As a painter, he moved decades ago from his early figurative phase to his non-figurative maturity. As a modernist, he has achieved a variety of effects ranging from the visually ravishing to the metaphysically haunting. As a writer, however, he has been rather non-adventurous in style and form. In his writing, Kumar has stuck to a style shorn of similes, metaphors, adjectives, wit and rhythm. He has continued to rely on worn-out realistic conventions—some simplistic social background, some unspectacular description, some casual characterisation, laconic dialogue. And yet, in his successful stories such as The Sailor, The Steamer, The Sea, Termites, The Sound of Crickets, he achieves a power that is unmistakable. He has not moved beyond his early preoccupations...

THIS ARTICLE IS PRICELESS...
To read this piece, and more such stories in India's most exciting and exacting magazine, plus get access to our 25-year archives goldmine, please subscribe.