Interpretation and Analysis of Surinder Parkash's Short Story "Ajnabi Kahani" in the Contemporary Era

Abstract

The very title of the story is intriguing and gripping - a 'Strange Story'! On the surface, every story is strange for the reader as it gradually unfolds itself before the discerning reader. In this particular instance, the title of the story 'A Strange Story', bespeaks of the multilayered aspects that the story imbibes. The story revolves around the female protagonist named intriguingly 'Ayesha', a name generally associated with Muslims, but here it is the name of a lady associated with Parsi or Zoroastrian background. Why did the writer choose to use a Muslim-sounding name to depict a non-Muslim woman is the first strange aspect of the story? Did Surendra Prakash want to convey something other than a woman's story? There is definitely a story within a story. The one layer is of the appeal of the orient to the occidental mind. To Winston, Ayesha is not just a woman; she is more like an enigma whom his Western mind is dazzled by but cannot understand. That's why, despite being attracted to her, he gets rid of her, only to regret it towards the end.