Abstract
Author of several works of fiction and non fiction , Namita Gokhale is a well known name in the field of Indian Writing in English not only as a writer but also as a publisher and as a founder director of Jaipur Literature Festival . Her short stories published under the title The Habit of Love ( 2012) are remarkable for adding a new dimension to the craft of short story writing.
 The Habit of Love is a collection of thirteen short stories encapsulating the myriad experiences of their female protagonists who lay bare before the readers their inner world – their desires , passions, fear , anxiety, happiness, anger , ennui and sadness – in kaleidoscopic lights. Based mainly on the themes of love, lust and death , these stories are interwoven with the motifs of time, memory , dreams travels and mountains. The writer frequently shifts from present to past or vice versa , making several technical innovations like unexpected , abrupt endings; use of startling similes/ metaphors; choice of queer , quirky titles for these short stories. The use of the technique of first person narrative in many of these stories imparts more intimacy to them as if the narrator is engaged in a tete- a- tete with her readers. Gokhale emphasizes the importance of a convincing narrative voice in making a short story effective. In response to a question as to which is the most critical part of a story: the storyline, the characters or the storytelling, she says, “Finding the right voice that convincingly tells the story, whether in first person or otherwise is the most crucial part.”( Recap: Twitter chat with Namita Gokhale,TNN,22 March 2018 )
Highlights
The characters of The Habit of Love are broadly divisible into two categories – one is that of urban women of present times and the other is that of women from ancient times like Kunti, Qandhari and Damyanti
The present paper aims at critiquing Namita Gokhale’s craft of short story writing which is articulated by the narrator of the story ‘Omens1’ in which she perceives life as a ‘chaotic mess’ which should be reflected in the short stories as such
A clue to Namita Gokhale’s craft of story writing can be found when in her answers to questions related to the art of story writing, she emphasizes the importance of structure in a story, “A good story is not enough as grammar and structur e help e-ISSN: 2582-3574 p-ISSN: 2582-4406
Summary
The characters of The Habit of Love are broadly divisible into two categories – one is that of urban women of present times and the other is that of women from ancient times like Kunti, Qandhari and Damyanti. The writer frequently shifts from present to past or vice versa , making several technical innovations like unexpected , abrupt endings; use of startling similes/ metaphors; choice of queer , quirky titles for these short stories.
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