The
Greatest Sweepstake by Hema Ravi, 2026
Annai Prints, Chennai - 600 017, M. Saravanan (Mobile: + 91 94441 26523). ISBN: 978-93-5759-262-8.p.142.
Reviewed by Pravat Kumar Padhy
Micro-tales Exploring Human
Experience
I am excited to read the captivating
collection by the brilliant author, poet and story writer, Hema Ravi. The collection
comprises colourful images representing the central theme of every story. It
would encourage readers, especially children, to enjoy reading these kinds of
‘Photo Stories’.
A total
of 22 short stories of varying lengths) captivate the readers’ curiosity till the
end.
She writes in her preface: “This
book is a collection of short stories and micro-tales that explore various
facets of human experience. The stories cover a wide range of themes, from
childhood wonder and fantasy to real-life issues such as injustice, identity
struggles, and hardship. Varying in length, these narratives are rich in
emotion and meaning. As you read, I hope you enjoy guessing which tales are
based on real events and which are fictional and contemplate how storytelling
can sometimes reveal truths …” She is candid in sharing her experiences.
The collection embodies the scenarios
of cross-cultural life, the beauty of joint family, village life, childhood
memories and a wider spectrum of narrations. The unique aspect of the
collection lies in its touring across wide geographical areas, being a vivid
part of their history, cultural dimensions and family-centric tales. With a voice
of pragmatism, Hema reiterates, ‘History is not merely a set of facts about
happenings of the past; there is most certainly a link that helps us to build
emotional connections with the people who lived in those times.’ Stories like “The Beautiful One” are one of
the examples that speak to the life sketches of the people in a remote Africa
village.
Hema,
with precision, qualifies the aspects of Indian identity and its many-faceted
socio-consciousness. The collection embodies the thread of moral values and at
times she explores philosophic traits subtly. The flow and lively narration,
with lyrical infusion, keep the reader asking “what next.” That is the beauty
of Hema’s creation: short, sweet, with a human touch.
In Hema’s storyline, women serve as
the central character in different capacities. The story is reformative at
times and infused with a motivational spirit. One of the striking stories
“Epiphanic Moment,” narrates the balance maintained by Sonya, the pragmatic
working woman, between job and family life with care and dedication. Hema pens,
“One last word- the working woman runs a marathon day after day, but she
finds time and self-gratification in whatever she does.”
Cross-cultural
Issue:
Hema
vividly reflects the emotional storm the immigrants feel in another country. People
lead different lifestyles. New York, for example, is known as the
city that never sleeps! There
exists a cultural difference between the Western and the Oriental regions. There
has been an emotional feeling of the country of origin. This is reflected in the
story “Anugraha” (the name of the house that was built by Srinivas’s grandfather).
On returning to India from the USA, Srinivas’s wife feels solace and remarks: “Anugraha
has conferred monetary benefits, taught us that life is transient; and most
importantly, has made us understand how incredible life is...”
Hema’s story parallels
Jhumpa Lahiri's and Bharati Mukherjee’s works on cultural alienation of
Indian immigrants and cultural displacement etc. She, as an immigrant to the USA,
recalls her childhood memories of her
place of origin, the Coromandel Coast of South India and the cultural dichotomy,
psychological frictions etc she encounters. She recounts the Pallavas culture
of South India: “I vividly recall one verse that I had penned eons ago in neat
handwriting.”
Treasure forever to possess
Cherish memories with caress
First
Sketchbook.
Touch
of Indianness
The
beauty of Hema’s collection is the way she brings to light the aesthetic values
by instilling a sense of Indianness. She refers to Indian family culture, historical
aspects, socio-religious functions etc and uses words from regional languages
in literature. The unified family life, cohesive culture, emotional affinity
towards nature etc are some of the hallmarks of Indian life style. The stories
like “Bear Behind the Glass Door”, “Ramya Celebrates
Golu...”, “The
Girl Who Loved Flowers” embody family narration, Indian
tradition, and mention of Amar Chitra Kathas in the story. In the
family-oriented tale, “Pendulum,” she reiterates, “Success is not measured
by accolades and recognitions from distant lands; staying rooted in tradition,
culture, and customs brings a greater sense of fulfilment.”
References
to Nobel laureate CV Raman and the Indian philosopher J. Krishnamurthi (JK) in “Bear
Behind the Glass Door” are some of the added dimensions to her reverence for
the Indian thoughts and spirit. She highlights the noble works of Gandhi,
Kasturba, and poet Nizzim Ezekiel.
Enumerating
the universal Indian culture of oneness she cites: “The reference of Indian
culture …”And finally, understand the concept of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.”
The world is one family, regardless of “ethnicity, religion,” or “culture”
in the story, “It’s One World, One Life...”
The village well acts as a central spot for family discussion amongst women,
children’s education, weddings, joy etc. Indian culture and the vivid images of
the rural landscape are portrayed in the story “The Well.” The story revolves
around making the village a place of happiness with traditional South Indian
customs, although it occasionally feels overloaded with many characters.
Interestingly, the collection is endowed with words like yoga, kolam,
Mahamaham festival
, brewed chai, Pujas, Ishta devata, hinnai (sipping
filter coffee), Payasam, palak paneer, rotis, Paavadai-chattai ,ghagra-choli
Sari, Kurta –pyjama, Thambulam ( Goodie bag with betel leaves), and
respectful references of Appa (Father) and Amma (Mother).
