Inspector Matadeen on the Moon

by Harishankar Parsai, C.M. Naim (Translator)

A collection of twenty one stories from Harishankar Parsai, the doyen of Hindi satirists, known for exposing and denouncing all that is corrupt and venomous in the Indian body politic. Critical, caustic and downright funny by turns, these stories, translated by C M Naim, continue to inspire laughter. - back cover

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Harishankar Parsai (हरिशंकर परसाई) was one of the greatest hindi satire writer. Despite holding a MA degree in English, he never wrote in this language. Started his career as a teacher, he later quit it to become a full time writer and started a literature magazine "Vasudha"(it was later closed because of financial difficulties).

He was famous for his blunt and pinching style of writing which included allegorical as well as realist approach. He was funny enough to make you laugh but serious enough to prick your conscience. There would be hardly any dimension of life left which has not appeared in his satires. He received Sahitya Academy Award(biggest literature award in India) for his book "Viklaang Sraddha ka Daur". He has penned down some novels also.

Reviews

[xypnox · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of wonderful, sad, funny and realistic satires by Harishankar Parsai. They cover mostly politics and society, and often put light on issues that are invisible to our eyes. And the saddest part of these funny satires is that they were written some 50 to 60 years ago and still apply to this very day.

[Piyush Kaviraj · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant satire on the state and general temperament of Police force in India.

[Sanket · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming across this short story was such a pleasant surprise. I stumbled on its English translation by C.M. Naim in a short story anthology called 'The Gollancz book of South Asian Science Fiction'. Although this Harishankar Parsai Hindi story has nothing to do with science fiction. It is a satirical story and a brutally sharp critique of our police system. I was amazed at just how critical and true it was. Do read it if you like reading short stories. It is a crackling piece.

[Angmonini · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars are not enough for this book

[Lokesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

excelent take on corupt police and criminal ivestigation in india. a great piece of satire

[Vipul Devmurari]

good staire book

[Jayanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

brilliant satire. it's confounding how stories written in 1950s India still hold so true to our current times. felt like reading and re-reading it again and again, it felt so compelling.