On Sunday July 18 2010, I read on Guardian blog about Edgar Allan Poe and I thought of Narayan Dharap (नारायण धारप).
Although, I haven't read Dharap for a long time and sadly have no book of his in my possession, and haven's spotted any in numerous book exhibitions, I vividly remember many eerie moments he created.
Only the prospect of my mother's death on an operation table scared me more than his books.
My mother (1937-2006) too was fond of those books and used to say how they were scared of passing by Dharap's house in Pune! She said the Dharap-Vada had a certain mystic aura around it. I am sure it was because of N Dharap's books.
Near disappearance of Narayan Dharap from popular Marathi middle-class culture is another instance of its dire poverty.