Premendra Mitra's Mosquito and Other Stories, reviewed by Dharmaj Soni

A great read.

I was not aware of Premendra Mitra's works till I read this book, and it was a very different experience from the ordinary.

Ghana da takes you to a different world altogether, but you don't realise it when he is at it; it seems so believably true, the tales which he conjures up for the other residents of the boarding house.How weird for the boarding house members, they want Ghana da, despite his peculiar selfish looking habits, perpetual cigarette borrowing being one of them.

The stories, although independent, have a common feel, striking believability and a nice narrative.

Characters such as Ghana da are present among us but none so interesting as him and as expert in telling tall tales that so expertly mix sci-fi with geography, ethnography, seafaring and what not ?

A superb and coherent compilation of short stories.

Find out more about the book here.

Mosquito and Other Stories by Premendra Mitra, reviewed by Shabana Ansari

Premendra Mitra uses a combination of science, geography, adventure and fantasy in his Ghanada stories. Though associated with tall tales, the protagonist Ghanada commands a grudging respect from fellow boarders who are not convinced about the authenticity of Ghanada’s narration. But at the same time, they hang on to every word he says - sometimes going to extreme lengths to prod him into narration, other times barely able to suppress disbelieving remarks, laughter or even sarcasm.

What makes this collection an absolute page turner is the audacity, inventiveness and nonchalance of Ghanada while spinning his tall tales. Another striking aspect is how the mundane and familiar life of a boarding house (where all the stories are situated) is contrasted with the exotic and unfamiliar locales of Ghanada’s so-called adventures.

Ghanada’s character is best summed up in the author’s own words. In ‘Hole’ Mitra describes how Ghanada’s trunk is a subject of speculation for the other boarders who had ‘endlessly debated and quarreled about what it might contain’ as no one had ever seen Ghanada open it. “The more evil minded have been heard to say that the trunk was a visible symbol of Ghanada himself. There was nothing that Ghanada couldn’t produce from inside it, but in fact it was absolutely empty!”

The dozen short stories in this volume combine several narrative styles and techniques as Ghanada regales his audience with accounts of his numerous adventures in varied geographical settings. The names of places in the tales oscillate between genuine and make-believe but are romantic sounding nonetheless. It’s hard to keep track of what’s real and what’s fake while getting carried away by Ghanada’s riveting narrative style.

Find out more about Premendra Mitra's Mosquito and Other Stories here.