Adolescence and the Tangled Terrain: Paro Anand's The Other: Stories of Difference

Abstract

Adolescence is a developmental or transitional stage between ten to nineteen years of age and an extremely sensitive one. Paro Anand’s The Other: Stories of Difference represented that less travelled road which involves darkness, trauma, pain and agony through the stories like “Learning to Love Again”, “So Cinderella”, “Walk the Straight Line” etc. This is an age of growth, happiness, laughter and learning however there are adolescents who cross the dark terrains of reality at such a tender age. These exceptional stories explore the hard reality of life and leave a huge impact on the mind of adolescents. These stories expose the issues of sexual assault, myth of beauty, disability, gender issues and others to present the darker side of the society. “Learning to Love Again” contemplates on the psyche of a girl who had been sexually abused by her own uncle; the trauma, depression and agony of the adolescent girl was represented. Similarly, “So Cinderella” nullifies the myth of beauty that is rampant in the society and establishes that each and every individual is beautiful irrespective of the colour of skin. Paro Anand unflinchingly uncovers the social evils of the society and lay it bare in front of the society for awareness and further improvement of the society.