Extract
The 6.13 Ladies’ Special
Susmita Bhattacharya
The 6:13 Ladies’ Special creates a phenomenon of biblical origins on the suburban train stations of Mumbai: the parting of the Red Sea. As soon as the announcement crackles over the noise and clamour of commuters waiting to return home, there are two distinctly opposite reactions to it. An audible grunt of impatience from the men, who have to step back, grudging the minutes lost in the rush back home. And a sigh of relief from the women, who triumphantly step up to the front. The Ladies Special glides in, and with a cacophony of screams and shouts to match no other, a surge of women sweep into the train. This is the daily commute on the suburban local trains for most people living and working in Mumbai.
Table of Contents
Foreword – Michael Rosen v
Parts – Philip Gross 1
From the Roof Top – Simone Davy 2
The Colour of the Night – Virginia Baily 14
Crying Under a Bush – Giselle Leeb 16
The Wagtails of Imberhorne – Annie Freud 21
Duty of Care – Mary Read 22
Ophelia on the Ward – Anna Kisby 27
Frog’s Hollow – Ariella Van Luyn 28
Ladywood 1977 – Frank Dullaghan 38
The 6.13 Ladies’ Special – Susmita Bhattacharya 39
Carer – Jacky Tarleton 44
Buying the House in Canal Park Estates – William Merrill Decker 45
The Cut – Sally Flint 51
How I Fixed the Foxes – Alexander Knights 52
The Outskirts – Andy Brown 66
Grimaldi – Erinna Mettler 69
The Cellar – Krishan Coupland 75
Carnival – Tom Garrod 76
Afterwards: Three Poems after Klee – Anthony Wilson 85
The World in Passing – Lauren Hayhurst 89
The Zobole Suite – Tony Curtis 95
Heights – Richard Smyth 99
Thistledown on Reydon Marshes, Cricket on the Head, Aube – Peter Carpenter 112
Contributors 115