The Black Book

Originally written in Gujarati, ‘The Black Book’ was first published in its Hindi translation in The Times of India’s Hindi literary short story monthly, Sarika. In 1975, Kamleshwar, the then-editor of Sarika, said of the story: ‘In this Black Book, which is darker than the night and brighter than light, a man can clearly see both sides of his soul, the black as well as the white. There is no element missing in the Black Book which cannot be found in Man today.’
The same year it was released as a novel. And in its preface Late Dr Dharamvir Bharti wrote: ‘Shiva’s tandav dance has always been callous. It destroys many things so that the new human order can be established. The same callousness can also be found in this satirical fiction and the same motive. In the classical style of the Old Testament the writer has given voice to the complete truth of the day.’

Many editions have appeared since, not only in Hindi but also in Kannada, Marathi, Urdu, and Gujarati. In Kannada, it was awarded the ‘Book Of The Year’ award.
I am grateful to my friends Haresh Shah and Rima Kashyap for their 25-year-long confidence in this manuscript.