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Mango Chutney
In the sleepy rural town of Bikramganj, a halwai named Lachhuman receives a letter from an unseen Lakshmi. A thousand kilometers away in Delhi, a woman waits an eternity for her birth certificate. In the sweltering heat of Chennai, a girl finds solace in her grandfather’s shirt. The stakes are high on the Eurorail on its way to Budapest where two Austrians try to trick an Indian woman at a card game. Back home in Vizag, an egg is being poached to perfection.
Mango Chutney, true to its name, is a potpourri of quality short-fiction by some of India's finest writers. Compiled and edited by bestselling author, Harsh Snehanshu, these stories, with just the right amounts of sugar and tang, shall provoke, tickle and above all, linger in your mind.
Mango Chutney, true to its name, is a potpourri of quality short-fiction by some of India's finest writers. Compiled and edited by bestselling author, Harsh Snehanshu, these stories, with just the right amounts of sugar and tang, shall provoke, tickle and above all, linger in your mind.
- GenresShort Stories
Paperback
Published January 1, 2014
15 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Harsh Snehanshu
10 books169 followersHarsh Snehanshu is twenty-five but looks older. After graduating from IIT in 2011, he invested a year each on entrepreneurship, pan-India travel, and the Young India Fellowship – a prestigious one-year fellowship in the liberal arts. During 2012-13, he travelled solo across the country on a shoestring budget, sleeping wherever there was space and eating whatever was available, discovering India and a bit of himself. His fascination for stories and abundance of grey hairs are results of this wanderlust and reflection.
The author of Green Mango More, Mango Chutney, Because Shit Happened: What Not To Do In A Start-up! and the bestselling Kanav-Tanya trilogy, Harsh has sold over 1 lac copies in India. Harsh is a prolific freelance writer, having been published in The Caravan, The Hindu, Tehelka among others. As an exchange student at Sciences Po, Paris in their School of Urban Affairs, Harsh has been fascinated in providing value to people living in urban areas. He is interested in business, people and creating value for people, and right now is setting up a C2C start-up to cater to the needs of the urban residents.
You could reach him at:
www.facebook.com/harshsnehanshu1
www.twitter.com/harshsnehanshu
The author of Green Mango More, Mango Chutney, Because Shit Happened: What Not To Do In A Start-up! and the bestselling Kanav-Tanya trilogy, Harsh has sold over 1 lac copies in India. Harsh is a prolific freelance writer, having been published in The Caravan, The Hindu, Tehelka among others. As an exchange student at Sciences Po, Paris in their School of Urban Affairs, Harsh has been fascinated in providing value to people living in urban areas. He is interested in business, people and creating value for people, and right now is setting up a C2C start-up to cater to the needs of the urban residents.
You could reach him at:
www.facebook.com/harshsnehanshu1
www.twitter.com/harshsnehanshu
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 9, 2014
A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.” - Lorrie Moore
For me reading a short story is like flying a kite –The spool of thread in your hands. You can let the kite fly high as high as you want to and wander among the clouds. A good short story can play on your mind for a long time. An intriguing cover page, a curious title, and my love for short stories is what made me pick this book up. And yes the book made my patient wait for the book to arrive , worth it. I loved many a stories and liked a few. These will stay on as my favorites.
• Sawai – A very inspiring and humble story which made me feel happy. It takes a couple of paragraphs to realize who Nandlal is.
• Angels and Demons – characterizes how perception can be deceptive.
• The 37th Milestone -Just the 3 pages of this eerie tale kept me hooked to the story
• The perfectly poached egg – Her love for experimental cooking is as beautiful as his love for her! I actually wanted to boil and poach an egg just like the story
• Tainted red - Something about the title made me like the story
• Prem ki chasni –Love can be misleading !! A witty and refreshing read…
February 1, 2020
Mango chutney is a great collection of short stories submitted by writer all across India and is edited by Harsh Snehanshu. The stories are very interesting and every story is better than the previous stories. Overall, its a great pick for bookworms.
September 12, 2015
An extremely well written collection of short stories. I'll write an elaborate review later.
UPDATE 2.07 AM, 13/9/15.
Okay, here it is: writing a review after a long time.
