PROSE

A selected list of my short stories, personal essays and news articles.

An Unusual Arrangement

A woman from Kerala leaves behind age old customs and practices to board a ship bound for Malaya in the middle of WWII with her three young children in tow - searching for her husband who left a few years ago to work in Singapore. Will the family be reunited?

"This (An Unusual Arrangement) was my favorite story in the book. Besides being beautifully written, it brought me back to a time I once knew when we visited my grandmother in Kerala during the June holidays. Very few stories can do that for me." Mahita Vas, Author

BUY the book

Lessons Learned from My Son

A letter to my son on Mother's Day 2020 where I explore our relationship and adventures over the past decade

BUY the book

Food-Republic-A-Singapore-Literary-Banqu

How do you want your dumplings?

Anitha Devi Pillai

"...singled out for attention is a poignant short story by Anitha Devi Pillai, titled, How Do You Want Your Dumplings?

In some ways this story is representative of all, or most of the rest of the content in Food Republic, in that it is well-written, deals with food, and tells the reader something about Singapore and Singaporean identity.

But there’s more at play here. For a start it is one of the longer pieces, allowing space for a greater depth of character and story. It offers a deeper probing of identity in the hyphenation of Indian-Singaporean or Singaporean-Indian.

The main character is simultaneously connected yet removed from her ancestral roots in Kerala, yet bound by tradition, two snakes, and astrological readings, to enter into an arranged marriage. " Marc de Faoite

Source: https://www.thevibes.com/articles/culture/17933/food-republic-an-anthology-that-explores-the-role-food-plays-in-our-lives

"...Anitha Devi Pillai's bittersweet tale "How do you want your dumplings?" ties twists in life to the rhythm of eating local multicultural fare." Gwee Li Sui

Source: http://www.qlrs.com/critique.asp?id=1649

BUY the book