Where The Light Finds Us by Vishü Rita Krocha is a captivating collection of seven short stories, many of which were previously published by esteemed platforms like PenThrill, Zubaan, Sahitya Akademi, and Routledge. Through these tales, Krocha skillfully weaves themes of addiction, hope, family, grief, and resilience, often set against the backdrop of Naga life and folklore.
The first story, “Cough Syrup,” explores the painful grip of addiction through the life of a man who becomes dependent on cough syrup. Krocha juxtaposes addiction with love, delivering powerful lines like, “…love isn’t enough for an addict. It takes a miracle for him to abandon his addiction.”
In “A Glimmer of Hope,” the reader follows Monko, a 12-year-old boy from Tuensang village who grew up in a conflict zone seeing things a normal boy is not supposed to see like a dead body because of the persistent and brutal factional conflicts between the NSCN (IM) and K groups. Amidst the terror and horror, he manages to find hope.
“Cut Off” presents a sweeping family saga, beginning with Tasu, a headhunter, and spanning generations to his grandson Kavikha, the first graduate of the village, and who went on to contest elections. In a violence which erupted during the elections, it was Tasu’s granddaughter Chavi who would play an important role in subsiding it.
“The Son of the Village Gaon Bura” tells the tragic story of Lekho, a young man driven to join the Underground movement after witnessing atrocities committed by the Indian Army and the death of his grandfather, the Gaon Bura, at their hands. Years later, his life ends in a brutal factional clash, not against the forces he once fought, but against his own people.
“A Grandmother’s Tale” is my favourite of the lot. Herein, the protagonist reminisces her grandmother, the stories she used to tell her, her memories of times gone by and her death which changed the protagonist’s life forever. Among the many stories her grandmother told, the love story of Durule and Sacho remained the protagonist’s favorite—a tale she insisted on hearing repeatedly. The narrative subtly weaves a feminist undertone, highlighting the gentle and strong attitude of the grandmother who “never talked back even when grandpa insulted her for the silliest thing. She would simply carry on” with whatever she was doing. This story not only explores granddaughter-grandmother love and relationship but also talks about storytelling as a love language, connecting generations.
“All the Broken Things” delves into the pandemic’s impact through various perspectives: a returnee whose father died of COVID-19, the doctor who treated him, a grieving mother at the church, and an ordinary girl. Through these characters, Krocha reflects on how the nature of grief and mourning changed during the pandemic. The ordinary girl’s words linger: “Negativity will kill us before the virus does,” and “If it was the end of the world, wouldn’t you like to die a better person?” This story reminds me of a poem in Krocha’s poetry book, “From the Broken Earth”(PenThrill, 2021) – “I saw there was a funeral/yesterday/ I went to one this morning/ in the pouring rain/ and I think to myself/ they are no longer the same/ will these dark times/ even change the way we grieve?”
“Where the Light Finds Us”, the titular story, is a tale about ‘themeludu’ or ‘the path of the dead’ talks about death as something which is a part of life. Based on Naga folklore, this magically realistic tale tells us that like death and grief, the light will also find us. At its core, the story offers comfort and reassurance, with a powerful message that resonates: “Just know that there is light somewhere waiting for you.”
These diverse stories are bound in a book with a beautiful cover. There is an age-old saying that one should not judge a book by its cover but with this one, you can!
Dr. Susma Sharma Gurumayum
Poet/ Assistant Professor (History)