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Boats on Land
Boats on Land is a collection of short stories that offer a new way of looking at the world, and, in particular, India’s little-known northeast. Set in and around Shillong, Cherrapunjee and pockets of Assam, these tales are shaped against a larger historical canvas of the early days of the British Raj, the World Wars, conversions to Christianity, and the missionaries.
Spanning a sweep of centuries, from the mid-1800s to the present day, the stories work as a historical, sociological documentation of a place and its people, interweaving the quotidian and the mythic, the mundane and the extraordinary.
This is a world in which the everyday is infused with folklore and a deep belief in the supernatural. Here, a girl dreams of being a firebird. An artist watches souls turn into trees. A man shape-shifts into a tiger. Another is bewitched by water fairies. Political struggles and social unrest interweave with fireside tales and age-old superstitions.
Spanning a sweep of centuries, from the mid-1800s to the present day, the stories work as a historical, sociological documentation of a place and its people, interweaving the quotidian and the mythic, the mundane and the extraordinary.
This is a world in which the everyday is infused with folklore and a deep belief in the supernatural. Here, a girl dreams of being a firebird. An artist watches souls turn into trees. A man shape-shifts into a tiger. Another is bewitched by water fairies. Political struggles and social unrest interweave with fireside tales and age-old superstitions.
296 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2012
73 people are currently reading
1163 people want to read
About the author
Janice Pariat
13 books346 followersJanice Pariat is the author of Boats on Land: A Collection of Short Stories and Seahorse: A Novel. She was awarded the Young Writer Award from the Sahitya Akademi and the Crossword Book Award for Fiction in 2013.
She studied English Literature at St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Her work—including art reviews, book reviews, fiction and poetry—has featured in a wide selection of national magazines and newspapers. In 2014, she was the Charles Wallace Creative Writing Fellow at the University of Kent, UK.
Her novella The Nine Chambered-Heart is out with HarperCollins India (November 2017) and HarperCollins UK (May 2018), and is being translated for publication into ten languages including Italian, Spanish, French, and German.
Currently, she lives in New Delhi with a cat of many names.
She studied English Literature at St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Her work—including art reviews, book reviews, fiction and poetry—has featured in a wide selection of national magazines and newspapers. In 2014, she was the Charles Wallace Creative Writing Fellow at the University of Kent, UK.
Her novella The Nine Chambered-Heart is out with HarperCollins India (November 2017) and HarperCollins UK (May 2018), and is being translated for publication into ten languages including Italian, Spanish, French, and German.
Currently, she lives in New Delhi with a cat of many names.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
February 12, 2013
I started school in Shillong. My father was in the Indian Air Force and my memories of the small, hilly radar station are blurred, but they bear some of the fondest memories of my childhood.
It was the early 90s and it was a strange place to a boy from Pondicherry, but I grew to love it, and my love affair with hills and rain stemmed from then. Been years now, but Janice Pariat has made me long for the Scotland of the East with a lust only people who've lived in Shillong will ever know.
Me and my sister used to listen to mountain stories as we absorbed the warmth of a blazing fireplace, in the wild, broken Hindi of the old Khasi lady who worked as a maid in our Air Force allotted quarters. Reading 'Boats on Land' is the closest I've ever gotten to the crackling of burning wood I used to know so intimately.
It's a stunning book, filled with legends and ghosts and spirits, wild waterfalls and overflowing rivers, white mists and ancient trees and a people scarred by land and time. There are so many moments in Janice's stories when I gasped with the weight of words so beautifully strung together.
This is a lovely, lovely book. Read it, and don't lend it to anyone.
This one's a keeper.
It was the early 90s and it was a strange place to a boy from Pondicherry, but I grew to love it, and my love affair with hills and rain stemmed from then. Been years now, but Janice Pariat has made me long for the Scotland of the East with a lust only people who've lived in Shillong will ever know.
Me and my sister used to listen to mountain stories as we absorbed the warmth of a blazing fireplace, in the wild, broken Hindi of the old Khasi lady who worked as a maid in our Air Force allotted quarters. Reading 'Boats on Land' is the closest I've ever gotten to the crackling of burning wood I used to know so intimately.
It's a stunning book, filled with legends and ghosts and spirits, wild waterfalls and overflowing rivers, white mists and ancient trees and a people scarred by land and time. There are so many moments in Janice's stories when I gasped with the weight of words so beautifully strung together.
This is a lovely, lovely book. Read it, and don't lend it to anyone.
This one's a keeper.
December 5, 2021
"It wasn't often that Bah Hem told stories. He would sit in silence, listening to the others, his eyes fixed on the glowing coal. On nights that were a trifle colder and quieter, though, he could be persuaded. If he'd had a drink—smoky rice beer or a sharp stinging glass of clear kiad—someone would ask for a story about love, and he'd speak of the man who came from the place where birds go to die. And like at the beginning of so many stories, the room would transform, assembled anew with words."
The surreal atmosphere of the hills she grew up in suffuses Janice Pariat's superb prose, joining the fantastic with the everyday, juxtaposing the marvelous with the mundane. The actual and the mystical lie really comfortably close to each other. Her stories are well-wrought, crafted with precision. Her language is lush and evocative without being brash or ostentatious. Longing undergirds her writing—it's filled with un-fetishized nostalgia. These subtle tales explore the intersections and incongruities of belonging and memory.