Poetic
Style and Tenor
“Bitter-Sweet”
is an interesting story about Pinky,who worked as a ‘chocolate taster’ in a factory. A
beautiful assimilation of poetry with prose in between reminds me of the influence
of Prosimetrum writings. She experiments with an inventive way of combining
prose with poetry in the short story.
In the character, Pinky distributes
chocolates to children during sale time. After some time, the factory closed
unexpectedly, and Pinky lost her job. Hema expresses the agony:
bitter-sweet
chocolates satisfying
to the
palate
trials in
life agonizing
to psyche
and body
broken nest
– bird begins with intensity
failed
career – a sorrowful propensity
anything but sweet!
Later, Pinky gets a new job in a nearby school and the story
ends on a positive note for the readers to rejoice.
Hema is
an embodiment of a brilliant writer and poet. Hema is a mainstream poet and also
a writer of Japanese short-form of poetry. Precisely so, the Photo-story,
analogous to the haiga ( a combination
of image and haiku) is an extension of it. She prefers to be simple in
narration, gently keeping the dialogue with the readers. She enriches the story
with poetic idioms creating soothing resonance.
She is
very critical about war and conflict. In “Gossamer Threads...” Hema firmly
expresses with poetic shade, “Little do these narcissistic rulers
know that flowers will continue to bloom, and birds will begin to chirp...and
they will go just as the way other arrogant rulers have gone, leaving
behind “Wreck, boundless and bare” while the “lone and
level sands stretch far away.”
Expressions
like “a silent prayer escaped his lips”; “The large peepul tree nodded to the
gentle wind as birds began to chirp gaily from the large trees overlooking the
sunlit pond” (in the story “Anugraha”) etc add a poetic nostalgia to the
stories.
Environmental
Issues
Often
Hema’s stories pivots on educational flavor and importance. The one that stands
out in prominence is her concern regarding climate change, wildfires etc
enumerated in “Whispering Park.” She is vocal in voicing: “The earth does
not belong to man; man belongs to the earth.” She describes the beauty of
banyan trees and poetically resounds: ‘Listen to
the rustling leaves...Listen to the chirping birds.... Listen to the splashing
waves. Listen... Listen... Listen to Nature’s Song...’ Painfully, she adds: “Trees are poems the
earth writes upon the sky, we fell them down and turn them into paper, that we
may record our emptiness.” In a micro poetry competition by children, she
cites the winner’s entry:
banyan
tree-
memories of
grandma
stitching banyan
leaves
The story of a bird lover, Glory, a chief librarian of a Govt. Library and the way she takes care of the geese has been nicely portrayed in the story “Geese Lover’s Tale.” This augments Hema’s concern and love for other creatures and their preservation with care.
Philosophical Attributes
Hema brings the essence of life and
spiritual feelings, into her story. She conjures her inner urge through the
family-centric landscape with delicacy. I believe the nostalgic approach
depicted in the collection will resonate with readers for a long time. The journey
of the widowed young, Kanika, in “Walks of Life” and her emotional exchanges
with friends evoke profound emotions.
Recalling the days of joy, agony and resilience, association with her friends, Shanti and Mini, she feels: “The sun was rapidly descending to the horizon, and the golden hue around was mesmerizing, quietening all thoughts.
Is this the transcendental truth that ancient sages have revealed?”
Narrating a story of a Station master, Hema uses a mirror as a metaphor in the story “A Mirror Reflects” and infuses a subtle philosophical line: “We take what life offers!” With due importance to travelling and mingling with people of different cultures, she quotes “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a step” in the story “It’s One World, One Life...”
The collection is a literary souvenir for every family and Hema’s
creation of ingenuity and intriguing elixir would add an exotic substance to
every bookshelf.
************
Hema Ravi is a poet,
author, reviewer, editor (Efflorescence), event organizer, independent
researcher, and resource person for language development workshops. Her
writings have appeared in reputed newspapers. A prize-winning poet and author,
her poems, short stories, travelogues, and articles have been featured in
well-known international online and print journals. In 2023, 2024, and in March
2025, she conducted Communicative English sessions for the students of SheViL
STEAM, an initiative of IITM. She was a guest faculty trainer in the Virtual
Communication Skills Program for the Undergraduate Students of IIT Madras in
2020 and 2021; a resource person in the National workshop ‘English Language
Skills for Academic Purposes’ at Sastra University,
Pravat Kumar Padhy,
based in Bhubaneswar, India, earned his Master of Science and Ph.D. from the
Indian Institute of Technology, ISM Dhanbad. He is a mainstream poet, essayist,
and writer of Japanese short-form poetry. His literary work is cited in
Interviews with Indian Writing in English, Spectrum History of Indian
Literature in English, Alienation in Contemporary Indian English Poetry,
History of Contemporary Indian English Poetry, etc. His poem “How Beautiful” is
included in the university-level undergraduate curriculum. He served as a panel
judge of “The Haiku Foundation’s Touchstone Awards for Individual Poems” and
haibun and haiga editor, Under the Bashō. His work has appeared in
various anthologies, including Contemporary Haibun and the Red Moon Press
anthology. He introduced new forms of poetry: Hainka, a fusion of haiku and
tanka; Braided Haiku; and Micro-Haiga, also known as One-word Haiku. He is
honoured as the Confluence Councilor for Confluence Haiku Journal and a jury
member for the “Wind on the Cherry Blossoms Haiku Project,” Associazione
Culturale "Rami d'Oro, Italy ( 2026).
Credit: Boloji.com
https://www.boloji.com/articles/55687/micro-tales-exploring-human-experience
Also published in Positive
Vibes, Aug 28,2026
