Jaya Padmanabhan is a journalist and author. She has a bi-weekly column on immigrant and immigration issues in the San Francisco Examiner, and a monthly column in India Currents. She is the author of a collection of short stories published in 2014 called “Transactions of Belonging.”

Transactions of Belonging The short stories in the collection blend emotion and introspection.

First place for Editorials from the San Francisco Peninsula Club - 2016 Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards First place for Editorial Leadership from the San Francisco Peninsula Club - 2016 Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards - San Francisco Examiner - India Currents

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22283154-transactions-of-belongings

"The minute the book reaches your hand you think about the two eyes, wonder what secret might be lurking in them, wonder what questions they are raising and wonder why half the face is hidden.

When you start reading and finish each story, you realise why the face is not revealed. The face could be yours or mine, the story could be his or hers. The 12 stories are very humane and some of them very disturbing and hauntingly beautiful.”

"This book is a collection of 12 short stories of all varieties. Though this is her debut, the author easily manages to imprint in our minds her flair for evoking an epiphany at the end of every story. With extreme attention to detail, she intricately describes her scenes and characters that is a trademark of a good author. Similarly, her acute insights into the workings of the human mind are clearly evident in her characters and their development. The diversity in her characters and her narration makes each character different from one another. The best thing about author Jaya Padhmanabhan’s stories are the way they end. Most of them are left open for the reader’s to interpret, similar to her book’s title.

My favorites of these stories are: The Blue Arc that tells the story of a young sex worker who seeks the path of liberation, Neiappams – just the character Sankar made me love this story, His Curls – A story of how a mom sees her son’s growth from innocence to violence, helplessly, and Curtains Drawn – a somber story on how a child’s innocence can be destroyed by the thoughtless actions and ignorance of his parents.

One of the best books from Indian authors that I have read recently, put this book on your To-Read list without fail.”

"An interesting set of stories.
Intense, Unpredictable, even Strange at times.
Enjoyed reading them"