Stories are everywhere; some, we know. But most go unnoticed. While walking down a beach, visiting a hospital, searching for our favorite author in a bookstore, relaxing in a hotel or waiting for our train at a railway station. We encounter people who are either creating a story in these places or reminding us of one of our own.
These eleven urban folktales have captured the hopes, dreams, and experiences of people of an imaginary town called Faujpur.
Faujpur will speak with you through these eleven folktales and ask you about the tales from your town. This collection will bring you close to your city and might give you a different perspective to look for more interesting stories on an otherwise seemingly mundane day.
Gaurav grew up in Kanpur, a city on the banks of the Holy Ganga. Stories became a part of his daily life since an early age - whether they were at the temple, near the Ghats, or from his mother. Fascinated, he started daydreaming and giving life to many such tales. A finance professional, he traveled extensively, discovering and meeting exciting people and being a part of their lives and experiences. When he moved back to India from New Jersey, he took a sabbatical to get these experiences on paper. He believes that telling stories is a powerful way of human communication.
'Folktales of Faujpur' is his first step in storytelling, and he promises to keep writing more.
When he is not writing, he goes on food-adventures to try various cuisines and spends time with his daughter, probably making a birdhouse or having a bike ride in the neighborhood.
M y thoughts resonate with these words. Long before I began writing stories, I listened to stories-stories from my grandmother during puja ceremonies, stories from my mother and aunts when us children huddled around our dinner on the floor - most of which were fiction, with a pinch of reality mixed in - our mouth opening and closing mechanically to eat the morsels fed to us, but our eyes and ears attuned to the storytellers.
We grew up, and these stories grew with us. Friendship took center-stage and stories became the medium to bind us - sometimes our own and at times, of others. Reading became a passion for me quite early in my life and so did weaving stories. I had the habit of playing with and figurines and spinning stories around them that spoke of war, love, laughter and sacrifice.
It did not take me long to realize that these characters were taking shape in my head and had to be shared with everyone. Folktales of Faujpur is my attempt to get a few of them on paper for enjoy and experience the world I lived in.
Where is Faujpur? I don't know, but I am sure it is somewhere; if not, maybe some town will get this name soon.
It does not matter that a town is named Faujpur. The people, landmarks, experiences, and their relationships with each other would remain similar. This town is my imagination, my world and my colors. But one thing I am sure of is that the characters and stories here would remind you of someone you know or maybe make you recall your own experiences.
These stories are simple and relatable, so are the characters.
Faujpur will speak with you through these eleven folktales, ask about tales from your town, and urge you you to look for similar people and tales around. In doing so, I am sure you would touch many lives in a positive way and come close to many stories lost in time. This is what I intend by telling these stories; to bring you close to your town and people, spreading joy all around.
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