Gurunath Abaji Kulkarni can be ranked amongst acclaimed short story writers in Marathi. He has written extensively, publishing nine collections in a 50-year span. Yet he was different from the run-of-the-mill writers as he wrote to bring about a difference in the lives of his readers. His stories are based on topics such as psychology, philosophy and metaphysics.

In his collection of short stories titled A Journey Forever, Kulkarni has delved into the recesses of the human mind and has taken up issues that are directly concerned with his existence on the earth, and his relationship with nature and cosmos.

The subjects taken up are thought provoking and have a universal appeal. There have been innumerable philosophers who have tried to read the human mind and gain insight into the human heart as well as explore the impact of economic, social and cultural issues on people. Similarly, Kulkarni has taken up the task of writing on the universal and temporal aspects of human life.

A Journey Forever continues even when the stories reach their climax, as man and his interpersonal relationships continue to bring out the essence of his character, and exposing the shallowness of his 'so-called' achievements.

Kulkarni's characters are common people with strengths and weaknesses, with worries and problems, aspirations and dreams; yet the path they follow is not an ordinary one; it is strewn with sand and rocks, and they must take up this journey barefoot.

Kulkarni's stories can be divided into sections. There is a section dealing with Indian themes which presents a very authentic picture of Indian life. Aunty Taani in 'Kairee' (Raw Mango) is one such.

Such women are commonly found in India; a woman with a child-like approach to life and tragically exposed to the misery of a loveless marriage. Women like Aunty Taani are scattered all over the subcontinent, and the end that Kulkarni devised for her seems to be the only means to attain eternal peace.

In such stories the characters come alive; the reader can picture them in his mind. Shantakka in 'Full Circle' is one such character. Devastated by her husband's death she reels under the incidents that unfold only to realise later on that the life she had been living was of lies and deceit. Characters like Aunty Taani and Shantakka in the book are real characters, made of flesh and blood, and their problems exist in the real world which Kulkarni has very deftly used as the tapestry of his stories.

A Journey Forever also contains stories that are metaphorical, symbolic or allegorical in nature. They have a global appeal as they unveil authentic human characters.

Man aspires to reach the moon and the stars; he dreams to make possible the impossible, yet his weaknesses hinder his journey towards the destination he craves reaching.

There are also present stories that deal with Greek and Indian mythology and blend reality and fantasy in a commendable manner.

Praise should also be extended to Vilas Salunka for translating the stories into English. It is a difficult feat to succeed in capturing the essence of the stories in another language, and Salunka has done it with great mastery.

To translate is not merely change the words from one language to the other; it also requires an insight into the characters and to depict them as they have been done so in the original.

If Kulkarni is a master craftsman, Salunka is a crafty translator. His effort to capture all the nuances of the stories should be given due credit.

A Journey Forever leaves a very deep imprint upon the mind of the reader. It makes one ponder on one's existence on earth and in the cosmos.

The writer has summed up the human condition from an existential standpoint

What difference will it make if we live at some other place? People are born, they live and die. Nobody escapes this.

A Journey Forever
(short stories)
By G.A. Kulkarni
Translated from the Marathi
by Vilas Salunke
Frog Books, India
ISBN 978-93-80154-43-5
332pp. Indian Rs350