Mechanics of loss
Night in Kullu and Other Stories is a collection of 16 short stories by Rita S. Mathur. While several short story collections have appeared on the Indian literary scene in recent times, this one stands out with its impressive prose and style.
Readers looking forward to a journey of words where the author can build up and describe a whole world as vivid as a scene from a movie or photograph will certainly relish this experience.
The imagery of words and portrayal of scenes speaks volumes of the author’s writing prowess.
The 16 stories have a predominantly feministic theme, exploring topics such as relationships with lesbian undercurrents, broken marriages working behind a façade of monotony, ups and downs of marital bliss, the conflict between the personal and the professional ambitions from a feminine perspective, and the emotional turmoil of an NRI in her attempt to belong to a place cutting across geographical and cultural boundaries. The Angelus at Dusk, Morass, Tensions in the Air, and One Afternoon are some of the few that stand out.
One caveat to the contemporary reader: this collection is meant for those who take their literature seriously, and perhaps who also share the author’s tastes. For the uninitiated, the meaning or significance of specific sentences and phrases might be lost, bringing to naught the joy of reading good prose. Phrases like “Kafkaesque knock”, “moustache of a Van Gogh quality”, “a great big Madame Thernadier of a woman”, “Mishima phase” may not strike a chord with everyone.
While the effect and impression of the writing style is captivating, one wishes for more diversity in the plots (apart from better editing to cut down the excesses of ellipses and exclamation marks which can become a distraction). True, the characters and their backgrounds have been modified, but the repetition of mildly altered storylines is a slight let down, given the quality of prose and the literary heights that could have been achieved. Shades of autobiographical references emerge as the protagonists in nearly half of the stories are based in India and the other half in Canada.
The ending of some of the stories could have been made more effective. Most readers prefer stories with denouements that have a satisfying resolution, or at least indicate a logical conclusion. In some of the stories, the ends have been left vague and incomplete. This does not do adequate justice to the otherwise excellent narration.
Two of the stories, In Bishnois Country and A Goan Season, interesting and informative though they were, would qualify more as travelogues than as short stories, and appear the odd men out in the collection.
Night in Kullu and Other Stories will strike a chord with readers who possess a taste for good literature and prefer language to plot.
Paritosh Uttam is the author of Dreams in Prussian Blue
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