Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov, master-storyteller and
dramatist, keen observer of human behaviour, and professional physician, has
left an enormous number of short stories which seem ageless.
Gopa
Many of them have no point to make;
they are descriptions of mundane things that happen to ordinary people, without
any dramatic element, or surprising revelation at the end. Others like Ward No. 6 have the plot lines of a
novel. The inversion of fortunes at the end makes one wonder how easily a
person may be passed off as insane.
Arundhaty reads from Chekhov's play 'The Three Sisters'
As numerous, however, are the
carefully plotted gems, such as A Work of
Art. Humour, surprise, the small
deceits of human beings, and sense of fate coming full circle, contribute to
its masterly hold on the reader.
Priya ponders a point
Salman Rushdie hid his identity during
the fatwa period under a name composed of two of his favourite authors, the
first being Anton Chekhov. The surprisingly graceful translations available in
the public domain do great credit to Chekhov.
Gopa learns Kindle e-reader techniques from Priya, as Thommo and KumKum watch
Here are the readers assembled before the reading:
Talitha, Priya, Thommo, Gopa, KumKum, Mathew, Sunil, & Joe
Zakia & Arundhaty came later
