Ratanjot Sambharia has built a successful corporate life, but he cannot say how the past twelve years have felt as they passed. In Anil Yadav’s translated story, old Hindi songs heard by chance briefly return him to childhood—then leave him facing the distance between that vivid past and his emotionally depleted present.
What is the story, and who made it?
“Old Hindi songs remind RJ Saheb of the years that have sped by” is an excerpt from Courtesans Don’t Read Newspapers by Anil Yadav, translated from Hindi by Vaibhav Sharma. Scroll.in published the excerpt on 18 August 2025 and credits Penguin India. Read the excerpt on Scroll.in.
Who is RJ Saheb?
RJ Saheb is Ratanjot Sambharia, an executive whose professional life is easy to inventory: jobs, promotions, purchases, clubs, acquaintances, health problems and market movements. Yet he says he cannot recall how he lived through the last twelve years. Inwardly, he has fixed his age at 36, while the story’s details suggest aging and anxiety that he would rather not reckon with.
How do old Hindi songs bring back memories in the story?
The songs reach RJ Saheb from radios he cannot see. Hearing them at a distance, without choosing or controlling the moment, brings back scenes from childhood in sensory detail: his dog Julie, the rickshaw ride to school, classmates, food, smells and familiar places. The excerpt makes the memories feel as if they arrive with the music, rather than through a deliberate search for the past.
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That effect is specific to the story’s narrative. When RJ Saheb deliberately plays old favourites at home, in his car or at work, the memories do not return in the same way. The contrast between an unexpected song and chosen playback shapes his experience; it should not be read as a general scientific claim about music or memory.
What do the memories reveal about his present?
The childhood scenes make clear how far RJ Saheb has drifted from the people and places that formed him. He has rarely returned to his hometown. His mother is dead, his father and brothers live elsewhere, and his ties to family and old friends have thinned. The songs make the past briefly present, but that vividness fades when they end. What remains is a life of outward achievement that feels numb from within.
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Where can readers find the complete work?
The excerpt is from Courtesans Don’t Read Newspapers, the collection containing the full story. The Scroll.in excerpt identifies Penguin India in its credit, but current edition details, retailer listings, price and stock are not established here. Check a bookseller for current availability.
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