Review in Kashmir Times

Fly on the Wall and Other Stories

Author: Shubha Sarma

Publisher: Lifi Publications, New Delhi, India

Year of Publication: 2013

Price: Rs 240                                 Pages: 208

ISBN: 9789382536406

Reviewed by Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander

Writing Short Stories needs a different craft, hold on language and treatment of the subject. Not everybody can write a short story. Writing meaningful and interesting stories requires grasp and expertise of both the plot and language. Unlike writing novels, the genre of short stories is difficult because one’s canvass is small, hence economical use of prose and brevity become inevitable. Inspite of the hardwork and seriousness this craft and genre of writing deserves a lot of writers have proved their mettle while crafting beautiful stories. Shubha Sarma is one such writer whose collection of short stories is under review.

In his foreword to the collection K Satchidanandan writers, “Characters etched lucidly as on ivory, situations that look so real in their contexts, strategies that enhance the fascination of the unfolding narratives, subtle ways of critiquing society’s cant and the hidden greed and violence in human beings, the nuanced condemnation of patriarchy in its various crippling incarnations, styles and modes that perfectly suit the stories being told: all these make this an enchanting collection of highly readable short stories”. (P-xiii)

The collection derives its name from the lead story that describes the dark sexual and lustful character of a doctor whose death causes many people whom he had hurt, brutalized and even deceived to turn nostalgic but each one of them pays rich tributes to him at his funeral. The manner in which these well guarded secrets are remembered and the lip service paid to the deceased, portray a dichotomy, wherein lie the epitome of the story.

The violence that accompanies political ideologies, patriotism and patriarchy has been lucidly described in stories like Flesh and Blood and No Mans Land, where in tussle between loyalty and love ensures. The depiction of human qualities of love and empathy that sometimes over ride one’s loyalty towards an ideology and worldview make readers pause to introspect. The triumph of love over loyalty accompanied by violence conveys a strong message.   

Dinner at Bukhara gives a peep into the life of three friends who meet after a long time with their lives in turmoil. Infidelity, Disloyalty, sexual preferences are discussed among them.

Love appears to be a permanent theme and feature of Shubha’s stories. Sunset Surprise describes lovers who desire to fall in love and who come across each other at a meeting arranged by their parents. The Tabla’s Refrain describes the love of two siblings for their elder brother who has a penchant for music. The father refuses to buy Tabla for his son, so his two little siblings start to sell vegetables to collect money for buying the Tabla. These gestures and sacrifices for love make the reader aware about the belief of Shubha in love. While on one hand we have stories depicting love, Shubha doesn’t seem oblivious about the lack of love in society too. The story The Buda is a testimony of the same. How the old people are considered as burden, even their own family members want them dead. The character in the story mixes death with religious pilgrimage but survives and coincidentally brings money too. That changes the attitude of the family towards the oldie.

Being a civil servant the red tapism, corruption and flaws of the system become manifest in Shubha’s stories like Human(s) Matter, Bitter Sweet and Case No. 33/08. These stories depict how the system ousts those who try to work for its reform. How only the low level clerks meet the disciplinary action while the big fish go scot free. Plus in many cases the enquiries against the erring officials are conducted by other civil servants who subvert the process of justice and reinforce the belief that justice can’t be dispensed by the government.

The collection also contains other stories like Rain where the story weaves multi dimensionally involving multiple plots and characters. It imaginatively depicts what can happen in rain. A Chance Encounter deals with the subject of paranormal activity involving a spirit of a dead man. It is creepy. The Demons Within is a suspense filled mystery dealing with a blind double murder case.

Thus this collection has a story for reader of every taste. It has got no general theme, but it has stories that cater with different plots and characters. The reader finds it easy to be associated with any of these characters and the plots are drawn from day to day affairs. The storyline can be nicely comprehended. The collection is a recommended read as Shubha weaves her stories with human emotions and dedicated honesty of an emphatic soul that leaves an indelible imprint on the mind of her readers. I hope Shubha will continue to write lyrical prose with strong plots and characters in future too. I will look forward towards her next collection.  

M.H.A.Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar, Kashmir and can be reached at sikandarmushtaq@gmail.com

Coverage of the Book Discussion on DD News

The book, Fly on the Wall & Other Stories has received an overwhelming response from readers. After the last book discussion organized by the Civil Services Officers' Institute, New Delhi, another discussion was held in Oxford Book Depot, New Delhi on 28 December 2013. Some of the photos of the panelists, Shri Jawhar Sircar, Dr.Yashodhara Mishra and Dr.Asaduddin and other guests are available for viewing on the blog. The event was also covered by DD News and one can view the video on the link below:

http://youtu.be/Eh-e_2z37Iw

Some Photographs of the Book Discussion

A book discussion was organized on 28 December 2013 at Oxford Book Depot, New Delhi. The panel comprised of eminent persons from the field of literature- (from Left) Dr.Yashodhara Mishra, Guest Editor, Indian Literature; Dr.Mohd. Asaduddin, Head, Department of English, Jamia Milia Islamia and Shri Jawhar Sircar, Chief Executive Officer, Prasar Bharati and educationist. Here are the panelists and the author, Shubha Sarma.

The evening began with a short reading of excerpts from two stories from the book. The idea was to give the audience a flavour of the book. 

