Bridges and Crossings by Meera Sundararajan

Bridges and Crossings by Meera Sundararajan is an anthology of short stories all centered around the Indian railways; a lifeline to so many lives. As citizens of Mumbai, we are both all too familiar with our good old local trains and the numerous anecdotes they serve as the backdrop for. Reading these stories all tied together with railway lines was an experience that felt refreshing and homely at the same time.  Heavily leaning towards romantic plots, the short stories in this book are not tedious to read, and not predictable either. The short story ‘Vada Pav’ was of course, a highlight for us, but another favorite was A Parallel Universe. This short story really brought to life a curious aspect of trains, where the compartments feel like their own self-contained realities, where it’s possible to make bonds that one would never consider even initiating otherwise. Overall, Bridges and Crossings is a perfect read for your train journeys. Although Sundararajan’s writing style is not one that either of us usually read much of, it seemed a good fit for the nature and flow of these stories. 

Thanks to The Readers Tribe for sending us this copy!