The stories have intricately woven "supernatural" elements grounded in quotidian lives. My favourites: "19/87" about a Muslim tailor living in a rapidly tense Shillong who strikes an unlikely friendship with a Khasi man coming to him for lottery prediction. Titular story "Boats on Land" is about a dazzling summer, coming-of-age, and a queer awakening. "The Discovery of Flight" revolves about a quiet young man who goes missing. "Dream of the Golden Mahseer" about two brothers dealing with trauma & loss in their own ways.
September 16, 2019
As a child returning to Kerala during my school summer break, one of the evening rituals I clearly remember is gathering around with my cousins at night, candles and bamboo hand fans in tow, all in anticipation of the hourly scheduled power cuts. Without the screech of the television and the blessing of electricity to guide my reading, I would usually be bored to tears, until we began exchanging stories, huddled around the candles, their flickering flames casting giant shadows on the wall. Inevitably, the talk would turn to the supernatural - witches roaming around seeking vows of vengeance, benign spirits who didn't mean harm but were always upto some sort of mischief, gandharvas who descend from the heavens and bewitch young girls...All sorts of stories, which I usually brushed away in incredulity once the lights were back on. But that was a magical hour, and it was probably the first time I fell in love with stories and story telling.
Reading Janice Pariat's Boats on Land was a bit like revisiting that magical hour. Her stories took me to the hills of Shillong; you could easily see the bits of coal thrown into the fireplace to warm the body and the soul, and sense the heady scent of pine. Whilst there is a whiff of wistfulness, some sort of solemn sobriety through the stories, they are thought provoking and very poignant. The concepts of what is home, who is an outsider and the burdens of the past are some recurring themes. Pariat writes about the 1987 scuffles between the Khasis and dkhars or outsiders, curfewed nights, and political unrest as effortlessly as she describes water spirits that lure the lovestruck to jump off mist laden cliffs and forlorn places where the "birds go to die".
Like any anthology, there are some stories that are better than the rest. My favourites from the collection would be the eponymous Boats on Land followed by Pilgrimage. Boats on Land traces the story of a young girl visiting her parents' friends in the plains of Assam, a quaint little place by the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra and how an unlikely friendship impacts her for life. Pilgrimage begins with a Shehecheyanu blessing of gratitude:
"You who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season".
The story is essentially a pilgrimage to the past, and how these journeys are really to think about the places and people one leaves behind. And perhaps sometimes the past is better left alone.
This book restores my belief in the power and magic of stories. May we tell more of them!
Reading Janice Pariat's Boats on Land was a bit like revisiting that magical hour. Her stories took me to the hills of Shillong; you could easily see the bits of coal thrown into the fireplace to warm the body and the soul, and sense the heady scent of pine. Whilst there is a whiff of wistfulness, some sort of solemn sobriety through the stories, they are thought provoking and very poignant. The concepts of what is home, who is an outsider and the burdens of the past are some recurring themes. Pariat writes about the 1987 scuffles between the Khasis and dkhars or outsiders, curfewed nights, and political unrest as effortlessly as she describes water spirits that lure the lovestruck to jump off mist laden cliffs and forlorn places where the "birds go to die".
Like any anthology, there are some stories that are better than the rest. My favourites from the collection would be the eponymous Boats on Land followed by Pilgrimage. Boats on Land traces the story of a young girl visiting her parents' friends in the plains of Assam, a quaint little place by the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra and how an unlikely friendship impacts her for life. Pilgrimage begins with a Shehecheyanu blessing of gratitude:
"You who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season".
The story is essentially a pilgrimage to the past, and how these journeys are really to think about the places and people one leaves behind. And perhaps sometimes the past is better left alone.
This book restores my belief in the power and magic of stories. May we tell more of them!
April 22, 2017
This is a collection of 15 short stories set in and around Meghalaya. I read this throughout my trip to Assam-Meghalaya-Arunachal and loved every bit of it.
Janice is a poet who writes prose beautifully. The stories combine the rich culture of this part of our country with the local legends and myths to paint us a magical picture.
The book begins with A Waterfall for Horses, a story dark and magical in equal measures. Janice explores a prophecy around an old mansion in Cherrapunjee in Kut Madan. 19/87 is about the religious harmony of Shillong while Secret Corridors explores a budding love story in an all-girl catholic school.
To choose favourites from the list was difficult. The Dream of the Golden Mahseer (the story of a boy and his uncle growing up in Shillong) and Laitlum (a teenage love story of the elder sister from the younger one's POV) were the most impressive ones closely followed by The Keeper of Souls (a couple who move back to Shillong from Delhi). Overall, a great read.
Janice is a poet who writes prose beautifully. The stories combine the rich culture of this part of our country with the local legends and myths to paint us a magical picture.
The book begins with A Waterfall for Horses, a story dark and magical in equal measures. Janice explores a prophecy around an old mansion in Cherrapunjee in Kut Madan. 19/87 is about the religious harmony of Shillong while Secret Corridors explores a budding love story in an all-girl catholic school.
To choose favourites from the list was difficult. The Dream of the Golden Mahseer (the story of a boy and his uncle growing up in Shillong) and Laitlum (a teenage love story of the elder sister from the younger one's POV) were the most impressive ones closely followed by The Keeper of Souls (a couple who move back to Shillong from Delhi). Overall, a great read.
