When They Spoke
About the Book
How often have we heard our mothers and grandmothers justifying their possessiveness about old and rusted objects, refusing to throw them away? “They are mementos. They have memories.”
How often have we sniggered, “As if these could talk!”
Just as often as we have exploited every single object that makes our life easier and whose easy availability we take for granted. We have never wondered what it feels to be used, exploited, and consumed, only to be discarded without a single look of gratitude; after all, eulogies and epitaphs are only for human beings.
When They Spoke is about 29 inanimate beings who wonder if it would be more apt to define us as non-living things, because, as each of them prove, their heart seems to be in order, and beating in the right pace!
Authors
Ankita Chauhan is a Renewable Energy Analyst currently living in Gurgaon. She has been writing and performing at open mics for a few years. This book contains her first published story. She likes to read existential literature of Camus, Kafka and Sartre.
Anupama Jain, Founding Member, Admin of Senior School Moms (a Facebook Group), has contributed to two short story anthologies – Chronicles of Urban Nomads & Crossed & Knotted (India's first composite novel) - both by Readomania. An avid blogger about parental issues, an M.C.A by academic qualification, loves to write short stories and teaches kids.
Ashay Abbhi is currently based out of Noida, India. He is the author of a book of short stories, The Inevitable. Ashay works as an analyst in the field of energy studies, with a specialisation in Oil and Gas. He enjoys good literature, Sufism and music. He wields the pen every now and then, writing poignant stories, poems and lyrics for songs. Besides these, Ashay also writes op-ed styled articles for many international outlets on contemporary energy issues and surrounding geopolitical angles.
Vibha Sharma is an independent education management professional living in New Delhi. She is a management graduate with a corporate exposure of seven years now into freelance writing.
Vibha has been published in the Times of India, The Hindustan times, The Chicken Soup series, Love Stories around Us and many more anthologies, blogs and projects. Her debut book for children ‘The Grand Bubble Trouble’ was a great hit with kids. A wanderer at heart and a perfectionist by nature, she is still busy trying to figure her part in the grand scheme of things.
Avanti Sopory is a post-graduate in Management and has worked for CitiFinancial and Rai Foundation, and is based in Gurgaon. A mother of two wonderful children, she now finds her real solace in penning down her creative and imaginative thoughts in the form of words or through fine arts. Her short story is published in India’s first composite novel, Crossed & Knotted. Avanti has compiled a collection of folktales from her native place Kashmir and which are in the final editing stage. She was also on an assignment with Om Publications, where she contributed seventeen short adventure stories for young boys, and a contributing author Defiant Dreams – Tales of Everyday Divas. Avanti’s other works include writing columns for a Jammu based newspaper, “Daily Excelsior”. She has also contributed her articles for newspapers like “Young Minds”, “The Daily Latest”, and “Kashmir Times”.
Ayan Pal is a Kolkata based IT Consultant with over a decade of experience. As an author he has contributed to several anthologies, including Chronicles of Urban Nomads, Rudraksha, Her Story and India’s first composite novel – Crossed and Knotted. He is passionate about public speaking and leadership, and loves reading, and binge watching his favorite TV Shows. He also writes regularly for a lifestyle magazine, and is currently working on his debut novel.
Anirban Nanda is based in Kharagpur, India, pursuing research at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He’s received his Electrical Engineering degree from Haldia Institute of Technology. He has published his stories in anthologies like ‘Dream Castle’, ‘Memoirs of Love’ and ‘The Hidden Gems’. Some of his stories are also available on Readomania for public reading. While he is not reading books on serious topics, he can be found working on his debut novel.
Having completed M. Phil in English, Janneker Lawrence Daniel works as a Professor of English in Chennai. Three of his short stories have been published and four more have been shortlisted to be published soon. He was the winner of the Vasanthi Short Story Writing Contest – 2014. He has been reading consistently since his fifth grade, and counts his father to have been the inspiration and reason behind his reading habit. Of late, writing has taken over some of his reading time.
Kirthi Jayakumar is from Chennai. A lawyer by education, she is a writer, artist, peace and conflict researcher and activist by profession. Kirthi has a Bachelor's in Law, from SOEL, Chennai, and a Master's in Peace and Conflict Studies from U-Peace, Costa Rica. Kirthi is the founder of the Red Elephant Foundation, a civilian peacebuilding initiative, and A38, a research initiative for public international law. She is the author of two solo fiction anthologies, called Stories of Hope and The Dove's Lament, a bestseller. She enjoys reading Margaret Atwood, Susan Abulhawa, Lloyd Jones, Jane Austen, Harper Lee and Stephen Chbosky.
