The simple words effortlessly touch upon the unique experience of Indian women who face the duality of a culture that celebrates the divine feminine and simultaneously flounders to protect women from violence and indignity. The Stuti adds a note of optimism and wisdom that suffuses Lal’s writings and commitment to social causes. The anthology ends on a personal note celebrating her bond with her own mother.
The experiences of the main characters also provide two illuminating insights. The first is that it is not only men who travel away from the safety and security of home in search of a better life for their families. The second, especially in the context of this particular book, is that a well written story about complex human relationships and the capacity of individual men and women for generosity and meanness, loyalty and betrayal
The collection brings in formidable stories on the diaspora, showing how exile fractures belonging but also sharpens resistance. The story of Appadurai Muttulingam’s ‘Catch a Chunky Goat’ stands as a testament to it. While the protagonist’s courage and desperation to write the letter is to be appreciated, the series of events leave one confused about his guilt.
Vishwas Patil is a writer who thrives on dramatizing historical figures for popular consumption: Sambhaji, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Anna Bhau Sathe, and now Shivaji. His strength lies in producing vivid, accessible portraits that can capture/consolidate public imagination.
Manto’s protagonists are the most marginalized members of society, portraying life in its very base and ugly form. The historian Ayesha Jalal in her book, The Pity of Partition: Manto’s Life, Times
She was an interested observer of the process of editing the translation series: Past Continuous in the late 1990s, and an invitee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan when the three translations were received by President KR Narayanan from the translators.