Vineet Kumar Mishra’s Parchhaiyon Ke Log is a collection of six stories that looks closely at the lives people often pass without noticing. Its premise is simple but powerful: beneath apparently ordinary lives lie private fears, memories, desires and struggles that rarely find expression. As the author observes in the preface, there are no conventional heroes or villains here, only people quietly fighting their own battles.
The collection moves through strikingly different settings. “Ninth Floor” takes us into a Gurgaon corporate office where Raj, Priya and Aman confront the anxiety of layoffs, professional stagnation and the pressure of financial responsibilities. The glass walls of the office become an apt metaphor for lives that appear transparent but remain deeply isolated.
“Prateekshalaya” shifts to a hospital waiting room, bringing strangers together through the universal experience of uncertainty. “Dhundh Mein Aadmi” explores memory and identity through Harishankar, whose gradual loss of memory raises an unsettling question: what remains when a person begins to lose the memories that define him?
The collection also enters the more intimate territories of love, loss and social restrictions. “Chandni Ki Mez Par” captures the fragile beauty of love and promises, while the long story “Ujaas” follows Ananya and Mali, whose relationship is tested by social conventions and a long separation. The story ultimately examines whether love is always granted the space and time it deserves.
Author’s greatest strength is his empathy. He finds emotional weight in everyday details, the office desk, a hospital chair, an old mirror, a forgotten plant. His prose is direct and accessible, though at times the emotional intensity is deliberately sustained for longer than necessary.
What distinguishes Parchhaiyon Ke Log is its refusal to offer easy resolutions. Its characters do not necessarily triumph; they endure, remember, lose and continue. The concluding reflection reinforces this philosophy: stories may end on the page, but their meanings continue in memory, silence and what remains unsaid.
A sensitive and relatable collection, this book invites readers to look beyond appearances, and perhaps to notice the hidden stories in the people around them.
