A Negro Couple in Search of Siva: Short Stories

A Negro Couple in Search of Siva contains a collection of short stories by the well known Assamese writer Atulananda Goswami. His short stories reveal the little tragic truths experienced by common men and women often entrapped in irretrievable situations. In these stories, the significant experiences of life, whether these be of a moon-addict amateur violinist or of a charcoal maker nursing a wild rogue elephant in a coal-pit or of a Negro couple from the states searching for their only son’s burial spot, are recreated in a vivid and real manner. The story ‘Eviction’ shows that he is successful in portraying the urban slum life as well. This book should serve as an ideal introduction to his work as the stories are chosen and translated into English by the author himself. It is basically an unabashed celebration of the human and should come as a welcome surprise to those used to and swayed by the merely ephemeral. This short story collection in English will give the readers a fair idea of the author’s achievements as a short story writer.