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Bitter: A short story: A country broken, a family annihilated, and a secret that ate her inside
- GenresNovella
30 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 4, 2021
4 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Smita Bhattacharya
16 books67 followersSMITA BHATTACHARYA writes atmospheric cosy, and psychological mystery fiction. Strong female protagonists and twisty whodunnits are her forte. Her psychological thriller novel—Dead to Them—was amongst the top Crime, Thriller & Mystery books of Amazon India in 2022. It has been optioned for a movie. She has also authored a popular amateur detective series—the Darya Nandkarni Misadventure Series. The first of the series—Kiss of Salt—is in talks to be optioned for a movie.
Smita lives in Mumbai but has solo travelled to over 45 countries. Her stories are heavily inspired by her travels and by those she meets. She has worked in a vineyard, a newsroom, a school, a library, a bank, an advisory firm, and a technology start-up.
You can read her colourful travel and life stories at www.smitabhattacharya.com.
Smita lives in Mumbai but has solo travelled to over 45 countries. Her stories are heavily inspired by her travels and by those she meets. She has worked in a vineyard, a newsroom, a school, a library, a bank, an advisory firm, and a technology start-up.
You can read her colourful travel and life stories at www.smitabhattacharya.com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 18, 2022
The Bengal Partition of 1947 saw people move from both sides of the boundary, demarcated by religious beliefs.
This story is about one such person, Gouri, who lost her parents and her brother during the partition and landed in an Indian family of newly married couple.
The young couple had a daughter soon after, and treated Gouri has her eldest daughter.
Gouri turned into an Apsara-esque, angelic woman in her teens, and got married into a rich, zamindar family, to a widower. The reason being obvious, as her adoptive family needed money to fill in their daily needs and their dwindling business.
On one such occasions, Gouri stayed with her sister's family as her husband was away. She had no child, and shared room with Kakoli, the seven-year-old daughter of her sister.
That night is an unforgettable one for Kakoli, as she saw her aunt weeping and making strange noises with her eyes closed as her face turned pale and ghostly.
These recurring dreams had been a secret known only to her family and her husband. Now even to Kakoli. But why was she crying and to whom was she talking to in her dream?
Gouri looked normal the next morning, and spent her time in the garden with her favourite makal tree — a poisonous one whose fruits were bitter and whose flowers had very short life but looked beautiful in red in the exterior. Another of her secrets!
As the years passed, both Mashi and the makal tree wilted and died.
Kakoli sold her ancestor house after her mother died, until the lead contractor Anirban's call shook her gut when he informed her a baby's skeleton is buried under the makal tree.
This story is about one such person, Gouri, who lost her parents and her brother during the partition and landed in an Indian family of newly married couple.
The young couple had a daughter soon after, and treated Gouri has her eldest daughter.
Gouri turned into an Apsara-esque, angelic woman in her teens, and got married into a rich, zamindar family, to a widower. The reason being obvious, as her adoptive family needed money to fill in their daily needs and their dwindling business.
On one such occasions, Gouri stayed with her sister's family as her husband was away. She had no child, and shared room with Kakoli, the seven-year-old daughter of her sister.
That night is an unforgettable one for Kakoli, as she saw her aunt weeping and making strange noises with her eyes closed as her face turned pale and ghostly.
These recurring dreams had been a secret known only to her family and her husband. Now even to Kakoli. But why was she crying and to whom was she talking to in her dream?
Gouri looked normal the next morning, and spent her time in the garden with her favourite makal tree — a poisonous one whose fruits were bitter and whose flowers had very short life but looked beautiful in red in the exterior. Another of her secrets!
As the years passed, both Mashi and the makal tree wilted and died.
Kakoli sold her ancestor house after her mother died, until the lead contractor Anirban's call shook her gut when he informed her a baby's skeleton is buried under the makal tree.
August 31, 2021
So amazing
The story was quite enthralling, but there were a few parts that didn't really contribute to the story. Overall it was amazing.
The story was quite enthralling, but there were a few parts that didn't really contribute to the story. Overall it was amazing.
September 29, 2021
nice book!! as i am bengali i liked it more!! last part was a bit devastrating! still loved it
January 15, 2025
All over rating: 3.8/5
Theme-wise: 4/5
Knowing the characters as a third person pov from this book in the time set in pre & post Independence period.
Whereas, when it comes to writing, it's not so polished.
The end was a bit not up to my mark I suppose bcz it's sudden, yes but not much clearly planned & carved out.
Theme-wise: 4/5
Knowing the characters as a third person pov from this book in the time set in pre & post Independence period.
Whereas, when it comes to writing, it's not so polished.
The end was a bit not up to my mark I suppose bcz it's sudden, yes but not much clearly planned & carved out.
April 5, 2021
Not bad at all
The description for the book was interesting and it was for a very short story. I would have preferred this to have been worked on for a book. And I did see this ending coming.
The description for the book was interesting and it was for a very short story. I would have preferred this to have been worked on for a book. And I did see this ending coming.
March 9, 2025
In this short read, I found a perfect combination of horror and mystery, which is rare to find in modern-day stories. I also liked its simplicity. It was a treat to read this story.
December 13, 2025
Beautiful and heartbreaking
September 20, 2024
Money was the fairy godmother that transmuted this unfortunate destitute to a burgeoning princess.
Involves the Bengal Partition of 1947, and its aftermath.
Subsequent to her husband’s passing, Gouri mashi comes to live with Kakoli’s family. And Kakoli herself leaves, shortly thereafter, to get married.
Kakoli’s family has a real nice house, but it’s going to pot—their assets are slowly dwindling.
Adopted by Kakoli’s family as a young girl, Gouri mashi figured things out, and she married up.
Gouri mashi is creepy, as are her horrible nightmares.
This is a weird, existentialist story. Due to an alternate cover and a misleading blurb, I was expecting something scary and haunting. Not…a bizarre mishmash of family recollections…
His death was like bitter skin.
Involves the Bengal Partition of 1947, and its aftermath.
Subsequent to her husband’s passing, Gouri mashi comes to live with Kakoli’s family. And Kakoli herself leaves, shortly thereafter, to get married.
Kakoli’s family has a real nice house, but it’s going to pot—their assets are slowly dwindling.
Adopted by Kakoli’s family as a young girl, Gouri mashi figured things out, and she married up.
Gouri mashi is creepy, as are her horrible nightmares.
This is a weird, existentialist story. Due to an alternate cover and a misleading blurb, I was expecting something scary and haunting. Not…a bizarre mishmash of family recollections…
His death was like bitter skin.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews