According to me, this is how a short story compilation should be like. Quick to read, snappy tale told in a few pages. These 20 stories span a page count of 10-13 and cover, in those short number of pages, a slice of life or a lifetime altogether.
The stories are varied in time, subject and backdrop- be it the Rann in between India & Pakistan or the time when Alexander invaded the Jhelum to capture Porus or encompassing recent times with the story- wall- the story of a wife who is assailed by bad dreams and finds closure from the least expected places.
The title story- Love across the Salt Desert is a beautiful cross border story that does not end in bloodshed.
Shaman is the story of a soothsayer who contrary to popular belief sees his own future and that gives him clarity on what path to follow regarding the marriage to his childhood sweetheart’s daughter.
An ordinary fisherman has a small role to play in warning the King of impending invasion.
A journalist foresees the future evils or is it the other way round? In a chilling fashion, whatever he reports is happening around him, on one hand that helps him to escape from the vice grip of law and on the other hand, it imprisons him in a way he never thought would happen to him.
A grandmother regrets that she went out for 10 minutes and during that 10 minutes, her grand daughter came screaming into the world. Does the wheel of Karma act in like fashion many years later?
These and more to be read and savoured word by word. I would recommend the lovers of short stories to definitely read them.
The stories are varied in time, subject and backdrop- be it the Rann in between India & Pakistan or the time when Alexander invaded the Jhelum to capture Porus or encompassing recent times with the story- wall- the story of a wife who is assailed by bad dreams and finds closure from the least expected places.
The title story- Love across the Salt Desert is a beautiful cross border story that does not end in bloodshed.
Shaman is the story of a soothsayer who contrary to popular belief sees his own future and that gives him clarity on what path to follow regarding the marriage to his childhood sweetheart’s daughter.
An ordinary fisherman has a small role to play in warning the King of impending invasion.
A journalist foresees the future evils or is it the other way round? In a chilling fashion, whatever he reports is happening around him, on one hand that helps him to escape from the vice grip of law and on the other hand, it imprisons him in a way he never thought would happen to him.
A grandmother regrets that she went out for 10 minutes and during that 10 minutes, her grand daughter came screaming into the world. Does the wheel of Karma act in like fashion many years later?
These and more to be read and savoured word by word. I would recommend the lovers of short stories to definitely read them.
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