Author: Shakti Ghosal
Publisher: Half Baked Beans
The Chronicler of the Hooghly and Other Stories by Shakti Ghosal is a collection
of 4 stories which chronicles the lives of 5 characters, each quite different
from the other. In Ashtami, we see the story of Sujit and how it changes
for him and his family when he moves to Delhi from Calcutta when the Capital of
British Raj shifts to Delhi, and Shanti, born of a forceps delivery gone wrong,
comes into their lives. Pandemic is a two-part story that spans 1919 and
2020 and how Dipan and Indranil face tragedies under different social conditioning
and Development. In Fault Lines, we meet Anjan who suffers injuries from
a gas explosion, and he comes across his childhood friend Savio who shows him
the demons of the past he has left behind, and how they come back to haunt him
in his present. In The Chronicler of the Hooghly Samir takes a sunset
cruise on the Hooghly where he meets The Chronicler who tells him a story
spanning two and a half centuries that surround the curse of a fabled pearl necklace.
The stories in the collection seem independent, yet they are inherently bound together by Hooghly and the times that the river has seen. Each of the stories features the area around the river as a prominent part of the story. The plotlines of the stories are interesting and engaging, and will keep the reader hooked till the end. Shakti’s storytelling is quite imaginative with good descriptions and emotive words that help connect with the characters. Out of the 4 stories, The Chronicler of the Hooghly was my favourite for the manner in which it meshes history with fiction, and how the author has merged stories and fables and history to pen this fable. The ups and downs are penned nicely, and the tension in the story is maintained till the very end. The one story that did not work for me was Pandemic and while it was good, it did not match up to the level of the other stories.
The stories are quite character driven and
the author has created quite an interesting motley of characters. Be it The
Chronicler who loves narrating the tales of the happenings around the Hooghly,
or Sujit, who as a junior clerk is trying to provide the best to his family.
Anjan and Savio from Fault Lines were interestingly plotted, and I loved
how the author peels of one aspect of Anjan’s character, one anecdote at a
time. Similarly, the pearl necklace for me was no less than a character in The
Chronicler of the Hooghly in the manner it was driving the narrative and
the incidents.
Overall, a recommendation from me if you like reading short stories. The collection scores a 3.56/5 for me.
Grab a copy of the book here.
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