An anthology of Indian stories picks gems from the hinterland, where old hungers meet new needs and where the possessed react to modern standards
The injunction in the title, 바카라˜Tell me a long, long story바카라™, is satisfyingly fulfilled in this anthology. It seems to be the culmination of a passion project of the editor, Mini Krishnan. She has selected remarkably well-written long stories and placed them in such a sequence that the reader can go from story to story as if they are beads on a chain.
The collection carries the reader through the length and breadth of India and covers issues that confront vulnerable sections of society. At just that momÂent, when the reader starts wondering if all the stories that are worth telling are sad tales set in rural India, Krishnan presents a humorous Tamil story, Gopikrishnan바카라™s A Place to Live, on the travails of a middle-class man in a Chennai chawl. Unfortunately, the humÂour seems to have lost its potency in translation, but the story carries within it indications that readers of the original Tamil story must have laughed along with the narrator in his recollections of the difficulties of communal living necessitated by sky-high rents in metropolitan India.
Of the dozen stories, about two seem to have lost something in translation. The others have, at the very least, gained a wider readership due to their being translated into English. The only story which was originally written in English is Chetan Raj Shrestha바카라™s The King바카라™s Harvest, and it also represents one of those regions of India about which most Indians know almost nothing바카라”Sikkim. The story is a beautiful metaphor for obliviousness. The protagonist carries on with his life without realising that Sikkim has ceased to be a kingdom and has joined the Indian republic. The powers-that-be benefit from his ignorance and life seems to go on for all concerned. It is just that the reader is left gasping at the unfair deal. And more so due to the story being placed right next to Mahasweta Devi바카라™s immensely powerful tale of exploitation, Seed. The protagonist of Seed is first co-opted into the machinations of the feudal overlord and then silently brews a rebellion, which explodes in a productive reclaiming of land and livelihood.
Bolwar Mahamad Kunhi바카라™s Period of Mourning (originally in Kannada) leaves the reader lamenting for the protagonist바카라”a young widow consigned to a life of celibacy and unfulfilled desire whereas K.R. Meera바카라™s The Deepest Blue (Malayalam) impresses the reader with its celebration of a woman바카라™s confidence in her sensual powers. Meera바카라™s story seems to be a retelling of the seduction myths from the Puranas바카라”this time from the perspective of the seductress.
Then there are other tales of love and desire바카라”a nostalgic recollection of the awakening of desire in Nirmal Verma바카라™s Signs, a young man바카라™s rebellion against misogynistic feudal practices emerging out of his first exposure to desire and love in Ismat Chughtai바카라™s Lingering Fragrance, and a young man바카라™s fantasy turning into a nightmare in Kamalakanta Mohapatra바카라™s The Witch (Oriya).
There are some tales of obsessions which also reflect life바카라™s varied lessons. The cruellest of these stories is Chinni, who tragically fails to quell her hunger in Kolakaluri Enoch바카라™s Hunger (originally in Telugu). Chinni바카라™s chutzpah and tragedy illustrate a Telugu proverb which can be translated as 바카라˜the lady who couldn바카라™t fly onto the attic flew to heaven바카라™. Like most proverbs, this too has more than one interpretation바카라”while being a sharp comment on ability, it is also a salute to couÂÂrage. The quirkiest story is Shripad Narayan Pendse바카라™s Jumman (Marathi), in which the protagonist learns to experience emotions owing to his adoption and loss of a pet. Habib Kamran바카라™s Kashmiri story Bulbuls, too, is a tale of humans learning valuable lessons from the animal kingdom, but it also doubles as a good allegory on the ill-effects of interference from alien parties. This story, first published in 1994, could be arising out of the situation in Kashmir. Another story which records its immediate political context is Waryam Singh Sandhu바카라™s The Fourth Direction, published in 1988 during the peak of militancy in Punjab. The editor has thoughtfully provided a note on each story for the serious reader to place it within its temporal context.
Each story in this collection is remarkable for the storyteller바카라™s mastery of the craft. Mini Krishnan바카라™s selection seems to be anchored in her recognition of the expertise each writer displays in the form of the long short story. It is an excellent tribute to this form of short fiction and a useful, eminently readable anthology of Indian stories.
(Usha Mudiganti teaches English at Ambedkar University, Delhi)