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Bidesha O Anyanya Galpa is a collection of twenty-five short-stories. Evocatively narrated, they sparkle with compassion and humanity. Set in the largely unexplored terrain of rural Odisha this collection seeks to unlock the mysteries of human nature. Each story in this collection has a distinct and unique flavour. The broad vision of the writer, which blends tradition with modernity, enables him to explore the conflicts and complexities of a society undergoing rapid transformation. Poignantly rendered events and the emotions they arouse in the reader illuminate the essential connectedness underlying our lived reality. Almost all the protagonists of these stories, men and women, seem intimately familiar. Most of the situations and backdrops against which the stories unfold are contemporary. Close observation of characters and their interrelationships provide insights into their motives and often makes thereafter deeply nostalgic about the lost world of childhood. Despite the author's insistence that the stories are works of fiction, the vividness with which the characters and incidents are rendered makes one feel as if he has stepped into a vibrantly real world. In this collection, the readers hear the voice of a major Indian writer of short fiction.
About the author
The writer, Gourahari Das, can be called a traveller. His journeys, both figurative and actual, both inward and outward, have made a writer of him. Born in 1960, in a back-of-the -beyond Indian village, Sandhagara near river Mantei he has come a long way. Real-life experiences acquired while growing up in an impoverished monastery sharpened his skills as a writer and endowed him with a sensibility laced with compassion and humour, which gives his creative being its distinctive character. His first book, Juara Bhatta (High Tide, Low tide), a short story collection, was published when he was only 21 years old. He has now as many as 70 books to his credit, which include novels, short-story collections, vignettes, travelogues, plays and essays. Gourahari has visited many countries across continents and leads a life full of activities. Many of his works have been translated into English, which include The Little Monk and Other Stories, The Nail and Other Stories, Koraput and Other Stories and The Shades of Life. He has received several awards such as Sahitya Akademi (India's national Akademi of letters) Award, Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award, Sangeet Natak Akademi Prize and Sarala Puraskar. He was also Senior Fellow of the Ministry of Culture of India and a Writer in Residency of Sahitya Akademi. Gourahari lives in Bhubaneswar, India.
