Temple Classroom and Other Stories by Puja Roy- A Review

Some stories make us laugh, some make us cry. While some stories fill us with love, others empty us of every emotion. For me, it's not every day that I read stories so close to real life, that the lines blur in more ways than one.

I'm a fiction lover. I prefer happy ever after and tales of crime, adventure, and romance.
This book is not any of those. Yet, it managed to make me want to read more. Set in rural, suburban, and urban India, the stories are so real, that one wouldn't be surprised if someone told you it was their life's experience.

Most of the characters are not perfect. They have flaws, insecurities, complexes, and doubts. They also have smiles, tears, fears, and hope. In short, they are human and relatable. A myriad of emotions will cloud your senses as you read the stories.

If Temple Classroom inspires you to do something and achieve your goals, Homebaker will have you rooting for Sushila; not just Sushila in the book but the Sushila in you, buried deep within for whatsoever reason.

Phulo, Silver Anklets, and Platform No. 7 talk about people we prefer not to notice. Who cares for beggars and hawkers when their own life is so full of questions? Yet, they lead a life parallel to ours, only to intersect at the most unexpected circumstances.
Many facets of life and society are meticulously observed and tactfully presented to us. From the heartbroken bride in The Last Promise to a Broken Nest echoing with unbearable silences, from the quest for The Root of her existence to unspoken words of routine in The Tea Story, we see what life does to men and women.

Questions, taunts, silences, turmoil, anguish, hatred, and hopelessness- we live them each day and somehow find solace in the very pain that hurts us. Oh, there are moments of smiles and laughter. Still, it's a bittersweet tinge of loss in various forms that lingers long after we close the book.

Be it Ballu's love for cinema or Muralidhar's gratitude for the retired principal; be it Sakina's neverending faith in God, or the premonition of love between a couple, we read, feel, and experience emotions in their purest and original form.

You might be wondering why I'm not going into detail about the stories. It's because I want you to experience and be a part of the journey of each character as I did.

Writing in the present tense is quite tricky. I was pleasantly surprised to see the ease with which Puja Roy handed it. Most of the time, it doesn't even strike us that the stories are past continuous and present tenses because we are so engrossed in their lives that nothing else matters.
There is no denying that the stories we hope to have a happy ending leave us feeling disappointed. But isn't that how life is? We learn to accept reality and move on. Here, we try to imagine what would happen next and continue the story in the way we want. Yes, Puja Roy has ensured that, as readers, we can take cab take the stories forward in the way we want. Pick any story, and you'll be able to weave another extended ending of your own.

Temple Classroom and Other Stories is a book you should read if you want to meet characters who make a lasting impression.

Link to the book: https://www.amazon.in/Temple-Classroom-Puja-Roy/dp/B07Y2XFXWZ/