Dr Kuheli Bhattacharya is an ophthalmologist practicing in Goa. She moonlights as a travel and food blogger, Columnist and freelance writer as well. Her writes a column called 'goa on my plate ' for the Navhind times. Recently her article appeared in the his food guide 2015-16 by planet goa. She has recently combined her new mom status and medical background to start a blog called ' doctor parents'.
Lakshana Palat is based in Delhi and works for Pan McMillan. She has studied history from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, and then pursued a second undergraduate degree in History from Queen Mary, University of London, and Masters in History of Political Thought and Intellectual History, an intercollegiate course organized by Queen Mary and University College of London. She enjoys reading classic authors like the Bronte Sisters, Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens and has a strong preference for fantasy novels, her staple being Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia and Hunger Games.
Neeti Banga, a fashion professional, is currently teaching full time at her Alma mater,NIFT, New Delhi. Her poems and short stories, have been published in many anthologies .Her Poetry anthology-'The Dewdrops, a journey begins', with two co-poets, has recently been published and has been one of bestsellers on Amazon. in. Wild, nomadic and romantic at heart, her gypsy soul takes inspiration from life, and connects to the world, expressing through painting, poetry and stories. She is currently compiling her short stories and writing her first romantic novel.
Neil D'Silva became a recognizable name in Indian literature with his debut book, the Amazon India horror bestseller, Maya's New Husband. He is the founder of the Facebook writer community, For Writers By Authors, and the mastermind behind the litfest Litventure. He resides in Mumbai with his wife Anita and two children.
Nivedita Tuli is a first year Delhi University student of journalism and history. She enjoys swimming, trekking and sketching and is a passionate supporter of LGBT rights and Environment protection movement. She aims to be an environmental journalist. Her reading interests vary from historical to science fiction although she adores the occasional romantic reads and is inclined towards writing romance. Her favorite TV shows are Supernatural, Sherlock, The Office, Psych and Suits and she spends much of her leisure time writing fanfiction and creating fanart for them.
Preethi Venugopala always liked stories. When alone, she would create stories in her mind but never thought about penning them down until a break from her regular job as a Civil Engineer prompted her to take up blogging. Winning story writing competitions led to publications of short stories in various anthologies and then to her first full length novel 'Without You'. She currently lives in Bangalore with her husband, son and an ever growing collection of books. When not penning down the stories, she can be found curled up on a couch with her favorite book.
Rhiti Bose is a writer/blogger who is also the Chief Editor and Founder of the ezine Incredible Women of India. She has a first class Masters degree in Literature and has eight years of experience in education, her Short stories and poems have appeared in many online and print media. She lives in Bhubaneswar with her husband, daughter and son.
Sanghamitra Bose lives and works in Singapore . She is a MBA from M. S. University, Vadodara and has held leadership positions in a number of industries like Travel, Hospitality and Finance. She has travelled widely and has lived in China, Singapore and various parts of India. She has a great love for history, people and cultures. Sanghamitra gave wings to her passion for writing in 2015, and has already had her first short story published in the anthology- Tell Me a Story by Penguin India. She is a voracious reader and favourite authors include William Dalrymple and Amy Tan.
S. Sayujya is an ardent lover of the written word. She currently resides in Chennai and works in Madras Christian College as a guest lecturer. She has always loved teaching. She has been flitting about from institution to institution, having taught in two schools before joining MCC, and has loved the experiences. She completed her M.Phil. from the University of Hyderabad and has also brought out a collection of poems through Writers Workshop. She is a lover of fantasy and nature, of all things magical and enchanting, and hopefully you will enter that world when you read her work!
Sheela Jaywant once worked as a hospital-administrator, had set up home in remote corners of India and now lives Goa. Her stories (some prize-winners, too) can be read in several anthologies. She writes a decades-long humour column.
Shweta is an IT Systems Analyst by day and an avid reader / closeted writer during the sliver of time she has left from being a mom. Hailing from the culturally rich city of Chennai, she grew up listening to tales from the ancient texts while balancing them out with authors from around the world. Her other passions include painting and cooking while soaking in new cultures and experiences around her everyday.
