The Empty Pedestal and Other Stories
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The Empty Pedestal and other stories is a collection of twenty one short stories that were written over a period of 12 years between 1987 and 1999. The author who had an urge to write was in a top management job in a large Indian corporate and wrote these in whatever spare time he could find. The stories are discrete and no one story has a connection to any other. The book opens with The Empty Pedestal , set in a factory in Eastern India. It is the story of a principled Union leader and where his principles take him.This is followed by " They Listened," a melancholy tale of a restaurant pianist wracked by self doubt.A Genuine Blonde is a gentle tale with a mildly risqué ending." Grass is Green" is the story of aspirations thrust upon an uncomprehending toddler going through the selection process for kindergarten admissions."Star Quality " deals with a boy idolised at school and his fall from grace.Slam Dunk deals with a teenager and the loss of his mother."All the People " is a spoof on Godmen. Full Circle connects the irony of an incident that occurs today with happenings thirty years earlier. The Oracle describes a meeting with a weird specimen on the banks of the Chambal river and its aftermath. Catch is about getting a job the cricketing way. Of Ducks and Geese is a hunting story. The Bombay Edition deals with a delicate situation that arises between a couple when the female gets a promotion and the male doesn't. A B Class abode is a college story with a gory ending.Sharing a berth deals with abrupt death.The Hand mixes electoral battles with the Occult.Delhi Darbar is a vignette on the travails of a government babu in the context of policy change.The Inheritance is an electoral story set in a dusty locale on the Indo- Gangetic plain. And Lenin Topples deals with the growing up of an ardent Communist." A Guffaw in the End " turns a typical middle class Delhi wedding plan on its head. The stories are a picturisation of the India of today,with its strengths, its frailties , its eccentricities,its idiosyncrasies. Having been written over twelve years, some stories are dated and should be treated as such.
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About the Book
This collection of short fiction has been written over a period of two decades. The stories do not belong to any particular genre . They could vary from addressing issues of national import to dealing with the trivia of everyday life. As with much of short fiction each story is a snapshot. Yet the attempt is to make each as complete as possible. In a sense the stories are a commentary on the India of today - it's strengths, it's weaknesses, it's frailties, it's eccentricities, it's idiosyncrasies.
About the Author
R. M. Rajgopal grew up in Cochin, Kerala, in an atmosphere of learning and reading. His father, T. R. K. Marar, a professor of English, had a profound influence on him. His passion for writing emanates from this milieu. Rajgopal was corporate HR head of SRF Ltd. for many years. He also managed some of SRF’s subsidiaries as CEO. He continues as an advisor with the same company forty-two years down. As an HR professional, Rajgopal’s innate sensitivity to human feelings contributed considerably toward his writing.