Book Title: Colour My Grave Purple and Other Stories
Author: Shehnab Sahin
Publisher: Niyogi Books
Number of Pages: 258
ISBN: 8199024380
Date Published: Dec. 12, 2025
Price: INR 532
Book Review
Shehnab Sahin’s debut short-story collection, “Colour My Grave Purple and Other Stories“, is set in Assam during the 19th century, specifically post-Opium Wars in China, exploring the social transformations driven by the commercialization of tea. The narratives follow Samuel Paddington, a British estate manager, and his Cantonese wife, shedding light on Assam’s historical landscape marked by colonial influences and labour exploitation.
This collection aims to redefine Assamese representation in literature, moving beyond the dominant narratives of conflict and insurgency, where she emphasizes a broader portrayal of Assamese experiences. Each story in the collection interrogates the complexities of identity, memory, and belonging within the historical context of Assam. This collection shares similar narratives with a Telugu book titled ‘ Neelampu Rasi’ that talks about farming in Andhra Pradesh during the colonial era by author Chandralata.
One of the stories, titled – ‘Two Leaves and a Bud’, shows the readers the native struggles against colonial land appropriation, while another story critiques the clash between traditional healing and colonial medicine. Several stories challenge historical perspectives, such as those that reimagine the experiences of a real-life anthropologist through the eyes of the Naga people.
The titular story, ‘Colour My Grave Purple’, connects personal grief with historical legacy, positioning mourning as an act of resistance and reclamation. Through her vivid narratives, Sahin affirms the profound human experiences behind Assam’s turbulent history and challenges reductive representations of the region in Indian literary discourse. The collection ultimately serves as an act of reclamation, aiming to recenter Assamese lives within the broader narrative of India.
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