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Mails us at: 44kitab gmail. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Get A Copy. More Details Other Editions 6. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Jul 16, Gorab rated it liked it Shelves: z , indian , buddy-reads , hindi , owned-paperbacks. Deserves a re-read.
After a good beginning, was disappointed by too much of political talks. Moreover there was no continuity whatsoever. Its a collection of 5 stories, each story in itself filled with loads of random thoughts and conversations. Let go of continuity and plot, and started reading like I was standing on crossroads of Assi Ghaat, observing and interacting with its people. And that's where the book does full justice. It takes you to Kashi ka Assi : Deserves a re-read.
It takes you to Kashi ka Assi View all 5 comments. Jul 18, Durgesh Deep rated it it was amazing. The best thing about this book is its language. Most of us in Varanasi, born in the LPG era, do not speak this dialect. Some of them can still be found in Varanasi while others are no more. People similar to these characters can still be found in Varanasi. This book is also full of satire and humour. It reminded me of Harishankar Parsai, another satirist. At last, Prof. Kashinath Singh goes through unhappy consciousness as according to him, Assi is dying due to modernity.
His satire on modernity at the end is very funny. Sep 22, Kunal rated it it was amazing. This one is both a memoir and a portrait of a place. Even if you have a faint idea or attachment to Kashi, the book will get hold of you and transfer you to the world that revolves around the Assi bank of Ganga.
The writing makes no effort to filter the discourse and so one gets to read a fair bit of local abuse words which make the going both authentic and delectable.
The political conversations that make up a substantial part of the writing are truly felt and endorsed by the characters. The boo This one is both a memoir and a portrait of a place. The book creates a 'mahaul' and then leaves you with an aura. If you have ever been to Benaras Ghats, or felt like going there, this is the book you will live.
The story may be apocryphal but it went like this. Our senior was zooming along a street on his bike when he noticed a sadhu with a trishul in his hand walking in the middle of the street. As is the wont of the young, he honked at him hoping the sadhu would move aside. The sadhu turned around, pointed his trishul in the direction of the bike and stood there. The senior had to break hard and manage I remember a story a senior in BHU told me of his encounter with a Sadhu on the streets of Banaras.
The senior had to break hard and managed to stop barely before getting hit by the Trident. Sadhu calmly straightened his Trishul and went on his way. Having stayed for few months in BHU about 20 years ago, this book brought back some memories.
The final year Chemical engineering batch stayed on the ground floor of our hostel. Having secured jobs in the campus placements, they could be often found doing oil massages in the sun, doing exercise, playing gilli danda or simply sunbathing in their underwear. Some could also be found smoking ganja in the night. In my few months there, I spent tons of time just hanging out in the campus temple, listening to the blind singer in the evening. Unfortunately, I never made a trip to the Assi or to any of the ghats for that matter.
But I can totally imagine the atmosphere of Pappu's tea shop and Assi chauraha where the characters of this novel congregate. Assi and Banaras have a long and distinguished place in history of Hindi literature. The famous Banaras Hindu University is nearby, providing a constant source of new blood. The novel is written like a memoir. There is no "plot" although towards the end, there is a narrative.
The novel maintains the carefree, lighthearted style for the first half but then gets more serious and fantastic towards the end. There is an abundance of fables, idioms, allusions giving you a taste of the Purvanchal region of UP and Bihar. While I enjoyed reading it, I didn't find it engrossing. It failed to pull me in. There are too many characters, too much movement, too many jumps that it takes far too long to feel acquainted with a character. More than a detailed portrait, it felt like looking at a lightly drawn line sketch of Assi and its people.
To explore more hindi literature I did some research. So someone suggested this book. I bought it and read in a week. There is no storyline but the use of language and typical words and phrases is kernel of the book. Initially I felt offended by the use of language but after some pages I got used to it and craved for more. There are many axioms used which are apposite. I like to learn axioms of different regional language so this book taught me a lot.
But because there is no story line this feel To explore more hindi literature I did some research. But because there is no story line this feels little boring. View 2 comments. In school i once read about Stephen Leacock's Nonsense Novels. That is the first thing that came to mind while reading it. No story, just a series of anecdotes, thoughts none lengthier than 2 pages. The second thing i m reminded of is Vishal Bharadwaj's Omkara. The foulest language used, though it blends very well with the unrestrained and ruthless satire.
Still a recommended read. Jan 22, Abhyudaya Shrivastava rated it it was amazing. The book would never win a Sahitya Akademi Award but it is more monumental than any other book on the same topic. It reports from the ground about what the man of Assi Ghat thinks about the head honchos in Delhi and elsewhere. It is a common man's silent fight against the might of capitalism. Kashinath Singh presents it in an unfiltered language that is very local and flavourful.
A masterpiece. What a treat this book has been! A Hindi novel, but essentially a collection of five stories, but with continuation of setting and characters. The characters are very strong headed and opinionated. It's basically about the author's views on various national and international political and socio-economic issues, through the eyes of the characters seen on almost every nukkad of North India.
But still its not for everyone. It sort of pre-supposes the knowledge of politics of the 90s decade - Ramjan What a treat this book has been! It sort of pre-supposes the knowledge of politics of the 90s decade - Ramjanmbhoomi issue, Mandal politics, increasing consumerism in the society etc.
Like it really happens on the street. Its not the sort of book that's easily likeable. Infact, its quite the opposite.
For me, this one was really I definitely want to re-read it. May 30, Siddarth Gore rated it really liked it. My Hindi is bad so it was slow and laborious progress.
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