Kiss of the Wildflower and Other Stories by Deepika Sharma

Kiss of the Wildflower and Other Stories by Deepika Sharma is a collection of sixteen tales in various genres.

Stories in Kiss of the Wildflower & Other Stories

1. We Rise by Lifting Others → As the title suggests, the story is about succeeding by helping others. It revolves around Ranu and Chote Lal. Ranu elopes with Chote Lal & her children, leaving her husband double her age behind.


2. When Mountains Spoke → It deals with what happens to Sujata, the Delhi girl, for whom any town without malls is a village when she goes for a project to a remote village in which electricity goes out after 10 pm.


3. The Missing Man → The story is about the love & married life of Niti and a person named Arvind, who was her senior during MBBS.


4. Roots → It reflects on the idea of being rooted—its meaning & implications through characters who call themselves Muslim Rajputs.


5. Broken Mirror → It is about the model Vanessa who manages to be on the cover page of Vogue magazine again—the eighth time in a row, but it isn’t given to her on a silver platter. The story talks about her internal & as well as external struggles.


6. The Orange Basket → It is the story of Shahid’s love life as well as his life as a crime analyst in which he’s trying to solve the mystery of missing children in Mumbai.


7. The Dream Catcher → It is the story of Narayana, whom everybody thinks of as mad because his only interest is stories.


8. Conversations at Night → It’s built around the mysterious conversations happen at night between Atul & his watchman. 


9. Once Upon a Time → It is a murder mystery that starts with the murders of Mr. & Mrs. Smith along with his teenage son.


10. My Beginning End and Happily Ever After → It deals with the love story of Iqbal Singh Bajwa & Wahjot Kaur in the backdrop of the India-Pakistan partition. The catch is they do not have any malice when they speak of partition.


11. Beyond Grief → It is the story of Mira, who not only overcomes her grief but goes beyond. She is a complex character who could make bold decisions but hesitates to be all by herself. She likes to depend on others.


12. Two lives → It is the story of Raghu, whose passion is different from his daily job. He is living two lives. The story is also about the second chance—an opportunity to live two lives.


13. Summer in Winter → It is the story of Amit, Archana, & Karan. Amit & Archana are husband & wife respectively, and Karan is their son. The title of the story is a metaphorical representation of the family’s position.


14. Prattles of the Mind → It deals with conditions that lead to the germination & propagation of doubts in the human mind through the story of Banke Bihari & his family.


15. When Things Fade → It is the story of trauma depicted through Dia—how an event becomes traumatic, how trauma affects human personality & behavior, how one can overcome trauma, etc.


16. Kiss of the Wildflower → It is the story of Shashikant Dubey, a government teacher, who is posted to a remote village where no one wants to go. The previous teacher ran away from there, refused to join the service, & said he didn’t remember anything of that place.

Style of Narration in Kiss of the Wildflower

The writing style is scenic, animated, & evocative. The descriptions are vivid with ample details whether they are of mountains or humans. The past lives of characters are judiciously used. The author’s grip on neuro-linguistic programming & human psychology reflects in character development.

As per the definitions of E. M. Forster, some of the tales in the book are written as stories while some are written as plots or plot-based stories. He defines a story as a narrative of events arranged in their time-sequence and a plot as a narrative of events with an emphasis on causality.

You may encounter ragged ends in some of the stories, because as per Forster’s observations, unlike the weaver of plots, the storyteller profits by ragged ends. But that’s one way of looking. There are others as well.

Indian poetics focuses more on sensations & emotions evoked in the readers rather than on the story itself. You can even forget any other story element & read When Mountain Spoke only for experiencing the raw amazement, a tinge of fear, & lurking compassion.  

Topics Touched in the Book

Paradox in life, success & its measurement, life in a village, marital rape, domestic violence, gender identity, trans woman, life of refuges, rags to riches, depression, genetic disease, Hindu-Muslim, India-Pakistan partition, demolition of Babri, exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, etc.

Some Drawbacks

USP of Kiss of the Wildflower and Other Stories

The USP of Kiss of the Wildflower and Other Stories is the portrayal of the characters, especially their psychology & transformation. 

Niti in The Missing Husband, Vanessa in Broken Mirror, Mira in Beyond Grief, Raghu in Two Lives, and Dia in When Things Fade are some examples of good character arcs.

Though Narayana in The Dream Catcher & Banke Bihari in Prattles of the mind don’t have much arc but their psychology is aptly described. From the standpoint of emotion, the protagonists in every story are capable of moving the readers.

Quotable Quotes from the Book

• When the roots are deep, there’s no reason to fear the wind.
• Life is like a coin, and you can spend it any way you wish. But you can only spend it once.
• Life is like a dream; you can filter out the bad & keep the good; you could be like a dream catcher, living & loving what you like.
• [These] rituals are only an excuse you give yourself to lessen the guilt of having ignored him (God) for so long.

Conclusion

Some of the stories in the book ‘Kiss of the Wildflower and Other Stories’ by Deepika Sharma have flaws, but they don’t deter the readers from enjoying them. The stories can be read solely for their emotions & portrayal of characters.