February 16, 2020
As a reader, whenever I express my interest in reading to others, the next question is a no brainer. “What’s the book you’ve liked the most so far?” or “What’s your current favourite?” This question always throws me off because I am a sucker for quotes. Most books that I’ve read have them. Perfectly articulated and timed? Oh all the more wonderful. That is exactly why I became best friends with my best friend. Well one reason definitely. We used to completely understand this feeling, pass on the book to the other person to make her read the treasured line that made our lives beautiful at that exact moment. And the book that became my favourite gave me this contentment over and over.
Janice Pariat through her collection of short stories in her book, Boats on Land, weaves the melancholic tale; albeit beautifully written, almost poetic, of the transformation of her native place, Shillong and the areas nearby.
The stories bring out ancient folklores, myths, rituals and traditions of those regions. The most fascinating aspect of the book is how vividly Janice paints her characters which takes us through the changes they experience due to modernization, abandonment of local beliefs for western culture and other events in history. For instance, to describe a heartache, she writes, “It was a corpse-cold evening in mid-December when Josephine broke his heart. The sky was the colour of razor blades, lying flat and square outside the window…The air both numbed and sharpened his senses…In his ears was the echo of her silence when he asked about Ashley, the Anglo boy from the neighbourhood..”
Reliving a biker’s escape out of the mundane town, she writes, “Cocooned in plastic and metal, in parched pages within the arms of suffocating love. And everything goes by, scenery and life, unfurling at a safe and careful distance, a flat democratic haze…On a motorbike, the world rushes up at you from all sides, so do the wind and the colours of the trees and the sky. You are exposed…” I’ve had my fair share of road mishaps but believe me when I say these words evoke all the thrill and need for speed that the said biker talks about.
To put it out there, Boats on land makes me want to go to quaint places and simpler times; when young love meant stolen glances and hushed exchanges at the bus stop; when staying out beyond the dark meant a reprimand from the elders; when flowers and cards still carried the weight of the relationships. Her stories with mythical horses and shapeshifting tigers will always continue to remain close to my heart.
Janice Pariat through her collection of short stories in her book, Boats on Land, weaves the melancholic tale; albeit beautifully written, almost poetic, of the transformation of her native place, Shillong and the areas nearby.
The stories bring out ancient folklores, myths, rituals and traditions of those regions. The most fascinating aspect of the book is how vividly Janice paints her characters which takes us through the changes they experience due to modernization, abandonment of local beliefs for western culture and other events in history. For instance, to describe a heartache, she writes, “It was a corpse-cold evening in mid-December when Josephine broke his heart. The sky was the colour of razor blades, lying flat and square outside the window…The air both numbed and sharpened his senses…In his ears was the echo of her silence when he asked about Ashley, the Anglo boy from the neighbourhood..”
Reliving a biker’s escape out of the mundane town, she writes, “Cocooned in plastic and metal, in parched pages within the arms of suffocating love. And everything goes by, scenery and life, unfurling at a safe and careful distance, a flat democratic haze…On a motorbike, the world rushes up at you from all sides, so do the wind and the colours of the trees and the sky. You are exposed…” I’ve had my fair share of road mishaps but believe me when I say these words evoke all the thrill and need for speed that the said biker talks about.
To put it out there, Boats on land makes me want to go to quaint places and simpler times; when young love meant stolen glances and hushed exchanges at the bus stop; when staying out beyond the dark meant a reprimand from the elders; when flowers and cards still carried the weight of the relationships. Her stories with mythical horses and shapeshifting tigers will always continue to remain close to my heart.
August 13, 2016
Janice Pariat's first collection of short stories "Boats on Land" is one of the best books that I've read this year. The 15 stories which comprise this book provide a fresh look at one of India's most beautiful landscapes - Shillong. A few stories are of the British era and mostly are set in post-independence India. I found that the stories have a poetic feel to it. Some of them are drawn from the Khasi folklore, some show the political upheaval that the state has gone through and some show the modern trappings of our age. Though the stories are not inter-related, I found that the themes of longing for one's home and a sense to belong runs through the stories. The only negative point I can say is that in a couple of stories, the author seems to come to an ending rather quickly. The poetic flow of the prose comes to an abrupt halt and you come out of that dream-like state and realize that you are not really in Shillong. I have a tendency to stop after every story and see how long it keeps lingering and these stories surely got stuck in my head.
January 26, 2020
My rating: 9.2/10
I loved the book! It's beautiful. There you go. I needn't say more but I would say much about this well-written, poetic book. I picked it up for my book meet themed Writers from North East India and since I wasn't sure I will like the literature being offered or not I picked up the one with short stories. And this book took me back to the time reminding me why I loved books more than people. The writing style is lyrical, simple and conveys everything so beautiful. Every story leaves you with a sense of completion even when there are cliffhangers. The titles are interesting and somehow manage to justify the end of every story. For me the book was a 20/10 for about 90% but after that I was left a tinsy bit in the air to look for the endings, hence the rating. Onto the book again, it has various short stories from the late 19th century up until now. Although the stories are not connected, set in Shillong, they give the political history of the place and around and how the shift of power affected the dkhars(outsiders); the relationship they shared with the locals brought out in the short stories. It touches every age group, every relation, every psychological aspect and human emotion.
It's a book I would recommend to everyone for it sent me back to the time where it was possible to transfer a person to another place and time with mere words. Though hers don't seem mere words but a string of notes careful composed to create an alluring melody.