The collection of stories, as was mentioned earlier, is brilliant. Now let me inspect to the bones of each story.
1. Miracle: Frankly, a nice story but not the best of the lot. Sorry.
2. The creation of love: The authoress is famous for her well written stories. This one is good, a bit mundane though. And while I have seen her sensible use of words elsewhere, here her choice of words gives a feeling of forcefully flowery fiction.
3. Wintersong: Small , nice and ... confusing.
4. My grandfather's shirt: Probably one of best of the lot. have to read it thrice to fully devour every inch of its beauty. Truly, SKIN is infectious.
5. Benched: Surrealistic? Theoretical? Abstract? What the f...! Its uncomfortably confusing.
6. The 37th Milestone: Nice attempt for a horror. But to be true, it never gives any shiver.
7. Valentine Lost: Nice love story. But not good enough to be like no 4.
8. Tainted Red: Nice, like the story idea. I mean, really a good story with good style.
9. The birthday boy: I'd rather say it's an unnecessarily forced attempt to present a simple/small story in a complex and tangled web of words. But if it is truly written by a 14 yrs old, I'll be waiting for the writer's upcoming work.
10. The girl who owned castles: Same story, different ending. Not has much impact.
11. The perfectly poached egg: Shows how to write a story out of nothing. A story on making poached egg.
12. Sawai: Nice. Nothing more.
13. Someone with Character: Good mockery. Liked it.
14. Vaman: Good sci-fi with a heart.
15. Not understanding Schnapsens: No, couldn't understand it.
16. The lost cause: Congrats! A story on IIT-JEE. Being in IIT myself, I too feel the lost cause.
17. End of a weekend: Yes, finally found a story worthy of tons of praises. Such a beautiful presentation. A waitress describes her Sunday eve, so scattered, so perfect. Well done!
18. Friedzoned: Okay type.
19. Hamsanadam: WOW! If I knew bharatnatyam, this would be my favourite of all.
20. The life changing present: Short and predictive.
21. The rejection ceremony: Being fat. Being a writer and being a woman. Nice but not good enough.
22. The proof of birth: A different story. Well-written.
23. One a penny: Four connected stories. A nice little treat.
24. Angels and demons: Definitely liked this one. Very well-written.
25. Prem ki chasni: Translation of an old hindi classic. Well done Harsh. You won't get a review harsh!
26. The Postman: Thought it would be an emotional story, turned out to be a funny tale. P.S. I hate the idea of writing a moral (which this one has) at the end of a story. Just a personal thing though. Feels like reading a secondary English grammar book.
Overall, a should be read book. Can't say must-read. But compared to tons of other anthologies, this will give a far better experience.
UPDATE 2.07 AM, 13/9/15.
Okay, here it is: writing a review after a long time.
The collection of stories, as was mentioned earlier, is brilliant. Now let me inspect to the bones of each story.
1. Miracle: Frankly, a nice story but not the best of the lot. Sorry.
2. The creation of love: The authoress is famous for her well written stories. This one is good, a bit mundane though. And while I have seen her sensible use of words elsewhere, here her choice of words gives a feeling of forcefully flowery fiction.
3. Wintersong: Small , nice and ... confusing.
4. My grandfather's shirt: Probably one of best of the lot. have to read it thrice to fully devour every inch of its beauty. Truly, SKIN is infectious.
5. Benched: Surrealistic? Theoretical? Abstract? What the f...! Its uncomfortably confusing.
6. The 37th Milestone: Nice attempt for a horror. But to be true, it never gives any shiver.
7. Valentine Lost: Nice love story. But not good enough to be like no 4.
8. Tainted Red: Nice, like the story idea. I mean, really a good story with good style.
9. The birthday boy: I'd rather say it's an unnecessarily forced attempt to present a simple/small story in a complex and tangled web of words. But if it is truly written by a 14 yrs old, I'll be waiting for the writer's upcoming work.
