If A River and Other Stories: Short Stories

In a narrative that is fresh, spontaneous and inventive, Kula Saikia delves into the inner feelings of his characters to explore their psychological landscape. The complexities of urban living are depicted in apparently simple storylines and day-to-day situations, but the author frequently forays into the minds of the characters to fathom human desires and anxieties. The chaos, violence and disorder occurring in the physical world are reflected in the recesses of the mind, which makes reading the stories both fascinating and puzzling. Saikia’s characters lead a multi-layered life in search of identity and purpose, and display as well as hide their joy and tears.

This collection of twenty stories in English translation represents a rich oeuvre that earned the author the Sahitya Akademi award in 2015, for his ‘post-modernist style of storytelling with an occasional touch of magic realism’.