Poona Company

by Farrukh Dhondy

About the Author Farrukh Dhondy was born in 1944 in Pune. He is the author of a number of books including East End at Your Feet (1977), Poona Company (1980), Bombay Duck (1990) and The Bikini Murders (2008). He has also written screenplays for film and television, including Split Wide Open (1999) and The Ballad of Mangal Pandey (2005).

Genres: Fiction, India, Short Stories, Indian Literature

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 1985

About the author

Farrukh Dhondy is an Indian-born British writer, playwright, screenwriter and left-wing activist of Parsi descent. He is well known not only for his writing, but also for his film and TV work.

Reviews

[Shubham Shetty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. I may be a bit biased as it is set in Pune, but it is undeniably charming, rich with nostalgia for a city from another era. The author recounts some amusing anecdotes from his childhood and youth growing up as a Parsi boy through the 50s and the 60s in the old city, in the slice-of-life anthology format that I've become so enamored with. I recognised most of the landmarks mentioned in the book, and will no doubt visit these places as soon as the lockdown eases up to soak in the nostalgia. My only qualm was that the book was too short and ended too soon - I would have loved to read more stories from that time. I tend to romanticize Pune a lot, this book will only add to that. A rare book - one which I will always recall fondly.

[Vinitha Naidu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unique entry into the world of Parsis in India. What they ate, their concerns, and how they survived among the general populace in the India of the 1940s.

[Pradnya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories which are based on the author's childhood real life experiences. I wish I could dive deep in the past Poona and see the charm of old city myself. The places mentioned like Sachapir street, sharbatwala chowk, Laxmi road, the military area of camp are still there and it's delightful to read of them in this context. The child knows his city like on the back of his hands but today it has grown tremendously and no child can do so. I love Pune in historical set up and always joy to read of it. It was and still is central hub of Maharashtra culture.

The characters are though a highlight of these stories. We meet Confession Dsouza, Ajit Gandhi the compulsive gambler, his partner Makhan singh who brings him the most unlikely present on bis birthday of a girl who swindles the imported cosmetics, Samson the Herculean man who carries dead and doesn't work, Chamak the bigoted political student, an anglo india bully and a talented Prabhaat thr journalist murdered for loving other caste rich girl. This is the society setup of the city in those years of 1950-60s. I look forward to such real life stories because they bring to us the past and how it has helped in today's complex social structure. It helps me analyze my own understanding of society which is a forever challenge.

I had just known the author from script writing and would definitely like to read his further work. His style is excellent. Nowhere it gets dull. If one can write nonfiction in such delightful way then I can't imagine what happens in fictional tales where he has liberty to do whatever he wishes to.

[Fadillah · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The young are determined to be people and citizens, not of ghettoes and religions, but of free India. What does this freedom mean? Does it not mean the right to marry whom you chose? The right to spend your life as a constructive citizen with another citizen of your choice? Our generation won freedom for India, another generation is teaching them ways of freedom”
- Confession (Poona Company by Farrukh Dhondy)
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The thing about short stories collection, it is either hit or miss. This one definitely a miss - i enjoyed some of it but the rest is just ‘meh’ (at least for me). The one that really stood out for me especially when it touched about caste, class and identity is ‘Black Dog’, ‘Samson’ and ‘Confession’. The characters from other stories can be seen or mentioned in another stories making it slightly connected with each other but the story is capable to stand on their own. The background of most of these stories happened in a Parsi Neighborhood in Poona( now known as Pune) in 1950s. The way the stories were told is almost quirky and eccentric. You were being told these stories and you felt like a spectator of these tales. Overall, it was not a bad collection of stories but it was not great either. It has some humor but some of the stories is not impressive enough. However, it did give a great introduction on a Parsi Community in India - via these stories of knowing whats it like being a minority and navigating their daily lives in what they called the chowk of Pune, India. The fact that the author said it is an amalgamation of his childhood stories and real people that he knew were written in this book make it more authentic.
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If i can give one liner based on what these stories , this is what i would have said:
1. Cotton figures - Unstoppable inventor, Skeptical society.
2. Samson - A story of corpse carrier and the price of it.
3. Black Dog - Karma bites back instantly when you hurt animal.
4. Boomerang - Legendary boxer in the making.
5. Dinsy - The search of husband / guardian / caretaker.
6. Confession - The death of a brave hindu convert.
7. Chamak - The cleanup act of Wadia College : “the Indianized and moral way”election campaign.
8. Gandhiji - The cost of Partition.
9. Rose de Bahama - The class shift.

[Joseph George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graphic. Time stilling take on the areas he writes about. Those places are still around and the dynamic of his time cements memories like you were on those streets and chowks. Alumni of St Vincent's School, Rosary School, Dastur, St Ann's and St Mary's apart from shoppers around Dorabjee and West-End theater will love this.

[Krishna Venkitachalam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked it up in an effort to know the author, who I expect to meet and spend time with in the future. After having heard a lot of stories about him and his peers during their childhood, this book gave me a far more detailed picture of what shaped them as adults. It’s a short book and an easy read. It has left me wanting to read more of Farrukh’s books.

[Poonam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is part of Harper Perennial series. It is set in Poona of 1940s with slow, pre-Internet era life around Sachapir chowk. There are 9 stories about titular characters and have been told with mirth and wit.

[André · Rating 3 out of 5]

A entertaining journey into small-town India shortly after independence.

[Somyajeet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Old Days! Most of the stories or as the author says, are incidents and accidents from his own life experience at Poona. Bit of a disappointing though. Had expectation of seeing more and more of Parsi life and culture, not just one or two scarce details here and there. Overall, ENJOYABLE!

[Dayanand Prabhu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poona Company by Farrukh Dhondy is a mixture of Khushwanth Sings voyeurism, Ruskin Bonds innocence and Mulk Raj Anand's sense of Tragedy. A collection of short stories penning the nostalgia filled yesteryears of Poona(not Pune Mind you).

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never could really get into this one. I appreciated the humor but that was all. I'd give it a 5 on my scale of 10.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent read, not brilliantly strong, but somehow sweet.

[kitchensink drama · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a joy! This little gem of short stories is written with such humour and affection, I just could not put it down. Great characters, wit and pathos. I'd recommend it very highly.

[Sayantan Ghosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lived-in yesteryear splendors.