Candy-floss stuff

Anmol Khajana — Pandar original tukki varta sangrah (Priceless Treasure — A collection of 15 short stories) by Naju Rusi Dodhy. Published in 2003 by the author, 7, Burjorji Jijibhai Building, Gamadia Colony, Tardeo, Bombay 400007. Tel: 24988770. Pp: 143. Price: Rs 60.

As a schoolgirl, I used to read Naju Dodhy’s stories as weekly serials in Kaiser-E-Hind. I didn’t have a choice. My Bapaiji’s eyes were weak so this was my weekly treat to her — reading out Gujarati stories from various publications including Mahila Jagat and Amdavad Nu Sastu Sahitya. When it comes to thrillers or crime fiction, Dodhy can be as exciting as Fredric Forsythe or Robert Ludlum but when it comes to romance, you can call this lady the Parsi Barbara Cartland — very mushy and candy-floss stuff.

In 1967, Dodhy won a prize in a short story competition. What’s more, she had written it overnight to beat the deadline and delivered it just in time. Anmol Khajana opens with Ma ni mamta nu khoon — a tale of a mother’s cruelty on her only child. There are stories within the story with divorces and marriages.

The second story, Ghavaela Tafadta Jigar (Wounded hearts) has bizarre situations, with characters suffering from blindness to leprosy.

Dodhy: mix of thrillers and romance

Bhootkal No Bhed (Secret from the past) is a gripping tale of Giselle wanting to marry a much older man called Aryan. Her aunt Celia who brought her up forbids it on grounds of incest. It seems that Aryan was the real father of Giselle! Aryan leaves for Russia to devote his life to destitute children.

Mahobat-e-Zindagi, Mahobat-E-Maut which means ‘Love is life, love is death’ is the tale of Noorjehan and Sheroy with the girl begging the boy to marry her. When he spurns her, his father Zubin tells them his own love story. Apparently, the old man had two girls head over high heels in love with him. From then onwards, the narrative goes out of control like a car speeding down the slopes without brakes. All very melodramatic and as predictable as a Hindi film.

Ek Zindagi Hazar Aansoo (One life, a thousand tears) is as morose as the title itself with tons of tragedies in store for its protagonist Roshnila.

Pati Parmeshwar (Husband is God) concerns a bogus godman who rapes a childless wife under the guise of blessing her... References to Draupadi, Sita and Mirabai are thrown in to justify a married woman’s suffering. The yarn almost takes women back to the cave age when hubby Dilip has a change of heart and accepts his wife.

Armano Bhari Zindagi (A life of dreams) is a very thought provoking story of Dipika, an innocent virgin who falls victim to the system of ‘Devdasi’ (temple prostitution).

Bootlegger and Blood Transfusion Nu Bhayanak Parinam (The terrible result of blood transfusion) are both very unusual stories in a genre of their own. Jher Banelu Jeevan (Life becomes poison) revolves round Ivy, a daughter-in-law giving hell to her mother-in-law with the sweet old lady returning good for evil. The characters are either lily-white or jet-black unlike in real life, where we are all various shades of grey. There’s a bit of Jesus and a bit of Judas in all of us!

There are also two competition stories with cash prizes of Rs 150 each for the reader who gives a most appropriate title to them.

The author’s main drawback is cramming too many emotions and events in the life of her characters. Another flaw is the absence of humor. On the plus side there are lovely descriptions of Japan, Russia, Nepal, etc which read like nice travelogs.

R. P. L.