The Purple Lotus and Other Stories

This book presents twelve short stories that are vignettes of life: of men and women who love, dream, and more importantly, who move with the natural ebb of life. Can someone you met on a transatlantic flight be your soul mate? Why is it that two people fail to connect in any meaningful way despite their best intentions and efforts? How can a young boy come to terms with the fact that his dead father is never going to come back? What of the ailing man who can’t stop thinking of the young girl who was a part of his youthful fantasy? How does a conservatively brought-up Indian girl living in Manhattan deal with a live-in partner? These and other refreshing stories from this debut collection explore the finer aspects of love, longing, regrets of failed connections, in ways that any reader will identify with. Set in different cities and towns and across countries, these are journeys of relationships, migrations, and anticipations with engaging moments drawn from memories and fantasies. Ratna Rao Shekar’s stories try to make sense of past and present whilst examining cultural roots and the demands of modern life, and of the passage of time.