Tamil: The Best Stories of Our Times, edited by Perundevi
This anthology brings together 22 short stories published over the past three decades by some of the finest contemporary writers of Tamil fiction. Traversing Tamil Nadu and the Tamil diaspora, these stories capture a society's encounter with the modern world, as its people grapple with what is irreducibly human in themselves and others. Along the way, they unravel the subtle intricacies of life, illuminating various transitions, identities and interiorities.
Basti & Durbar, Delhi-New Delhi: A City in Stories, edited by Rakhshanda Jalil
In the thirty-two stories in this collection, there is a city that pushes through in its unbearable heat and cold and a city that plays rummy and talks golf at the Gymkhana Club; a phoenix city built by emperors and imperialists, poets, labourers, traders and fixers; a city that survived the Partition and shelters its victims; and a city of lovers and dreamers, but also of thick-skinned, cynical politicians and babus.
Among the writers featured in this anthology are legends and new voices – Khushwant Singh, Bhisham Sahni, Rashid Jahan, Kamleshwar, Mohan Rakesh, Gulzar, Kartar Singh Duggal, Krishna Sobti, Keki Daruwalla, M Mukundan, Asghar Wajahat, Namita Gokhale, Uday Prakash, Navtej Sarna, Sujit Saraf, Vandana Singh, Palash Krishna Mehrotra, Manjula Padmanabhan, Ajay Navaria and Ankush Saikia.
Rising Sons, Kavery Nambisan
In pre-independent India, in the small village of Kesarugattu somewhere in Karnataka, Devaraya, a Brahmin, goes about further ossifying his status. This little hamlet, like every other, follows the said and unsaid rules of caste and religion. Inter-caste marriages are frowned upon. Brahmin and other wealthy upper-caste men set the rules. The Ai tribes live far away from the village, in the forest. As societal divisions and unlikely friendships play out in the everyday life of the village, a secret from Devaraya’s past comes to haunt him and his family. The repercussions are huge for both Devaraya, his wife Gowru and his two sons Nanju and Anna.
Even as battle lines are drawn in the village and undeclared allies offer support, this fresh trouble claims one of his two sons. That's not all – meanwhile, the Independence movement that infects the little hamlet sweeps away his other son in its fever. What is to become of the dreams Devaraya had for his sons?
The Last Knot, Shabir Ahmad Mir
In 19th-century Srinagar, a carpet-maker breaks from the rituals of his craft to pursue a transcendental dream – to weave a flying carpet that will deliver him from a life of subjugation. On this quest, he meets Abli Bab, a former maestro, who tells him of a fabled blue silk carpet, imbued with a mystical dye and marked by Solomon’s star. Lost to time, this legendary creation may hold the key to his freedom.
The runaway weaver, now disguised as a madman, seeks refuge in the company of a local dyer and his spirited daughter, Heemal. This serendipitous encounter leads him to uncover the secret to his dream. Under the shadow of the mythical Haer Parbat – and despite the dark prophecy that foretells his doom – the weaver begins crafting his masterpiece.
As the imperial forces close in, each warp and weft on the loom raises the stakes perilously high. When it is finally complete, will the carpet truly fly?
The Ex Daughters of Tolstoy House, Arunima Tenzin Tara
Meera appears to be living the perfect life. She has a good husband, Ambarish, and three obedient daughters, Sujata, Kavita and Naina. But Ambarish’s odd disappearances in the middle of the night and the salt he leaves scattered on the floor, all lead her to a dark secret. One that brings the past into the present, and threatens to consume her daughters’ lives.
Naina is used to following her father’s orders, it’s how her mother has raised her. So when he calls on her to wipe the blood off a dead body, Naina obliges, after all, she has been doing this for nearly thirty years. But this time, the body is not a stranger. It’s her mother.
Forced to reckon with her own complicity in the act, Naina must navigate her family’s history, if only to provide the next generation with a better life.
A Teashop In Kamalapura and Other Classic Kannada Stories, edited by Mini Krishnan, translated by Susheela Punitha
A teashop in Kamalapura overflows with the lives, squabbles and sounds of its neighbourhood.
Tansen sorely regrets abandoning his gifted son Bilas Khan in a story set in the Mughal court.
A doting father sacrifices his children's happiness to serve the cruel demands of his upper-caste master.
These stories are windows to the past and its people – the everyday struggles and joys; the ties of friendship and faith; the politics of love and rejection; the intricacies of betrayal and envy; and the conflicts of class and caste-while continuing to be relevant to our present, puncturing the boundaries of time and space.
