After The Rain: Stories that bind us

by Asha Iyer Kumar

Is closure important in life?

Among life’s endless oddities, regret has a special place. The ‘what ifs’ and ‘only ifs’ assail us right from the childhood until the fag end of our lives. And closure is an elusive state that some of us receive, some of us construct, and still some of us never see it at all. When an aging actress re-examines her journey, a doting husband obsesses over the perfect gift, two lovers try to find privacy, a human statue looks for worth, and an old couple find friendship by chance—they are all hoping for closure.

These men and women are so identifiable with their secret sorrows, open wounds, misplaced emotions and a niggling sense of regret that they spring into life, look in our eyes, and ask, ‘Haven’t we met sometime, somewhere?’

What do they do when the conflicts and contradictions of life overwhelm them? Do they accept their fate with resignation or fight it to finish?

'After the Rain – Stories that bind us' is a poignant collection of stories about these characters. It is an insight into the hidden strengths and weakness that decide the course of their life.

130 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2019

Reviews

[Bharath · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a set of 5 short stories and I liked most of them. They are simple, with loveable characters (no evil characters in any story!) and points to ponder.

1) After the rains: Seema is an actress past her prime. There was a time when she was the toast of the nation with men desperate to see her on-screen. She is now lonely, but feels close to her maid Laxmibhai. Laxmi had an abusive father, who was finally killed by her mother, after she could not take it any longer. Seema initially thinks she is very lucky as her parents had a wonderful relationship, but is soon to discover there are secrets she did not know about. There are layers uncovered to the story as we read on.

2) A Gift for Mangalam: Selvan works abroad in the Gulf as a labourer and is tense about what gift to get for his wife. She had complained about his casual attitude during the previous visit. After much thought, Selvan chooses a gift for her – but will she like it? A simple and impactful love story with good characterisation.

3) Evil Predator: Madhu moves to Dubai from Sri Lanka and stays with her cousin Himani. Her husband Ranjan was killed in a bomb blast and she is trying to get on with life. She meets a cab driver Armaan from Afghanistan and develops feelings for him. Considering their divergent backgrounds, she wonders if it will lead anywhere and whether Armaan is sincere about their relationship. This story is a bit abrupt and leaves many unresolved issues – but in a sense it adds to the charm.

4) The Disguise: Ramayya and his wife Rukku struggle to make ends meet. He has recently lost his job and thinks of a novel way to earn some money. I found this the weakest story as it suffers from inadequate character depth & storyline.

5) Visit Visa: Jayshri Agarwal, now in her sixties visits her daughter Ananya in Dubai. She goes for a walk in the evenings and quite unexpectedly for her, finds herself conversing with a stranger Arun Sharma (also in his sixties) who has a liking for poetry, especially Gulzar, other than writing his own.

I especially liked stories 1), 2) & 5) and not that I disliked the others. A charming set of stories overall, which I certainly recommend.

My rating: 3.75 / 5.

[Veena V · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars.

I saw this book's soft launch from a person whom I follow for her style and she had good words about it. This is my first of the author. And I am happy that I read it. I loved the story "Visit Visa" the most. And all of them were equally good. Now looking for the author's first novel to read.
Cheers!!