No stranger to strangers

Gouri Dange is no stranger to strangers. Over the years, the writer and family counsellor has poured out advice in her newspaper columns to people she’s never met. Dange’s second book The Counsel of Strangers is a collection of six stories, narrated simply by six people who meet at a resort. They are there to attend a wedding party, but would rather be anywhere else. They unexpectedly find themselves sharing a hiding place: a viewing gallery overlooking a forest. Here the veneer of normalcy drops. For want of anything else to do, they share their stories, putting the spotlight on their vulnerability and the emotions that are hollowing them inside out.

The Counsel of Strangers 
Gouri Dange; Omo Books; Rs 250

There is the retired Wing Commander Brahme who found true love but lost her. The teenaged Kartik is worried about his “bad-ass” brother and the fact that he himself is too “good-ass”. Anandi-Mohini has two first names, one divorce and a second chance that feels all wrong. Shail Baig, a once-famous newscaster, is shattered by his fall from grace. Sajani, a nurse, has taken care of others all her life, but realises she cannot take care of her own suicidal tendencies. Ambika Natarajan’s intelligent son does the unthinkable and becomes a filmmaker.

Full review here Timeout Mumbai