The ‘skein of duality’ that runs through Pronoti Datta’s debut novel gives it its special character, and as one toggles between the past and the present, between people and places, and between culture, politics and history, all of which make up the warp and weft of the story, the reader is drawn irresistibly into its multihued narrative.
The Himalaya is an integral part of the natural habitat of India and some other neighbouring countries. It ensures rain in the field areas, and many rivers coming out from the Himalayas, including Ganga, are the basis of life and civilization in north India. The Himalayas have also been a source of cultural identity, not only for people who are living in this region but also for the people of other parts of the country.
Mature is the word that comes to my mind the moment I think of Rajesh Tailang, a sensitive writer and actor with a staggeringly successful career in Bollywood and Digital Media. After earning laurels for his acting in movies like Siddharth, Mukkabaaz, and the web series Delhi Crime and Mirzapur, his passion for writing took him to attempt plays, cinematography, and poems.
The introductory line of the novel sets the tone for what we witness throughout its narrative. Sunma is no ordinary woman. Her tears symbolize a tenacious grip over the capitalist and globalized reality, and how it has caused a systemic destruction of rivers and natural resources.
I put it down to serendipity that I read the short story collection under review shortly after reading Ramachandra Behera’s novel Mukti ra Ruparekha (1990) both in the original and in its just published English translation entitled Contours of Liberation. An amazing novel about the tragic outcome of the conflict between desire for personal pleasure and parental obligation and filial love, the work betokened certain signature qualities of the acclaimed Odia writer, which the short story collection has happily confirmed.
Syeda Javeria Fatima’s collection of poems is not as whimsical as the title suggests; in fact, it is quite the opposite. Written in simple rhyme schemes, the poems voice the observations of a child’s world which has been marred by experiences too mature for her. Divided into sections that range from spiritual belief to romantic love, and her mother’s sacrificial omnipresence for her family members to friends that include her schoolmates and her grandparents.