Review of Lavanya Sankaran

DesiLit Daily: Review of Lavanya Sankaran's The Red Carpet: "Published in 2005 by Review, imprint of Headline Book Publishing, after reputedly having been highly sought after (or even fought over) by 8 other publishers, The Red Carpet’s reputation quite preceded it.

The image on the front cover sums up the book fairly well – against a red sari-design background, are the torsos of 2 women, one in a spaghetti-strap light pink top, white bra straps showing, with one ear pierced twice, and the other torso wrapped in a traditionally-designed deep red-maroon coloured sari, gold bordered, with matching blouse. Clearly intended to be a snap shot depicting the close and regular rubbing of shoulders of modernity and tradition in Bangalore, the front cover is fairly representative of the short stories contained within this collection.

Sankaran writes with assurance and fluidity, and occasionally, with flippant humour. In the first story, she depicts a well-to-do young man deliberating over having an arranged marriage, and reminiscing to himself:
“That was, in short, when they were twenty, and achieving consensual sex with skittish young women whose knees were pressed tightly together by the weight of Indian morality was a triumph in itself.”

All the short stories in The Red Carpet juxtapose the new with the old, the modern with the traditional, and although the binaries are occasionally drawn a touch simplistically, they are nevertheless interesting and thought-provoking juxtapositions. Sankaran is an observer of some talent, and in her writing, the flavour of the city and its contemporary character comes through beautifully. The book is truly a child of its times, and a very good read.

The title story is a particularly memorable story – it depicts various communities segregated by socio-economic classes, inhabiting the same spaces and co-existing closely, but not often finding themselves overlapping in social circles. These lines are cleanly and sympathetically drawn, and the dry humour of the title is rather appealing.

However, the short story technique has yet to be fully mastered by this author, and there are too many tales, which while immensely entertaining to read, and which depict their world deftly, are nevertheless inclined to end on a note which leaves the reader wondering, “Ye-es…..and that means….what?” The stories would benefit immensely from much stronger conclusions, rather than seeming to disconnect in the middle of being told.

Nevertheless, a collection which clearly and vividly records its spatial and temporal coordinates, fluently depicted by an author with a keen observing eye. "