Don't miss a good story

Great Short Stories by Sufi Saints

Author: Manish Khatri
Publisher: The Book Paradise
Pages: 191
Price: Rs 60



By Eisha Sarkar
Posted on Mumbai Mirror on Monday, October 05, 2009 at 05:21:18 PM

The title suggests that this little-known book is a collection of stories of Sufi saints from round the world. Why should you read them? One, these are among the oldest stories in human history. Two, Sufism offers profound insights into human nature. Three, they're fun. And you certainly wouldn't want to miss a good story.

The 101 stories in the book, like mystical Sufi dervishes, help you transcend the barriers of time and space. Baghdad, Damascus, Herat, Kabul and Lahore may now be associated with conflict, war, pain and apathy, but the stories give you a picture of these places centuries ago.

Through the book, you enter the world of dervishes, djinns, magical jars, talking parrots, monks, deaf frogs, muezzins, caliphs, figurines, tyrannical kings and their harems, village simpletons and wise Sufi saints. You meet popular Persian, Afghan and Arabian characters such as Mullah Nasruddin, Bulla Shah, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna (Ghazni), Maulana Rumi, Sadi and Imam Junayd. And after every story you learn a moral lesson.

Take the story, "The Branch and the root" for example. A certain caliph hosted a huge festival in Baghdad where thousands of beautiful artefacts, pieces of jewellery and precious stones were displayed. The invitation said that anyone could take anything they wished. One of the caliph's slave-girls did not pick up anything. When the caliph asked her to pick up something, she simply placed her hand on his and said, "Why should I hold a branch when I can reach for the root?" And with that, she became the ruler of his kingdom.

Though nearly all the stories are set in west Asia (there's one on Emperor Shah Jehan in Hindustan), some of the stories are very popular in India. 'Cooking by candle' featuring Mullah Nasruddin is actually a version of the popular tale of Birbal cooking khichdi by hanging the pot five feet above the fire.

There's also the story, 'Monkeys and Hats' featuring a young hatseller in Baghdad whose hats were stolen by monkeys when he was napping under an olive tree on one of his journeys. Sounds familiar? Well, it's the same hatseller story we've all learnt as kids. The young man got his hats back when the monkeys copied him after he threw his own onto the ground. Only, the story doesn't end there. Years later, the hatseller's grandson encounters a similar situation and does what his grandfather had done. Only, this time, the monkeys aren't willing to copy.

Great Short Stories by Sufi Saints makes for an interesting read. Kudos to the author, photographer-journalist Manish Khatri for that. Thankfully, the essence and the tone of the stories have been maintained through the translation. Since most of these stories have been attributed to Sufi saints, the author would have done well to mention where he sourced the stories from. Also, the numerous grammatical errors in the text could have been avoided. Still, they don't take much away from these delightful stories that speak of love, hate, betrayal and magic. Acknowledge their beauty and they'll bring you joy.