Bridging the gaps
Reviewed by Balwinder Kaur

Winter Evenings
By Navtej Sarna
Rainlight. Pages 133. Rs 350.

Every day people try to bridge the gap between the life they have and the life they want. Negotiating the twists and turns created by both circumstances and choice they must traverse many highs and lows. Juxtaposing the tenacity and frailty of the human spirit are Navtej Sarna’s characters coping with their lot the best they can in the nineteen emotionally driven stories comprising Winter Evenings. Within these pages are people caught at different points in their life, some are looking back for perspective while some look ahead and others are caught in the present.

Stuck in a small town, loneliness propels Dr Anand and Rao to seek each other out on Winter Evenings but this forced companionship is scarcely enough for a lasting association. However camaraderie and friendship have carried people through hard times and in Half Way Home Amita takes care of a friend in need. A Death in Winter triggers a grandson’s warm and affectionate recollection of his fierce grandmother who rebuilt her life after surviving the horrors of Partition. Matters of the heart hold sway in It Was Drizzling in Paris, Brute, Sunrise in Mashobra, Barrier Beach and A Saturday Lunch. The tenuous nature of romance is explored by couples.

Moral dilemmas feature prominently in Superintendant’s Formula, On Official Duty and Rumki as government officials struggle to discharge their duties honourably. Not always choosing correctly between duty and desire. Knowledge doesn’t always beget understanding as Madam Kitty disappointingly learns when she goes from being indispensible to unwanted. Conversely, Raya showcases the beauty of the human spirit as the kindness of a stranger helps a dying lady evoke the treasured memories of a brief but passionate liaison. With sensitivity and delicacy befitting a diplomat, the author narrates many a tale of personal passion and pain; of people some hurting, some healing and others still reeling from unexpected blows. Chance and design both play a part and the people in these stories are shaped by others; at times enriched, at times undermined by those they share time and space with. Nevertheless Navtej Sarna reiterates the need to connect to others is universal. Thus we see people trying to reach out, connect and bridge gaps that are geographical, cultural, social and emotional.

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