Book Review: Going home in the rain & other stories by Monideepa Sahu

The first thing that hits you in Monideepa Sahu’s collection of stories, Going home in the rain & other stories is the easy, placid flow of words and the conversational style with which the author holds forth her stories told to her readers, as if the two were sitting in a garden or a park, just watching the world go by.

Yes, watching! For this is the second thing that strikes you about the author; it is as if there is a sense of quietude with which the author writes her stories, as if to say, she is the ‘watcher’ herself of these stories, flowing like a river before her eyes.

And yes, you are mesmerized by the feeling too and read on, like you are sailing through the content of the book, without the slightest jerk or question on your mind. Not once, remember, you have had to look up the dictionary for a word.

Shashi Deshpande has said on the cover of the book, “A classic story teller”. You can believe it, because, the characters in the stories are believable, indeed, they seem to be inspired by real life characters. The language, the nuances, the location at which the stories are placed are real, and even if you have lived there many years, through the author’s eye for detail, you will begin to see, things, you always saw but never really noticed! The exceptional attention to detail, the minute observation and excellent description, the warmth in human relationships, present and memory of the past, all add to exquisite, straight from the heart writing skills you can’t avoid but see.

There are fourteen stories in all of 101 pages, of various lengths. The one pager many have a bigger punch, though, like did one story titled Mother, while a longer one, like Hoshi’s Bombay, brings home the point of coming to terms with loss of a friend, in the most touching way. Pishi’s Room, is a delightful, brilliant idea, once read, the reader might want to emulate, while Road Kill may bring tears to the eyes of the reader and throw fresh light on road rage. For me, The Tainted Canvas brought in new thoughts of creative release of anger, but really, the title story, Going home in the rain, shook me completely, as it would anyone, far away from home and yet coming ‘home’ to a new home, in a new city and experiencing lost moments with a parent, with the new ‘foster-mother’ of sorts. I loved its sense of belonging.

In the synopsis, it is written, “Everyday situations and people reveal extraordinary facets.” Indeed, this is the key to the stories.

The book is light to carry and can fit into a laptop, iPad cover bag, to open at leisure and read, especially as a relaxation or for the love of good written words. But, remember, even when you have put the book down, it might be a while before the ‘silence’ of the words leave your mind.

Do enjoy and witness the stories.

Publisher: Kitaab
Author: Monideepa Sahu
Pages: 101

Monideepa Sahu is a former banker, who had a wonderful time writing her fantasy adventure novel for young people, Riddle of the Seventh Stone. She has also authored Rabindranath Tagore: The Renaissance Man. Her short fiction has been widely anthologized in India and abroad. She writes opinion pieces and feature stories on literature, art and culture for Deccan Herald and other reputed publications. She lives in Bangalore, India, with her extended family of people, a vintage PC, and countless arthropods. Connect with her at www.monideepa.blogspot.in.

Buy Going home in the rain By Monideepa Sahu HERE 

Riddle of the Seventh Stone Review

Cover Picture credit