By Azera Rahman, IANS,
Book: “Laburnum – For My Head”; Author: Temsula Ao; Publisher: Penguin Books-India; Price: Rs.150
New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) Gripping, not in the sense of a thriller novel, but one in which the reader feels compelled to go on as events unfold in each of the tales. Temsula Ao’s collection of short stories, “Laburnum- For My Head” is a sensitively written book, which draws inspiration from the vibrant and troubled region of northeast India.
A bouquet of eight stories, the book is interesting because of its sheer diversity. There is a wide gamut of emotions — heart wrenching, witty and those riddled with irony. There are stories which are inspired from myths and others which are contemporary and very relevant to today’s times.
In short, it has something for everyone.
“Laburnum- For My Head”, the first story in the book, the title of which is same as that of the cover, is about a woman who falls in love with the buttery-yellow Laburnum blossoms- so much so that she decides that instead of a grand tombstone, a Laburnum tree should rest on her burial site and works towards ensuring the same in her lifetime.
Relevant to the present times, “The Letter” is another story in which Ao adeptly portrays the complicated relationship that a village has with an insurgent group and the Indian armed forces, bearing the brunt of both and struggling to balance the two while dealing with their own lives.
The story ends on a poignant note, but not before leaving the reader with an afterthought – what drives ordinary people towards extremism?
On the lighter side is the story of a young Naga boy, Pokenmong, who runs away from his home to the neighbouring state of Assam and does odd jobs to make a living because of his street smart ways. “The boy who sold an airfield” narrates how this boy, with his wit, sells an airfield to unsuspecting villagers.
Some other stories tell the tale of a young girl, who loses her lover in her fight for an independent motherland and is left with a frightful legacy; of a woman’s terrible secret that comes full circle, changing her daughter and grand daughter’s lives; of an expert hunter, who is haunted by the ghost of his prey and asks for forgiveness.
Indeed a powerful, evocative and a brilliant read.