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Shefali Tripathi Mehta's Stuck Like Lint could have been an ordinary anthology of stories, except it is not. It is also a story hidden inside the short stories.
Shefali Tripathi Mehta’s Stuck Like Lint could have been an ordinary anthology of stories, except it is not. It is also a story hidden inside the short stories.
Trisha and Debika, are a good writer-editor team, and also very good friends. Suddenly, one day, Trisha disappears, abandoning her editor, Debika, citing a writers’ block. After being MIA for almost a year, Trisha sends across a published book of short stories to Debika. This in turn distresses the latter.
Why did Trisha leave unannounced like this? They were best friends, weren’t they? And yet, Debika feels the urge to read what Trisha has written.
As she goes through the stories, she reminisces about her time with Trisha, their little fights, their love and respect and friendship, about how after a while they could complete each other’s sentences. As she reads the stories, the reader witnesses Debika’s gradual heartbreak.
The reason I praised the format in the beginning was, the author has, on the face of it, written short stories about women and their various journeys, but there emerges from all of these a final story – a sort of culmination of all of them and her relationship with Debika, in one final attempt of a veiled explanation as to why what happened in their lives, really happened in their lives.
Of course that is my interpretation, but that is what was intriguing for me.
All the stories are brilliantly written. You feel the depth of feelings Shefali Tripathi Mehta has poured into each one of them. Generous, easy writing, clubbed with stories from several different lives.
These are fictional women you really do not know, and yet the readers are bound to find a piece of a woman they already know here and there. Women trying to erase memories, women trying to escape their past or sometimes even present, women trying to love with all their heart and failing, many such women. And then there are men in there too, men struggling with patriarchal oppression themselves. The stories are an amalgamation of each moment of our everyday lives – each thought taken and woven into a composition.
If you have a few hours on a warm cozy day or stuck someplace because of the rains, I’d suggest you pick this one up and you’d not be disappointed.
First published by the author on Facebook
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Top image via author’s website and book cover via Amazon
Writes about feminism, books, food and social issues ! read more...
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Menopause is a reality in women's lives, so Indian workplaces need to gear up and address women's menopausal needs.
Picture this: A seasoned executive at the peak of her career suddenly grapples with hot flashes and sleep disturbances during important meetings. She also battles mood swings and cognitive changes, affecting her productivity and confidence. Eventually, she resigns from her job.
Fiction? Not really. The scenario above is a reality many women face as they navigate menopause while meeting their work responsibilities.
Menopause is the time when a woman stops menstruating. This natural condition marks the end of a woman’s reproductive years. The transition brings unique physical, emotional, and psychological changes for women.
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