Rishton Ke Maheen Reshe: Ashma Kaul – Deepak Budki

 

         Rishton Ke Maheen Reshe: Ashma Kaul

                                      – Deepak Budki

A collection of Hindi short stories titled ‘Rishton Ke Maheen Reshe’ authored by Ms Ashma Kaul has been published recently in the year 2025 by India Netbooks Private Limited, Noida-201301.

Asthma Kaul was born in Srinagar, Kashmir and educated at Delhi University. She retired as a Gazetted Officer from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India. She has to her credit ten collections of poems and a collection of Mini short stories, besides the present book. Her book, ‘Jannat-e-Kashmir’, has been translated into English. Moreover, she has edited a collection of poems titled ‘Inder Danush Kavita Ka’ and has received many awards for her publications. Ashma Kaul grew up in a joint family where relationships were valued, and due emphasis was placed on maintaining their sacredness, as opposed to the fragility of relationships in modern nuclear families. For her, the intimacy of blood relations matters greatly in human life, and he who is blessed with the love of a father, mother, and siblings is very fortunate. 

The present collection contains 24 short stories, most of which are centred on family life and the value of interrelationships. The very first story, Aankhen, reveals the central character's attachment to her mother’s watchful blue eyes, the loss of which leaves her despondent. ‘Yatra’ reminds me of Urdu poet Zafar’s couplet, “Umre daraz mang kar laye the char din; do arzoo mein cut gaye, do intezar mein.” The central character of this story yearns to travel with her husband, but her wish remains unfulfilled. At last, her son decides to take her to the USA, but unfortunately, she leaves for her eternal journey before going with her son. In the short story ‘Grahasti’, a mirror is held up to society, which brags of providing security to the women of India. It also reflects the fragile relations between life partners as the husband disowns his beloved for no fault of hers. ‘Adrishya Dewar’ is a sad reminder of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir valley. A Pandit family visits their ancestral home in the valley after 30 years, and, to their surprise, is received with love and affection by the people there, who also show remorse for what happened in 1990. Another story reflecting the present-day social crisis is ‘Doodh Ka Qarz’, where the parents are abandoned by their children due to incompatibility. Abandoning elderly parents has been a dominant theme in many of the author's short stories. ‘Niyat’ and ‘Pyari Ki Ardas’ also have a similar theme.

‘Amma Ka Roothna’ revolves around longing and expression of love; ‘Badi Bahu Kamla’ paints the train of misfortunes faced by a woman in her life; the cycle of Karma is shown in ‘Samay Ka Khel’ where during youth, the father has no time for his children and later when he grows old, children have no time for him, and ‘Maan Ki Chita Ke Phool’ depicts altruism and selfless love of a mother. Atonement by an alcoholic gambler, who mortgages his son for inability to pay his debt, is portrayed in ‘Prayshchit’; ‘Waham’ is a story based on superstition; ‘Faisla’ proves the adage that blood is thicker than water, and ‘Yadon Ke Anmol Dastavez’ throws light on a steel trunk which contains many old, priceless letters. Furthermore, ‘Maan Ki Aakhri Khwahish’ highlights the reaction of elder son at the death of his mother as he carries a grudge against her that she loved her younger son more than him; in ‘Garbpaat’ communal riots cause abortion of a pregnant woman; ‘Dhal’ is a story based on inferiority complex and incompatibility; while in the story ‘God Bharai’ the wish of an infertile woman is fulfilled and surprisingly, she is duly supported by her in-laws. The story ‘Pareeksha’ sheds light on the cost a woman pays for pursuing her studies after marriage, to the point where her children feel completely neglected, and the family is disrupted. 

Ashma Kaul's stories feature a variety of themes and characters.  Her diction and style are simple, direct and vivid. She weaves the story with finesse and chooses her characters to support her thoughts and ideas. Her stories are didactic, as they carry a hidden message for the reader without overburdening him. I feel that she has a bright future ahead in her endeavours, and if she persists, she will make a name for herself.

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