THE GREATEST GUJARATI STORIES EVER TOLD (HB)

?The twenty-three stories in The Greatest
Gujarati Stories Ever Told represent some of the finest short fiction in
Gujarati literature. Selected and edited by translator and writer Rita
Kothari, this collection features established literary masters such as K. M.
Munshi, Dhumketu, Himanshi Shelat, Dalpat Chauhan, Nazir Mansuri, and Mona
Patrawalla, as well as accomplished new voices such as Panna Trivedi,
Abhimanyu Acharya, Raam Mori, and others. In K. M. Munshi?s epistolary ?A
Letter?, a childbride is worked to her death as she yearns for her husband?s
affection; in Neerav Patel?s ?Creamy Layer?, the politicized, urban, and
upwardly mobile Mr and Mrs Vaghela must confront the deep chasm that has
grown between them and their family in the village; in Panna Trivedi?s
?Maajo?, the story?s eponymous young narrator longs for butter-soft skin and
a Shah Rukh-like glance from a young man on the train; in ?Saubhagyavati: The
Fortunate Wife?, Dwiref explores the selfish and oppressive nature of marital
sex; in ?A Drop of Blood? Jayant Khatri looks at how violent acts engender
more violence; Mona Patrawalla explores the tribal region of the Dangs and
paints a hairraising picture of the violent forms of power wielded by the
Parsi landlords there in ?The Black Horse?; in Dashrath Parmar?s ?Nandu?, the
narrator struggles to hide his caste in the face of insistent questions; in
?Jumo Bhishti? by Dhumketu, we see the wonderful bond between Jumo and his
beloved buffalo, Venu; and in Abhimanyu Acharya?s ?Chunni?, a young woman,
Shaili, navigates the world of dating in a city far away from home?these and
other stories in the collection are passionate, profound, and timeless,
showcasing a range of styles and offering a variegated and singular picture
of Gujarat.