And it was just her debut! Hope to see what's more in store.
I loved the book! It's beautiful. There you go. I needn't say more but I would say much about this well-written, poetic book. I picked it up for my book meet themed Writers from North East India and since I wasn't sure I will like the literature being offered or not I picked up the one with short stories. And this book took me back to the time reminding me why I loved books more than people. The writing style is lyrical, simple and conveys everything so beautiful. Every story leaves you with a sense of completion even when there are cliffhangers. The titles are interesting and somehow manage to justify the end of every story. For me the book was a 20/10 for about 90% but after that I was left a tinsy bit in the air to look for the endings, hence the rating. Onto the book again, it has various short stories from the late 19th century up until now. Although the stories are not connected, set in Shillong, they give the political history of the place and around and how the shift of power affected the dkhars(outsiders); the relationship they shared with the locals brought out in the short stories. It touches every age group, every relation, every psychological aspect and human emotion.
It's a book I would recommend to everyone for it sent me back to the time where it was possible to transfer a person to another place and time with mere words. Though hers don't seem mere words but a string of notes careful composed to create an alluring melody.
And it was just her debut! Hope to see what's more in store.
July 12, 2013
Janice Pariat's Boats on Land is like a breath of fresh air when you are fishing into the inescapable bulk of many 'had-nothing-to-do-so-wrote-a-book' writers among emerging new writers. Her writing has a poignancy that is equally poetic and accepting of the reality, as it is silently and subtly powerful. Shillong and Assam, well mostly Shillong has been sketched in its bright and dark shades so well, you would feel you were living in some bygone era, thanks to her recall of the colonial hangover. The Khasi-dkhar gulf of cold indignation also reflects itself in her varied sketches.
Also, coming from a writer from the Northeast, somehow a book of short stories is just so acceptable, considering the intriguing stories that run throughout the region's historical fabric.
Also, coming from a writer from the Northeast, somehow a book of short stories is just so acceptable, considering the intriguing stories that run throughout the region's historical fabric.
October 2, 2020
Makes me want to immediately pack my bags, leave Delhi and shift to an obscure hill station. I really liked how soothing and idyllic this was.
February 24, 2021
Janice Pariat's story collection Boats on Land is a book that will transport its readers in space and time and make them feel a special sense of intimacy with the places and characters - even when they have never set foot in the landscape where these stories are set in.
This is because despite the fact that these stories are deeoly rooted in their locale- Shillong and the areas around it - and are steeped with local customs, beliefs, folk narratives and the geopolitical situation of the setting, this never becomes a limiting aspect of the stories. Sure, it is impossible to remove most of these stories from their setting and look at them in isolation without losing a lot of their impact, but at the same time there is something universal in these stories which will appeal to its readers irrespective of where they are situated.
The stories are a mixed bag - some with more focus on the folkloric, some with greater focus on the socio-economic and socio-political and some with focus on the inner life, the deeply personal which is often only seen from the perspective of outsiders, the perspective of those left behind. The writing is sharp and one can almost feel oneself transported to the spaces Pariat writes of.
This is because despite the fact that these stories are deeoly rooted in their locale- Shillong and the areas around it - and are steeped with local customs, beliefs, folk narratives and the geopolitical situation of the setting, this never becomes a limiting aspect of the stories. Sure, it is impossible to remove most of these stories from their setting and look at them in isolation without losing a lot of their impact, but at the same time there is something universal in these stories which will appeal to its readers irrespective of where they are situated.
The stories are a mixed bag - some with more focus on the folkloric, some with greater focus on the socio-economic and socio-political and some with focus on the inner life, the deeply personal which is often only seen from the perspective of outsiders, the perspective of those left behind. The writing is sharp and one can almost feel oneself transported to the spaces Pariat writes of.
February 12, 2019
Beautiful set of stories set in Shillong and nearby regions.
The setting is what makes the book for me. Janice Pariat takes her time describing the wondrous locations helping you imagine all the beauty that surrounds you. She contrasts this with stories that are often sad with a touch of ethereal to it, evoking in totality the same feeling you have standing on a beautiful mountainside and looking down upon an empty vastness. There is some sombreness because of the lack of all things human around and there is a timelessness as well. These things are again brought by the timeline that is depicted in the stories. By the end of the book, you feel like you've taken a tour through Shillong both physically and historically.
The titular story was a standout for me. Having read her Seahorse already, I can see that Janice has a fascination with sexuality and I would like to see that explored more. Her writing has a sensuality and that is brought to the forefront in these stories. It was perfect coming-of-age story of lesbian love and would perhaps make a good novel too. There was also another story set in a girls' school that was also similarly intriguing.
Overall a good and promising read . There may be a whiff of the familiar here and there but the languid prose and the wondrous setting more than makes up for that!
The setting is what makes the book for me. Janice Pariat takes her time describing the wondrous locations helping you imagine all the beauty that surrounds you. She contrasts this with stories that are often sad with a touch of ethereal to it, evoking in totality the same feeling you have standing on a beautiful mountainside and looking down upon an empty vastness. There is some sombreness because of the lack of all things human around and there is a timelessness as well. These things are again brought by the timeline that is depicted in the stories. By the end of the book, you feel like you've taken a tour through Shillong both physically and historically.
