Achla Bansal’s short stories in English are widely acclaimed for their sensitivity, range and wit. They have one more quality that appealed to this reviewer—their restraint. Bansal’s stories deftly avoid a shrill or sensational tone, even while taking up women’s issues. Her story ‘Checkmate’ won ‘A Book for Borges’ award in 2007. Vanilla Ice Cream & Chocolate Sauce (Spring Books, Gurugram, 2020) collects some of her best stories including ‘Thanks, Anyway’, a recollection of what started as a random meet on a wrong note of ‘stealing a handkerchief’ in a restaurant. It initiates a friendship between a single man, 78 and a young woman, 29 that defies all classifications.
Bansal brings with her the experience of chiselingcharacters sharply to Rain inBulandshahr with its psychological power play, an unusual theme for a debut novel. The novel exudes a kind of an authorial confidence that comes about if a book is an inspired writing.