Roots and Meanderings

* Ten short stories in English from first time short story writers and some professional writers.
* A collection of short stories on human emotions, friendship, bonding of a mother and child and brother and sister.

This book, born out of Short Stories Contest organized by Learning and Creativity is made up of 10 selected short stories, each from a different author. The range of authors takes in published authors as well as budding short story writers.

Stories (and authors) in this collection are:

1. Mirror, Mirror on the Street (By Kaartikeya Bajpai)
2. AmbCa – The Ambulance (By Arunabh)
3. A Feeling of Togetherness (By Palak Singh)
4. A New Leaf (By Shakun R Narang)
5. B 47/3 Gulabganj (By Shahana Roy)
6. Mom, For You and You Alone (By Gitanjali Maria)
7. My Elongated Shadow (By Beena Raghavan)
8. The Perfect Match (By Sonal Agrawal)
9. The Summers I Remember (By Sunil Guri)
10. When the Bamboo Flowered (By Paulami Duttagupta)

From the introduction:

The Learning And Creativity Short Story Contest had no theme and hence the mix of stories we received formed a prism of myriad colours, colours that reflected human emotions, sketched as they were from imagination and experiences. The stories spun hues and shades of compassion, kindness and friendship through the innocence of childhood, the intense and protective bonding of a mother and child and of a brother and sister and the dogged human zeal of making a difference. Not surprisingly, love shined as the predominant theme in most of the stories but each love story presented a unique visage of love. Some stories were rooted in memories of the years of growing up, some explored the unfathomable roots of love and relationships while others were about journeys that started with humble beginnings and meandered towards achieving dreams. The title ‘Roots and Meanderings’ emerged from this unconventional wreath.

Just as engagingly myriad is the selection of short stories in this Anthology, so is the cross-section of authors who have participated. From established authors who already have published books and anthologies to their credit to newbie first time short story writers, from teenaged writers to professionals who are passionate about storytelling, Roots and Meanderings has brought together the most unusual and yet engaging mix of authors.

Reviews:

By Raj Swaroop
“Roots and Meanderings Anthology of Selected Short Stories is a wholesome package ranging from the joyful to the poignant to fond remembrance and perchance fulfillment. The overt theme is love.”
Read the full review here.

By Lopa Banerjee
“The delightful collection of short stories in Roots and Meanderings has an interesting blend of ordinary, everyday experiences of our mundane surroundings told with simplicity and earnestness and haunting, riveting narratives marked with subtle, poetic and also cinematic style of narration. Read the full review here.