The feeling of despondency amidst the connoisseurs of literature and book lovers since the past few decades was caused by its sterility and partial inertia. Their lamentation was not without any valid reason: no books of renowned authors were written/published during this period. A pall of gloom, accompanied by disheartedness, seemed to be overhanging the literary horizon. The air was thick with despondency.
Readers were gradually getting disenchanted with the few works published during this interregnum. These publications seemed to be just filling the void. Senior readers of literature found these works laboured, insipid, too traditional, and thoroughly disappointing. They wondered why the current crop of authors could not produce such timeless works, which were popular even after decades and centuries. Why don’t they learn the style, the methodology of Charles Dickens, VS Naipaul, RK Narayan, and EM Forster? The tardy, slow path, these works of fiction were following, the demise of the Indian fiction in English was just round the corner.
Against this backdrop of unusual inertia and despondency, a ray of hope has just appeared on the literary horizon and aroused a new hope of rejuvenation. It is a work of fiction… “A Slice from the Past”, by Mr. TKB Sinha, which was declared as the Best Work of Fiction for the year 2019, at an International Readers’ Choice Award, held in the state of Indiana, in USA. The Result of the Best Work of Fiction was declared on the basis of GLOBAL voting by readers and book lovers. Its selection on the basis of global voting speaks volumes about the content and the quality of publication/presentation. It was a fantastic achievement. Though the book was not enthusiastically received by the national press, (it ought to have been publicized as it was an international award) but its lukewarm reception does not rob it of its significance in these dark hours.
While going through this work as an avid reader, sometimes you will find yourself reading Charles Dickens, VS Naipaul, EM Forster, and RK Narayan. The little protagonist’s sufferings, his adverse circumstances, and his disadvantaged life remind you of the life of David Copperfield by Dickens. You are also reminded of the life lived by poor but large families as described by VS Naipaul in his work, “A House for Mr Viswas,’’ and stories written by RK Narayan against the backdrop of Tamil villages. The graphic description of a family puja in the family as per the Hindu customs takes you to such a situation described in detail in EM Forster’s “A Passage to India,’’ where an old man is shown performing the puja before his deity – Lord Krishna.
Besides graphically describing the popular Hindu religious rituals, the book also describes the status of girls in the society, in a large family, her education, her parity with their male counterparts, as well as their marriage. The book may be called a Living Gallery of the life lived in the 1940s, i.e. before India got independence. It fully brings to life the family traditions, customs, conventions, superstitions, and simple life lived by people. While reading about the people and their traditional functions, you tend to feel as if you were also a part of the gathering. The description is so vivid and life-like. The book tries to assimilate the forgotten classical elements of carrying the reader with its flow, thus breaking a new ground. The language is lucid, facile, and intimate. Reading it is so natural.
It is hoped that the book will inspire the next generation to start afresh, and rejuvenate the disappointing literary scene.
