Surang

In a way, Tunnel can also be called a home to the best stories, where each story reveals some wound or chaos of humanity. The salvation of good stories is that they never attain salvation; their destiny and accomplishment is to live and die in this world forever. That is why the stories in Tunnel remain relevant and contemporary even today, nearly two decades after their publication. In many ways, even more so than before. They represent the current society and denounce the violence that preys on the most helpless and destitute. Sanjay goes into minute detail and dismantles the power structure of violence; it is not surprising that blood, weapons, attacks, uniforms, etc., appear repeatedly in Sanjays stories. Parallel to these, one can see the cries, screams, and voices of resistance of ordinary people rising. It can be seen that there are many visual contrasts in Tunnel stories. In stories like Sheshant and Madhyantar, many people come together to create diverse scenes, while in stories like Khel, Tunnel, and Topi, many characters appear before each others eyes, each with its own storytelling. It could also be said that Sanjays work is unique and visually vivid. While there arent many people in Avishya and Tunnel, theres a vast expanse of time. In Avishya, Sanjay describes womens suffering and the male-dominated perspective on them in a calm, expansive, and measured way. The tunnel in Tunnel is filled with the bloodshed of history. This tunnel, running from the past through the present, opens onto a future where the ruthlessness, injustice, and dispossession of the powers that be patrol the land. In short, the stories in Tunnel are stories that are created occasionally but remain with us for a long time.Akhilesh