About My New Book "On the Fly"

 

[Paperback]

Here are a few words about my recent short story collection, "On the Fly".

Stories endure because they carry meanings larger than their plots. Whether they illuminate a philosophy, expose the exploitation of the weak by the powerful, reveal a quiet art of survival, or simply offer the joy of irony and everyday humour, they all serve a purpose. The tales of kings and queens, of demons and their celestial rivals, once helped ordinary people imagine worlds beyond their reach and reflect upon the nature of power, morality, and possibility. In the same way, the stories in this collection revisit the familiar landscapes of our lives—labour colonies and school verandas, village chaupals and forest trails, cramped hostels and bustling city corners—to reveal the subtler truths hidden beneath routine living.

On the Fly brings together a variety of such stories, each written with deliberate intent yet gentle in its approach—never sermonising, always companionable. Whether it is a seven-year-old girl forming a quiet bond with a goat, an elderly woman negotiating dignity in a patriarchal settlement, a child discovering patriotism in its most innocent form, or a bachelor navigating life with nothing but resilience and a fishing hook, each tale offers a spark: a reflection, a question, or a path. These stories do not promise solutions; instead, they hold a lantern over possibilities—what to embrace, what to resist, and how to remain human in a swiftly changing world.

Other stories in the collection deepen this tapestry of meanings. In Trinket Case, Vimal’s long-delayed gift to his mother affirms that good intentions, patiently upheld, become their own success story. Bhima: The Bandit with Arithmetic reveals how even a thief may emerge as a poor man’s unexpected ally, rescuing him from the predatory grip of a moneylender. Matriculation Miracles shows how an astrologer’s flawed prediction can still lift a troubled heart by simply restoring hope. The Lookalikes reminds us that coincidences scattered across continents and centuries point to a deeper unity of human fate. The Slate of Sin turns death into an act of grace, where forgiveness beautifies the final exit. And in Gauri’s Answer, resilience emerges not as a gentle virtue but as a battle of repeated assertions—of a woman insisting on her right to dignity and independence. Together, these tales reveal the many ways ordinary lives hold extraordinary wisdom.

Blurb:

On the Fly presents forty-five stories drawn from the author’s memories of rural life and small-town intimacy. Rich in detail and emotional honesty, these stories evoke the warmth, humour and resilience of people living with little yet feeling deeply.

They entertain, invite empathy, and raise questions about how we grow, endure and find meaning. At the same time, they look back at a past shaped by poverty and closeness, and compare it with a present in which nature, community, and simplicity have gradually thinned.

This collection preserves a world on the verge of fading from public memory, capturing the experiences that shaped a generation and continue to illuminate the present.

[cover of the ebook]

Preface:

For some time now, a quiet unease has lived inside me. I often ask myself: when I use AI in my writing, am I wielding a tool or, alternatively, yielding a portion of my own creative instinct? Have I found a companion in craft, or have I taken a gentler, quicker path, mistaking convenience for inspiration?

And then the deeper question arises: who dreams up the central idea of a story? Does the impulse still arise from the human core, from memory, longing, and surprise, or is it shaped by the machine? Can something essentially non-human help evoke what is most human?

Before AI, my writing table was surrounded by dictionaries, thesauri and collocation guides, both physical and digital, because English, being my second language, demanded careful attention. Every phrase had to be checked and every nuance verified. With AI, much of this labour is eased. It clarifies usage, polishes a sentence, explains its choices, offers alternate expressions, and helps assess the paragraph's temperament. In this sense, it is a toolbox that answers back, a partner that can converse.

But crafting a story—the architecture of plot, its heartbeat, its crises and consolations—still feels like a deeply human undertaking. I have never asked AI to write an entire story for me; perhaps I never will. For now, it remains a versatile assistant, not a storyteller.

Yet, despite all these reflections, I remain unsure. AI today can even “humanise” machine-generated text so that students may pass it off as their own. It is a curious development in an age that once relied on plagiarism detectors. We now have machines that write and machines that expose machines that write. It would be amusing if it were not so revealing.

To better understand my own position, I compared my pre-AI work with what I have written over the last six months. The conclusion I reached is simple: I am still searching for a satisfying answer.

This book gathers forty-five short stories, thirty in Part I and fifteen in Part II, each dated at the end. I offer them, along with these reflections, so that readers may glimpse the questions and curiosities that accompanied their creation.

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By

Ananta Narayan Nanda

Balasore, 23/1/2006

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