Good Morning

At the end of a session with bookstore owners at the Bangalore Literature Festival last month, nearly everyone in the audience raised a hand when the moderator asked, “Who wants to own a bookstore?” To be surrounded by stories, real and fictional, seems to be the stuff of everybody’s dreams. That’s something we can all relate to at Lounge, and so, we’ve spent the last few weeks bringing together some of India’s finest authors, who have written an original short story for you. From Vivek Shanbhag and Perumal Murugan to Diksha Basu and Harini Nagendra, the authors in Lounge this week are known for their sharp, incisive, timeless and enjoyable writing. Artists Priya Kuriyan, Nithya Subramanian and Satwik Gade bring another layer of meaning with their illustrations. The week we work on the fiction special is always one of my favourites , and this year has been no different. The prompt we gave them was ‘should have, could have, can’, leaving it to the writers to interpret as they wished.

There are people who will tell you that they don’t have time for fiction; it’s fanciful and impractical and not what runs the world. But to read fiction is to get to the heart of what is real. Fiction is an escape, yes, but there is also an element of truth within the world that writers create, which is what makes their stories so compelling, and you’ll find this quality in each of the stories in Lounge. Fiction can be a means to become aware of or to wish for a different reality. It can give you clarity into the world around you and can arm you with knowledge to live better. Or as Tennessee Williams wrote in The Glass Menagerie, “I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.” Happy reading and happy 2024.

     

'A Strange Story' by Vivek Shanbhag

I’m particularly thrilled that we have Vivek Shanbhag and Srinath Perur collaborating on their first short story, a deceptively simple story about the nature of truth. A writer finds himself secluded in Shillong, in a cottage with little company except the blank sheet of paper staring at him. A fan turns up, and tells him a story—but is it truth or fiction? Read more

     

'Cutting' by Perumal Murugan

Perumal Murugan returns to our pages—he last wrote for the 2022 Lounge Fiction Special—and shines a light on the special hold that animals have over humans. Mayilaan, who can’t stop himself from spending his pay on a ‘cutting’—a quarter bottle of local alcohol, emerges from a three-day drinking binge to realise that his wife and children have left, and his dog Tiger is starving. Yet, as soon as he has some money in hand, he heads towards to local liquor shop. Can Tiger stop him? Read more.

     

'Sleuthing for Suffrage' by Harini Nagendra

Harini Nagendra, who will publish the third book in her Bangalore Detectives Club series in May and is busy writing the fourth instalment, has her detective Kaveri solve a mystery within an afternoon, while making a point about women’s rights. Kaveri and her team of amateur sleuths, which includes Ramu, Uma aunty and other friends and well-wishers, has become one of my favourite detectives over the last few years, and it’s great to have a short story from this versatile writer of fiction and non-fiction. Read more.

     

'No lingering' by Nandita da Cunha

Nandita da Cunha brings to life a side of Mumbai that’s being encroached upon, the fishing villages and East Indian communities that were once the backbone of the city. Can heritage be saved with tourism? Can a city develop while retaining its old ways of life? Her sharp, witty and well-paced story asks questions about heritage, community and etiquette. Read more.

     

'In-flight readings' by Vikramajit Ram

The worst of the pandemic is over. A young doctor finds himself flying home after months of saving lives and losing patients in the ICU. His parents, both doctors, have also perished in the pandemic. Will he head home to meet his brother and new sister-in-law or quickly turn back to bury himself and his losses in work? Read more.

     

What we want to read in 2024

The Lounge team’s piles of unread books loom taller every year, yet, here we are, adding to them by picking the best of the forthcoming releases that we want to read. From a book about maps of India to Marquez’ latest to books on fashion, climate change and relaxation, find our list of books to read in 2024. Read more.

     

Shalini Umachandran is the Editor, Mint Lounge.

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Written and edited by Shalini Umachandran. Produced by Nirmalya Dutta.