Password and other stories is a collection of 19 stories by Appadurai Muttulingam, translated from Tamil by S.Thillainayagam. The collection begins with 'The Black Squirrel', the story of an illegal Sri Lankan immigrant in Canada who works for a company that offers cleaning services. He who ensures that dust doesn't exist is almost non-existent for his white employer.
A man who talks to the walls to save his language from dying, a young, Tamil Eelam woman fighter who loves photography and birds, a man who works his way up from a scooter company's low-level employee to a star in national politics appear in stories here that portray human emotions & predicament with sensitivity. Humor and minor twists makes these stories less dramatic & more nimble.
The author, from Sri Lanka, a citizen of Canada, has worked in many countries for the World Bank and the UN. His wide world view reflects as he flits from Canada to Kenya to Sri Lanka and discusses The Holocaust & Rwandan Genocide with an equal aplomb in his stories.
How immigrants scrape through a myriad problems to eke out a living in foreign lands is an important subject. While he shows how different we are on the basis of race, religion, traditions etc, in fleeing violence and persecution, he highlights the common thread that many of us share.
His love for Tamil & his homeland stands out as the Sri Lankan civil war is a neatly embedded motif in his stories. The mention of Mankulam in 'Friday Nights' reminded me of Mani Ratnam's movie Kannathil Muthamittal (movies like this are not made any more).
The titular story is a beautiful and warm depiction of the bond between a grandchild-grandparent. Another favorite is 'Fermented Dosai' that details the life story a Holocaust survivor, an old woman in her 80s who cooks with passion, with a vengeance to offset all that she has lost in her youth.
Password and other stories may be slow or even uneven in its attempt to impress us readers but it has clear moments where it dazzles. I enjoyed reading this collection!
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