Crumpled Voices - Shades of Suffering: A review

Blurb: Crumpled Voices – Shades of Suffering is a collection of short stories based on social issues. A common thread of the prevailing societal evils and injustice binds them together. This anthology comes directly from heart and life. These days, humanity is suffering to such an extent that we found it difficult to stay quiet. So, this is our small beginning towards awakening the masses.

The fiction level is nil as each day we all witness horrendous crimes like Rapes, Acid Attacks, Domestic Violence, Honour Killings, etc. We all have been a witness to such heinous crimes in our day to day life, our near and dear ones might have experience them closely too. We have almost grown up among them, felt them following us. We constantly live in fear of the unknown, fear of being the victim to any of the criminal activities multiplying around us. These days when no place is safe, including the web, our voices need to be heard.

Protest must begin from somewhere, and we have used our pen which is mightier than the sword to express our anguish. An echo of many unimaginable atrocities lurks within us, engulfing us in its shadow. Through each of the story in this book, we have tried to highlight one such aspect of horrifying crimes. This is an initiative that can also work as a boost up for all those who have been suffering but have chosen to stay quiet so far.

Verdict: This anthology comes in our hands in the exact time when we have to raise our voices against all the odds. The name ‘Crumpled Voices’ perfectly suits the theme which represents the different shades of suffering. The wonderfully written blurb will encourage the youth to make this book a immediate pick.

Down The Way – Ila Garg
This poem gives this book a well needed kick start. The author has very efficiently crafted her words to portray the feeling of a tree. This poem ends up with a noble message which makes this poem one of the best of the series.

This is Who I am – Ila Garg
A story about a boy who finds himself a bit different at a very early age and gets attracted towards his best friend. This story shows us that side of our society which bounds us to convey our own feelings. A nice story with a sad ending.

Karma Returns – Pulkit Gupta
The story starts on a usual note with Devika and Rajesh enjoying their happy married life.  The end will leave the readers in complete awe. In the middle I felt the author has stretched a bit while describing the scenes in Kashmir.

The Last Whisper – Tanya Srivastava
This is a perfect name for a story like this. The narrating style of the author will catch the reader’s attention. This story tells us about how Shalini has to face the wrath of her husband and the end teaches us a lesson to all those women who are keeping mum in these situations.

It is Honourable – Abhik Chakraborty
Readers can witness a very horrendous crime while reading this. The gripping narrating style and the wonderfully framed plot will help the readers to visualize each and every part of the story. Honour killing is a conservative topic to write about and the author had done proper justice to it. The end will break the readers into tears.

The Curious Case of Missing Brahmins – Abhishek ‘Atul’
When all the stories are showing us about the sufferings or the problems, this story tells us what can show us the light. The way Keshav has described what we are lacking in our society now will definitely ring a bell among the readers. 

Color of a Butterfly – Promilla Qazi
This is the story of Megha, how she grew up, how she faced the wrath of his father when her mother chose to elope, how she found Nitin and at the end what made her well-settled world upside down. I felt the storyline is a bit weak comparing to the earlier stories but the narrating style protects the flow.

Indira’s Story – Smita Salins
This is one of the most inspirational story of this anthology. The most interesting thing of this story is the author has kept everything true and clear without using fictional characters and sequences.  Every reader is going to learn a lot from the journey of Indira.

The Corrupt Me – Nitesh Chitranshi
The author has done a great job by delivering an effective message through this story. The story line is simple but the end will leave readers thinking. The author note is written very efficiently and perfectly suits the theme of the book.

The Fatal Pride – Sreelekha Chatterjee
A nice story with a catchy name which will definitely drag the reader’s attention. The author has adopted a very likeable narrating style decorated with simple words. I appreciated the author for making such an unanticipated ending.

The Paradise – Prachi Priyanka
This story will show the readers a different side of a girl. Unlike others; this story, revolves around a husband who slowly finds the bitter side of his wife. In the league of stories about raising voices, this stands alone with its unusual aspect. Kudos to the author for such an attempt.

Nature’s Revenge – Shruti Mall
The storyline of this story can a bit weak but it carries a memorable message which readers are going to find after reading the last paragraph of the story. How Parihar lost his family in a same way in back to back incident and why it's called ‘Nature’s Revenge’ is the main prospect of the story.

She Was Raped – Nitin Soni
In an anthology like this readers eyes always search for a poem like this. This poem tells the condition of our country. It is the prestige of our country which is getting raped. I appreciated the compiler for putting this poem in the perfect possible place.

The Crescendo of a Grand Symphony – Harsh Rai Puri
The storyline is nice and gripping but the narrating style was a bit confusing. The author had mentioned the timeline in almost each paragraph to clear things but I felt the frequent jump from past to present will confuse the readers.

A Letter to God – Sandeep Sharma
The author has portrayed the feeling of a 10 year old girl named Radha in this story.  Readers will love the matured narrating style. The letter will bring tears and the end will bring a smile on readers face. This story will leave a lasting effect on readers hearts. 

Eighteenth Birthday – Nibha Gupta
After reading the first paragraph, readers are going to anticipate what this story has to offer. How a sister protects her sister by leaving her in an orphanage and she herself took all the rage from her drunkard father.  The end will leave readers with tears in their eyes and smile on their face.

The Indecent Profession – Durgesh Shastri
If you do something wrong it will definitely haunt you down sometime in the future, this is the main message lying inside the story. A wife was forced to kill herself in front of her husband just because she denied the indecent proposal of the husband. Readers will love the last paragraph where lies the punishment for the husband.

Light – Shrruti Patole Clarence
This story teaches what one should do if someone becomes a victim of these horrendous crimes. Instead of keeping mum to protect the image in the inhuman society one should raise the voice, this is what the author has tried to portray through this story.

Freedom – Ketaki Sane
A beautiful story line with a mesmerizing narrating style. The narrating style is so smooth that only after completing the whole story readers can make out that this story has a very deep inner meaning and a wonderful flavour of freedom.

A Second Chance – Gayatri Aptekar
The author has very efficiently narrated two stories at a time. How two girls got neglected by their parents at  a very early age, one- because she was born as a girl and the second- because her parents are busy chasing money. One should read the story to know who got the second chance and how.

The Newspaper Reader – Chandrapal Khasiya
This is one unique story. I value the author’s imagination power to frame the story in such away. How difficult it is for a blind woman to answer those innocent questions of 12 year old baby who is finding it tough to gulp down the tragic headlines of the newspaper.

Together We Can Make a Difference – Priyanka Bansal
This author has chosen a very trendy topic to write about. Maximum people of our society are unaware of HIV+ and this story will definitely make the difference. As the title says, after reading this story, readers will definitely think of making a difference.

Don’t Decolorize Me – Priyanka Bansal
Applauds to the author for writing such a fascinating poem in such a delicate topic and choosing such an appropriate name. Acid attacks are so much in the news now and reading this kind of poem will surely give a hard time for reader’s brain cells. This is the best way to end a book like this. 

Final Words: This is one of those rare kinds of anthology which comes up with such wonderful stories and poems. Each and every write-up is showing a different side of our society, different shades of suffering. I appreciate the initiator for coming up with this theme. For me The story of Abhik Chakraborty and the poems of Ila Garg and Priyanka Bansal are the best of the series.

Title: Crumpled Voices – Shades of Suffering
Publisher: Gargi Publishers
Page Count: 208
My Rating: 4.25/5