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The Heart of India
by Mark Tully

I don't often read contemporary fiction, but sometimes a book passes by that is intriguing enough to make me try it. One of them was this book by Mark Tully. Tully was formerly a correspondent for the BBC (British Broadcasting Service) and I've often heard his voice in the late 1980s and early 1990s, making reports from India. This was the main reason I decided to pick up this book of short stories by him.

The stories are all based in in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and, according to the introduction, Tully wrote the stories in a believable manner, i.e., to sound as if they could really happen in that state.

How successful are they? Coming from a mindset more used to Science Fiction stories, I find the stories more 'relaxing'. To really appreciate the stories, you need to know some aspects of Indian culture like the role of the caste system and religion. Otherwise, some of the impact of the stories will be lost on you.

The stories featured in this book are:

"The Barren Woman of Balramgaon" which tells a story of the shame and stress felt by a married couple who are unable to conceive a child. Both of them, in secret, try 'remedies' recommended by other people. It is left to the reader to decide which, if any, would work in the end.
"Blood for Blood" is a tale of murder and revenge, or how to plan (or rather, mis-plan) a revenge killing and how a willy prosecutor uses the caste system that made the revenge necessary reveal who the murderers are.
"The Ikka-wallah's Lament" is a story of a horse driven rickshaw-type driver who yearns for the older times when scooters and other modern transports did not make his way of life seem obsolete.
"Girlfriends" is a story of a girl who breaks with tradition and goes to college to study. There, she meets and falls in love with another student and she is faced with a choice; to marry him or to return to an arranged marriage by her loving father.
"The Goodas of Gopinagar" is a tale of warfare between two warring Mafia-like groups and how a modern Ghandi-like politician attempts to put both of them away. The ending is not typical of stories like this and makes you wonder whether things can really change in India.
"Two Brothers" tells the tale of two brothers. The eldest goes of to study but finds jobs hard to find without connections and eventually takes to drugs. The younger also yearns to study but is prevented by the example of his older brother. The conflict also affects the mother.
"Village Strike" is one of the funnier stories in this collection and tells the tale of woe faced by members of a upper-ruling caste who, unused to lower caste people making demands, haughtily rejects their requests. This leads to a strike that they cannot easily resolve for fear of loss of face.
"Twice Born" is a slow, sad tale of a man who has two wives; one by an arranged marriage, whom he does not see, and the other who is his mistress. When news comes to him that his arranged marriage wife is ill and will soon die, he is caught in a dilemma over what to do as well as anxiety in facing his father.
"Beyond Purdah" is a tale of a man whose family fortunes are declining. His wife, fed up with his non-action, decides to break with tradition and set out to improve their fortunes. The other families are unhappy about this and make threats against her.

All in all, an interesting collection of stories set in India by a respected journalist who has lived and worked there for many years.

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The Heart of India by Mark Tully

The Heart of India
by Mark Tully