The Tombstone In My Garden

by Temsula Ao

In this collection of five spare and poignant stories from Nagaland, Temsula Ao holds up a mirror to the lives of everyday people beyond the headlines.

A ‘Bihari’ coolie at the Dimapur railway station has been hiding a dark secret about his adopted son; a grave threat to both their lives. As her grandson is exiled from the village, a grandmother finally breaks the silence over her mutilated funeral supeti. A rare lily refuses to bloom year after year because she was moved from her usual position in the flowerbed into an ornate pot. Big Father, a uniquely misshapen grandfather tree, becomes the guardian and protector of an entire village. The matriarch Lily Anne, subjected to racial slurs by her own mother on account of her mixed parentage, resumes her position on the ancient reclining chair in her verandah to stare at the eyesore in her overgrown garden.

The Tombstone in My Garden—with its pared-down prose and gripping, original stories—reflects Padma Shri award-winner Temsula Ao’s deep understanding not just of the human condition, but that of all life.

Genres: Short Stories

Unknown Binding

About the author

Temsula Ao was born in October 1945 at Jorhat, Assam. She received her B.A with Distinction from Fazl Ali College, Mokokchung, Nagaland. She received her M.A in English from Gauhati University, Assam. From Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (presently English and Foreign Languages University,) Hyderabad she received her Post Graduate Diploma in the Teaching of English and Ph.D from NEHU. From 1992-97 she served as Director, North East Zone Cultural Centre, Dimapur on Deputation from NEHU, and was Fulbright Fellow to University of Minnesota 1985-86. She is a retired Professor of English in North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), where she has taught since 1975.

She received the honorary Padma Shri Award in 2007. She is the recipient of the Governor’s Gold Medal 2009 from the government of Meghalaya. In 2013, she received the Sahitya Akademi Award for her short story collection, Laburnum For My Head, given by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Literature. Ao is widely respected as one of the major literary voices in English to emerge from Northeast India along with Mitra Phukan and Mamang Dai.

Reviews

[Nivas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Tombstone in My Garden is the second book I have read, which is written by Temsula Ao. Like Laburnum For My Head, this book is also a collection of five short stories which deals with the social, political, and cultural identity of people of north-east India, mainly of Nagaland, where Temsula Ao is based. Almost all stories have a tinge of tragedy and give the reader an insight into the ways of society, family, conflicts raised by growing changes in society, with changing cultures and fading traditions, and with nature.

'Snow Green’ and ‘The Talking Tree’ from the collection have anthropomorphic characters and explore human prejudice and greed towards nature and its other inhabitants.

‘The Platform’ shows how innocent became victims by the malice and violence perturbed by the clash of different cultures.

‘The Saga of a Cloth’ and the title story are my favorite ones. In both stories, the main character is an old woman who is reminiscing about her past, how her identity was trampled by men in her life, despite her protests, how her existence was dictated by the whims of family and community, how her actions changed and affected the lives of others around her.

[Chitra Ahanthem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Temsula Ao's latest book The Tombstone In My Garden, a collection of five short stories is markedly different in the way each has elements of socio politics and cultural commentary embedded within. So one goes in for the stories and where it takes the characters but one also gets an insight into the ways of society and families, of people at odds with nature and it's other creatures. 
Two stories in the collection not only feature characters from plant and animal word but ones that talk. In 'Snow Green' an old gardener is in sync with a rare lily while his employer, the mistress of the house looks on the lily as a showpiece to flaunt. As the story progresses, we see a desolate atmosphere in the garden and the gardener as a battle of wills is fought between the lily and the lady of the house, mirroring the tussle between nature and the artificiality of the times we live in.
The Talking Tree is an imaginative story where animals and a tree come together to fight off the greedy advanced of human beings. Does this make it a children's story? Yes and no, for the strands of each being having a place in this world is apt for children but for the adults too, the course of the story makes you pause at the almost whimsical nature of the story but also dwell a bit on the messaging within.
The Saga of a Cloth and the title story both examine the weight of one's identity associated by birth, something that is beyond our hands but that bears down on one's life journey with the past becoming a looming presence in the present and possible future. Both stories have old women protagonists trying to wrestle the burden of the past so their next of kin can remain untouched. The accident of one's birth is also touched upon in The Platform that follows the story of a migrant coolie in Dimapur whose maternal instinct gives him cause for worry and much danger to his own life. These stories are immersive and you will find yourself reading them carefully for sure. 

[Contemporary_literary_threads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Temsula Ao's new short story collection, featuring five stories, brings a new voice to her writing. This time stories doesn't have a straight path to what you're being driven in. The real plot opens up somewhere in the middle of the story like in the opening tale featuring a Bihari Coolie who finds himself in a deep trouble because of his adopted son due to religious differences. In the Saga of a Cloth a grandmother unveils secret behind the funeral supeti to her grandson as he is exiled from the village over his misdoings. The story highlights how an unwanted birth can hamper your present. Similarly, in the titular story we find an old woman narrating tale of her marriage, how it was arranged against her will and mixed parentage, disrupting her present.

In Snow Green, told from a Lily's perspective, narrates how it stops blooming when relocated into a pot from the garden as the mistress of the house wants to flaunt it in a competition. The Talking Tree is again told from nature's perspective un which Big Father, a uniquely misshapen grandfather tree, becomes the guardian and protector of an entire village against humans.

Ao doesn't move away from her motive to focus on socio-political and cultural issues through her simple storytelling. It's on you how much you can take away from her stories with the narrative so immersive.

[Ooha Biddala · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories felt like a tiny peep into the culture of Nagaland. However, the dry storytelling and minimal dialogue, combined with the inherent cynicism of his tales made it sandpaper-y. I could have finished it in one short flight journey, but it took two flights and a palate cleansing break to complete the book. I would still recommend it for those looking to read from a variety of authors- because the setting of Nagaland definitely permeates through of every page and that was very interesting.

[Tanvi Prakash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming folk stories.

[Saisaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evocative and beautiful.