Resumo de The Silence Of Time & Other Stories

The Silence of Time & other stories by Kripa Nidhi is easy to read and racy with believable characters. The accent is on relationships where things are left unsaid and often incomplete. The story A boat in the river is about an inseparable threesome who fall apart with time. The relationship between the three ? Annie, Chandra, and the writer ? remains largely unexplained except towards the last where the reader discovers that the flamboyant Chandra did have a relationship with the rather pious Annie who commits suicide after murdering Chandra?s son. She also leaves a rather tedious confessional note behind making the reader wonder if something was indeed going on between her and the writer as well.
Surprisingly enough, most relationships remain platonic even as the stories explore the complex contours of man-woman associations with zeal. An outstanding example being the first story in the collection Before the storm which is revealed through dialogue mainly between two school friends. What starts as playful taunts soon gives way to tears and recriminations. From witty to somber, the story moves at a brisk pace leaving the reader breathless.
Among the best stories is Face To Face about two strangers who share the same mental space without interacting or exchanging a single word through a rather wearying train journey from Trivandrum to Delhi.
The best piece in the collection by far is The other side of dreams which is the bitter-sweet story of an innocent village girl turned prostitute. The narrative which is in the first person, is so deeply reminiscent of the Kamleshwar classic Aagami Ateet or Past Forward (this was later adapted by Gulzar into a famous film called Mausam) that the coincidence is hard to ignore. The protagonist?s trajectory ? from pure innocence to hardened cynicism ? is pitiful and crushing, but above all, credible.
At times the schmaltz-dipped passages all but kills the narrative. Witness the following in The Silence of Time, for instance: ?Six years later, I am back on these roads ? these roads that have remained etched within me, much as I might have tried to bury them in the labyrinth of my daily life in the years I was away?? The rest of the story carries on in a similar maudlin vein. One wishes the writer (or at least the editor) had aimed at more subtlety for the sake of impact. One also wishes the editors at Rupa & Co. had worked harder at tightening up the language in some places. These glitches notwithstanding, The Silence of Time, is a pretty good read.

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