Kudos to a genuine writer..... I got a chance to devour a short story compilation by Mohanjeet who was well appreciated for his successful poetry collation “Abhivyakti” published late last year. I admit that the author has not disappointed a bit with this new release. I finished the assemblage on a Mumbai Bangalore flight. The book is so captivating! I really loved stories like “Kaalikh”, “Agla Darwaza”, “Helmet”, “Pratisthapan”, to name a few. It seems that the author has seen or experienced many of these and I feel the anthology is more of “Aapbeeti” than “Manghadant” though “Manghadant” means creation of mind…. I will not go on and spoil the mazaa of stories by narrating here; you have to read it to satisfy your hunger for good writing in today’s scenario. When I was reading the book, many a times I felt that the author himself is sitting besides me and narrating the stories. I must say that I have one complaint too; I felt that the stories were too short. I wanted them to go on and on and not to end so early. My humble request to the author is to publish a novel so that readers like me can quench our thirst. You write so beautifully, taking care of the minute aspects, and create awareness of intricacies of life. I wish you all the best for your next concoction!
Awed in admiration... Indeed Mangadhant, Life is otherwise Good! Admire eMKay’s imagination... Awaiting for more to come...
Fascinating reading! Ghazals, Nazms, kavita, Katta, Kahaniyan – there are many strings to Mohanjeet's bow! This one is a beautiful collection of short stories. The stories are structured around striking images that are emblematic of the individual stories, and also of his extremely visual writing skill. Mohanjeet's first collection of short stories offers cheeky intellectualism, silent protests against gross social misconducts, romance, tragedy, suspense, humour and what not! Like many short story collections at the moment, you would be hard-pushed to find an underlying theme, though this is no bad thing. In fact, it would be reductive to seek a linking subject in a collection whose major accomplishments involve the extraordinary spread of topics, styles, and characters. The stories deserve a special mention are Kaalikh, shaadi ka pehla card, mrityotsab, bitto, baap re baap, anti-climax to name a few of-course. Even, the translated ones, Majusiyon ka uphaar (The gift of the Magi) & Vishnu ka Prateek (Mark of Vishnu) are so fascinating to read! No doubt, these short stories are stylistically unified by his distinctive use of language which blends a realist narrative style, punctuated by flat, dead-pan humour, with allusions to magical storytelling. I would expect more from Mohanjeet in near future … including Novels! Happy reading..
Mangharant, Mohanjeet's new collection of stories, has been published shortly after his collection of poems - Abhivyakti. It underlines his versatility in using different formats of literature to express his feelings. Mangharant is a collection of 21 stories which capture day to day life, with its sorrows, happiness, and struggles. His masterly handling of words weaves an impressive array of stories that touch the heart because they are so close to everyone's life. "Agla darwaja" hits you with the heartless realities of living in a metropolitan city. Light hearted story "Anti climax", creates a subtle humor through a conversation between a father and his daughter. Mohanjeet has the capacity to laugh at himself, as is demonstrated in "change ka kissa". Mohanjeet's skill of translating the works of stalwarts is amply demonstrated in "Vishnu ka prateek" and "Majusiyon ka uphaar". He is able to get connected with the reader through his stories because of the simplicity of the thoughts. This is by all means the most valuable outcome for any writer.
