The Tombstone in My Garden: Stories from Nagaland

In “The Tombstone in My Garden: Stories from Nagaland” by Temsula Ao, readers are treated to a collection of five heartfelt and evocative narratives set in Nagaland. Through these stories, Temsula Ao skillfully unveils the lives of ordinary individuals beyond the surface of sensational news.

Amidst the bustling atmosphere of Dimapur railway station, a ‘Bihari’ laborer conceals a somber truth about his adopted son, a secret that casts a shadow of danger over their lives. A grandmother, who has watched her grandson being banished from the village, finally shatters the silence surrounding her defiled funeral supeti. A delicate lily, uprooted from its accustomed spot in the flowerbed to an ornate pot, defies blooming year after year in protest. A uniquely misshaped grandfather tree named Big Father becomes the stalwart guardian of an entire village. Lily Anne, the matriarch, endures racial taunts from her own mother due to her mixed heritage; she reclaims her place on the ancient reclining chair on her verandah, gazing at the eyesore within her overgrown garden.

“The Tombstone in My Garden” boasts a refined prose style and captivating original tales, reflecting the insightful understanding of human existence and the interconnectedness of all life by the esteemed Padma Shri awardee, Temsula Ao.