Bapi Basu captures a delightful kaleidoscope of colourful vignettes from life in one of the most interesting of literary genres, the short story. Warm, realistic, affectionate and with a sardonic sense of humour, these have been written with considerable insight into the vagaries of human existence, the idiosyncrasies of the wanton mind and the fine pathos of human aspirations…
In Joe and Maria, he recreates the quintessential Anglo Indian household, living on the Goan beach…The narrative opens with the calm quiet of the sea and the seventy year old protagonist Joe, who has become, a creature of habit, only to end in a fearfully sorrowful pathos as the waves grumble miles away to annihilate the calm scene of loving domesticity.
The Family Tree is a deftly woven tale spanning three generations that narrates with incredible realism how the grandson symbolically redeems the family from the curse of promiscuity and passion. And in Baba Bum Booh, Basu reveals with stark comic blatancy the hypocrisy of holy men- pretentious spirituality hiding rapacious gluttony.
In Follow Me the reader is arrested by the exciting situation of the inebriated protagonist who follows his mysterious midnight guide, an apparently attractive woman with just a voice.
The Gambling Man explores the cold cunning of a man which is nonetheless outwitted by chance. The narrative grips the reader for its visual quality as well as the quality of suspense and anticipation.
An entertaining collection, TaleSpin promises to enthral the readers even as it enriches and edifies them. A must read!
