E-Paper
The Lost Child
This, one of Mulk Raj Anand's early, estab- lishing works, is among those reissued by Orient Paperbacks.
The Lost Child and Other Stories
Mulk Raj Anand
Orient Paperbacks
2004
Fiction
Pages: 120
Price: Rs 95
ISBN: 81-222-0368-x
Paperback
A collection of 13 short stories by Mulk Raj Anand, the recently deceased doyen of Indian literature. This collection was first printed in 1934, making it amongst the earliest works.
Anand has illustrated a philosophical topic through a simple tales. Most of the stories are set in rural India and kids are the protagonist in most of the fables. Indian characters and local settings are a trademark of Anand and he has followed this tradition this time too.
Anand has not hesitated from using Hindi words like Gulmohar, . These things actually retain the flavour of stories. Characters like Chandu in The Barber's trade union are easy to relate to.
In the first story, The Lost Child, Anand tries to explore the sub-conscious mind of a child. He has narrated the tale of a child who visits the festival of spring with his parents. The child is irresistibly drawn towards toys, the garland of Gulmohar and the delicious Gulab Jamuns; but his parents resist form buying anything for him. The child wants to play, climb trees, catch the dragonflies and butterflies; but again, his parents won't let him do any of this. Later towards the dawn, the child gets lost in the crowd and a gentleman lends a helping hand to him. This gentleman offers goodies and pony rides in order to console the lost child, but the child will have none of them. Instead he longs to meet his parents.
The story is aptly title The Lost Child since this kid is actually lost in the materialistic world.
Orient paperbacks, one of India's oldest and best known publishing houses, as well as the original publisher's Anand's works, have reissued most of his works, including the Untouchables, Coolie and Across the Black Waters. For all fans, as well those following the development of Indian writing in English, these books are welcome.
