The Southern Concoction - An Anthology of Short Stories by Janneker Lawrence Daniel

When a Professor of English writes a book of short stories, the readers are in for a literary feast. This anthology boasts of five stirring stories which touch the heart in myriad ways. All of them are based in the Indian subcontinent and have themes that cannot be dovetailed into separate compartments.

The first story, ‘The Banana Leaf’, deals with the dilemma of the stateless and homeless Rohingyas and the trepidation surrounding their search for a place they can call home. It throws light on the unceasing work done by human rights activists to save refugees, and the beauty of the story is enhanced by its poignancy.

‘The Crossover’ has a different tale to tell as it strives to explore the challenges of growing up and discovering that one is different. Cross-gender issues have been addressed and handled positively here.

What happens when an entire city comes out in protest against a company that has not been protecting their rights? One young father becomes “part of the human flood walking for the sake of their children and their city”. The story, ‘The Red Ball’, wrenches the heart even as it delivers a sucker punch.

Janneker Lawrence’s stories reveal a sense of nostalgia and an old-world charm, whether in the saga of the outlaw of Tinnevelly, Jambulingam, whose strength was “the stuff of folklore” in ‘Captain of the Watch’. Or the friendship between Ananthapadmanabhan and Eustachius De Lannoy, whose lives crossed in Colachel in Travancore after a ruse akin to that of the Trojan Horse in the Iliad.

The author’s love of nature comes out in his picturesque descriptions of humming forests punctuated by “the music of the wild” and “the occasional trumpeting of wallowing elephants.”

Janneker Lawrence Daniel has used the eternal motifs of friendship, bravery, humaneness and fear to embroider the fragments of his stories, a technique that makes them stand out against the fabric of the world. He uses the felicity of his language and his intuitive use of the right word to perfection.

A few printing errors notwithstanding, this is an anthology that needs to be picked up and savoured. Here's to many more stories and books by this erudite author!