Nergis Dalal certainly seems to enjoy picking at the threads and patterns that embroider life and the result is a reflection of daily life seen in a very different light— fascinating and gently moving.
This book is a collection of 20 short stories by Dalal, who has been writing for over 50 years. Apart from a brief mention that one of the stories (‘The Sacrifice’) was selected for publication by Odhams Press as part of the World Prize Stories Competition series in 1954— there is no mention if the other tales have seen the light of day previous to this publication.
The short stories make for some extremely easy reading and Dalal’s elegant prose takes you skimming over the pages. Interestingly, no story is less than nine pages, although one feels as though the tale is done in three— a tribute to Dalal’s story-telling abilities.
The stories explore a range of human emotions— romance, betrayal, unrequited love, infidelity, Indian superstitions— in fact, there are two stories which deal with superstitions that are so deftly woven that it becomes a part of folklore (‘The Sacrifice’ and ‘The Temple Bells’).
Inner glimpse
Dalal writes with a very sure pen, with a superior understanding of human character and feelings. Each tale leads into an offshoot of reminders of daily life and a little more— a glimpse into human emotions and reactions as one wearily treads along life’s pathways.  Dalal could have fleshed out many of the tales. Physical checks of the number of pages aside, there is a feeling that the stories end too quickly.
Stories like ‘Roses, roses all the way…’, ‘The Silver Stallion,’ and ‘The Nude’, are simple, touching and say a whole lot in a few pages. ‘The Nude’ is about a painter’s model, and how the artist discovers the beauty of the woman, beauty that the husband is unaware of— how often we take something that we already have for granted.
What is interesting about this collection is that most of the stories are set in real-life situations and just as one thinks it is a casual look at life and its accompanying embellishments, it touches on the profound without making too much of a song and dance about it.
And somewhere the fact that the author lives in the backdrop of a quiet mountainside— Dalal lives in Dehra Dun— comes through in the stories. Does nature help introduce a sliver of gentleness when one is telling a tale of the harsh realities of human life?

The Nude, Collected stories, Nergis Dalal; Penguin books; pp 213; Rs.200