BHOOTA GAPPA

 

NAME: BHOOTA GAPPA

AUTHOR: PRATIKSHA MISRA

RATING: 8.5/10

Exploring different genres after a long reading slump, as mentioned earlier, I came across a magnificent short read named Bhoota Gappa, written by Pratiksha Misra (author and owner of JustUtter). You must be wondering what Bhoota Gappa means; it refers to Ghost Stories in the Odiya language.

I have always admired horror stories set in Indian background, and this was a perfect short read. The book is basically an anthology of 7 short horror stories that explore rich yet intriguing folklore of Odisha (India), which is the native state of the author and her grandparents. Despite visiting Odisha once, I was completely unknown to the folklore of Odisha, and this book intrigued me to explore more about the same. The author has written all the stories in such a form that they are a well-blended combination of human emotions and, of course, supernatural elements, along with the cultural depth, which was definitely the cherry on the cake. I even got to know about some places in Odisha, which I explored just while reading the book. The author has perfectly nailed all the stories through her writing, as all the characters and AzaGkA, which means danger are well described and well portrayed. AzaGkA, a spooky character who is a 42-year-old woman, is an orphan and has 6 siblings who are equally orphans. A few stories definitely sent chills down the spine. All the stories were so realistic, and I am sure you won't find many horror stories that are as realistic as this one. 

However, after reading close to 500 books, I found two stories that were related to familiar horror plots, and hence the element of unpredictability, which I rate as the highest in horror stories, was missing. 

All in all, it was a fascinating read for me, as I am way too impressed with the contemporary writing skills of the author, and again, the blend of rich traditional folklore and legends of Odisha left a huge impact on me. I would love to read other works by the author and would recommend this book to everyone who wants to read some refreshing horror stories set in the Indian background. The book is a short read and can easily be completed in an hour or two!