Hawaon Ka Rukh, a Mandi writer, tells tales of the Covid people from the highlands

Murari Sharma, a writer and storyteller from Mandi, recently displayed his most recent book, Hawaon Ka Rukh, at an international book festival in Delhi.

The stories in this recently released anthology are about human relationships.

The book explores the issues that informed the concepts in each of the ten tales that make up the anthology. In the first narrative, Master Dinanath’s Diary, an elderly man experiences acute depression as a result of being kept alone at home during the Covid lockdown.

“Master Dinanath had developed a deep depression and an unidentified dread had taken root in his thoughts. He closed his eyes, wishing the whole thing away from his memory. However, these images began to linger in his consciousness. He tumbled down the dim memory lane. He began to go down memory lane. He arrived during the insane time of the division, when people were heading in the path of the unknown with a great deal of anxiety, fear, and hope on their heads, according to Sharma.

In the end, Dinanath succumbs to forgetfulness and loses awareness of the perilous circumstances the nation faced throughout the Covid era.

A child called Chirag, the protagonist of the tale Jalpash, is enthralled by Mandi’s ancient Victoria bridge. While attempting to take a photo at the bridge, he drowns in the Beas River. While divers try to recover his corpse, his pal waits to identify it.

Sannate Ki Cheekh, another tale in the book, recounts the tale of Dhari and Jugni’s love and is based on a well-known folk song from the area. The narrative Biradari Se Bahar discusses the value of god culture and local conservatism.

The desolation of his hamlet troubles retired Subedar Jaswant Singh in the tale Hawaon Ka Rukh. He tells his beloved dog Sheru stories about his village.

He adds, “Like an old uncle, this mountain also kept watching his sons leaving one by one… silent and sad,” in reference to the issues facing the hamlet.

Band Darwaza, another narrative set during the Covid lockdown, narrates the experience of a heroin addict whose father kicks him out of the family.

Sharma’s sixth collection of short stories is this one. He is the author of Dhol Ki Thap, Banmooth, Pahad par Dhoop, and Pathar-Pighalte Nahi. Banmooth was granted an award for literature at the state level by the Himachal Pradesh Sahitya Akademi. Fegde Ka Phool, one of his works, is included in the Himachal Pradesh University curriculum. Sharma’s publications are serving as the foundation for the PhD study of three students at Central University, Dharamshala.