String of sorrows binds all

Dasgupta’s The Sacred Sorrow of Sparrows is a ‘collection of lives’ from across cities, countries, culture and society. The lucid narration, the simplicity of plots and the honesty in characters make the stories closer to heart irrespective of their setting. Be it Dubai, Pune, Delhi or Lebanon, sorrow flows through like a single unending stream making every character less ordinary. Sometimes it is the happiness that blends into tears and sometimes grief is the reason to seek the true meaning of life.

As Shenaz comes to Pune, the place where she grew up, with a heavy heart she finds happy memories of her recently deceased grandmother in every corner of an empty house. The death of her grandmother, the person she loved the most, leaves her shattered but while piecing the shards Shenaz finds answers to many questions and gets a way to a new self through the Gulmohar Drive. “Shenaz felt a strange weight descend upon her shoulders. She knew it wasn’t something as well-defined as guilt or something as sharply-etched as remorse, yet it carried the same characteristics.”

For Fateh Masood, in The Baker From Kabul, life goes on in bustling Dubai until the news of his son’s visit. The old baker starts planning for the future. His plans, however, fall flat when a letter from Canada brings news of his son. The Baker from Kabul is a simple story of a simple man who perceives life as he wishes to and finds happiness in small things. It is life that takes its own course and makes the story real.

“The characters in these tales are either hopelessly or hopefully lost in the wilderness of their hearts,” writes Dasgupta in the prelude. His first work of fiction, Letters from an Indian Summer, was published in 2014.

From rain -drenched Pune, dazzling Dubai to the roads of Lebanon, the story-telling follows a rhythm. Where one man suffers from the uncertainties of life, another man finds spirituality and experiences divinity in serving mankind.

Set in Lebanon, Kleptosufi traces the life of a young man who recognises his calling in Sufism and sets out on a mission to heal the world of its ailments and sorrows. In the process, Ziad Haddad suffers pain but never staggers out of the path that Rumi has shown him. Haddad provides the Midas touch that the violence-torn world of today needs and the author’s proficient description of the emotions provides the much-needed succour to the soul.

In Dasgupta’s ‘The Sacred Sorrow of Sparrows’, “love, sorrow and desire appeared to be bound together by a celestial swirl of memories and devotions”.

From mere specks, lives in Dasgupta’s stories shed their anonymity and gain prominence in their struggles with inner self. For instance, Mehfil Hussain Zaidi in Once Upon A Mystic Sky who

finds his love after decades of separation. As the rendition of qawwali resonates in Delhi’s night, Zaidi, oblivious to what life has in store for him in the next few hours, sings to his heart’s content. Tonight, Zaidi’s words of devotion are not meant for Allah but for the unrequited love that he left 22 years ago.

At seven, Dasgupta, who is a regular contributor to aesthetic magazines and travel journals, was thoroughly inspired by ‘The Little Prince’ and wanted to explore the world. His experience in different parts of the world and his insight into the cultural cauldron add colours to the short stories. ~ NM

Book: The Sacred Sorrow of Sparrows: A Collection of Lives; Author: Siddharth Dasgupta; Publisher: Niyogi Books; Pages: 254; Price: Rs 395