Ranjitha Ashok’s ‘Half a Kilo Mixture’ features memories turned into short stories

The Chennai-based author has dedicated her book to the late S Muthiah, the chronicler of Madras

Memories of childhood, family relationships and village life come together in Ranjitha Ashok’s book, Half a Kilo Mixture. This collection of 15 short stories is inspired by the Chennai-based author’s observation of people around her. “It could be incidents in my family, happenings in the society or something as small as a passing expression on someone’s face,” Ranjitha says. “Many of the incidents have stayed in my mind for years.” The book took Ranjitha three years to put together. “I had written many of these stories years ago. They were saved on my computer. After I got the idea of compiling them into a book, I tweaked them to make them more relevant to the present times. I also wrote new ones for the book.”