Laburnum For My Head
 First edition | |
| Author | Temsula Ao |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Short stories |
| Publisher | Penguin India |
Publication date | 14 November 2009 |
| Publication place | India |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 107 pp |
| ISBN | 978-0-143-06620-0 |
| OCLC | 500498010 |
| Preceded by | These Hills Called Home: Stories From A War Zone |
Laburnum for My Head (2009) is the collection of eight short stories by Indian author Temsula Ao. The stories are about the lives of people from the vibrant and troubled region of northeast India.
The collection brought its author the 2013 Sahitya Akademi Award for English, by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.[1]
The Stories
- Laburnum For My Head. A strange obsession of a woman for laburnum flowers. Unable to successfully grow a laburnum plant on her garden during her lifetime, she wants to have one over her grave.
- Death of a Hunter. A brave hunter, Imchanok, totters when the ghost of his prey haunts him, till he offers it a tuft of his hair as a prayer for forgiveness.
- The Boy Who Sold an Airfield. Pokenmong, the servant boy, by dint of his wit, sells an airfield to unsuspecting villagers.
- The Letter. A letter found on a dead insurgent blurs the boundaries between him and an innocent villager, both struggling to make ends meet.
- Three Women. A woman's terrible secret comes full circle, changing her daughter's and granddaughter's lives as well as her own.
- A Simple Question. An illiterate village woman's simple question rattles an army officer and forces him to set her husband free.
- Sonny. A young girl loses her lover in his fight for the motherland, leaving her a frightful legacy.
- Flight. A caterpillar finds wings.
Awards
- Sahitya Akademi Award for English - December, 2013
References
- ^ "Poets dominate Sahitya Akademi Awards 2013". Sahitya Akademi. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.