New Delhi, June 1 -- Geet Chaturvedi's novel Simsim (2023), translated from Hindi by Anita Gopalan, introduced his richly evocative style to English readers. The Master of Unfinished Things, his recent collection of non-fiction, conveys a flavour of his cerebral genius, fed and nurtured by many tributaries of world literature.

Whether he is writing about the cats he grew up with or reminiscing about his stint as a fast bowler in school, Chaturvedi casts a magical spell of familiarity in the reader's mind. His prose triggers memories, real or imagined, filling us with an uncanny sense of deja vu, at times with epiphanies.

Dejected by his exclusion from the cricket team in spite of bowling beautifully at the trials, only because he didn't...