The Tree With Eyes And Other Stories

The Tree With Eyes and Other Stories by Bela Negi is a collection of stories rooted in the western Himalayas and shaped by grief, loss, pain, humour and the uncertainties of belonging. The characters inhabit landscapes undergoing change, while their own lives are marked by loneliness, migration, ecological transformation and the gradual erosion of familiar connections.

The stories bring together people facing very different circumstances: a man and his mother watch their surroundings transform as he lives with persistent pain; a couple struggle against the demands placed on their time and youth; a newly married woman confronts growing loneliness; a runaway returns to a changed childhood home; and a man searching for his grandmother encounters an open secret.

About This Book

The collection is deeply connected to the mountains of Uttarakhand and the western Himalayas. Its landscapes are presented not simply as settings but as living presences that can offer companionship while also becoming unsettling forces in the characters’ lives.

Across the stories, personal experiences intersect with larger changes. Migration alters relationships with home, ecological change reshapes familiar surroundings, and the passage of time gradually weakens people’s sense of belonging. The characters experience these changes through grief, loneliness, pain and uncertainty, but also through humour and moments of absurdity.

Bela Negi approaches these lives with empathy and quiet understanding, focusing on ordinary people whose emotional worlds are shaped by both intimate experiences and the changing environments around them.

What You'll Discover

• Stories rooted in the landscapes of the western Himalayas
• Characters confronting grief, loss, pain and loneliness
• The effects of migration on people and their sense of home
• Ecological change and its impact on familiar landscapes
• A newly married woman confronting intensifying loneliness
• A runaway returning to a childhood home transformed by time
• A man searching for his grandmother and encountering an open secret
• The mountains as both companion and unsettling presence

Perfect For

• Readers who enjoy literary short stories
• Readers interested in Himalayan and Uttarakhand settings
• Readers drawn to stories about grief, migration and belonging
• Readers interested in human relationships and ecological change

Why You'll Love This Book

The Tree With Eyes and Other Stories brings together emotionally nuanced stories in which individual lives intersect with migration, ecological change and the changing meaning of home. Bela Negi’s empathetic approach gives the western Himalayan landscape an active presence while exploring grief, loneliness, humour, pain and belonging.