The titular story was a standout for me. Having read her Seahorse already, I can see that Janice has a fascination with sexuality and I would like to see that explored more. Her writing has a sensuality and that is brought to the forefront in these stories. It was perfect coming-of-age story of lesbian love and would perhaps make a good novel too. There was also another story set in a girls' school that was also similarly intriguing.
Overall a good and promising read . There may be a whiff of the familiar here and there but the languid prose and the wondrous setting more than makes up for that!
October 9, 2021
It is a wonder to relate with nostalgia about something that one had not really experienced. Janice's story telling is exquisite.
'19/87' and 'Sky Graves' were thrilling. 'A Waterfall of Horses' and 'Echo Words' felt like absorbing folklores.
'The Keeper of Souls' was beautiful.
Although the open and non-detailed endings were lovely in their own way, I was dejected when I realized that none of the stories were going to be closed and happy.
The culture, landscapes of Northeast make you want to wish you'd lived there.
'19/87' and 'Sky Graves' were thrilling. 'A Waterfall of Horses' and 'Echo Words' felt like absorbing folklores.
'The Keeper of Souls' was beautiful.
Although the open and non-detailed endings were lovely in their own way, I was dejected when I realized that none of the stories were going to be closed and happy.
The culture, landscapes of Northeast make you want to wish you'd lived there.
April 21, 2022
my second JP book and I am simply in love with her writing.
i read this book in the sweltering heat of Delhi in the wake of summer (when it already gets as hot as 43degree C)
and so i have made a decision - i am definitely going to visit Meghalaya as soon as I head back home from Guwahati. It has already been more than 2 years since I was in the Scotland of the East. but soon!
loved the stories. I had to read 19/87 for a class. continued reading the rest of the stories because I loved them so much!
i read this book in the sweltering heat of Delhi in the wake of summer (when it already gets as hot as 43degree C)
and so i have made a decision - i am definitely going to visit Meghalaya as soon as I head back home from Guwahati. It has already been more than 2 years since I was in the Scotland of the East. but soon!
loved the stories. I had to read 19/87 for a class. continued reading the rest of the stories because I loved them so much!
February 21, 2022
This was my first time reading a book by a local author, and I have my friend Deigre to thank for that. I’ve heard people mention Janice Pariat a few times but never got to reading her work, all thanks to my never-ending TBR list. Boats On Land by Janice Pariat is a recommended book that I have fallen in love with.
Boats On Land by Janice Pariat is a collection of short stories focused on the northeastern region of India. Specifically, Meghalaya, the birthplace of the author. The book consists of stories infused with folklore and an unshakable belief in the supernatural. It also has a unique way of looking at India’s northeast region when British Imperialism ruled over the country.
I will admit that I had my doubts. It was my first time reading a book by a local author, and I didn’t want to keep my hopes up. But the moment I read the first paragraph of the first story, I was won over.
Boats On Land by Janice Pariat consists of fifteen short stories. Each one of them is unique and non-repetitive. The one thing that I immediately fell in love with was the writing style. It was gorgeous. Its attention to detail is impeccable. Being a resident of Shillong, I knew which places Janice Pariat mentioned in her stories because I could conjure clear images of them in my head. Her writing did justice in describing Shillong and its people. Janice Pariat did a superb job in capturing the essence of Meghalaya. Her description of life on the hills was very accurate. The late back lifestyle, the unplanned architecture of Shillong, folktales people often tell as cautionary tales to the young ones and a myriad of stories about the supernatural. The supernatural is something many people here believe in. That’s what life here on the hills is like. Reading Boats On Land was quite nostalgic as well. The one famous school she mentions in her stories is Loreto Convent. The school I attended as a child up until my teenage years. She has one short story dedicated to it. And reading the story brought back a lot of memories. The short story talks about a secret tunnel/corridor present within the school premises. And a group of friends try to find it. (PS: it does actually exist. At least we believe that it does exist. All LC girls know where the entrance is located. But I don’t think anyone has gone down there to explore it.)
I’ve read a lot about how the British rule impacted India. I have my ICSE boards to thank for that. But it was my first time reading about the British in the northeast, particularly in Meghalaya. And I loved it. It piqued my interest to the extent that I want to re-visit Indian History once again. I liked that Janice Pariat not only sings praises of the hills. But also talks about its flaws. The most apparent is the racism that the tribal people have against the non-tribals. People had to literally pack their bags and flee Shillong overnight because many got hurt. That’s how bad things got. And even though things aren’t as bad as they were in the old days, racism still exists. And that’s a problem that needs to be tackled.
Boats On Land by Janice Pariat is a book that surprised me. I adore it with all my heart. And I’m so proud to see a Khasi woman make it in the literary world. It gives me hope and inspires me that even though we’re from some remote area in the world, the power of words can do wonders. I highly recommend giving Boats On Land by Janice Pariat a read. It’s a beautiful little book with a lot of heart. My rating for it is a solid 5.
Boats On Land by Janice Pariat is a collection of short stories focused on the northeastern region of India. Specifically, Meghalaya, the birthplace of the author. The book consists of stories infused with folklore and an unshakable belief in the supernatural. It also has a unique way of looking at India’s northeast region when British Imperialism ruled over the country.
I will admit that I had my doubts. It was my first time reading a book by a local author, and I didn’t want to keep my hopes up. But the moment I read the first paragraph of the first story, I was won over.
