India owns a cultural spectrum which resembles a rainbow.
However, reverberating the same is certainly a challenge for any author. This
anthology, edited by Paritosh Uttam has evolved from the conflicts of social
and personal relationships, as well from the contemporary conditions which
shape them. On this platform where usually masculinity calls the shots, some of
the stories try opening emotional outlets for the women too. The lady agonist
occupies the centre stage and deal with the challenges in different ways.
The
Bengal tigress is a wonderful example of how a mother can go out to any
extent when it comes to their child. Again, in Heaven and Hell, the
compassionate self of a woman is portrayed very quintessentially. In Paisley
Printed Memories, the author has picked up a very subtle role of a woman, a
bride, and how she reminisces her beautiful past at the sight of the 'baraat'
even when she's plagued by a deadly disease. In every tale the authors have
managed to touch some or the other emotion of the human kind. The situations
and the characters in these short stories are mostly extracted from our
everyday life, and also occur in places you can instantly relate to, as in the
case of the sweet and cute 'Father of my son'. The con girl gang is another
hilarious one. Each story, whether it be the salesman who buys the stuff
him-selves to achieve the target, the interviewer in the white 'kurti',
the sugar-loving Maami, the American-Canadian tourist at the Taj, the
young girl in the Hot pants followed by the
sophisticated-turned-casual-turned-roadside romeo, or the chatty Military Uncle
who had a wonderful grand-daughter, captured an essence of our society.
The characters involved are not mere accoutrements to narrate a tale;
rather they have the presence of the story willing to actually serve them. The
writers are capable of springing surprises to even those familiar with
the Indian society and culture. In majority of the tales, the characters have
been carefully kept ordinary, ensuring they do not seem extraordinary or
unbelievable. At some points, some of these might be predictable, but that
never takes away the fun out of it. Each story stands alone in its own right.
It took me just one sitting of approx. 9 hrs. to finish this entire collection
(I just couldn't let it go. An amazing experience..!!
P.S.: Thanks to Blogadda for making me come across such a wonderful
collection!
Signing Off
Nirvaan
