASK DIPLOMACY OF UNIMAGINED TURNS, THEY BETRAY US, THEY CONFIDE IN US.

RANJIT DESAI WAS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL WRITER. "VAISHAKH` INCLUDES THE STORIES DURING THE PERIOD OF HIS APPRENTICESHIP. YET EACH STORY HAS THE STRENGTH TO TOUCH THE INNERMOST CORD OF A SENSITIVE HEART. IT IS BASED ON RURAL LIFE. VAISHAKH LITERALLY MEANS SUMMER. THE HEAT IS IMMENSE THEN. IT BURNS YOU. THE STORIES ALSO HAVE THE CAPACITY TO BURN YOUR MIND. THESE ARE ALL FORMS OF CREATIVE LITERATURE, EACH GIVING LOT OF THOUGHTS. ONE CANNOT FAIL TO NOTICE THE AUTHORS CALLIBRE FROM THESE STORIES.

THIS IS A COLLECTION OF STORIES BASED ON FAMOUS HISTORICAL FIGURES. THE NAME INDICATES THAT THIS IS A SET OF STORIES HAVING IT`S OWN FRAGRANCE. IN THE BEGINNING THE AUTHOR ADMITS THAT ‘WORDS HAVE NO FRAGRANCE. THEY HAVE ONLY MEANINGS. BUT A COMBINATION OF MANY WORDS PRESENT A PERSON AND THE ATMOSPHERE MAY BE AFTER READING THESE STORIES READER WILL FEEL THE FRAGRANCE TOO THEN IT WILL GIVE ME IMMENSE SATISFACTION.` THE AUTHOR SHOWS HIS CONFIDENCE AND FAITH IN THE READERS. ALL THE STORIES IN ‘GANDHALI` ARE BASED ON THE LIVES OF FAMOUS PERSONALITIES AND THE INCIDENCES FROM THE PAST. HE HAS SLECTED EACH ONE CAREFULLY. EACH STORY IS A HOMOGENOUS MIXTURE OF VALOUR, COMPASSION AND ROMANCE. EACH ONE REFLECTS THE AUTHOR`S COMMAND OVER LANGUAGE AND TAKES THE READER TO THE HISTORY ITSELF. THE SUCCESS OF ‘GANDHALI` IS INTENSE ON THE BACKGROUND OF NOVELS FROM THE SAME AUTHOR, BASED ON HISTORICAL FIGURES.

THE` BARRE` TRIBE HAD TRADITIONALLY LIVED IN THICK AND BEAUTIFUL JUNGLES. THEY RESORTED TO DACOIT AND THEFT IN NEARBY LOCALITIES FOR THEIR LIVING. THEY HARDLY EVER DREAMT OF STABLE LIFE. THE SOCIO-POLITICAL CHANGES AROUND AND FALLING OF FORESTS SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED THEIR LIFE STYLE AND INTRODUCED THEM TO NEW WAYS AND VALUES. `BARE' RECOUNTS ALL THIS IN FORM OF A NOVEL. THE PICTURESQUE ENVIRONS, THE RUGGED LIFE-STYLE, THE PETTY FEUDS AND PLEASURES, THE NEW CHANGES ETC. HAVE BEEN POWERFULLY AND REALISTICALLY PRESENTED WITHOUT ANY ATTEMPT TO PASS ANY VALUE JUDGMENTS.

MANY MARATHI AUTHORS WRITE SHORT STORIES, LONG STORIES BUT RANJIT DESAI HAS ADOPTED A VERY UNIQUE STYLE. HIS STORY BLENDS HARMONIOUSLY WITH THE MAGNIFICENT BACKGROUND. IT IS ALWAYS COLOURED IN BEAUTIFUL SHADES OF BLUE, GIVING EVERYTHING A DREAMY TOUCH.

LITERATURE IS NOT AN INDEPENDENT ENTITY. IT IS A SORT OF CONSORT OF SOMETHING ELSE. HUMAN LIFE IS BASED ON CERTAIN BELIEFS AND VALUES. LITERATURE IS BASED ON THESE VERY BELIEFS AND VALUES. BUT AN AUTHORS OWN EXPERIENCES AND HIS VISION OF LIFE IS NOT ENOUGH FOR THE BIRTH OF LITERATURE. HE IS NOT JUST A PRESENTER OF REALTY. IT IS NOT AS IF EVERY ASPECT OF REALITY APPEALS TO HIM. SOME THINGS TOUCH HIM DEEPLY AND AWAKEN HIS MIND. IT IS SUCH A MIND, PRIMED BY A PERSONAL INSIGHT INTO REALITY THAT CREATED LITERATURE WHEN IT IS TOUCHED BY IDEALISM. THE RAYS OF THE SUN FALLING UPON THE SURFACE OF WATER DO NOT PRODUCE A RAINBOW. IT IS ONLY WHEN THE RAYS, REFLECTED BY THE CLOUDS PASS THROUGH THE MYRIAD DROPLETS OF DEW IN THE ATMOSPHERE, THAT WE SEE THE BRILLIANT HUES OF THE RAINBOW. WHEN REALITY GETS THE MAGICAL TOUCH OF IDEALISM, ONLY THEN LITERATURE REACHES A DIFFERENT DIMENSION…! AS THE CHIEF GUEST OF VARIOUS LITERARY MEETS, RANJIT DESAI HAS DELIVERED MANY SPEECHES THAT HAVE TOUCHED UPON CLASSIC LITERATURE AND THE INSPIRATIONS BEHIND IT. THIS IS A SELECT COLLECTION OF SOME OF HIS SPEECHES!