CURTAINS: STORIES BY 9 WOMEN
Edited by Gayatri Rao,
Unisun, Rs 295

If short stories by less-known women writers fail to attract no more than a niche readership, it is usually due to the stiflingly narrow spectrum of gender-specific issues they often address. Their predictability tends to sap the enthusiasm of even the most empathetic of individuals. Understandably, the reservations will be many when one picks up this compilation of short stories.

But nothing prepares one for the sense of betrayal which one is likely to come away with. The editor has tried her best to stretch the canvas to include themes that are not necessarily woman-centric, and introduce light-hearted tales that temper the bleakness. But one wonders about the selection criteria which justifies clubbing together relatively accomplished stories like ?Ammamma? and ?Rani? by Sarita Mandanna with amateurish, even inept, contributions. Not to mention minor irritants like punctuation errors that mar the narratives.

While ?Curtains? by Andaleeb Wajid (which gives the book its title) about a cloistered housewife, fails to fulfil its promise, Mary Mathew?s love of ?words, words, words? does not help ?The Dance of Death?. Midway through the book, one ceases to try and reason out why non-starters like Deepa Ravi?s ?The Interview? and ?The Luncheon?, and Maya Chandrasekaran?s ?Raghav & Co?, were even considered.

If there is a straw several of these writers from the Indian diaspora in different parts of the world clutch at, it is the twist in their derivative tales. Consider Wajid?s ?To Free a Bird?, Mathew?s ?When Will the Gas Stove Come??, Ravi?s ?Unnikrishnan?s Wedding?, Chandrasekaran?s ?Family Calls?, along with ?The Little Problem? and ?The Loafer? by bureaucrat Sudipta Chatterjee (whose profession is written all over her verbose prose style) and Indira Varma?s ?The Return? and ?The Other Love?. The last two are prime examples of cloying pulp fiction.

Of the trio ? Chandrasekaran, Mandanna and Aruna Nambiar ? who are clearly at ease with the language, Nambiar has contributed to several leading Indian newspapers and magazines. It shows in her amusing ?House for Sale?. Her ?taste for the macabre? is however unmatched by her ability to handle the genre with dexterity, as evident in ?A Cleansing Experience? and ?My Mathematics Teacher?. Chandrasekaran?s ?Be Charming?, on the other hand, has a certain appeal.

If there is a writer in this anthology who truly deserves a mention, it is the Coorg-born, New York-based Mandanna ? the only one not to have been published before. There is a compelling immediacy in her first-person accounts that hooks the reader. Her dialogues ring true and she handles suspense adroitly. Her protagonists are believable, even endearing. The Coorg in which she anchors her stories exudes an irresistible appeal as it comes with a subtle global seasoning. ?Rani?, the most memorable of her triptych of stories, one where local superstition casts a shadow over a contemporary context, grips and sustains the reader?s attention all the way.

While Mandanna leaves an impression, she would do well to resist the temptation of being too inspired by contemporary best-selling fiction. ?Ammamma?, for instance, gives off more than a whiff of Radhika Jha?s Smell and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni?s The Mistress of Spices. Given her potential, it would be a shame if Mandanna were to be judged by the company she keeps within the confines of this collection.