Embracing the strange realities

Polymorphism

Author: Indira Chandrasekhar

Publisher : HarperCollins

Price :  Rs 350

This set of short stories introduces the readers to different versions of reality and opens space for emotional growth, writes SNEHA

Polymorphism is a collection of nineteen short stories based on the ideas of variation and transformation. Thematically, the stories are loosely grounded upon emotional regeneration, growth, restoration and loss, expressed through narratives which are mostly open-ended. Smoothly paced, they begin with a sense of familiarity and end in strange realities, leaving the reader surprised. A biophysicist by profession, Chandrashekhar, even as she creates a parallel reality for the readers, is in total control of the strangeness of her fiction.

The collection opens with the story “Polymorphism”. The story revolves around Charu and her metamorphosis into a non-human entity with practically no control over her physicality. She is deeply remorseful at having hurt her two kids. This manifests by way of her body floating mid-air. The strange experience of transforming into a thing and losing herself, leaves her deeply perplexed. It makes for an interesting read.

“Adoration”, another story in the collection which features in the anthology, tells us Devpriya’s story from the perspective of the protagonist. It is a typical Bombay romance — a Bollywood star, a slumboy-lover, vanity, and conceit.

Polymorphism, a speculative fiction, contains both utopic and dystopic themes. “Embryotic”, for instance, reminds one of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It is the tale of a woman who is first acquainted to the embryotic state of her house-help by a purple boil on her hand which later grows into an embryo, leading to the birth of a child. All of this is very enchanting for the protagonist. It makes her embark on her own quest to experience an embryotic growth. Despite being told not to be a part of the embryotic cult, she gets her own embryotic plant. And a new kind of reality takes shape.

“The Shift” takes its readers to a perfect setting in the life of a couple. An open-ended tale, it leaves the reader wondering what really happened in the magical waters of the beach.

Chandrashekhar narrates each of her stories with comparative ease. The author’s held back style of writing makes it a very interesting read.  Overall, the writing is concise, meaningful, fresh, modern and to the point. A terrific mix of social and biological facts, the stories are easy to read and understand. Most of the tales are woven around the daily lives of the characters and the descriptions have neither too many nor too few details.

One of my personal favourites is “The Insert”, which reminds one of the film The Equilibrium, a dystopian science fiction that tells the story of  Christian Bale, an enforcement officer under a regime where fundamental rights are outlawed and people are barred from feeling or expressing emotions. “The Insert” creates a similar environment as the plot focusses on an insert which is to be added to the motorway, with no information given to the characters or the readers about the authorities implementing the experimental expansion. A man disappears in the dark hours and a woman is left wondering what happens after the expansion.

Chandrashekhar’s stories have an ethereal feel to them. Fascinating scientific phenomenons are mixed with mundane everyday settings in these stories. This combination makes Polymorphism oddly intriguing.

Some of her stories have very unique endings. “The News”, “My Kitchen My Space”, “Abandoned Rooms” and “She Can Sing” are cases in point. “My Kitchen My Space” describes a stereotypical joint family situation where a certain housewife bears constant humiliation at the hands of her mother-in-law. The old lady’s constant bickering takes a toll on Maya and leads her to react in a way most readers would find challenging to understand.

Polymorphism is unpredictable and original. These are stories based on preexisting conditions and scientific phenomena which take on surreal twists. The reader keeps trying to guess the ending and each time, the ending is beyond what they would have imagined.  

This collection has a hint of magical realism, something Gabriel Garcia Marquez had mastered. It’s like a gateway to another world and it is mature and enjoyable at the same time. It deals with fiction and particularly with art in a way that one does not feel guilty of reading something which might temporarily transport you to another setting and take you away from your own reality. Instead of a familiar setting in the physical, the book takes you into an almost etheric journey with no guilt of having invested in a respite, for it creates its own world which seems very much real.

The reviewer is a literature enthusiast