Kahini: A Story of Our Times

A father refuses to talk to his daughter for marrying a card-carrying communist against his wishes, but when his children send him dishes prepared in their kitchens, he will eschew the food prepared by all but the estranged daughter. A grandfather asks his grandson to find him some bogus letterheads belonging to an underground organization, for in a state where extortion falls in the realm of the quotidian, anybody can be an extortionist. A family refuses to acknowledge the real reason for the death of their son from a dreaded disease, fearing social ostracism and wishing to avoid shame. Two old men share dirty jokes and dirty films in a world that disallows pleasures for the elderly. Kahini is a heartening slice-of-life tale about lives lived and experienced in Assam. Using the trope of four men who share an unusual friendship that goes beyond their apparent differences, Sahitya Akademi Award winner Dhrubajyoti Borah chronicles a state that remains robust, bustling and full of life, even as it seems to sit on a powder keg.