Qisse  (Hindi, Paperback, Kiran Manoj)

In families belonging to the middle-class, there is often a prevailing notion that daughters should complete their education quickly and find a suitable husband. I, too, pursued an M.A. in Sociology following this mindset. However, as the search for a suitable groom continued, it was decided that instead of staying at home, I should pursue an M.A. in Political Science from Lucknow University. During my first year of studies, my marriage was arranged with a suitable groom. Given the size of the family, attending university became impractical. Nevertheless, while living with my family, I managed to find some time for myself and realized that I could write. We all go through various incidents in our lives, and we cannot simply ignore them. Although we may try to brush off certain events, they linger in our minds like the smoke of a cigarette. Sometimes, an incident touches a sensitive part of our hearts. It became my responsibility to capture such incidents or thoughts in writing. In this way, these incidents or thoughts would shape our stories. Social and familial events often have a profound influence on our thoughts, mindset, and even our values. At times, they can even shake our conscience. That is what I aim to depict. The expression should be sincere and devoid of pretense, while the story should be complete in its simplicity. The length of the story is not of utmost importance. I am inspired by the day-to-day instances around me and have expressed them in an imaginative spin without any embellishments, prejudice or judgement.