“Tales Too Well To Be Forgotten - Chandausi Junction” - Book Review by Varshini.N of BSC BTCFS Second Year

Picture Credit : Special Arrangement 

Chandausi Junction is a compilation of 25 short stories in the genre of realistic fiction. This book is authored by a couple, Shankar Sahay & Preeti Sahay, who’ve been together for 29 years so far. Shankar Sahay has over 30 years of expertise in sales and marketing, education and training. He has also worked as a career counsellor, while Preeti on the other hand is a language teacher. She teaches English and Spanish.

The cover page features a rustic steam engine pulling out of the chandausi junction which screams nostalgia. The picturesque illustrations featured, are by Arushi Prakash, a sweet little 12 year old. She is talented and definitely has a keen sense of artistry at a remarkably young age. It struck the couple to venture into writing this book when they found themselves stranded at home during lockdown. They discussed the various stories they’ve been told through the years and also connected some bridges by relating to some real life instances. The authors wanted to pass it down to the next generations, they wanted to make a small difference to make the world a better place.

This particular work of literary fiction is full of nostalgia and reminiscence, it basically paints a picture of how life was before the “world wide web” cloaked the world to its endless reaches with social media, AI, reels, tweets and what not! It features real life based incidents and anecdotes during 1942-82 chronologically. The stories portray love, affection, warmth, hope and empathy in a very enjoyable and relatable fashion. Each story is different in its own way and conveys a message of its own. Shankar Sahay in his words said, “marketing is nothing but story telling”, he believed this book was the only way to market his ideologies to the people. Preeti Sahay who is also a mother, in an interview with Giridhar Rao from HLF, revealed that, “the best way to pass on a message to youngsters is through stories”. She wanted to maintain the innocence and morals of their time without being preachy.

It is titled Chandausi junction because their roots come from Chandausi, a small town in U.P., and the junction here obviously implies the crossing over of many events in their lives. This book encompasses titles such as vivaah, batwaara, vaapsi, sakhi saheli, parvarish, gayatri, etc which would appeal to every desi reader out there. The younger ones learning about how things used to be, and for the older audience, it would be pure nostalgia. The book also features forgotten games and articles like agethi, roshan daan, chimta, taak, etc. Readers felt utter delight rediscovering their childhood just as much as the authors did while bringing the book to life. Life before the advent of internet was deceptively simple and the people of the time were composed and contented too. Luxury and comfort have overtaken the positions of necessities today, but the trick to being happy through all this, is acceptance, and the book depicts it very well.

The book is very relatable in simple and understandable language. It covers a myriad of scenarios from the delicate relationship of a father and a son, to the array of emotions one feels while getting married, to a very sensitive issue such as a woman’s freedom whilst maintaining the hope, patience and joy one must have in life. It's all about the small revolutions and individual acts of fortitude, wisdom and morality that matter.

The Hindi version of this book will be out soon too.

It lives up to the quote “our children must live in peace not in pieces” by Ronald Reagan.

If you haven’t read this yet, this should definitely be on your reading list.