V. S. Khandekar

Ashru Ani Hassya V. S. Khandekar

I STARTED STORYWRITING IN 1925. THE NEXT 1213 YEARS I WAS WRITING STORIES AS AND WHEN TIME WOULD PERMIT. DURING THOSE YEARS I WAS TEACHING IN A SCHOOL.`` "TODAY, WHILE GOING THROUGH THE 13 STORIES INCLUDED IN THIS BOOK "ASHRU AND HASYA`, MANY A THOUGHTS ARE SURFACING MY MIND. MOST OF THESE STORIES ARE WRITTEN DURING MY 15 YEARS` STAY IN SHIRODA. WHILE GOING THROUGH THEM I AM RECOLLECTING MY STAY AT SHIRODA, WHICH I HAD ALMOST FORGOTTEN. IT WAS A SMALL VILLAGE, HAVING NATURAL BEAUTY, BEAUTIFUL ATMOSPHERE, THOSE VILLAGERS WHO UNKNOWINGLY HAD ENLIGHTENED MY MIND FOR A STORY, MANY SWEET AND SOUR INCIDENCES, THESE ALL HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY MIND. TODAY, AT THIS STAGE I CAN EVEN EYE "THE KHANDEKAR` DURING THOSE DAYS WITH A NEUTRAL MIND. 1925 WAS THE PEAK PERIOD FOR MARATHI SHORT STORIES, I WAS AN ACTIVE MEMBER, BUT BY 1940 THIS GOLDEN ERA OF MARATHI SHORT STORIES HAD COME TO AN END.``