Bewildering Stories welcomes...

Uddalak Banerjee

Uddalak is pursuing a degree in computer engineering and science at the National Institute of Technology in Raipur, India. He says he thinks about his friends and associates and draws his fictional characters from real life. Uddalak has a broad presence on line and has written short fiction extensively. He likes to vary his topics, e.g. murder mysteries, romances, thrillers, travel, etc.

“The Pantomime” depicts a hapless student of trigonometry. He incurs the wrath of his teacher, who abuses him publicly with what amounts to profanity.

Readers outside India will be taken aback: is this really how teachers treat their students in that country? We would hope not; rather we would content ourselves with the supposition that “UBJ” hears not what the teacher actually says but words that express his own feelings of shame and guilt.

The supposition is supported by the story’s drift into symbolic fantasy. The ending is scary: it leaves the reader wondering: who or what is the puppeteer manipulating the dolls in their conformist pantomime?

Uddalak Banerjee’s bio sketch can be found here.

Welcome to Bewildering Stories, Uddalak. We hope to hear from you again soon and often!