Book: Instant "Karma"

This past week I have had the pleasure to read a truly beautiful collection of short stories. “Karma and Other Stories,” by Rishi Reddi is a delicately-written look into the Indian culture and the struggles and triumphs one community faces in their American lives. Set mostly in Boston, with the exceptions of Kansas and Hyderabad, India, the native land of the characters, the seven stories have the common theme of balancing traditional ways and values with the demands of a sometimes ruthless America. The collection is comparable to Jhumpa Lahiri’s Pulitzer Prize winning collection, “Interpreter of Maladies,” mostly because of the indirect dramatic tone of the prose and the ability to concoct the richness of a novel in the presence of a short story.

By far, my favorite story of the collection was the first. “Justice Shiva Ram Murthy,” which also appeared in “The Best American Short Stories 2005” begins the book with the tale of two men who have been friends, “since we were small boys growing up in Mozamjahi Market, “Justice Murthy repeats several times when he speaks of his friend Manu. Both men have moved to America to live with their grown children after becoming widowers in India. In Indian customs it is not uncommon for an elderly parent to live with their children, which in modern times, can mean moving out of one’s comfort zone. Murthy and Manu have a routine of walking to a meeting spot, and then taking lunch together. The old men find a familiarity within their constant bickering with each other, and through the eyes of Murthy, we see a situation unfold that causes both men to access their relationship. Full of vivid imagery, the old men lead us through a story, sad at times, of love, loyalty and the upkeep of tradition.

Reddi has a mysteriousness to her writing that makes each thumbnail sketch of these interconnected lives seem so real. The stories themselves are not full of action, in fact many times nothing truly significant comes from the tales. However, I love when stories read like this, with their seductive veils intact. Sometimes less is certainly more, and this grouping of stories is an excellent testament to that idea.

At the end of many of the stories, I found myself longing for more information. In “Karma,” I wanted to know what was going to happen to the main character, far beyond the confine of the last line. Usually I am content to forge my own ending, but on this one I really felt like I was robbed. It was undoubtedly an intricate tale of class discrimination within a family, which I had never read about before in this collection or in any other like it. The brothers find that their difference in merits and jobs wedge an irreparable void in their relationship, ultimately ending in a separate existence in the same foreign town. It was heartbreaking and oddly inspirational all at once. But, as I said, I wanted more from it. Perhaps it was because it is easy to become immersed in the beauty in Reddi’s writing, and a sudden ending is like someone ripping a lollipop from your mouth after you are halfway finished. In any case, it was still a gorgeous story and worth reading.

In “The Validity of Love,” I found the traditional struggle of a modern Indian American woman vying for her own ideas of true love, while struggling against the confines of her family’s expectations of an arranged marriage. This story was a standout in the collection, namely because I believe it to be the most in-depth look at the inner workings of a characters thoughts and feelings. It was not a happy story, but rather a story of a lesson learned the hard way. It was at times frustrating, paralleling with the acquirement of knowledge of a culture. It is so interesting to see what goes on in the mind of a quiet woman trying to respect her family. Ultimately, her respect becomes her worst enemy.

Reddi’s stories work so many themes into each story that they come out as a patchwork of intricate issues and the fight for independence. The difficulties of adjusting to America are so clear in these stories, that after reading this book, I have a new view of my own ways and traditions.

There wasn’t one story that I disliked in this collection. At times I wanted more evident connections between the characters, and I thought much of the connection was no more that a reorganization of names from story to story. Still, the book was honest and offered no reserve. I would recommend, “Karma and Other Stories,” to anyone, of any age. With each story capturing a segment of a different age and stage of life, there is, for lack of a better phrase, something for everyone.