Bonds And Bondages- A study of “Atheist’ and “Get the bill” in Subhash Chandra’s Beyond the Canopy of Icicles

Abstract

The genre of short story is considered as a small setting, small canvas, straightforward
narration which caters to every type of reader. Subhash Chandra’s collection of stories,
Beyond the Canopy of Icicles is an extraordinary and exquisite study of human passion,
perseverance, plight, predicament and psychology. The fundamental quality about the
stories is that they are most persuasive and make you pause and ponder, echoing the
famous words of Dr. Johnson – A writer only begins a book, A Reader Finishes. The
mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one seventh of its bulk above water. Subhash
Chandra with dare and determination unveils those hidden attributes of human self,
beyond the compos mentis, in the inner recesses of mind and studies human psyche in
testing and trying times. The present paper is an attempt to study two stories “Atheist”
which portrays the conflict between intellect and faith and “Get the Bill” which is a
pungent satire on crumbling familial bonds.