Fragments of Happiness

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I was saying, your father's case has been closed. The Supreme Court has given its final verdict. A life sentence lasts at least eight to ten years, he's been in jail for more than two years already... The time for fighting the circumstance has passed. It's time for us to accept it now, and move on.

When Durgadas, an ordinary businessman from Delhi, is arrested for murder in Lucknow, the lives of the people he left behind—his family and friends—unravel in unexpected ways. As they fight to prove his innocence and deal with the upheaval in their lives, they find themselves turning against each other. Taranath, his eldest son, searches for meaning and strength in religion and ritual when the law seems to fail him. Rajnath, his younger son, finds his marriage with his wife Neela coming undone when they decide against having a child until Durgadas is acquitted. His youngest daughter, Chaand, struggles with her attraction towards Vimal, the much older family friend and Durgadas's confidant. Vimal's integrity and Chaand's loyalties are tested as people around them try to drive them apart.

Fragments of Happiness follows the tumult of ordinary people learning about their own power and helplessness in the face of extraordinary circumstances. Originally published in Hindi in 1973 as Seemayein Tootati Hain—five years after the cult classic Raag Darbari—with this novel Shrilal Shukla proves himself to be as great a master of tragedy as he was of satire.

A life-long civil servant, Hindi novelist Shrilal Shukla (1925-2011) was noted for his satire. His work reflects a deep involvement in government bureaucracy, and detailed knowledge of village life in Hindi-speaking north India. Most noted for his epic Raag Darbari, he has published over twenty-five volumes, including novels, collections of short stories, and satirical essays. He was awarded the Jnanpith Prize in 2011, the Padma Bhushan in 2008, the Vyas Saman in 1999 and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1969.

Niyati Bafna is a student of Computational Linguistics, currently pursuing an MSc in Prague as an Erasmus Mundus scholar. She did a Bachelor's in English Literature at Ashoka University, where she also studied translation under the guidance of Arunava Sinha. Besides reading and writing, Niyati enjoys tennis, cryptic crosswords and trying to learn Czech.

**Contents and Sample Pages**