The Blackened Mirror

<p class=ql-align-justify>An exceptionally gifted painter lets his art consume. Buried in work and wealth he trades his creative freedom for popularity and wealth a jail of sorts as what once freed him now becomes his cage.</p><p class=ql-align-justify>His wife Shanti suggests a vacation to the picturesque village of Manipur Inside a solitary cabin under a banyan tree the painter becomes mesmerized by a blackened mirror. But can he accept what that mirror truly reflects?</p><p class=ql-align-justify>The Blackened Mirror is a short story taken from the collection Chance Meetings by author Madhu Bazaz Wangu. </p><p class=ql-align-justify>Here's what the critics say:</p><p class=ql-align-justify><em>The story hangs like a bead on a japa mala - for the reader to touch and be touched by the transformative power of storytelling. -Milczar </em></p><p class=ql-align-justify><em>A beautiful lush lyrical story. The rhythmic language transports and transforms... -Kathleen Shoop</em></p><p class=ql-align-justify> </p>