The Tree With Eyes and Other Stories

The Tree With Eyes and Other Stories is a compelling, punchy collection of short stories that beautifully foregrounds human emotion against the striking landscape of the western Himalayas. Written by Nainital-based filmmaker and producer Bela Negi, this literary work offers a deeply moving exploration of grief, loss, pain, madness, humor, and absurdity.

Synopsis:

Emerging from the very marrow of the mountains, these tales capture lives quietly shaped by migration, ecological change, and the slow erosion of belonging. In this collection, the mountains are never just a passive backdrop; they are a living presence—serving at times as a gentle companion and at others as an unsettling force.

The anthology weaves together deeply empathetic narratives, including:

• A man and his mother who witness the gradual transformation of the landscape around their home while persistent physical pain slowly consumes his body.

• A devoted couple who wait for eternity to be together while the relentless demands of the world eat away at their time and youth.

• The haunting eponymous title story, where a newly married young woman gazes out her window at a tree, trying to drown out the sounds of her own intensifying loneliness.

• A runaway who returns to his childhood home only to find it irrevocably changed by time.

• A man searching for his elderly grandmother one night, only to stumble upon an open secret.

Narrated with unusual empathy and gentle understanding, Negi’s stories dive into the complexities of Uttarakhand's mountain communities, capturing the delicate textures of isolated lives with cinematic clarity.