Note 26
Four stories are featured in the March 2017 release of Out of Print.
An excerpt from Sarnath Banerjee’s graphic novel, All Quiet in Vikaspuri leads the issue. It documents the disintegration of the mining and industrial town of Tambapur from its well-manged, idillyc existence. The multiply talented plumber, Girish must set off to Delhi to seek his fortunes where ultimately he will, as the blurb of the book declares ‘journey to the centre of the earth in search of the mythical river Saraswati’.
All About Love by Shinjini Kumar follows the fate of Archana Mahapatra as she settles into her new flat. Fascinated by traces of the previous owner, Rupali, she embarks on an existence that interweaves Rupali’s imagined life with her own. When her husband is away, she transforms herself to look like Rupali and embarks on an affair but even as the adventure winds down, its consequences echo into her life.
Vinayak Varma’s Instant Karma begins with the lightly stated, ‘And then there was this nun who lived in a creaky little hut on the summit of a holy mountain deep in the Sahyadris’. The story then takes us into the fates and burdens and pettinesses and profundities of the people who are drawn around the nun as she tries to build herself her perfect house.
The Wrong Question is Janet H Swinney’s closely observed contribution that describes the birthday celebrations of a guru at a yoga shala. The many devotees and volunteers that people the story listen to the guru, but come alive as a young boy speaks from the stage. And the old guru, addicted to sweeties, and prescribing ‘practice’, must confront the limits of his own truth and influence.
The art on the cover of Out of Print 26 is by Mithu Sen.