Karma and Other Stories
Author – Rishi Reddi
Publisher – HarperCollins Publishers

Following on the heels of writers like Jhumpa Lahiri and Chitra Divakaruni, award-winning writer Rishi Reddi presents a short story collection that depicts the immigrant experience as seen through the eyes of Telugu Indian American immigrants.  One of the distinguishing features of this collection is that it brings forth the experience from a multigenerational perspective.  Whether it be talking about the experience of a seventy year old widower who moves in with his daughter or fourteen year old Krishna, who is trying to deal with a teacher who classifies a picture of Lord Krishna as that of Satan, the theme of frustration, confusion and final adjustment to a new culture which is an essential part of the immigrant experience is brought forth beautifully. The first short story Justice Shiva Rama Murthy is the best of the collection and well deserves the awards it has won.

Set mostly in the Boston area, Reddi’s stories deftly dramatize the emotional conflict within each of her characters as they overcome feelings of vulnerability and perceptions of themselves as outsiders. A teenager is frustrated and offended in “Lord Krishna” when his evangelical history teacher likens the Hindu deity to Satan, but forgives him against his father’s wishes in the end.  In the title story, an unemployed colonial history professor from India rescues birds in downtown Boston after his wealthy younger brother has asked him and his wife to move out.  In “Justice Shiva Ram Murthy,” which appeared in The Best American Short Stories 2005, an irascible retired judge reconnects with a childhood friend while trying to adjust to a very different way of life after moving in with his daughter and her husband.  And, in “Bangles,” a widow decides to return to her native village in India to flee her son’s off-putting American ways. 

Stories about women also are featured in the collection. In "Devadasi," a beautiful young woman raised in the United States travels back to India and challenges the sexual confines of her culture while in “Lakshmi and the Librarian” an empty-nested mom is feeling distanced from her husband and grown sons to whom she has dedicated her entire life. She feels a closeness to the Lexington Public Librarian with whom she apparently has very little in common.  In “Validity of Love”, Reddi presents an interesting portrait of relationships between Indian American women and Indian and American men.

The tales of senior citizens from upper middle class families who have often held very important positions back home suddenly turning into nobody as they move to the US late in life after the loss of a spouse were brilliant. Reddi’s deft handling of the emotions and realistic portrayal of these men and women tugged at the heart string of the reader.

“We walked together without speaking. I was so angry that for sometime I did not even realize that I had water in my eyes, which were paining from the cold wind. I am glad that Manu did not notice., because maybe he would think I was weeping. Could you imagine? A former Hyderabad High Court justice crying like a small boy in the streets of Boston?”
            - Justice Shiva Rama Murthy

“But I am in the way here. I am not a help to either you or your wife.  And she does not want me here, either, I think. You must respect her wishes too. Perhaps the Indian way of family living does not work here”
            - Bangles

Other stories where Reddi describes the immigrant experience in the 70s and 80s have been dealt with by many other authors and did not bring anything new to the table though the prose was beautiful.  Reddi like Jhumpa Lahiri in the Namesake does a great job of describing that experience.  Since the stories are realistic and Boston based often it makes you wonder if the characters are based on people you know.

The cover of the book is very aesthetic. The book is worth buying for the first story itself. Rishi Reddi is a Lawyer who took a year and a half from her practice to craft this book. She is married and lives with her husband and daughter in Brookline, MA.

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