The Shehnai Virtuoso and Other Stories - Dhumketu

Author: Dhumketu

Translator: Jenny Bhatt

Genre: Short Story Anthology, Indian Cultural Fiction.

Rating: 3 stars.

An anthology of tales written by one of the pioneers of short stories in India.

Gaurishankar Govardhanram Joshi (1892-1965), known by his pen name “Dhumketu” meaning “comet”, was a well-known Gujarati writer. But most of the Indian readers aren’t aware of his works. His contemporaries were stalwarts such as Munshi Premchand (who wrote in Hindi), Saadat Hasan Manto (who wrote in Urdu), and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (who wrote mostly in Bengali.) While these three are considered pioneers among Indian classical writers and still revered, Dhumketu’s name has been lost to history. 

This collection is the very first English translation of his works, and contains 26 tales chosen from a repertoire of more than 500 short stories in Gujarati – not an easy job for sure!

The translator, Jenny Bhatt, who is also a writer, begins the set with an introductory note that was enlightening about Indian short stories, Gujarati literature and Dhumketu s life and writings. Then there’s an author's note penned by Dhumketu himself, taken from his first story collection, “Tankha” published in 1926. This reveals his depth of thinking. Both these notes and Dhumketu’s fame ended up creating very high expectations in my heart. And when there are high expectations, there is usually disappointment.

Except for a few references to the caste or "jaat", there's nothing to suggest the historical or cultural setting. Most stories seem like they could occur in rural Indian villages even today. But officially, the stories are all from pre-independence India. Most of the stories are social dramas or character-oriented narratives, though a couple of fantasy tales also make an appearance.

Honestly, I was expecting more of a Premchand kind of story experience, given that the time period and setting is the same. But Dhumketu’s tales are tough to classify. While most seem to be set in Gujarat (not all the stories mention the location), a couple are based in other parts of India. Something in the writing kept me distant from feeling the emotions of the characters or experiencing the connect with the culture. I found it very hard to concentrate, especially during the second half.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the twenty-six stories, my favourites (that reached/crossed 4 stars) were “On the banks of the Sarayu” (the best story of the book for me), “Unknown helpers”, “Mungo Gungo”, and “The Golden Necklace.” Other than these, the rest of the stories were clustered between the 2.5 to 3.5 star ratings.

I don’t know if this mixed result is a consequence of those zooming expectations, of a failed translation, of stories that haven’t dated well, or simply of a mismatch between reader and writer. But I did expect to enjoy this collection a lot more and I am disappointed at this end result.

3 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each of the stories.

My thanks to Deep Vellum Publishing and Edelweiss+ for the DRC of “The Shehnai Virtuoso and Other Stories”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Note: This story collection was originally published in India under the title “Ratno Dholi - The best stories of Dhumketu”. “The Shehnai Virtuoso and Other Stories” is the name of the US edition, but the stories are exactly the same.