Aacharya Chatursen Shastri was an important Hindi-language novelist, famous for works like Goli, Somnath, Vayam Rakshamah, and Aabha. His best-known works take inspiration from historical events and characters and present a sort of idealistic view of the ancient period while simultaneously commenting upon the social and political situation of his own time. His writing is often appreciated for its attempt at imagining and recreating the everyday life of the characters and their surroundings. Meri Priya Kahaniyan is a collection of his stories where he is able to demonstrate his versatility as a writer in creating significantly varied characters and narratives while maintaining his unique style of storytelling. His descriptions are vivid and visual, and his narratives are engaging, which explains the popularity of his works.

The first story of this collection, for example, ‘Ambpalika’, tells the story of a court-dancer and served as the basis of his most famous novel, Vaishali ki Nagarvadhu, which was later adapted as a famous Hindi film, Amrapali. On one hand, he presents dramatic and inspiring versions of historical events in stories like ‘Haldi Ghati’, and on the other hand, he is able to present the audience with extremely human portraits of characters like ‘Bawarchin and Nawab Nanaku’. ‘Dukhwa Main Kase Kahun Mori Sajni’, ‘Jeevanmrit’, ‘Kahani Khatm ho Gayi’, and ‘Muhabbat’ blend his talent for wit and philosophy, whereas stories like ‘Kakadi ki Keemat’ and ‘Raja Sahab ki Kutiya’ showcase his ability of observation, analysis and social commentary. Selected from a vast range of stories written over a long period of time, these stories represent some of the most important themes in his oeuvre.

Please note: This audiobook is in Hindi.