Boats On Land by Janice Pariat consists of fifteen short stories. Each one of them is unique and non-repetitive. The one thing that I immediately fell in love with was the writing style. It was gorgeous. Its attention to detail is impeccable. Being a resident of Shillong, I knew which places Janice Pariat mentioned in her stories because I could conjure clear images of them in my head. Her writing did justice in describing Shillong and its people. Janice Pariat did a superb job in capturing the essence of Meghalaya. Her description of life on the hills was very accurate. The late back lifestyle, the unplanned architecture of Shillong, folktales people often tell as cautionary tales to the young ones and a myriad of stories about the supernatural. The supernatural is something many people here believe in. That’s what life here on the hills is like. Reading Boats On Land was quite nostalgic as well. The one famous school she mentions in her stories is Loreto Convent. The school I attended as a child up until my teenage years. She has one short story dedicated to it. And reading the story brought back a lot of memories. The short story talks about a secret tunnel/corridor present within the school premises. And a group of friends try to find it. (PS: it does actually exist. At least we believe that it does exist. All LC girls know where the entrance is located. But I don’t think anyone has gone down there to explore it.)
I’ve read a lot about how the British rule impacted India. I have my ICSE boards to thank for that. But it was my first time reading about the British in the northeast, particularly in Meghalaya. And I loved it. It piqued my interest to the extent that I want to re-visit Indian History once again. I liked that Janice Pariat not only sings praises of the hills. But also talks about its flaws. The most apparent is the racism that the tribal people have against the non-tribals. People had to literally pack their bags and flee Shillong overnight because many got hurt. That’s how bad things got. And even though things aren’t as bad as they were in the old days, racism still exists. And that’s a problem that needs to be tackled.
Boats On Land by Janice Pariat is a book that surprised me. I adore it with all my heart. And I’m so proud to see a Khasi woman make it in the literary world. It gives me hope and inspires me that even though we’re from some remote area in the world, the power of words can do wonders. I highly recommend giving Boats On Land by Janice Pariat a read. It’s a beautiful little book with a lot of heart. My rating for it is a solid 5.
March 7, 2021
3.5/5
Pretty interesting short stories from Shillong written beautifully. I must admit I did not know much about North east and this book told me so much about the life there, its culture, natural beauty, it’s people, their aspirations and tribulations, and their faiths. This is author’s first book and she was very effectively able to transport me to this valleys, roads, houses and cafes, she writes beautifully, such amazing use of language. Each story was like a summer breeze to read through. (Autumn breeze rather given it was cold Shillong 😊). I definitely want to visit that city a bit more than earlier!
Pretty interesting short stories from Shillong written beautifully. I must admit I did not know much about North east and this book told me so much about the life there, its culture, natural beauty, it’s people, their aspirations and tribulations, and their faiths. This is author’s first book and she was very effectively able to transport me to this valleys, roads, houses and cafes, she writes beautifully, such amazing use of language. Each story was like a summer breeze to read through. (Autumn breeze rather given it was cold Shillong 😊). I definitely want to visit that city a bit more than earlier!
November 29, 2012
Highly recommended.
Read my full review at http://suneethaspeaks.wordpress.com/2...
Here's a short summary of what I think.
There are 15 stories, all of which cover the period from British colonial rule to the hartal-ridden, angst-filled, factionalism-threatened today — that’s about two hundred years. As we read from the first story to the last, the events unfold in chronological order with different sets of protagonists.
Ms Pariat’s narrators, many of whom are tweens or teens, stand at the margins of history, observing the turbulence – whether in politics, society, within their clan or even inside the minds of their loved ones – but they are never really in the thick of the action. Still, the reader leaves each story with reluctance: the shared pain and empathy remain long after you have turned the pages.
Boats on Land is quintessential Shillong, sketched by an insider. And that makes all the difference.
Read my full review at http://suneethaspeaks.wordpress.com/2...
Here's a short summary of what I think.
There are 15 stories, all of which cover the period from British colonial rule to the hartal-ridden, angst-filled, factionalism-threatened today — that’s about two hundred years. As we read from the first story to the last, the events unfold in chronological order with different sets of protagonists.
Ms Pariat’s narrators, many of whom are tweens or teens, stand at the margins of history, observing the turbulence – whether in politics, society, within their clan or even inside the minds of their loved ones – but they are never really in the thick of the action. Still, the reader leaves each story with reluctance: the shared pain and empathy remain long after you have turned the pages.
Boats on Land is quintessential Shillong, sketched by an insider. And that makes all the difference.
November 9, 2015
Pariat's writing is so haunting. It is almost as if she can recreate Shillong and make you want to visit the place. The highlights of Boats on Land are definitely the fourth story, Dream of The Golden Mahseer and the fifth one, Secret Corridors. The sense of completion at the end of each story - which however discounts nothing from its ambiguity - leads to a sense of fulfilment which, in my experience, almost never happens for short stories.
I was reading one story per day to, sort of, draw out the experience and i can say that this is definitely one of the best books that i have read this year.
I was reading one story per day to, sort of, draw out the experience and i can say that this is definitely one of the best books that i have read this year.
October 11, 2021
I had come across this book quite randomly while searching for a book to gift a friend. I liked the description, and I like short stories, so decided to give it a try.
This book captivated me after reading the first short story itself. In many stories, it felt like Janice had created a magical world which is set at different points in the history of Shillong. I personally have not read about the struggles of Independence movement in that region, and the civil unrests of later period, but the book provided some glimpses which made it even a more delightful read for me. Certainly recommend this one.
