Contemporary Assam can boast of the presence of many able older and younger writers who have together enriched Assamese literature. But as regards mature expression and originality of style, there are only a few writers who stand apart, such as Mamoni Raisom Goswami, Kula Saikia and Mausumi Kandali, to name a few. Prarthana Saikia’s name can be added to this august company because she has been able to exhibit both mature expression and originality of style in her short stories. Her book of short stories titled Jatra Enekoie has recently come to the market, and it is a relief to come across a book of real merit that provides respite from the conventional, hackneyed expressions in most contemporary Assamese writing. Prarthana relentlessly experiments with the form of the short story, apart from doing some experimentation with technique. Her themes are novel and the economy of expression is evident everywhere. She is well-read, which is evident in many stories, and the stories often demand alert intellectual participation from readers. It is no exaggeration to comment that Prarthana Saikia is a rare talent, and will definitely carve out a niche for herself, which is signalled by her recent book.

Jatra is an extremely evocative and poignant tale of love and realisation of deeper truths of life through felt experience, where ordinary objects and people are suddenly discovered in new light as Nature creates its own tapestry of different shades and hues. Within the familiar framework of a journey that gradually transforms into an unfamiliar dimension as two human characters suddenly come to realise the buried feelings of their hearts, the writer shows a remarkable ability to paint natural landscape through subtle brushstrokes of the pen.

Chorair Dore Manuhbur concentrates on the life and consciousness of an eccentric character who seems to be imprisoned in his own make-belief world, and who refuses to understand the demands of practical life. Because of his extraordinary love for pet animals, it leads him to violence towards his own wife and finds himself arrested. There is a beautiful and nuanced refrain regarding dawn and dusk in this story that attains almost a symbolic dimension, which contributes a great deal towards the aesthetic effect of the story.

Eta Bertho Fantasy Aru Kichu Nashto Charitro focuses on the lives of a few bohemian and depressed youths who suffer from a sense of meaninglessness of existence because of their inability to change the existing socio-political set up. The writer is capable of producing a shock effect on the readers when the female character ultimately commits suicide instead of the male youths, who postpone their decision to die immediately. The reference to an almost forgotten Bengali writer Falguni Roy, who was one of the pioneers of the Hungry Generation writers that created a new trend in Bengali literature during the 1960s and an invocation to the Bengali singer Kabir Suman helps in contextualising the plot.

Eta Hamukar Khula establishes through a powerful simile or analogy between the cocooned life of a snail within its shell and the cloistered life of a young female artist who ultimately commits suicide when her lover dies in a distant battlefield. So, it is an evocative tale of intense expressions between a fisherman and his friend that attains an almost surrealistic dimension. Bhotioni Hutot Ooti, Kama Aru Eta Ujonimua Prashna focuses through the framework of a diary the coming to terms of a woman who decides to break away from all shackles of slavery to lead an independent and dignified life. Ek Asil Hadhu explores through the associative connotation of an established folk tale the pain that an elderly retired village school teacher feels when he realises that his younger son is going to contest the elections for his own personal benefit. In this story, the writer has also exhibited a remarkable ability to create a successful satirical style. Aquarium is an intensely evocative tale of a human being’s gradual disintegration suggested through symbolic connotations that appeals to the intellectual faculty of the readers. Deo is an interesting tale that attempts to understand the guilty conscience of a male character within a supernatural framework. Dairyr Patat Erati explores the consciousness of a writer who feels depressed, and the seemingly disconnected, random thoughts of the narrator’s monologue bring to light the writer’s ability to tease the intellect of the readers. Hi, Hihot, Ami focuses on the consciousness of a whimsical, talented and idealistic male character who finds it difficult to accept the world around him, and gradually, becomes more and more lonely. The story also exhibits the writer’s continuing interest in experimenting with the form of the short story. Krishna Gahbar is a wonderful and bold story of a spinster who becomes so sexually frustrated that ultimately she indulges in a sexual relationship with her aged father, who is equally sex-starved. This is a story where Prarthana exhibits tremendous narrative skill and her subtle, but deep symbolic strokes help her portray the darker human cravings. In an intensely evocative story that does not have any title, which is another mark of Prarthana’s experimentative streak, the focus is on the depiction of the evil force that has contaminated human civilisation from its very dawn, but there is also a positive dimension that saves the story from descending into total pessimism. Phoha is a subtle tale that charts the growth of a girl who gradually comes to terms with her sexuality. Dolan brings to light the different values of different generations and in this story, the locale of the plot is Delhi, whose busy and suffocating life makes the protagonist slightly depressed on occasions, and here also, the experimental streak of the writer is evident. The Second Innings scrutinises the benefits and hazards of a second career as an option and in spite of everything, a strain of gloom and pessimism pervades the narrative. Enekoie is an intensely poignant tale of deeper soul searching and introspection, where the basic theme is a quest to know the self. Prarthana Saikia’s stories need to be made available to a wider section of readers through translation, because the quality of her work deserves that.

Subhajit Bhadra