10. The girl who owned castles: Same story, different ending. Not has much impact.
11. The perfectly poached egg: Shows how to write a story out of nothing. A story on making poached egg.
12. Sawai: Nice. Nothing more.
13. Someone with Character: Good mockery. Liked it.
14. Vaman: Good sci-fi with a heart.
15. Not understanding Schnapsens: No, couldn't understand it.
16. The lost cause: Congrats! A story on IIT-JEE. Being in IIT myself, I too feel the lost cause.
17. End of a weekend: Yes, finally found a story worthy of tons of praises. Such a beautiful presentation. A waitress describes her Sunday eve, so scattered, so perfect. Well done!
18. Friedzoned: Okay type.
19. Hamsanadam: WOW! If I knew bharatnatyam, this would be my favourite of all.
20. The life changing present: Short and predictive.
21. The rejection ceremony: Being fat. Being a writer and being a woman. Nice but not good enough.
22. The proof of birth: A different story. Well-written.
23. One a penny: Four connected stories. A nice little treat.
24. Angels and demons: Definitely liked this one. Very well-written.
25. Prem ki chasni: Translation of an old hindi classic. Well done Harsh. You won't get a review harsh!
26. The Postman: Thought it would be an emotional story, turned out to be a funny tale. P.S. I hate the idea of writing a moral (which this one has) at the end of a story. Just a personal thing though. Feels like reading a secondary English grammar book.
Overall, a should be read book. Can't say must-read. But compared to tons of other anthologies, this will give a far better experience.
August 12, 2022
This book is for any genre and every genre. The short stories cover an array of themes. I had been using the mobile application "YourQuote" developed by the editor Harsh Snehanshu for a long time now. From there only, I got to know about this anthology. The name seemed fascinating and so I ordered it. If you wish to experiment with genres and do not have a long reading span, then one story at a time of Mango Chutney will work wonders for you. My favorite short story is "The Perfectly Poached Egg". The writing style is phenomenal. I never thought that poaching an egg could culminate into an intriguing tale.
Signing off with the favourite quote of the editor,
She left me for a better writer. She left me a better writer.
Signing off with the favourite quote of the editor,
She left me for a better writer. She left me a better writer.
November 15, 2021
It's an anthology of few short stories written by different authors and edited by Harsh Snehansu.
Just like mango chutney the stories are sweet, sour, tangy and salty with more or less spicy.
Just like the simple ingredients which make the mango chutney delicious similarly the mundane things are put together to make a good plot.
I would recommend this book who is looking for something different.
The stories are apprehensive , uncanny and astonishing....
Just like mango chutney the stories are sweet, sour, tangy and salty with more or less spicy.
Just like the simple ingredients which make the mango chutney delicious similarly the mundane things are put together to make a good plot.
I would recommend this book who is looking for something different.
The stories are apprehensive , uncanny and astonishing....
May 8, 2020
Some short stories are good. Many try to be cool but turn out to be self- consciously awkward and unnecessarily obtuse. Short stories work only when there is a twist or a surprise. Documentaries don't work well with the short story format. Three stars for the good stories and two stars taken away for not judiciously excluding some turkeys here in this collection.
October 28, 2014
Well, there’s not much that I can write to introduce this anthology of 27 writers other than admitting that it was indeed a Chutney of varied flavours: some sweet, some salty while some were like neutral placebos to attenuate the effect of the previous tangy story. You gave me 27 short stories. 27 short reviews is what you will have. Now please note that I’ve recorded these thoughts as soon as I finished the stories (for I have read most stories after some gap in between) lest I may forget what I read and felt. If it is too critical, or too flattering, or too biased, hey, that is me - your sincere reader.
Miracle - Sayan Haldar: Nice suspense, but I cannot be sure if the rationale behind the story was to be virtuous and resistant to temptations or the story was in place just for the twist in it. Here we see the fickleness of human character which takes sides, justifies actions and does not question the giver (if it was ethical, if it was good or evil, God, or a masquerade of God) when we’re reaping the benefits, but only realize too late after giving into temptation that it was a trap.
My Grandfather Shirt - Shikhandi: It was the first story of this book that I liked from the title to the conclusion. Very interesting, more so because of the pseudonym and the character narrating the story. The pseudonym and the story are totally in harmony increasing the appeal and the mystery. Quite resonant, and still girlish. Three words: I like it. Skin is contagious, but, oh well, I’ll tell you someday.
...
