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The Rickshaw Reveries
A rickshaw puller's feral lust will lead him to a metamorphosis so bizarre no one will believe him. A scrap metal collector's life is changed dramatically by a piece of metal. A local perfumer holds the power of love, lust, death and life in his attars. A gay man finds himself being drawn to a djinn in the ruins of an old Delhi fort. A sculptor brings his dead love back to life, but with unexpected results.With stories that are both terrifying and enticing, The Rickshaw Reveries takes one into the bizarre and fantastic, while exploring Delhi's many subterranean truths. Delinquents, drug peddlers, rickshaw wallas, and Khan Market diplomats – all find themselves at home here. A bold debut collection, this is Delhi at its primal best.
- GenresShort Stories
259 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 17, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 10, 2021
"The Rickshaw Reveries by Ipshita Nath", twelve dazzling dark stories with a punch of humour, keeping a rickshawwalla as a protagonist of each story, this book's a unique collection in short fiction genre.
In the opening story " A metamorphosis on the northern ridge" the author brings out the myth of Delhi6 in her own style.
In following story "Subterranean Love" the universal inter-religion love story we have read everytime ends with a modern unexpected twist.
A scrap metal collector's life is changed dramatically by a piece of metal.
"The Lover in Firoz Shah Kotla" explores same sex relationship between two rickshawwallas in a time when Delhi was unimaginable as a metro city.
In "pygmalion", a sculptor brings his dead love back to life, but with unwanted results.
Ipshita Nath's engrossing narration exposes Delhi in a never before seen light, with a fresh perspective of low end rickshawwallas. Who desire to grow their status, and have great legacies too, but imperialism, liberalisation and globalisation forced them to let go of their desires.
This collection is one of the unique takes on modern society. With a touch of magic, crime, horror, myths and romance this a multiple genre fiction which was a perfect feel good book for me.
In the opening story " A metamorphosis on the northern ridge" the author brings out the myth of Delhi6 in her own style.
In following story "Subterranean Love" the universal inter-religion love story we have read everytime ends with a modern unexpected twist.
A scrap metal collector's life is changed dramatically by a piece of metal.
"The Lover in Firoz Shah Kotla" explores same sex relationship between two rickshawwallas in a time when Delhi was unimaginable as a metro city.
In "pygmalion", a sculptor brings his dead love back to life, but with unwanted results.
Ipshita Nath's engrossing narration exposes Delhi in a never before seen light, with a fresh perspective of low end rickshawwallas. Who desire to grow their status, and have great legacies too, but imperialism, liberalisation and globalisation forced them to let go of their desires.
This collection is one of the unique takes on modern society. With a touch of magic, crime, horror, myths and romance this a multiple genre fiction which was a perfect feel good book for me.
July 30, 2020
The author, with her brilliant description of Delhi, takes the readers through the lanes and streets of this hustling city and throws light on this metropolitan like no other author has done so far. With a fantastic subject and exquisite writing, Nath certainly has a long way to go. A must read for all the readers. Highly recommended.
July 30, 2020
The stories transport you to a Delhi that is very different from what you experience on a daily basis. You realize how magical, mysterious, and deliciously scary the city is, and how you only get to absorb its mundane-ness while you rush through your work/study/personal schedule. A must-read for those who wish to see Delhi through a new lens!
April 18, 2020
The Rickshaw Reveries- Dark Dazzling Delhi Stories by Ipshita Nath has a very rustic touch to it, a primal language that oozes the charm of Delhi. With very local language used in it, the book manages to transport the reader into the part of the city where it is taking place. Be it the bylanes of Chandni Chowk or Mayur Vihar Extension Metro Station, or the upmarket areas of Khan Market, if you have been in Delhi, you’ll visualize the stories. The storytelling is engrossing and each of the 12 tales has a twist in the end that you’ll never see coming, even in the 12th story by when a reader would have gotten used to the style of stories. Personally, I loved the story “A Metamorphosis on the Northern Ridge” where Ipshita has given a background to an urban myth. “Kabootarbaazi” is another favorite of mine from the collection because it had a very emotional touch to it. The way the story of Bhishan Singh and Nawab unfolds is a sight to behold. The story “Dream Girl” deserves a special mention because it was very contemporary with the way it was set and the entire concept of the story gave me the chills, specially the climax because it was relatable to a certain extent. With a mix of folklore, a touch of magic, family traditions and some good old crime stories, Ipshita has managed to bottle the essence of the city of Dilli just like The Attarwala of Gulabi Gali.
With 12 short stories, talking about characters is a dead giveaway, but I would like to mention the central character that features in all 12 stories-the humble cycle rickshaw. It was a stroke of genius to include it in all the stories as a common thread, almost like the one that holds a necklace together. It might seem like an insignificant factor, but for the book, it is the protagonist. It is where the stories originate, it is where the stories end. Maybe this book might just change the way we look at our three-wheeled rides.
With 12 short stories, talking about characters is a dead giveaway, but I would like to mention the central character that features in all 12 stories-the humble cycle rickshaw. It was a stroke of genius to include it in all the stories as a common thread, almost like the one that holds a necklace together. It might seem like an insignificant factor, but for the book, it is the protagonist. It is where the stories originate, it is where the stories end. Maybe this book might just change the way we look at our three-wheeled rides.
October 29, 2021
Title : The Rickshaw Reveries
Author : Ipshita Nath
Genre : Fantasy / Short Story
Short Stories generally are pretty much different from full fledged novels for the main reason that they need to capture reader's attention in very few Pages. With Rickshaw Reveries we are taken into the lives of Rickshaw Pullers in Delhi and the weird tales that the author is trying to bring out.
Each stories have a charm of its own. From the very first one, which was terrifying and yet quirky, one could predict that we may have a winner but unfortunately not all stories worked out like a charm.
With some hits and some misses, Ipshita did weave her charm beautifully with her writing. Every story takes up at different localities in Delhi and for anyone who has been to Delhi, this would serve as a beautiful reminder of the amazing city.
My Ratings - 🌟🌟🌟 (3 out of 5 stars)
Author : Ipshita Nath
Genre : Fantasy / Short Story
Short Stories generally are pretty much different from full fledged novels for the main reason that they need to capture reader's attention in very few Pages. With Rickshaw Reveries we are taken into the lives of Rickshaw Pullers in Delhi and the weird tales that the author is trying to bring out.
Each stories have a charm of its own. From the very first one, which was terrifying and yet quirky, one could predict that we may have a winner but unfortunately not all stories worked out like a charm.
With some hits and some misses, Ipshita did weave her charm beautifully with her writing. Every story takes up at different localities in Delhi and for anyone who has been to Delhi, this would serve as a beautiful reminder of the amazing city.
My Ratings - 🌟🌟🌟 (3 out of 5 stars)
June 14, 2020
Too gross and weird for my taste...
November 30, 2020
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗪 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦
By @ipshitanath06
@simonandschusterin thank you for the copy!!
Terrifically awesome, dark and infuriating true. I love how the author keeps on landing blows, without a pause... This book delves deep into the complexities of – sexuality; abusing others; inhumane and horrifying acts; sexualizing women; abusive relationships; how victimhood is encouraged and hailed automatically for women; trauma; and, the elephant in the room which should be addressed, sex; very subtly, very surely though.
There are complicated layers that I think the author does well in putting together: the timely references to show how pervasive the culture of sexualizing young girls is; the side characters that add to the complicity of fostering that culture.
What encouraged me to make my rating 5 stars, ultimately, are the endings and the fictitious realism; let me be honest, I absolutely detest open ended stories but reading these was AWESOME!
By @ipshitanath06
@simonandschusterin thank you for the copy!!
Terrifically awesome, dark and infuriating true. I love how the author keeps on landing blows, without a pause... This book delves deep into the complexities of – sexuality; abusing others; inhumane and horrifying acts; sexualizing women; abusive relationships; how victimhood is encouraged and hailed automatically for women; trauma; and, the elephant in the room which should be addressed, sex; very subtly, very surely though.
There are complicated layers that I think the author does well in putting together: the timely references to show how pervasive the culture of sexualizing young girls is; the side characters that add to the complicity of fostering that culture.
What encouraged me to make my rating 5 stars, ultimately, are the endings and the fictitious realism; let me be honest, I absolutely detest open ended stories but reading these was AWESOME!
September 26, 2023
Descriptions of sex,violence, filth and nudity.
So this is a collection of short stories where the author,I feel has deliberately added weird, gross and disgusting stories just for the sake of it. Some stories don’t even have a proper ending. The only selling point of this book is that I was eager to know about the next discomforting story the author comes up with. Anyway some stories that really stayed with me were about the monkey man and the rickshaw guy that turns into a beggar. I would recommend this book to people just for them to know how weird and gross it is🤣
So this is a collection of short stories where the author,I feel has deliberately added weird, gross and disgusting stories just for the sake of it. Some stories don’t even have a proper ending. The only selling point of this book is that I was eager to know about the next discomforting story the author comes up with. Anyway some stories that really stayed with me were about the monkey man and the rickshaw guy that turns into a beggar. I would recommend this book to people just for them to know how weird and gross it is🤣
October 27, 2020
I read this book with high hopes. It turned out to be extremely unsettling and dark and definitely not what I was expecting. I will not recommend this to anyone below 16-17 because the first story itself is so scarring that I don't want to read further. This also does not have descriptions that particularly transport you to the setting.
July 31, 2020
Loved it. Stories are unsettling which is exactly why they pull you in. I was extremely excited to read Pygmalion because of my obsession with Greek mythology. Did not disappointment. Took me on an absolute ride.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews