The World Elsewhere and Other Stories

by Nirmal Verma

Book by Verma, Nirmal

283 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1988

About the author

A well-known name in Hindi literature, Nirmal Verma is known mainly for his fictional works. Born on April 3, 1929, he obtained a M.A. in history from Delhi University. He studied Czech at the Oriental Institute in Prague, and has been a Fellow with the International Institute for Asian Studies. Nirmal Verma is a recipient of India's highest literary award, the Jnanpith, and his short stories Kavve aur kala pani won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1985. Some of his more popular novels are Antim aranya, Rat ka riportar, Ek Chithra Sukh, and Lal tin ki chat.

Vedina, his first novel, is set in Prague, Czechoslavakia. Like all his works, it is rich in symbolism with a style that is simple yet sophisticated. As one of the most important prose Hindi writers of our times, Nirmal Verma's creativity extends to the description and travel to places in Europe especially on Czechoslovakia and literary criticism. Among his nonfiction writings is Kal ka jokhim an investigation of the Indic arts in the 20th century. His diary, Dhundh se uthati dhun, describes his life in detail while addressing issues related to Hindi literature. His works have been widely translated into English and Gujarati.

Reviews

[Sumit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, as with the Mohan Rakesh book, I picked it up because of its dissertation. One thing I want to clarify straight away that Nirmal Verma's books reads way better in original. I have read some of the stories mentioned in this book and the translation just doesn't have the same magic.

It is manageable and good enough as an introduction to Nirmal's work. Every story has some sort of sin attached to it. Nirmal pointing out the fact that Human are essentially flawed. That no matter how perfectly one tries to avoid it - he is committing some sin or the other.

The dead and dying was especially hard for me to finish as it reminded me of my own father. The stories capture you and makes you look inside yourself. These characters are everyday people and Nirmal shows how the mundane life can become a battle sometimes.

Nirmal introduced a new west to us and was crucile in changing the way stories are writing in Hindi.

Here is a great interview about Nirmal Verma by Prof. Harish Trivedi [In english]- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWMIC...

Please watch it if you want to learn more about his work and influence and how he was different from his contemporaries.

[Daniel Polansky]

Verma was (is? He might still be alive) of Indian descent but he spent much of his life in the communist Czech Republic, and there are shades of the Eastern European short story tradition in his listless narrators, oppressed by shadowy forces and the relentless turmoil of their own mind. Some hit stronger than other but basically I thought these were strong.