Afterbirth and Other Stories

Rarely Does Prose Capture The Vagaries Of The Human Spirit With Such Acuity And Pose. Lyrically Written And Intensely Imagined, Afterbirth And Other Stories Invites Us To See Our Dark And Luminous Selves In An Intimate Relationship. The Stories Resonate With Our Lives And Experiences As They Take Us From A Spitian Village To A Cultural Centre In The Kangra Valley And Further South Of The Great Metropolises Of Delhi And Bangalore. Women Emerge As Protagonists In Most Of The Stories, Laying Bare Their Hidden Aspirations, Designs And Vulnerabilities. The Dubious Demeanour Of A Narcissistic Woman Leads To Unexpected Events, While A GirlS Twisted Dna Costs Her Many A Friendship. A Maidservant Who Has Connections With The Underworld Teaches Her Employer A Valuable Lesson. Through The Eyes Of A Rich Socialite And A Journalist We See The Bizarre And Glorious Workings Of The Human Mind, While An Adolescent GirlS Adoration Of Her Mother Turns Disastrous. The Characters Acquire A Life Of Their Own As Their Stories Run Across Macabre Spaces And Forage Into The Depths Of Their Beings. As We Grow Angry With And Share The Joys Of The Actors, Bleak Truths Are Revealed And Poetic Justice Is Delivered.