Travel far enough, you meet yourself – it is on this mantra that Yashluv Virwani, currently stationed in Ahmedabad and pursuing Engineering, wishes to base his life. A blogger for a publishing house, he has had a short story published in an anthology while two others wait in the pipeline. Meeting up new people and listening to the stories of their lives is his drug and for this reason, he wishes to travel the world, not as a tourist, but as a local. Fascinated by the road, he loses himself in the words that write about Christopher McCandless and Ernesto Guevara.
Paromita Mukherjee Ojha lives in Vishakhapatnam with her husband and daughter. She has dual Master’s Degrees, one in English from Pune University and another in HR Management from Andhra University, Vishakhapatnam, an M.Phil from BRAOU, Hyderabad, a PGC in Teaching English from EFLU, Hyderabad and has submitted her doctoral thesis to Nagpur University, Maharashtra. She has presented 16 research papers and this is her first stint with fiction.
Sutapa Basu is an avid reader and a compulsive bookworm. An author, editor, trainer and publisher she has worked with Oxford University Press and Encyclopædia Britannica. Living in New Delhi, India, Sutapa is an Honour’s scholar from Visvabharti University, Santiniketan, India and holds a teaching degree from Maharaja Sayaji Rao University, Vadodara, India as well as a Master’s in English Literature.
Her poetry and short stories have been published online by Readomania, India and Café Dissensus, USA. She has co-authored and edited Crossed & Knotted, India’s First Composite Novel as well as edited Chronicles of Urban Nomads, and Rudraksha published by Readomania. Her debut novel, Dangle has just released
Paulami DuttaGupta is a novelist and screenplay writer. She shuttles between Kolkata and Shillong. She has worked as a radio artist, copywriter, journalist and a television analyst at various stages of her life. Paulami’s first film script, Ri – Homeland of Uncertainty received the National Award for the Best Khasi Film. Her fourth novel, A Thousand Unspoken Words, published by Readomania, has just been released.
Riti Kaunteya works for a Fragrance MNC as the fragrance development head. She is one of the top Mommy Bloggers in India writing about her children and everything else about her life on the blog, Itching to Write. Her stories have appeared in anthologies like Mango Chutney and Rudraksha. She has written Mathematics, Fun, Facts and Fiction which has been published by Mango DC and is a book meant for 8-12 year olds. Her book Folktales from around the world for children aged 6 years and above got published recently by Mango books. She has also written for online publications like The Alternative and yowoto. She lives in Chennai with her entrepreneur husband and nine year old twin boys.
Deepti Menon is a freelance journalist living in Chennai. Her first book, Arms and The Woman, was published by Rupa in 2002. She has contributed to many anthologies including 21 Tales to Tell, Upper Cut, Chronicles of Urban Nomads, Mango Chutney, Crossed and Knotted, Rudraksha, Love – An Anthology, The Second Life and A Little Chorus of Love.
A Management post graduate, Esha Chakraborty lives in New Delhi and works with a leading BPO. She reviews books on her blog, https://bookhippo.wordpress.com. Her first published short story The Stone Hearted Husband is featured in Sankarak. In between writing stories she is currently working on her upcoming food blog, World in a Wok
Bhuvaneshwari Shankar is a poet, translator, short story writer, playwright and blogger. Her short stories have found a place in anthologies brought out by Notion Press and Readomania.
Her poems are featured in the anthologies Kafiyaana and Umbilical Chords. Her writings can be accessed on her blog ilakea. She lives in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with her family.
Radhika lives in Unchahar with her husband, son, four birds and 67 pair of shoes. In another life, she was an MBA from SIBM working in L&D, a movie buff and a Latin dance enthusiast, her work has been featured in two of Readomania's anthologies, Sankaarak – A literary fusion and UnBound eMagazine. Her debut novel is ready for publication.
About the Editor
Arpita Banerjee began her professional life as a banker and worked with Citibank, Axis Bank, SHCIL, and Bank of Nova Scotia. Moving out of active job life, she pursued editing.
An avid reader and writer, she draws a lot from the literary views of the non-reading society and scans every story at her editing desk with the glasses of the ‘not-into-much-reading’ masses. She believes that the potential of a story lies in its ability to draw even the most reluctant of the reader to pick it up and put it down only after reaching ‘The End’. Her strength lies in her ability to understand the author’s perspective and mentor the narrative to draw out the author’s best efforts.