You know those lazy Sunday afternoons when one would sit cross-legged on the floor, listening to their grandmother spin tales while she chopped vegetables? That is exactly what reading Tales Between Taste by Karan Puri feels like. And honestly, one would not expect a book to hit them so directly in the nostalgia as this one does.
This collection of ten short stories is essentially a warm hug wrapped in pages. Puri has an incredible knack for weaving together food, fantasy, and friendship in a way that does not feel forced or preachy. Each story stands on its own, but together they create a beautiful tapestry that reminds readers why they fell in love with reading in the first place.
For those with children, this book is perfect. Young readers will become lost in these fun-filled adventures and will probably not put it down until every story has been devoured. Yet it works just as well for adults in their late twenties who need a break from adulting and wish to recall what it felt like to believe in a little magic.
This collection, authored by Karan Puri and rooted in the tradition of historical fiction, captures the essence of history and the feeling of living within it. What makes it stand out is not the obvious signposts of historical fiction: there are no emperors or grand wars claiming centre stage. Instead, the stories invite readers into the heart of colonial and pre-independence India through the ordinary lives of villagers, cooks, milkmen, potters, and schoolboys.
It is this intimate, ground-level perspective that lends the collection both authenticity and emotional gravity. These are not sweeping epics in length, but in emotional resonance, they are vast.
One of the boldest and most effective choices in this collection is the prominence of food as a storytelling device. Food becomes a narrative tool, a cultural anchor, and, in many cases, a plot engine. Meals are not simply described; they are performed on the page. A grinding stone is not just a kitchen tool; it is a symbol of generational continuity. A chutney song becomes a diasporic anthem. Even elephants are fed with care and ceremonial joy, turning the act of eating into a sacred, almost mythic ritual.
Yet these culinary elements carry weight. They are expressions of economy, gender, resistance, and longing. In one narrative, the domestic battle over grocery bills becomes a microcosm of class struggle and familial hierarchy. In another, a simple recipe becomes the bridge between an old life and a new homeland. This is where the collection excels—not just in what is told, but in how it is told. Everyday objects—chapatis, neem trees, peepal leaves—carry both emotional and historical significance.
Equally important is the structure and tone. The book navigates fluidly between fable and folklore, memoir and magic, balancing humour and melancholy. One moment, readers are laughing at a boy’s disaster with a mango slingshot; the next, they hold their breath as he becomes entangled in a secret network passing coded messages on the brink of mutiny.
Title: Tales Between Taste
Author: Karan Puri
Pages: 174
Publisher: Treeshade Books