This book captivated me after reading the first short story itself. In many stories, it felt like Janice had created a magical world which is set at different points in the history of Shillong. I personally have not read about the struggles of Independence movement in that region, and the civil unrests of later period, but the book provided some glimpses which made it even a more delightful read for me. Certainly recommend this one.
June 6, 2019
Absolutely loved it. This books encapsulates fifteen stories that tell us about the legends, spirits, waterfalls, rivers, white mists, pine trees and scarred people. The writing style and the use of words and how they are framed together - pure genius. Certain lines and the endings really made me gasp. A blend of different emotions and different times, it is a short story collection to watch out for. The fact that it is written about us and by one of us North-East Indians make it even more special.
June 12, 2019
What a fresh voice! English fiction from the North-East is uncommon, and these short stories set mostly in Meghalaya give us a look into that beguiling land and its people. There is magic and myth and folklore. There are also intense human connections and gorgeously verdant landscapes. All described in fiercely poetic language. Reading Janice Pariat has been an absolute delight.
November 12, 2016
Mysterious,Haunting,Dark and ugly like truth.
February 18, 2022
Magnifique!
How cool is it to read something that's based on the place you live?
Top favourite stories:
📌19/87,
📌Laitlum
📌 The Discovery of Flight
How cool is it to read something that's based on the place you live?
Top favourite stories:
📌19/87,
📌Laitlum
📌 The Discovery of Flight
November 24, 2023
Thanks for the brilliant find (and gift!) as always, Riya!
February 6, 2020
Meghalayan life - in all its glory and conflicts - is spread across these 15 stories where history controls emotions and fates are linked to geographies.
I’m immensely interested in the history, geography and the people of Meghalaya, and this is the first book to quench my thirst for any literature concerning Meghalaya. There is so little prevailing literature about this land and its people that the only non-academic books I could find about it were all out of print. It’s not very surprising, considering Khasi had no written form prior to the colonization. What is it about Meghalaya that fascinates me to no end? Is it the unpeopled wildernesses? The drop-dead gorgeousness of its landscapes? The whimsical roads? The ever-looming threat of cloud covers? Meghalaya exists in a sort of parallel universe, frozen in a time of its own. I should stop with the exoticization, but how else do you describe The Exotic?
The atmospheres evoked by these stories are vivid; there is no paucity of lyrical descriptions of hills and forests and Shillong (I was a bit disappointed that there were not many clouds, though). The history and racial conflicts are well-conveyed, and the readers emerge well-informed about the different layers of ethnic and political tensions prevalent in Meghalaya. Some stories successfully employ folklore to cast supernatural shadows on mundane events.
Ultimately though, this book fell short of my expectations. I have read Pariat’s later novel Seahorse, and that led me to expect a level of sophistication that was absent in this collection. Most stories hover around the edges of predictability - in terms of both emotions and events. I found the characters unmemorable, and after a point, all their images combined into a blurry whole. There is some reserve to these stories that keep the characters from shining. The build-up in some of the stories were great, but the endings were more shaky than shaking. I love short stories to end with a bite, but Pariat’s style values realism over dramatization. Most of the stories were set in Shillong, and I was more interested in stories about rural life.
In essence, I expected a shining collection but it turned out to be a vaguely clouded one. Very pleasant nonetheless - rather like Meghalaya.
I’m immensely interested in the history, geography and the people of Meghalaya, and this is the first book to quench my thirst for any literature concerning Meghalaya. There is so little prevailing literature about this land and its people that the only non-academic books I could find about it were all out of print. It’s not very surprising, considering Khasi had no written form prior to the colonization. What is it about Meghalaya that fascinates me to no end? Is it the unpeopled wildernesses? The drop-dead gorgeousness of its landscapes? The whimsical roads? The ever-looming threat of cloud covers? Meghalaya exists in a sort of parallel universe, frozen in a time of its own. I should stop with the exoticization, but how else do you describe The Exotic?
The atmospheres evoked by these stories are vivid; there is no paucity of lyrical descriptions of hills and forests and Shillong (I was a bit disappointed that there were not many clouds, though). The history and racial conflicts are well-conveyed, and the readers emerge well-informed about the different layers of ethnic and political tensions prevalent in Meghalaya. Some stories successfully employ folklore to cast supernatural shadows on mundane events.
Ultimately though, this book fell short of my expectations. I have read Pariat’s later novel Seahorse, and that led me to expect a level of sophistication that was absent in this collection. Most stories hover around the edges of predictability - in terms of both emotions and events. I found the characters unmemorable, and after a point, all their images combined into a blurry whole. There is some reserve to these stories that keep the characters from shining. The build-up in some of the stories were great, but the endings were more shaky than shaking. I love short stories to end with a bite, but Pariat’s style values realism over dramatization. Most of the stories were set in Shillong, and I was more interested in stories about rural life.
In essence, I expected a shining collection but it turned out to be a vaguely clouded one. Very pleasant nonetheless - rather like Meghalaya.
