THE SKY HUSBAND is a collection of short stories by Easterine Kire, exploring broadly on the theme of love and relationships. For those following the writings of Kire, one may be more accustomed to her novel or novella rather than the short story format. But she is brilliant either way, telling stories in a way that is engaging.
The Vintage Kire:
In many of her books, Kire would venture into story telling which involves the blending of the physical world with the metaphysical. She would be in her vintage best when she dribbles the seen and the unseen realms in her story telling, mesmerizing her readers.
In the latest book of Jim Kasom entitled, ‘The Last Free Naga‘, Kire wrote Foreword under the heading ‘Praise for The Last Free Nagas‘ and she has this to say, “Jim Kasom’s stories pull me into a world familiar and fascinating where the natural world is so in tune with the spiritual.” This seems to describe Kire in the way she tells many of her stories. She effortlessly takes her readers to that realm and era where a reader can feel the story in its antiquity. A sense of this feeling would come out strong in the short story entitled, ‘The Sky Husband’ where Aniya knew for sure she was destined to marry a sky husband. “Those who dream of sky husbands became sky wives and were taken away when the time came”.
Kire is at ease in telling a story, seemingly of old yet unfolding in the modern days. So, when she met Denel after a talk at the JNU School of Social Sciences, their conversation led to the story of “Uncle Chan and the Blue Forest”. It is beyond words how an extraordinary story from an ordinary place finds its way to an extraordinary story teller. In that enchanted forest, when the spirit of uncle Chan agreed to return with him back home, it was on the condition that he would not speak of his love again. So, when he spoke up, what would happen? Expect the vintage Kire to be at her best.
The Theme of Love:
In all the eight short stories, the main theme is of love. It is largely true that the depth of love is also known by the measure of hurt that it can be exposed to. So, in “Cherry Blossoms in April”, in as much as the story is poignantly about love, it could only be felt and understood by the sense of hurt the story entails. The story teller would philosophically think aloud, “The finest love stories always end in death or parting. Perhaps we overreach ourselves when we love.” Kire would bring in one of her favourite subjects into the story; the Japanese advance into Kohima in 1944.
The theme of love and relationships continue to be also explored in “Sometimes Life” told in two parts. This is a bold move on the part of Kire where a love story is set in the present day, “She reached for her phone and quickly opened her WhatsApp messages”. It is a bold one because many of her readers would already be used to reading her writings set in a spiritual or mystical setting with a blend of folklore. Interestingly, in this story, the theme of love is contrasted by hate to understand the weight of love.
The End of a Love Story:
The book ends with a heart touching story of an elderly couple in “How All Love Stories Should End”. After reading this story, I decided to read it to my wife. So, I read to her aloud but without mentioning the names of the elderly couple in the story. She listened intently. I continued reading, “She draws her last breath, he puts the rest of his energy into making one last trip to Nagaland and on the day before her committal, he lies down and dies peacefully.”
My wife suddenly widened her eyes and asked, “Is that Uncle Ben?”
I suggest you read this book. You never know what extraordinary stories and surprises await.
(The author lives in Mumbai and reviews books from time to time with daughter on Instagram @father_daughter_books. The author can be reached at thothar@gmail.com)