Mysteries Of Love And Its Perils
Shikhandin
LOVE AND LUST: STORIES AND ESSAYS by Vikram Seth Aleph Olio Series (Great Writing about India), 2019, 144 pp., 399
August 2019, volume 43, No 8

Imagine miniature vials of premium perfume curated by a well-known and trusted brand and aesthetically packaged and gift wrapped. Now replace those vials with slices of literary works by some of India’s well known writers enclosed in a hardbound book with a jacket that spells sophistication, stamped with the logo of a publisher that constantly strives to break new ground, and voila! There you have it! Love and Lust: Stories and Essays from Aleph’s Olio series.

It’s a slim, sleek volume. The first page of each section is black with reverse typography, providing a visual extension of the volume’s theme. However, with regard to Love and Lust, it is really a matter of individual reader taste. In all likelihood, this collection of miscellaneous literary offerings by famous Indian literary names on the eternally popular subject of sex and its peripheral emotions will appeal to the haughty bibliophile. It is a book for modulated conversations, among fine china, on languid afternoons.

Love And Lust appropriately begins with an excerpt from Vikram Seth’s tome of a book, A Suitable Boy. Seth’s elegant prose belies the turmoil of emotions within. Those who have read his book will enjoy reliving this storm in a little domestic tea cup. Saadat Hasan Manto’s lust-soaked ‘Tang’ follows as if on cue, thrusting forward a narrative that is literally on the other side of the social spectrum. Manto’s hard hitting and sensuous prose leaves behind a lingering odour, both agreeable and foul, from a low caste woman, a ghatam, who is invited to spend the night in a rich playboy’s bedroom. In ‘A Little Kitten’, Kamala Das deals a light and subtle touch to the hackneyed theme of the confined and neglected wife. The twist at the end of the story is predictable, but Das’s poetic style makes it worth reading.

Continue reading this review