This isn't the complete review. If you like the tone of this review so far, you can read the rest of the review on Aesthetic Blasphemy (Click here)
Miracle - Sayan Haldar: Nice suspense, but I cannot be sure if the rationale behind the story was to be virtuous and resistant to temptations or the story was in place just for the twist in it. Here we see the fickleness of human character which takes sides, justifies actions and does not question the giver (if it was ethical, if it was good or evil, God, or a masquerade of God) when we’re reaping the benefits, but only realize too late after giving into temptation that it was a trap.
My Grandfather Shirt - Shikhandi: It was the first story of this book that I liked from the title to the conclusion. Very interesting, more so because of the pseudonym and the character narrating the story. The pseudonym and the story are totally in harmony increasing the appeal and the mystery. Quite resonant, and still girlish. Three words: I like it. Skin is contagious, but, oh well, I’ll tell you someday.
...
This isn't the complete review. If you like the tone of this review so far, you can read the rest of the review on Aesthetic Blasphemy (Click here)
June 10, 2016
My ratjng is 4.y
Mango chutney is a collection of 27 short stories. The stories are one different from the other. Each author has set a bench mark of his own. Unlike other short story collections, I am unable to pick my favourite since all are equally good. Harsh Snehanshu has done a great job in compilation.
More need not be said about narration since the author are all legends themselves. The title is the highlight of the book. As the name suggests, the stories are a mix of spicy, tangy, salty, sweet, al the flavours in one. Just like a Mango chutney.
There are very few instances when stories we read haunts us but here each and every story haunts us and we end up having a mix of emotions. Some of the stories could have ended well but I'm not pin pointing them since it did not obliterate the quality.
I recommend the book to all readers who want to have a book worthy of its price
Reviewed for the publisher
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Mango chutney is a collection of 27 short stories. The stories are one different from the other. Each author has set a bench mark of his own. Unlike other short story collections, I am unable to pick my favourite since all are equally good. Harsh Snehanshu has done a great job in compilation.
More need not be said about narration since the author are all legends themselves. The title is the highlight of the book. As the name suggests, the stories are a mix of spicy, tangy, salty, sweet, al the flavours in one. Just like a Mango chutney.
There are very few instances when stories we read haunts us but here each and every story haunts us and we end up having a mix of emotions. Some of the stories could have ended well but I'm not pin pointing them since it did not obliterate the quality.
I recommend the book to all readers who want to have a book worthy of its price
Reviewed for the publisher
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book as a complimentary copy in exchange for a honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
July 11, 2020
Another one of a binge worthy short story collection called “Mango chutney” comprises of fictional stories submitted by writers from across India and is edited by #harshsnehanshu. I read it in 2016 and really feel that it stands true to its name. A potpourri of sweet and sour short stories which may leave you wondering, sobbing, giggling or even awestruck by the end.
Though, the write ups could’ve been better and also the choice of content. .
It’s a 2.5/5🌟✔️
Though, the write ups could’ve been better and also the choice of content. .
It’s a 2.5/5🌟✔️
November 10, 2015
Amazing collection. It's an easy read and it goes to show that there is story writing essence in the young generation. I believe there is future of Indian writing seeing the way the young writers have penned their plots. I salute Harsh for identifying each of them and making an attractive fabric of their writings.
Read
November 7, 2014I am still reading this book but I bought this book for the fact that there is one story by own school teacher, who is also my inspiration - Purba Ray.
Very happy reading this book which is a mix and match of various spices of life. An interesting read indeed.
Very happy reading this book which is a mix and match of various spices of life. An interesting read indeed.
February 28, 2015
It was my first read of short stories. Some of them, I thought needed more narration, and some of them were not able trigger what they intended to (The Postman). But some of them really were really unexpected and touching (especially The Birthday Boy).
Good one time read.
Good one time read.
October 10, 2014
A detailed review is available on the blog :
http://www.iwrotethose.com/2014/08/17...
http://www.iwrotethose.com/2014/08/17...
August 22, 2015
As the name entitled "Mango Chutney" so does the short stories; sweet, sour, salty and tasty :) A nice anthology for light reading :)
September 6, 2015
Extremely diverse topics leads to mood swings .... almost..
March 28, 2017
Excellent collection of short stories !! Go for it !!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews