The book has a green cover on which clocks are featured in concentric circles. There are no hands of the clocks to be seen & yet , they are clocks for sure ! On the back cover, a brief write up on short stories is printed. A photo of the author is displayed.
The book begins with the writer dedicating the book to his mother.It is followed by an acknowledgement by the author to his family members & others who helped him to come up with this second book featuring short stories.Next comes the preface wherein the writer states why stories are written.He identifies three reasons .And he says he would like to hear responses from his readers regarding his collection of short stories. The book has 220 pages & there are twelve short stories.All are written in first person. The stories are simple & yet interesting.
The first tale is about Snehlata who is an ordinary housewife. She is transformed after a tragedy strikes. Is she the blood sucking monster that she is made out to be ? Or, is she the same simple housewife she was ? Or has she changed & what brought about that change ?
Another tale is about past life ? What is past life ? Is there a future life as well ? What is karma & karmphala ? If we do good, does it mean that only good will come to us ? Is that a guarantee for sure ?
The author pens a tale about being content in the quest for happiness.In another story, he tries to state the difference between religion & dharma .While another chapter is about how fear & danger are not the same.
Some stories like the price rise one is a story which can be called a classic because , price rise is something which is a bane of the times & will always remain so. Prices will never fall,isn't it ?
There are tales on our polity .One is about how the most important duty of voters is to go out & vote on election day & why it needs to be done. Another story is about how we, the people, keep passing the buck & blame others for the mess we are in. We forget that the buck stops with us.
A short story about lessons learnt by the author when he won in sports & lost also forms part of this short story collection. Yet ,another tale is about how greed can land anyone in greater problems . Another tale is about how hierarchy & loyalty need to be distinguished for discipline.
All in all, all stories are something which readers will easily identify with. The language is simple & easy to follow. A good collection of short stories worth a read !
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