October 31, 2022
A haunting beauty, and one of the best short story anthologies I have ever read! Fluroscent with folklore and alight with socio-political turmoils, these fifteen stories are interpersonal and unique, with distinctive, unforgettable voices. The stories unfold in an exotic setting (Shillong and neighbouring regions) that does a shadow-play of sorts and elevates the mundane to the mystical or at the least to an accentuated existential epiphany. The narrative arc blends myth and reality, and shows how stories shape personal and communal identities. It also makes the reader surrender to the human yearning for love and everything incomprehensible that lies beyond it. I liked all the stories except for the eponymous 'Boats on Land' and 'Secret Corridors'. My favorites are: 19/87, Sky Burial, A Waterfall of Horses, Echo Words, Dream of the Golden Mahseer, The discovery of flight and Laitlum. This is the only book where magical realism has worked for me.
I liked Janice Pariat's writing better than Jhumpa Lahiri's. Both authors have nuanced and keen insight into the entanglement of human thoughts, emotions and motives; however, Janice Pariat's narrators and their settings are exquisitely layered, other-worldly and uninhibited (rather than self-conscious). Where Lahiri's characters long to belong, are both remembering and resisting their roots, and struggling to place themselves in a shifting world, Pariat's bold characters brave into the unknown, emphasize exploration and are not conflicted by the complexity of their heritage or feelings.
I am really looking forward to read more from this author!
I liked Janice Pariat's writing better than Jhumpa Lahiri's. Both authors have nuanced and keen insight into the entanglement of human thoughts, emotions and motives; however, Janice Pariat's narrators and their settings are exquisitely layered, other-worldly and uninhibited (rather than self-conscious). Where Lahiri's characters long to belong, are both remembering and resisting their roots, and struggling to place themselves in a shifting world, Pariat's bold characters brave into the unknown, emphasize exploration and are not conflicted by the complexity of their heritage or feelings.
I am really looking forward to read more from this author!
May 26, 2021
Boats on land is a riveting read as a whole. This is the second book by Janice Pariat that I've read. I was intrigued and in love with her writing style after reading "Seahorse" and wanted to delve into this book for a long time.
It was the first book based on North-east India that I read, so the description of the landscape, the cultural nuances, the Khasi words were all new and fascinating for me. What I love about all the stories in this collection is that even though they reveal A lot, they are still very much shrouded in mystery and a sense of strangeness. So with every story's end, I was both content & craving to know more, for the characters had grown on me in a very short span. Janice's writing has beautiful fluidity and flow to it, so each story seemed like it glided along & the knots were tied up in perfect time.
That being said, I couldn't connect to all the stories in the book. But I loved majority of them. Three stories particularly stayed with me long after they ended - "Sky graves", "Boats on land" and "A waterfall of horses". I would go back and re-read them just to immerse into their many layers.
It was the first book based on North-east India that I read, so the description of the landscape, the cultural nuances, the Khasi words were all new and fascinating for me. What I love about all the stories in this collection is that even though they reveal A lot, they are still very much shrouded in mystery and a sense of strangeness. So with every story's end, I was both content & craving to know more, for the characters had grown on me in a very short span. Janice's writing has beautiful fluidity and flow to it, so each story seemed like it glided along & the knots were tied up in perfect time.
That being said, I couldn't connect to all the stories in the book. But I loved majority of them. Three stories particularly stayed with me long after they ended - "Sky graves", "Boats on land" and "A waterfall of horses". I would go back and re-read them just to immerse into their many layers.
December 9, 2024
I power through some books as if they were packets of Green Chutney Kurkure. But I dipped a thoughtful spoon into this one every few days. These stories, peopled with tenderly written characters and misty landscapes, read like poetry and must be savoured.
In many ways, the book feels like a throwback to the turbulent 80s and 90s in Shillong and other parts of Northeast India, with the disquiet and conflict between Khasis and "outsiders" featuring as a key part of some stories and a disquieting element in the backdrop of others. As I read, I felt a kind of longing and loss, joy and wistfulness, for what specifically, I don't know. Perhaps for the hills and waterfalls and landscapes Pariat describes? Perhaps for a bygone era or life in a small town? It's strange because Change, both external and internal, marches past in every story. Yet somehow, I wanted to hit pause.
In many ways, the book feels like a throwback to the turbulent 80s and 90s in Shillong and other parts of Northeast India, with the disquiet and conflict between Khasis and "outsiders" featuring as a key part of some stories and a disquieting element in the backdrop of others. As I read, I felt a kind of longing and loss, joy and wistfulness, for what specifically, I don't know. Perhaps for the hills and waterfalls and landscapes Pariat describes? Perhaps for a bygone era or life in a small town? It's strange because Change, both external and internal, marches past in every story. Yet somehow, I wanted to hit pause.
June 8, 2017
Shillong etched and framed in beautiful sentences and memorable short stories...
September 21, 2020
Janice Pariat's writing is magical - there's no other way to put it. These stories are quietly evocative, conjuring universes of feeling in a few sentences. They're lyrical and mythical - both in form and history, specifically of North-Eastern India. Pariat deftly writes through the binaries of insider and outsider, twining the startlingly ordinary and human throughout the stories. This is beautiful, moving read (and perfect for a rainy day).
August 15, 2018
Probably a recent North East trip makes me partisan towards this book with short stories set in North East - primarily Meghalaya and parts of Assam, the stories have a common thread of emotionally scarred people in an emotionally scarred time that North East went through in the 70s / 80s - touches upon the definition of home - the place you are originally from or the place you have called home. Lot of folklore is intertwined with the inexplicable thing called life.
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