"It was a wonderful experience interacting with you and appreciate the way you have planned and executed the whole publication process within the agreed timelines.”
Subrat SaurabhAuthor of Kuch Woh Pal
The fifteen stories in this collection are a blend of varied human experiences, characters, emotions, moods, and times. A bit like the diverse ingredients, textures and flavours that come together in ‘mixture’!
Tragedy forges a link beyond time through an author’s works; a philosopher-thief expresses himself in a language unique to his city; the ancient, the inert, reach out to be heard; a celebration of a long-vanished river draws an unexpected presence. A surprising bond between the deceased and ‘the emissary’ forms ‘over’ death ceremonies; a long-ago act of anger offers a glimpse into a vanishing way of life. Two stories draw their essence from the Mahabharatha – one gives voice to lives crushed by choices they did not make, while another explores the thoughts of one of the epic’s more enigmatic characters.
While the landscape largely reflects a South Indian, at times Chennai-centric, milieu, the stories, filled with empathy, humour, and explorations into what it is to be human, speak to everyone.
Ranjitha Ashok
RANJITHA ASHOK is a Chennai-based freelance writer, columnist, and a regular contributor to Madras Musings, the fortnightly newspaper dedicated to the history and heritage of Chennai, founded by renowned historian, journalist, and Chennai Chronicler, S. Muthiah. For nearly a decade, she, along with cartoonist Biswajit Balasubramanian, ran ‘a-musing’, a column in Madras Musings, featuring observational humour reflecting every-day life in Chennai and the unpredictable, often unintended twists and trip-ups that are so integral to human experience. A compilation of these columns was published as ‘Chennai Latte A Madras Brew’. Over a period of twenty-five years, she worked and collaborated with S Muthiah on several book projects. She is also the author of ‘A World of Difference – Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children’.
She can be contacted at ranjitha.musings@ gmail.com.
