(R1/100)
What was it?
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a captivating short story reading session that left a profound impact on me. In this review, I would like to share my thoughts on Atta Galatta’s “Word Wings” session, which provided a platform for two skilled theatre experts, Vijay Padaki and Padmavati Rao, to bring short stories to life through their expressive readings. The aim of this session was to reignite our imaginations, which have been largely subdued since the era of television, the internet, social media, and YouTube and are now facing an existential crisis in the era of AGI. Moreover, it sought to encourage the audience to delve into the content of these stories and to be curious and thoughtful about how this art form and the stories resonate with each of us listeners.
How was my experience?
While I was thinking about the session, I was reminded of an intriguing model of communication presented by Douglas Unger, a professor at Syracuse University. As described in George Saunders’ remarkable book “A Swim in a Pond in the Rain,” Unger suggests that when people engage in conversations, each person has a private mental space (similar to an overhead cartoon bubble) filled with their hopes, projections, fears, and existing concerns. However, as the words pass from one person’s bubble to another, they often become distorted.
- For example, let’s assume Person A (anxious about an upcoming speech she has to give next week) and Person B (who is full of guilt because she forgot to call her mother on her birthday and her brother chided her for that) are talking to each other
- Person A – I have a speech next week
- Person B – People can be so harsh (thinking of the rude things her brother told her)
- Person A instead hears “It’s true, you’ll probably blow it” (instead of what B says)
- Person B now thinks Person A is frowning at me because i am the moron who forgets her mother’s birthday)
This is exactly what happened to me (in a good way, though), while I was listening to the theatre artists’ enthralling renditions of the short stories, blending the characters and narratives of the stories with the images and experiences from the books I had recently read and people I had encountered in real life.
I would like to share two instances that demonstrate how this reading session sparked my imagination and facilitated connections:
1. The Draw: In this short story that explored the dynamics of a long-term marriage, the narrator read the below sentence
- “The secret of a long term marriage is not the similarities between a couple, but the differences between them”
This sentence evoked memories of similar narratives from Alain de Botton’s book “The Course of Love,” where he eloquently delves into the contradictory desires that drive our romantic lives. The short story succinctly conveyed what the book explored in greater depth, leaving a lasting impression. Below are 2 eternally true paras from the book that were eerily close to what the story was trying to get (you will have to read the story to understand this):
- “Our romantic lives are fated to be sad and incomplete, because we are creatures driven by two essential desires which point powerfully in entirely opposing directions. Yet what is worse is our utopian refusal to countenance the divergence, our naïve hope that a cost-free synchronization might somehow be found: that the libertine might live for adventure while avoiding loneliness and chaos, or that the married romantic might unite sex with tenderness, and passion with routine”
- “We all fail to keep in mind the central truth of human nature that everyone – not just our partners, in whose multiple failing we are such experts – but everyone will have something substantially and maddeningly wrong with them when we spend more time around them, something so wrong as to make a mockery of the initial honeymoon period and the initially rapturous feelings.
2. The Reunion: While the central plot of this story revolved around the protagonist’s reunion with his college sweetheart after 30 years, it was the character of Nair, the canteen owner, who resonated with me the most. Surprisingly, this portrayal reminded me of a stoic and serene Nair whom I encountered during my first job. In a high-pressure work environment, he imparted valuable advice that has stayed with me right until this day:
- Never lose your inner sanity because of something that is beyond your control. External circumstances should never affect your inner equanimity. Try and remain calm, as the stress and pressures we experience are often self/other human-imposed.
The mention of Nair and his character in this story brought back this almost forgotten life lesson from the recesses of my mind. A popular tamil storyteller Bava Chelladurai in one of his videos highlights how the role of the human is to forget and the role of the artist is to remind. This story was a reminder of some interesting life lessons.
Why I Liked This Format and Encourage More People To Attend Such Sessions:
1. Short Stories:
- As someone who has recently delved into reading short stories, (thanks to George Saunders’ book, “A Swim in a Pond in the Rain,”), I have come to appreciate the unique charms of this literary form. Short stories provide a concise and impactful narrative that continues to linger in our minds for a very long time.
- The limitations and freedom within the medium allow authors to craft moments of brilliance and leave endings open to interpretation, making them all the more memorable.
- Mr. Padaki astutely pointed out that the best endings are often left unsaid, allowing readers to exercise their imagination.
- My favorite short stories such as Leo Tolstoy’s “Master and Man” and Jhumpa Lahiri’s “A Temporary Matter” from the “Interpreter of Maladies,” delve into the complexities of the human condition in a way that no other medium can. The stories I listened to during this session also left a lasting impression on me.
2. Bangalore and its People of the Yester Years:
- Surprisingly, these stories offered a glimpse into the Bangalore of the 80s and earlier years. Through vivid descriptions and nuanced dialogues, the stories transported me to a different era and helped me understand the city’s history and its people.
- As an immigrant who now calls Bangalore my second home, these stories acted as windows into the past, allowing me to forge a deeper connection with the city and its cultural heritage.
3. Listening Format:
- While I enjoy both reading and listening myself, the fast-paced nature of modern life has often made me lean towards quicker consumption routes (i.e reading).
- In this productivity-obsessed world, where all activities including reading, listening, driving, and even walking are sped up at 1.2x or 1.5x speeds, I have realized that I have lost, or perhaps never fully developed, the ability to slow down and savor moments of joy, especially when it comes to reading.
- The experience of having someone else read these stories in the intended manner allowed my imagination to roam freely and establish connections between the characters in the stories and those in my mind. Had I read or listened to these stories on my own, I would have likely rushed to the next one or hurriedly finished the book, missing out on the essence of the tales.
- This unique listening experience has reminded me of the importance of pausing, immersing myself in a story or a piece of art, and exploring where my curiosity and imagination can take me. I am grateful that this session has already taken me on a remarkable journey.
And I could only listen to 2 stories from this session, while the readers had planned for 4. All of these stories will be part of a collection of short stories by Vijay Padaki, that will be released soon.
A Note of Gratitude to Atta Galatta:
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Atta Galatta for organizing this exceptional event. Atta Galatta is undoubtedly one of the best places for book lovers and those who appreciate meaningful conversations in Bangalore. If you are a book lover or writer living in Bangalore and have yet to explore Atta Galatta, I highly recommend visiting their Insta & website. For those curious to learn more about its founders, I recommend this wonderful profile by Brinda S Narayan
