About The Book

In Search Of Marty is a poignant story of the discovery of a World War II cemetery in Joyrampur, Assam, with unmarked graves of unknown soldiers – how relatives of soldiers came rushing to find some sign of their loved ones only to return disappointed. A City In Its Nakedness starkly portrays the loneliness and despair of a woman living alone in Delhi who befriends a poor young boy, educates him with disastrous consequences. Parasu Pator’s Well speaks about a young boy and his battle against the diminishing humanity of people.

Purification Sanskaar brings out the degradation of human beings by social and cultural compulsions. The reader is moved by the desperation of a childless man to father a child. The Empty Box is the story of a young woman living near a cremation ground whose nostalgic memories and illusion of love are cruelly shattered. Ishwaree is based on the first-hand experiences gained by the author (who was also a Ramayana scholar) when she attended a Ramayana conference in Janakpuri, Nepal.

The time frame of the stories stretches from the thirties up to the present when Assam is torn apart by different militant movements. Dr Goswami’s eye for detail in her beautiful descriptions – whether of the trout in the Dikhari river, the lilting joyous Bihu song or the chirping of the little fesulika birds is simply wonderful. The end of each story catches the reader unawares leaving him filled with a variety of emotions – both of wonder and despair.

About the Book

Reliving Sujatha is a fascinating collection of 8 stories written by prolific Tamil writer Sujatha Rangarajan and translated by Vimala Balakrishnan, a recipient of Katha and Sahitya Akademi awards for translation from Tamil to English. Sujatha was a prolific writer of popular fiction in Tamil whose writing career spanned almost 50 years. Translated for the first time, into English, this selection has been carefully chosen, for an audience of readers who are interested in stories about India. The tales by Sujatha, in this collection, are replete with shocking twists, characters, and life situations with whom the reader is bound to feel an emotional connect.

Hey Raja Stop, a novella, is an enthralling story about mind control with its twists and turns. It features the lawyer duo, Ganesh and Vasanth, who became very popular with the readers. A diabolical plot is hatched to murder the visiting President of Syliana using Raja, the simple foreman of the factory.

Jillu is a heartrending story where an innocent young boy and his pet dog become victims of the fallout of nuclear warfare. Rice reflects the common man’s aversion to being a witness to an accident for fear of police involvement and wastage of time. Sacrifice is the story of a man waiting for his flight at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. He leaves the airport with a tuft-haired American swamy out of curiosity to see his ashram with disastrous consequences.

Guru Prasad’s Last Day is the poignant story of the apathy and callousness of an ambulance driver and hospital staff who shunt a dying patient from hospital to hospital leading to his death. In The Edge, a man plans to kill his friend. The psychological twist at the end leaves us gasping with surprise.