India is described as a melting pot of cultures. We maybe divided by borders and geography but it’s the empathy towards each other that binds us all together.
The stories in this anthology portrayed cultural mindset in various parts of the world. Soofiya Bano’s story encapsulated the plot of the film ‘Haider’ in few words. It echoed the voice of thousands of sons, fathers, brothers who were wrongfully convicted of their crimes. It described the plight of many ‘Aadibevas’ (One who is not a widow but is constantly looking for her husband). The story ‘Falls’ mirrored its characters who were proficient in English language was rich in prose and vocabulary. ‘Olya’s Kitchen’ talks about the divide between two generations of the family over food whilst the youngest opens a food truck to honour his grandmother posthumously. What started off as a family tradition turned into something sinister that nobody anticipated in “Sunday, Bloody Sunday”. “Pandemonium” was a story which had an old school charm of the 80s. A couple decodes the life of the painter Caravaggio and his erratic moods on the streets of Rome in ‘Artichoke’.
‘The Anthology of New Writing’ indicated an experimental way of writing i.e describing the way people in various parts of the world live and love in a crisp, yet impactful way. It was heartening to view the world from the eyes of a woman. The diversity in the geography, culture, mindset is what made this collection.
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