时间：2022-09-26 03:48:39
There is an intriguing undertone to Parvati Sharma’s seemingly simple stories that makes you want to stop and pay attention. Read some of them again， even. Her quiet understated writing relaxes you from the beginning—no unnecessary big words， no complex sentences， these stories are not out to impress you with obscurity. The true-to-life characters compel you to read about them； they could be your neighbour， your uncle， your friend， your nephew or， so often， they could be you.
You want to know， for instance， what goes on in the life of Mrs Ghosh， who has just moved from Chittaranjan Park， the Bengali hub in Delhi， to Bangalore， where her fish-frying doesn’t go down well with her neighbours， the Satyamurthys. But as you are reading this sweet little tale， you realise there is more to Mrs Ghosh’s story than just the problem of adjusting to her new life. There is another Mrs Ghosh， whom we can see glimpses of when she goes to Goa.
In this delightful collection of short stories that are such a fine study of human behaviour， the measured tone and fine language win， but what cannot be ignored are the layers of context. Hints and suggestion in these stories show the writer’s opinion on a variety of subjects， from politics to sexuality and even Arundhati Roy （of course）. Charmingly titled The Dead Camel and Other Stories of Love， the word ‘love’ has been used in more than just the conventional sense of the word， though most of the stories are straight after a romantic’s heart. The romantic in you would love Summons， an amusing tale of two girls with a fanciful imagination.
Thoughts that any young person can identify with are scattered all across the slim volume. In The Dead Camel， for instance， （which is definitely the best story in the collection and deservedly chosen for the title）， the young protagonist’s fervent birthday wish is to“settle down， to have someone， something， a flat in Gurgaon even， to protect me from the cold.” Based in cities such as Delhi， Bangalore and Goa， this book reflects the current mercurial state of middle class India’s mind superbly.
Read it—for the language， for the characters， for the straightforward story of everyday India， and for the possibilities therein. The stories don’t always end conclusively， the messages are not always obvious， but that won’t spoil the fun or the beauty， as the case may be. What the author brings to you is fantastic， what you may bring to the book will only make it better. Zubaan， 295