Crime Today News
Social inequalities and injustices are the primary theme of Alok Ranjan’s second book, Roti Ke Chaar Harf. The 11 stories in the collection speak poignantly of love, the many iterations of disappointments, pervasive hopelessness, moral dilemmas, and contemporary politics. These themes were also at the centre stage of Siyahat, his debut book published seven years ago.
Alok’s inimitable style is reflected in the way he writes about old Delhi’s food in “Hum Break Par Main”, and how food becomes a matter of survival and ego in the title story “Roti Ke Chaar Harf”. Through food, he examines the staggering disparities in a city like Delhi, and by extension, of our country.
Our need for validation, no matter how trivial, does not always fade with age and wisdom. An old man’s attempt to retain his youth blurs the line between truth and lie. He revels in the momentary pleasure derived from being useful to another person. In “Iss Duniya Ke Kinaare”, we see how we barely have any control over the complexes that shape each individual and the choices that they make.
Men and women
If the men are always irritable and eager to flaunt their bravado, the women maintain a calm facade. The best examples of this can be found in “Iss Duniya Ke Kinaare”, “Mahatwapoorn Aadmi”, “Talaikuttal”, and “Swaang ke Baahar”. The richness of the language tethers the reader to the ever-increasing desperation of the working class, with each story weaving an elaborate emotional tapestry.
There’s lingering beauty in the bleakness that the stories acquaint us with. In “Jalte Sabke Makaan”, romantic love is struggling to breathe, and in “Wapas Laut-te Hue”, parental love finds validation despite the miseries the family is struck with. The changing nature of compassion is empathetically written about in the two stories.
The author also writes about the pressures of securing a government job and their impact on struggling families. The young of the families suffer as they trade their dreams for an illusion of a secure future. From indifference to nonchalance, they never quite recover from the blows they are dealt by their own expectations and those around them.
Women and water
The lightness of “Kharpatwar Ke Phool” and “Bright Baatein” provides a much-needed balm for the soul in the midst of the profundity of the other stories. In these stories, Alok looks at the common humanity that binds us.
One of the most intriguing stories, “Swaang Ke Baahar”, is deeply felt and sombre. We unwittingly bear more than what we can tolerate. Resilience comes at a price. The story asks, how much can a person tolerate till the dam of their limit breaks?
In these stories, the desperation that imbues everyday life highlights the deep divide between the rich and the poor. Alok succeeds in capturing the evolution of hunger into poverty, and how it becomes a social and economic marker in a country like India.
Women’s struggles and their daily battles do not escape the author’s attention, especially those of the marginalised. In “Talaikuttal”, he writes about the dated custom of Tamil Nadu which robs widows of their last shred of dignity. Water is also an essential theme in Alok’s stories. A symbol of life and death, water is as much a source of sustenance as it is a reason for despair. In “Talaikuttal”, water is seen as wastage in the form of human perspiration, reminding us of the value of life itself.
Roti Ke Chaar Harf, to me, is a remarkable contribution to the Hindi literary world, especially in the way it highlights deep-seated, glaring injustices. Alok’s razor-sharp language is an additional delight.
Roti Ke Char Harf, Alok Ranjan, Lokbharti Prakashan.
This article first appeared on Scroll.in
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