THE TOMBSTONE IN MY GARDEN STORIES FROM NAGALAND

<p>Description</p><p>In this collection of five spare and poignant stories from Nagaland Temsula Ao</p><p>holds up a mirror to the lives of everyday people beyond the headlines.</p><p>A 'Bihari' coolie at the Dimapur railway station has been hiding a dark secret</p><p>about his adopted son; a grave threat to both their lives. As her grandson is</p><p>exiled from the village a grandmother finally breaks the silence over her</p><p>mutilated funeral supeti. A rare lily refuses to bloom year after year because</p><p>she was moved from her usual position in the flowerbed into an ornate pot.</p><p>Big Father a uniquely misshapen grandfather tree becomes the guardian and</p><p>protector of an entire village. The matriarch Lily Anne subjected to racial</p><p>slurs by her own mother on account of her mixed parentage resumes her</p><p>position on the ancient reclining chair in her verandah to stare at the eyesore</p><p>in her overgrown garden.</p><p>The Tombstone in My Garden - with its pared-down prose and gripping original</p><p>stories - reflects Padma Shri award-winner Temsula Ao's deep understanding</p><p>not just of the human condition but that of all life.</p><p><br></p>