Title:Urban
Shots:Crossroads
Editor:Ahmed Faiyaz
Publisher:Grey
Oak/Westland
Price:INR 199
At a time when the
market is cluttered with innumerable similarly plotted,un- inspiring works by
debutant writers,Crossroads(the second in the Urban Shots series from Grey
Oak/Westland India)comes like a breath of fresh air.An anthology which explores
the conflict,chaos and the confusion in the lives of interesting and colourful characters
in Urban India,Crossroads penned by 26 young authors and edited by the best
selling author Ahmed Faiyaz is definitely a must read for all those who have a
penchant for good short stories.Most of the stories in this compilation are
fresh and compelling which makes this book totally worth your time and money.
The good thing about
Crossroads is that the book is well edited and it has got characters whom the average Indian can easily relate to.The
book also doesn’t have much grammatical errors or spelling mistakes which is
quite common these days.
The Best of the Lot
1.Baba Premanand’s Yoga
Class:
Paritosh Uttam takes a dig at mob
psychology and yellow journalism in this story of Dr Basu,a veteran
gynaecologist who becomes the ‘breaking news’ for all the wrong reasons.
2.Cross Roads:
Best selling author Sahil Seth is
confused whether to choose between his wife and his lover.What I liked the most
about this story by Ahmed Faiyaz was it’s un expected climax.
3.The Gap:
This story of a single mother and
her seventeen year old daughter by Saritha Rao deals with generation gap.
4.Mind Games:
Manisha Dhingra tells the tale of a
loving husband and his mentally unstable wife.Watch out for the terrific twist in the end!
5.Hunch:
Though Karthik K’s Hunch has the
now clichéd theme of terrorism as it’s central premise,the narrative and the
brilliant climax makes this one a good read.
6.Tainted Love:
Rohan Swamy’s Tainted Love has an
emotionally scarred woman –a sex worker-as it’s protagonist.A moving tale of
love,hope and longing in the by lanes of Kamathipura.
7.Footsteps in the dark:
Mini Menon’s leading lady Alice has
a troubled past.Her father died long ago and her mother is not in the best of
her senses.
The book has also got a couple of
okayish ones like Hako(Chandrima Pal),Gautam Gargoyle(Shailaditya
Chakraborty),Wrong Strokes and The Last week(V.Srinivasan).The only story in
this compilation which I found disappointing was Childish Love by Reeti Gadekar(I remember reading the boring ‘families at Home’ by the same author a few years back)
The Final Verdict:On the whole I am giving a
perfect five on five for Urban
Shots:Crossroads.Do pick up a
copy,you won’t regret!
-reviewed by nikhimenon
