India News | Writer Namita Gokhale's Collection of Short Stories Set to Release This Week

New Delhi, Jan 13 (PTI) Writer Namita Gokhale will explore themes of love, lust, fate, and death in her upcoming book, a collection of 15 stories, titled "Life on Mars: Collected Stories".

The book, scheduled to release this week, brings together previously published and new short stories by the Sahitya Akademi awardee.

Also Read | Thane: Man Accused Having Sex With Bar Singer on False Promise of Marriage Arrested.

"The short stories in the collection 'Life on Mars' reflect different phases of my life and writing. Some of the recent, previously unpublished stories, written after the dislocations and alienations of recent years, have a new voice and way of seeing. I am intrigued by the possibilities of short fiction, and hope to take it further in future work," said Gokhale in a statement.

Published by Speaking Tiger, the volume arranged in two sections — ‘Love and Other Derangements' and ‘The Mirror of the Mahabharata' — is about "women and men who swim or sink in the ceaseless river of life".

Also Read | Liquor, Meat Ban in Madhya Pradesh: CM Mohan Yadav-Led Government Considering To Impose Ban on Sale of Alcohol and Meat Near Religious Sites.

"Two lonely people connect briefly during the Covid pandemic. A woman finds companionship with an unusual young man the same age as her absent sons. A one-night stand in Rishikesh ends in a surprise not once, but twice. Kunti and Gandhari, queens in the evening of their lives, try to cope with their private griefs after the slaughters of the Kurukshetra war.

"A swan relates the story of the doomed lovers Nala and Damayanti. After one man drowns and another is saved, a stone reflects on the inner lives of men and stones," are among the stories as described by the publisher.

Gokhale has written 24 works of fiction and fiction, including the novels "Paro: Dreams of Passion", "Shakuntala", "Things to Leave Behind", "The Blind Matriarch" and "Never Never Land"; and edited several anthologies.

A co-founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, she is also the recipient of several awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Centenary National Award for Literature and the Sushila Devi Literature Award.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)