Echoes of the Veena and Other Stories

Author: R Chudamani
Translator: Prabha Sridevan
Publisher: Ratna Books
(Pp 230, ISBN 978-93-86600-57-8, Rs 349)

A collection of short stories by popular Tamil author R Chudamani, the book delves into the life of sensitive people, especially women, struggling in unspoken ways or with minimal ways of revealing their inner selves, to retain their sensitivity in today’s world of gender violence, caste discrimination and elite arrogance. The narration is simple and straightforward. The characters are very realistic across different strata of society and the situations they find themselves so familiar. It’s like actually seeing what’s happening in the story. Every story touches a string in the heart.

The translator has done justice to Chudamani’s work by retaining the flavour and essence, keeping them simple, yet so powerful. All in all, an amazing literary work to be cherished.

–Varsha Verma