Have you ever read a book that feels as if you are floating on a river stream, soft breeze gently blowing on your face and the birds chirping rhythmically?

I am at a loss of words to describe this unshakable feeling of warmth while reading Vinod Kumar Shukla’s masterpiece “Deewar Mein Ek Khidki Rehti Thi”.

Author:

Vinod Kumar Shukla was one of the most distinctive voices in modern Hindi literature, celebrated for his poetry, novels and short stories. Born in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh in 1937, he began his literary journey with the poetry collection Lagbhag Jai Hind in 1971. His writing was marked by deceptively simple language, a profound sensitivity towards ordinary lives, and an extraordinary ability to blur the boundaries between reality and imagination. His novel Deewar Mein Ek Khirki Rehti Thi received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1999. In 2025, he was awarded the Jnanpith Award for his contribution to Hindi literature. Through his gentle, unconventional storytelling, Shukla found wonder in the “everyday” and gave the seemingly insignificant moments of life a quiet, enduring significance.

Plot:

This is possibly one of the only books where I can confidently say that, although nothing really happens, yet life changes! The plotline is simple; it builds on the bond between a newly married couple, Raghuvar Prasad and his wife, Sonsi. Raghuvar lives in a fictional town and is a Mathematics professor in a college. He stays in a small rented room. He supports himself, his wife, parents and younger brother through his salary. With all the responsibility on his head, he is also head over heels with his wife Sonsi.

From the tiny window of their room, is a world only for them that ends up deepening their bond. Several people try but nobody gains access to this world other than these two. The book just encapsulates their story from two married strangers to individuals deeply in love with each other through daily mundane activities, practicality, absurdities and their little window. Towards the end of the book, you see the growth of their relationship, and you too feel wrapped in their little blanket of imagination.

Character Sketch:

Raghuvar Prasad:

He is a very calm and practical man. A math professor in the town’s college, he is very passionate about his profession and can also write with both his hands.

Apart from this, Raghuvar is also a newly married man who adores his wife, Sonsi. His way of showing love is also extremely practical. Since he lives in a small, rented room, he decides to rent out a toilet to his wife for Rs 8 a month. He doesn’t even mention this to his parents when they arrive to drop off his wife. He simply wanted to make her life easier.

Sonsi:

Sonsi adds a beautifully feminine streak to this canvas held by Raghuvar Prasad. She arrives and makes their room into a “home”. Although the world beyond the window had always existed, Raghuvar never really explores it until Sonsi arrives. Her arrival lights up even the most mundane activities of his life, such as washing clothes or returning home from work. Sonsi herself is a very playful, mischievous, empathetic, brave and strong woman. Her imagination complements his practicality beautifully.

Amma & Pitah ji:

Raghuvar Prasad’s parents occasionally drop in twice or thrice in the book. It felt as if an older version of Raghuvar and Sonsi had arrived when his parents entered the picture. Riddled with poverty, they always found a way to make the best use of time, money and experiences. For instance, his father always left home with a Jhola(Tote) bag to buy something or the other for the household at cheaper rates. And if he didn’t have the money, he would still try to fill the bag with flowers.

His mother seemed to understand how much the couple yearned to be together. One night when the five of them were asleep with Raghuvar and Sonsi on two opposite ends of the room, his mother wakes up in the middle of the night to notice that they both had jumped into their world through the window. After that, she tries to find tiny specks of time for both of them and encourages them to jump into that world regularly.

Chotu:

Raghuvar’s younger brother was a child of only 10 or 11. He was spoilt by Sonsi and wasn’t aware of the existence of the window. He only wanted to ride the elephant that picked and dropped his brother off to college and back every day.

Vibhag Adhyaksh:

Raghuvar’s colleague and senior faculty in the college is the only other person who gets to go into their tiny world through the window, apart from his parents.

After this, the following Sunday, Vibhag Adhyaksh arrives with his family to see this world. Unfortunately, the world isn’t accessible from the outside and somehow the couple was never at home to entertain guests. They simply jumped into the world, holding hands and enjoying each other’s presence.

Sadhu and the Elephant:

Another absurd aspect of this book is the entry of the elephant who only listens to the Sadhu’s commands. In the beginning of the book, Raghuvar’s daily life struggle is very clear. His office is 8km away from his house. But he cannot afford a vehicle to commute. He is dependent on the overly priced, stuffy and packed share auto rickshaws or tempo to take him to and fro to college.

On the day Sonsi was to arrive, he couldn’t find a ride home. A Sadhu notices him and offers him a ride. Sonsi watches him arrive regally that day and expects that every day. Slowly, the elephant and the Sadhu become an absurd part of their lore with the couple becoming care givers to the huge pet(elephant), nonchalant to their neighbour’s thoughts.

Boodhi Amma and the girls:

Be it the birds or the people inside the window, nobody can cross and enter their room. Boodhi Amma looks after them in that world, makes them tea, lunch, cleans the place and gifts Sonsi a gold Kadha(bangle). The children pile up bricks one upon the other and peek into their room. At times Sonsi paints the nails of those girls from the window. Sometimes Raghuvar teaches them math. None of the kids have a name other than Gudiya.

The Neighbours:

The next-door neighbours of Raghuvar and Sonsi seem to be aware of their world out of the window and find it very normal. Although they serve the Vibhag Adhyaksh water, they don’t help him find it. Among them is a boy who primarily lives in the Peepal tree because his father had beaten him up once for smoking beedi.

The World inside the Window:

Other than the couple, the book’s true protagonist is this “world”. It is only accessible from Raghuvar and Sonsi’s window and is a land where everything is perfect. The sun shines brightly throughout the day, and the night sky is decorated with stars and a shiny moon! Even when it rains outside, this world is untouched. It has a pristine river whose depth is just enough for them to bathe in. It has mango, tamarind and banyan trees and a whole lot of birds.

These birds often fly around Sonsi and Raghuvar and sit on their shoulders. The river also has fish that make floating Rangoli(Alpana) and the lotuses that magically surround the couple. There is no concept of time in this world and it exists because of them both. When Sonsi leaves for her in-laws’ home, Raghuvar misses her so much that he cannot function. Even the world inside the window stops existing.

Themes:

Magical Realism:

Each paragraph of this book is woven in layers of Magical Realism. Unlike popular books of this genre, Shukla somehow enhances the look and feel of a boring, mundane life full of responsibilities with a touch of magical realism. Be it Sonsi and Raghuvar’s world in the window, their seemingly absurd imaginative conversations, the elephant or various other characters, a hint of magical realism is always present. The author has also skillfully uses it to symbolise age.

For example, Raghuvar’s parents too go into this world but what they see is very different from what the young couple sees. They see the same landscape but it is still and peaceful. They also search for death. It is symbolic of the old couple moving into the next phase of life, seeking more spiritual fulfilment and detachment.

Imagination and Reality Co-Exist:

Most stories that I have read make a clear distinction between reality and imagination. Very often, they also show how imagination becomes a tool to cope with the brutal truths of life. But Shukla did not stick to this rule. He has let imagination float into their everyday lives, making it richer and fuller. Be it Raghuvar and the elephant, their little world in the window or their conversations, imagination creates a strange feeling of fulfilment that ultimately becomes Sonsi and Raghuvar’s intimate world.

Romance:

The heart of this novel lies in romance, but this isn’t conventional romance at all. It is just a journey of two people who have already chosen each other, continuing to choose each other for the rest of their lives. It is gentle, endearing and playful.

Whether it is them cycling back home together or when Sonsi arrives with her dishevelled hair to his college, riding the elephant to give him his lunch box which he had forgotten, makes you smile.

Yin and Yang:

Raghuvar and Sonsi’s bond becomes a reciprocal relationship of complementary forces that cannot exist independently. Raghuvar is practical and grounded. While Sonsi is imaginative and idealistic. Without Sonsi’s playfulness, Raghuvar’s world would have been dull and without his practicality, Sonsi would have probably lost herself to the imaginative world.

Poverty:

This theme is very visible from the very beginning of the novel. The couple is poor and is struggling to make ends meet. But that doesn’t stop them from enjoying life. When Raghuvar Prasad starts going to college on the elephant regularly, the children start drawing him as some mythical creature, travelling on top of an elephant along with his wife. They both set a lore to become the iconic couple of that town.

Deewar Mein Ek Khidki Rehti Thi is much more than a window. It is a private world that was connected to the couple’s consciousness. Possibly the world only came to existence to bring them closer and by the time they became closer, they no longer seemed to need that world anymore. Perhaps our homes too should have this window to remember the little joys of life. It becomes a ray of hope, a sunshine and rainbow to play with.