Photo credits: Annie Spratt
Edited by Vaishali
Title: 'Gaya - Assorted Paranormal Stories from the Ancient Indian City'
Author: Payal Sinha Genre/Themes: Anthology, short stories, fiction, paranormal Year of Publication: 2019 Version: Ebook kindly provided by the author Review
‘Thus, with centuries of life and deaths, and with infinite pind daans on a yearly basis, Gaya abounds with many ghost stories.’
‘Gaya’ by Payal Sinha is a short anthology comprised of mystifying, cultural short stories entrenched in the ancient but spiritual city of Bihar. With an introduction about Gaya’s prominence in the Hindu culture, its well documented and recognised origins in the great epics of ancient India and the eeire devices the city holds, this surely is an interesting setting to explore stories of the supernatural, both spooky and unsettling with an element of thrill.
I have never been to India, but my heritage stems from there as both of my grandparents were born and bred there. So over the years I’ve been on the receiving end of some handful of stories about ancient India including those of the Ramayana and Mahabharata – though I couldn’t remember any to save my life – so for me it was interesting to know that Gaya holds much significance and is such a vital and memorable corner of the world, it’s history stretching back to the very early centuries with flagrant stories encircled by foremost figures such as Buddha, Lord Vishnu, Rama and Sita.
But I was also told of various true stories about far-removed relatives and family friends that experienced supernatural encounters in India, but also here in the UK, and believe me they freaked me out to no end knowing that these accounts were from people who are within and also outside of my family tree. After Payal got in touch with me to request that I read her book, she told me that these stories had some truth to them as they are to some degree autobiographical.
I was a strange child – arguably still a strange person, but in the best way possible - and I had this masochistic notion to terrify myself by watching horror films because of the element of ghastly anxiety watching them would create but also to prove that I had the capacity to endure them like my passive older sister who watched them with the blasé attitude and stoic face of watching paint dry, while I was in the corner dreading that night would soon show it’s dark face, wondering what nightmares my mind would twists the darkness into.
After emailing Payal, I soon found out that these stories have a grain of truth to them as they were constructed around real life events - which again spooked me out - hence my caution in reading them, because even now mild horror stories have me shaking like a nervous wreck and tend to mess with my delicate lucidity, and it’s safe to say that the endurance thing? Yes, it did not work. Sadly.
I’m not overly accustomed with short stories of any kind as I’m used to full-length novels that I can become engrossed in, but I actually enjoyed these primary tales about the people living in Gaya’s surrounding area and the weirdly peculiar incidences and manifestations they faced going about their daily lives. After reading ‘Waiting’ – the first story in this short piece of literature – I found myself unexpectedly excited to read on.
As I flew through this – gladly not at night – I enjoyed the little thrills and sparks of anticipation the stories gave me. I had tingly sensations flaring through my belly, pronounced by little threads of dread once I had finished them, overall enjoying this quick read.
Reading fictional stories or even watching movies that are loosely or even majorly rooted in truth can leave a person bathed in sinister feelings of alarm, thinking ‘I wish you hadn’t told me that’. Gaya: Assorted Paranormal Stories from the Ancient Indian City is a twist on the normal bedtime stories that one might find across the continent in India’s cities. India’s culture is one of many that parleys on the founded legends and myths of its philosophy because it’s a nation of the mystical as well as of healing. This book lends a discussion on the curiosity of suspicious occurrence and the notion that if you believe in the paranormal what can we really do when it’s a kind of reality that can’t be touched?
‘Gaya’ certainly gave me goosebumps, but I was intrigued enough to keep on reading this collection of stories grounded in typical folk tale fashion.
Thank you dear Payal for getting in touch and providing me with a copy of your book!
I gave this book 3 stars -
Note:Some minor editing issues with spelling and misplaced words
My Rating System:
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★ - 1 star: I did not like the book ★★ - 2 stars: The book was okay ★★★ - 3 stars: It was a good, solid read ★★★★ - 4 stars: A great book ★★★★★ - 5: A phenomenal read
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