48 stories by 26 Indian women writers Ripples is a collection of stories compiled by Prashant Karhade. I raise my eyebrows, wondering why a man undertook this task. Skimming through his foreword and afterword, I cannot find the reason, except to showcase contemporary Indian women’s writing. I borrowed this book as I’m in a phase where I enjoy anthologies and collections of stories or essays or poems.
Very Short Some of the tales are two pages long and there are a number of such nibbles. Most of the stories are slightly sad. That disturbs me as it has become a fashion to associate the life of women with woe. Anyway, the stories address themes like female feticide, abuse in marriage and all the other ills which beset women in India today.
Long and short of it There are longer stories too. In fact, there are enough stories to enjoy over a long holiday except that the morose nature of the contents does not really justify the word “enjoy”.
The Oleander Flowers by Fehmida Zaker, deals with female feticide. It is short but striking. She has also written Independance, which is cute and creepy.
Of Girls and Goddesses by Pervin Saket, who has also penned The Turban and the Shawl(a smiling look at our tendency to judge people by their looks), touches the issue of child prostitution.
My Daughter’s Stricken Eyes is a very tersely written intriguing short piece by Ritu Lalit. She has also got Hidden to her credit here, which is also mysterious.
The Scream, The Broken Pieces, and Almost Heaven are 3 short stories by Irene Dhar Malik. The first deals with the slow poison that can destroy relationships. The second is similar in that it’s also about degeneration. In this case that of a woman. Many of the stories in Ripples deal with women and madness. The last story by Irene is sadistically tragic.
Light and Shadows, Twinkling Grey Eyes are two stories by Monideepa Sahu. The first one I liked as compared with the others in this collection. It narrates a very touching incident. The second one is rather sad-I cannot say I liked it.
Never Mine but I felt the Loss by Pushpa Ramachandran is merely an exercise in writing, more befitting a personal diary or something than really worthy of public consumption.
Gold Medal by Nupur Roopa is, again, sort of sad, even with the moralistic and compassionate hue.
Home is where the heart is and The Gulmohar Tree are by Sudha Sharma. The first is a rare ray of delight is this morbid anthology and the second also speaks of hope.
For you, My Love, and The Necklace, two tales by Vibha Batra, deal, the first in letter form, with a lover’s vengeance and the other is also a twist in the tail tale.
Suhag Raat, Loss of Innocence and Jackpot, written by Ghazala S Hossein, are quite deftly carved, with unexpected endings.
The Armchair, Quicksilver and The Rising, a trio of tales by Suja Sukumaran, are, in order of appearance, tenderly sad, challengingly set in another country and, as for the last, a tale about despair and hope.
The Golden Goose and the Noose and The Heart Knowsby Bina Gupta reminds me of Suja’s first story. I would hesitate to write from the standpoint of another nationality or culture but this is what she’s done.
My Brother Jai and The Convictby Tikulli Dogra are both tragic.
Black Blood and The Caretaker by Shaily Sahay cover topics like HIV and the Tsunami.
Sine Die and The Balance of Love by Sucharita Dutta Asane deal with a tragedy skillfully crafted and a complex web of family intrigue.
The Evil Inside by Anita Satyajit tells us about the wickedness of some holy men.
The Dreamer by Sharada Balasubramanian raises the mood a little with a hard won right of a Brahmin girl.
Wilted Dreams by Richa Wahi describes an amusing but heartbreaking misunderstanding.
When Pavitra Returns, Life in Perspective are a duo by Suneetha B. The first tale relates the return of a divorcee to her parent’s home while the second explores disquiet over an incident of lechery.
Venerated and Enshrined by Dagny Samrock describes a woman’s puzzlement at rejection and ends positively.
Mini and The Watershed Jayati Dasgupta’s Mini is a crafty tale and her second one is a story within a story
Obsession and Atonement Aaleya Sen’s first tale is about obsessions and the other one is sad and lyrical.
Krishna encounters Reality and Scars Vasundhara Ratakonda explores interactions between siblings and, in the other story, a demented mind
Fading Lights, What They Say About Her Suseela P Ravi explores the realisation of a mother’s dementia. In the second story she seeks to write through a man’s mind.
Home Again and The Princess and The Cowboy Asha Francis writes about a pure and tender relationship between an old man and a little girl and her other story is about love.
Family of beauties, The Red Singlet Abha Iyengar’s stories deal with love. The first is quite twisted. The second, a little more optimistic.
Write-ups about the authors take up the last pages of this gloomy collection.