This was followed by comments from the panelists. Dr.Yashodhara Mishra also played the role of the Moderator of the session. Here Dr.Asaduddin is seen making a point.

A large number of friends and well-wishers turned up for the book discussion. Scholars such as Shri Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee and Mr.Sreenivas Rao, Secretary of the Sahitya Akademi graced the occasion.

Thank you Allhadini for making an effort to read the book, sharing your views on it and joining us for the book discussion.

Shri Jawhar Sircar, CEO, Prasar Bharati, listening to the other panelists.

Dr.Yashodhara Mishra, Guest Editor, Indian Literature, enthralled the audience with her incisive comments.

The publisher, Mr.Mittal, and his entire team was there to lend support.

Bhaskar, Anu, Sandeep, Mrinmayee and Kausalya were all ears for the discussion. Thank you for coming and above all, giving me your honest feedback about the book.

Mr.Jawhar Sircar's wit and energy was the highlight of the day. His comments were sharp and oh so true!

During the course of the discussion, Dr.Yashodhara Mishra wanted a particular phrase from the story, The Buda. Here, we are trying to find the exact reference.

My husband, Bhaskar, in deep thought.

Fly on the Wall & Other Stories on sale at Oxford Book Depot.

Femina carries an article on "Fly on the Wall & Other Stories"

In its December 2013 issue, Femina has carried a small feature on women from different walks of life. I have been very fortunate to have been included among them, as the author of "Fly on the Wall & Other Stories".

Unlike most of the other publications, Femina has focussed more upon my career and personal life, and its impact upon my writing. I could not agree more. If my professional life was not spent in the rural hinterlands of Odisha and my personal life so closely linked to Assam, the stories would have been altogether different.....

My book is a 'Potpourri'

This is the second review which refers to Fly on the Wall & Other Stories as a potpourri. First it was The Hindu and now The Pioneer. 
The Free Online Dictionary defines potpourri as  'A miscellaneous anthology or collection: a potpourri of short stories and humorous verse' (Source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/potpourri)
Indeed some of the stories are humorous, though it is wry humor and not of the slap-stick variety. Others are full of pathos and mixed emotions that stir the reader. It's a great review and I am glad they reviewed the book soon after its launch. I have only one disagreement- unlike what the reviewer states at the end, there is no message for the reader. 
Read the Review

Sharing space with Power Women

Good Housekeeping in its anniversary issue celebrates nine years of existence. It is called the Special Power Issue and features the very glamourous and beautiful Karisma Kapoor on the cover. Its contents include Power wives, power naps and good reads. The section on good reads carries a full article on yours truly, in my new avatar of author, courtesy Fly on the Wall & Other Stories.
The article raised difficult questions such as how does one balance work and personal life and ended with celebrating the fact that despite being a mother, wife and professional, one was able to find time to write. For most of the women I know, balancing work and personal life is a continuous struggle. For me, on more occasions than one, it has meant guilt pangs, guilt pangs and some more guilt pangs. Each time one is not around when needed by one's family, the monster of a guilty conscience raises its ugly head.
In this interview by Good Housekeeping, I have been portrayed as a multi-tasker, who manages work, family and a book. I am not sure if it is entirely true. But if they think so, great!

India Today Woman carries a snippet on the author of Fly on the Wall & Other Stories

The Reviews are coming in.....

And on an online site (Induswomanwriting.com), that promotes creative writing by Indian women, there is another review.

This site encourages writing and allows contributions to be published online for a wider audience. 

The review is succinct and hard-hitting. It captures, in very few words, the essence of the book. As the reviewer states, I do admit that my stories, at least some of them, are not really short. However, the dictionary defines a short story as "a prose narrative of shorter length than the novel, esp one that concentrates on a single theme". I believe that most of my stories are focussed and deal with one issue at a time. Further, a "short story" is supposed to be shorter than a novel and deals with only a few characters. So my tales will pass both tests and can qualify as 'short stories' though they may not all be very short!

Read more of the review on Induswoman.

LiFi Publications stall at the Delhi Book Fair

It's always been a pleasure to visit book fairs. I still recall the ones at Lucknow, where I would go with my parents and come back with books. So, it's a matter of great honour to have my book occupying centre stage at LiFi Publications Stall at the Delhi Book Fair. Several well-wishers who visited the book fair, came back with copies of the book. Happy reading to them and all the other readers.

Review in Governance Now by Trithesh Nandan

A lot of people have expressed surprise that bureaucrats can write. Some have been astonished that those who spend their lives immersed in officialese are able to write a few pages that does not put the reader to sleep.
This feeling has been captured by the review carried by Governance Now, which finds parallels between some of the stories about government and real life. incidentally, all these were written several years ago and have no relationship to the current developments, which the reviewer alludes to. It just shows that somethings never change.
Read the review
 An officer and a writer: beyond mundane bureaucratic notes

A 'Fly on the Wall' touches theme of different facets of life by a member of Indian civil services.

TRITHESH NANDAN | SEPTEMBER 27 2013

Shubha Sarma, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, is inspired by Tolstoy, Chekov, O Henry and Indian literary greats like Premchand and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Like these literary greats, Sarma has woven compelling narrative of short fictional stories in her maiden book, titled 'Fly on the Wall and Other Stories'. The book has 13 engaging stories that capture Read more