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Renesa Farewell Edition 2021
Andhali Gali Written By: Vishvesh Trivedi Illustrated By: Fahad Khatuda
Reviews
“Maybe it’s not too late to start over? Or maybe she’s just attracted to the rosy side of a fairly darker picture?”
Sitting in a distant corner across the living room, scribbling a name on the dust-laden table next to her, Kundan rewinds the tragic event all over again. The darkness in the room reflects the one that’s been clouding her life lately. Kundan’s father, Ratibhai, the person she was closest to, has just passed away, leaving an insatiable void in her life. For a middle-aged unmarried woman, living alone in isolation is an uphill task. It means fighting a constant internal battle with dispiriting, chaotic thoughts that act as a slow poison to her mental health. Will the entry of a young couple in her life as tenants transform her perspective towards life or will her destiny play spoilsport and deny her the chance to restart her life? Andhali Gali, a short Gujarati suspense-thriller written by Dhiruben Patel, revolves around the life of an unmarried landlady and a tenant
couple. At its core, the novel aims to explore the intricacies of human emotion, bonding, and behavior. Kundan, a financially gifted woman who’s socially cut-off from the world, stumbles upon a young couple who has entered her life as tenants. As this couple is new to Bombay, they are perplexed by the hectic city life and its struggles. Meanwhile, Kundan gets the chance to closely observe a typical married life — an opportunity she has never come across. Her outlook towards married life is significantly changed by her interactions with the tenant couple. Maybe it’s not too late to start over? Or maybe she’s just attracted to the rosy side of a fairly darker picture? Despite having multiple plots, the story is character-driven, forcing the readers to immerse into various characters and inspect their personalities. Dhiruben Patel does
an exceptional job at portraying the shift in human behavior under personal interests and greed, which makes the novel even more realistic. The story progresses in a linear fashion and takes the reader through a roller coaster of emotions — awe, sympathy, disgust, and hatred. The skillfully curated flow sprinkled with suspense grips the audience till the very end, where the plot takes an unexpected turn. The only blemish in the otherwise well-crafted story is the abrupt end, which makes the reader crave for a sequel. Overall, Andhali Gali suits the breed of avid Gujarati readers of suspense, thrill, and a tinge of romantic-comedy. With a decent consistency of humor, gloom, anger, and empathic pain, clubbed with a gripping storyline, this novel caters to fans of all sorts of entangling stories. Just make sure you buy this book with a box of tissues.
