Book Review: ‘Bandaged Moments’ by Nabanita Sengupta and Nishi Pulugurtha

Book Title: Bandaged Moments
Editor(s): Nabanita Sengupta and Nishi Pulugurtha
Publisher: Niyogi Books
Number of Pages: 392
ISBN: 978-8119626151
Date Published: Jul. 31, 2025
Price: INR 360

Book Review

“Bandaged Moments” is a powerful and thought-provoking collection of 26 short stories by women writers from across India, translated from 17 Indian languages. Edited by Nabanita Sengupta and Nishi Pulugurtha, the book looks closely at mental health — not as an abstract idea, but as something that touches everyday lives. These stories are honest, painful, and deeply human, showing how silence, stigma, and survival shape people’s inner worlds.

The book’s honesty is its speciality. It doesn’t try to make pain look beautiful or turn suffering into an easy lesson. Instead, it shows the confusion and struggle that often come with mental illness. The characters could be anyone — a neighbour, a mother, a friend — quietly fighting battles that others cannot see. The stories remind us that mental health is not only about hospitals or medicine, but also about love, loneliness, and the courage to ask for help in a world that often refuses to understand. Often, mental health is discriminated gender wise which is unfortunate, and women’s mental health is either attributed to a child’s birth or a customary tradition. This book is a different reflection of the real solutions.

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The title “Bandaged Moments” says a lot — a bandage covers a wound, but it also hides it. In the same way, these stories uncover what society usually tries to keep quiet. They talk about pain but also about hope and care. This is a book that stays with you, making you think about how we treat those who are struggling — and how stories can help us heal, one voice at a time.

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