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Via her anthology, Rimli Bhattacharya explores all our secret anxieties, and reminds us that there is always more to a person than what we can see.
From what Rimli had shared about her book on Facebook, I expected a book full of life’s ‘little mysteries,’ and now, on reading it, I can confirm that my expectations were fully satisfied.
The Crosshairs of Life, by Rimli Bhattacharya, is an anthology of 15 short stories, each of them a slice of life. Some of these stories, or versions of them, have been published earlier in Cafe Dissensus, Women’s Web, Bonobology, Modern Literature and Your Story Club.
The ‘little mysteries’ are the sort of questions we grapple with everyday. Our personal conundrums that are too tricky even for a Great Detective, because these are the unsolvable problems that keep us awake at night. It is as if Rimli has captured all those anxieties with her pen, and laid them out in ink.
Many of these stories have open endings, often leaving us at a point of crisis or change, so that the reader experiences, even if just for a moment, the same sense of despair, agony, or sometimes even hope, which the characters themselves experience. We are left wondering what they will do next.
The people in these pages are far from perfect. They are deeply flawed and they make terrible decisions. They are however, very real. They commit adultery, they mourn their losses, they experience loneliness, they fall in love with the wrong people. They LIVE. Rimli renders all these complexities of ‘being human’ with a light touch.
The women especially, feel like women I know. Friends, sisters, neighbours. We see them everywhere. Some of them are extremely unlikeable, but Rimli makes sure that even as we dislike them, we understand them.
She doesn’t make the reader reach for the dictionary at all, and yet there is a simple beauty to the prose, that elevates it and builds empathy for the characters. Take this passage from the story, She Was His Lolita:
“She also wrote poems, essays and songs. But mostly, she kept to herself and her writings – which she never shared. It was for her to keep locked in the closet. She could not recollect where she kept the keys; maybe she had lost them in the tide of life. ‘Let it be,’ she thought. Keys are worldly and don’t have any emotional value but what she missed were the words which she had written decades ago.’
Simple sentences, which don’t really describe in detail the emotions of the protagonist, but somehow, we still feel that pang of regret and loss.
Some of my favourite stories from this collection are, That Best Friend, Rani, Those Voices, and Nocturnal Adventure.
Do take a chance on Rimli’s book. You may just find someone you know, in one of the stories. It could even be you.
If you would like to pick up a copy of The Crosshairs of Life by Rimli Bhattacharya, use our affiliate links at Amazon India, and at Amazon US.
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Image source: Rimli Bhattacharya
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This post has published with none or minimal editorial intervention. Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
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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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