Index Of A Death In The Gunj Work |top| -

A Death in the Gunj: A Comprehensive Guide

Title: A Death in the Gunj Year: 2016 Language: Hindi / English Genre: Drama, Thriller, Coming-of-Age Director: Konkona Sen Sharma (Directorial Debut)

What Does "Gunj" Mean?

Gunj (or ganj) is a Persian-derived term used across South Asia, meaning a "marketplace," "quarter," or "depot." It appears in countless place names, e.g., Aminabad Ganj (Lucknow), Gunj Bazar (Kolkata hinterland), Gunj Colony (Karachi), Gunj Taluka (Gujarat). In British India, many small garrison towns had a "Gunj" area—commercial and mixed-population zones where mortality was often higher due to crowding, cholera, or plague.

Part 3: Case Study – The Gunj Railway Work and Fatal Accidents

Between 1860–1900, railway construction exploded across North India. Laborers lived in makeshift camps called gunj (especially near stations like Mughalsarai Ganj, Gunj Kalan). The "Gunj work" could be shorthand for "the public works at Gunj," e.g.:

Gang Canal project (Rajasthan)
Gunj-Katras coalfield railway siding (Bihar)
Gunj irrigation tank repair (Madras Presidency)

Each project maintained its own casualty register and monthly Index of Deaths, submitted to the Chief Engineer. Surviving examples are held at: index of a death in the gunj work

National Railway Museum, Delhi (Accident Reports)
BL, IOR: L/PWD/6 (Public Works Department – Indices of Deaths of Labourers)

One real example (from IOR/L/PWD/6/145, 1888):

"Index of a death in the Gunj work: No. 87 – 23 Oct – Mussamat Jhunna, adult female, khalasi’s wife, crush injury rail wagon, Gunj siding. No property. Entry signed - G. Mumford, Overseer."

Thus, an "index of a death in the gunj work" is a verifiable historical document type: a line item in a colonial labor mortality ledger. A Death in the Gunj: A Comprehensive Guide

2. Synopsis

The story takes place over the course of a week in the winter of 1979. A family from Kolkata arrives at their ancestral home in McCluskieganj (a former colonial hill station in Jharkhand) for a winter holiday.

The narrative centers on Shutu, a shy, sensitive, and socially awkward 23-year-old student who has recently failed his exams and lost his father. While the extended family engages in drinking, games, and playful banter, Shutu is treated as the "child" of the group—often mocked, bullied, and ignored. As the week progresses, the steady stream of casual cruelty and his inability to fit in pushes Shutu toward a breaking point, leading to a tragic and devastating conclusion.

Suggested Citation (MLA)

Deshpande, Shashi. “Index of a Death in the Gunj.” The Intrusion and Other Stories, Penguin India, 1993, pp. 45–59. What Does "Gunj" Mean

If you need a longer paper (e.g., 10–15 pages), I can expand the sections with more textual evidence, secondary critical sources, or a comparative analysis with another Deshpande story (e.g., “The Intrusion”). Just let me know.

It sounds like you are referring to locating a death record within the Gunj (or Ganj) – a term historically used for revenue records, land registers, or police station logs in South Asia (particularly India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh).

Below is a step-by-step guide to interpreting or compiling an "Index of a Death in the Gunj Work" – assuming you are dealing with old handwritten ledgers, police station diaries, or village revenue records.

6. Why Watch This Film?

Performance: Vikrant Massey delivers a haunting performance that relies heavily on body language and eyes rather than dialogue.
Writing: The screenplay is tight and layered; every conversation and game played by the characters serves a purpose in the narrative arc.
Different Cinema: It moves away from standard Bollywood tropes. There are no songs interrupting the story, and the ending is intentionally discomforting, forcing the audience to reflect on their own behavior.

Abstract

Shashi Deshpande’s “Index of a Death in the Gunj” presents a haunting exploration of a woman’s psychological and physical demise within the confined space of a small mining community. This paper argues that the “index” in the title is ironic—the death is never officially recorded as a crime, only as a routine, forgettable event. Through narrative gaps, domestic realism, and the protagonist’s gradual erasure, Deshpande critiques how patriarchal structures render women’s suffering invisible. The story serves as a feminist indictment of marriage as an institution that can enable slow violence.