Arrival

By Prabhu Jha

Arrival is a collection of soulful short stories exploring the search for home and identity in a new land and culture. The reader gets a glimpse of the immigrants’ struggles, joys, and challenges in a language that flows easily with a witty and poetic sensibility.

Distinct yet similar, the stories present readers with the trials and tribulations of people who are caught between two worlds: one that they have left and the other they have adopted. Right from Arrival—the opening story that provides the collection its name—to Departure and to Postscript, the last two stories, its characters face an identity crisis. Emotional and funny, this book is a poignant reminder of the ever-evolving search for a home from one world to the other.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9781546266549

Prabhu Jha

Born in India, and settled in America, Prabhu Jha brings his readers a dual perspective as an insider and outsider. With a Doctorate in English literature and a Master’s degree in English as a Second Language, he has his feet firmly planted in two different worlds. This dichotomy is evident in his short stories revealing interesting layers and shades of meaning. Arrival is Jha’s second publication, the first being Dust of Memory, a poetry collection that was published in 2014.

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© 2019 Prabhu Jha. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/19/2019

ISBN: 978-1-5462-6652-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-6653-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-6654-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018913013

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Arrival

The Afghan Snow

The Leaf Catcher

The Crossing

The Adjunct

Departure

Postscript

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

Maya Angelou

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In a sense the short stories in this selection are the distilled essence of my life, and have undergone a serious critical scrutiny of Paresh Jha, my son and resident critic. Thank you, Paresh!

I am equally thankful to Vineet Jha, my nephew and illustrator of this book. He has been an integral part of the entire creative process from beginning to end. Thank you, Vineet!

Thanks are also due to Mr. Ashok Devnani, the artist who has beautifully sketched the girl on the cover of my book.

I am also grateful to Dr. Christine Timm, a creative artist and colleague, for her help and ideas.

Finally, I am very thankful to my friends and colleagues for their support and encouragement.

In the loving

memory of my mother,

Jagdamba Jha

Whose art of storytelling still nourishes me!

ARRIVAL

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The International Arrival Hall was packed with people who had come to receive their relatives and friends. Nothing unusual there. Any day after 2 P.M. the arrival hall at JFK gets crowded as most of the flights coming from the Indian sub-continent are scheduled to arrive between 3 P.M. and 7 P.M. What was unusual was the fact that most of the chairs inside the fenced off area for the café were not taken! What happened? Did all these Americans from South East Asia have a crash course in social behavior and manners? Generally, they would occupy all the tables and chairs meant for the café customers. I looked at my watch: 4:45 on a Saturday afternoon. Hmm. I still had some time to kill before Tanu would come out. The Air India flight, according to the monitor, had arrived at 3:50. The baggage claim and immigration clearance, however takes a lot of time. So, I decided to buy a cup of tea and wait.

As I sat down at one of the tables inside the fenced off area for the café, I saw the gentleman looking at one of the monitors by the exit door. I immediately recognized him from my last visit to the airport. What a coincidence, I thought. Last time I was here a few months ago to receive one of my friends from India, I had met this guy from Pakistan. I even remembered his name – Rafique Azam – because I had a very close friend from India with the same name. There was something about this guy that caught my attention. Wearing not-so-clean khakis, Rafique could easily blend in the run of the mill brown faces, but there was something about his eyes that got hold of me. Apart from the fact that Rafique had light eyes, there was a tired intensity about them

Are you here to receive a family member? Rafique had asked.

No, one of my friends from India is coming by AI 101. I said.

Oh! Nice, I’m here to receive my son, Anees. He’ll be going to college this fall. Rafique said.

Which university is he going to join? I asked.

"Anees is going to Queensborough Community College for the time being, but he’ll transfer to a four-year college next year. He had started hanging out with the wrong crowd in his senior year at the High School,