THE GREATEST HINDI STORIES EVER TOLD (HB)

The twenty-five stories in The
Greatest Hindi Stories Ever Told represent the finest short fiction in Hindi
literature. Selected and translated by editor, writer, and translator Poonam
Saxena, and ranging from early literary masters of the form such as Premchand,
Chandradhar Sharma Guleri, BhishamSahni, HarishankarParsai, Mannu Bhandari,
and Shivani to contemporary greats such as AsgharWajahat, Uday Prakash, Sara
Rai, and others, the collection has stories of darkness, hope, triumph,
anger, and irony. In Premchand?s ?The Thakur?s Well?, ?low-caste? Gangi
struggles to find drinking water for her ill husband; in ?The Times Have
Changed? by Krishna Sobti, the matriarch Shahni bids a heart-breaking
farewell to her village during Partition; Krishna BaldevVaid?s ?Escape? is a
telling story about women?s yearning for freedom; Yashpal?s ?Phoolo?s Kurta?
is a sharp commentary on child marriage and notions of female modesty; in
BhishamSahni?s ?A Feast for the Boss? and Usha Priyamvada?s ?The Homecoming?,
ageing parents find themselves tragically out of sync with their family;
Amarkant?s ?City of Death? looks at the fragile thread that holds together
communal peace; PhanishwarnathRenu?s ?The Third Vow? features the lovable
bullock-cart driver Hiraman; Bhagwaticharan Varma?s ?Atonement? and
HarishankarParsai?s ?The Soul of Bholaram? are scathing satires; and ?Tirich?
by contemporary writer Uday Prakash is a surreal tale?these and other stories
in the collection are compelling, evocative, and showcase an unforgettable
range of brilliant styles, forms, and themes. Chandradhar Sharma Guleri
Premchand Bhagwaticharan Verma Yashpal Agyeya BhishamSahni PhanishwarnathRenu
HarishankarParsai Amarkant Krishna Sobti Krishna BaldevVaid Rajendra Yadav
Mohan Rakesh Kamleshwar Usha Priyamvada Mannu Bhandari Kamtanath Shivani
Doodhnath Singh Omprakash Valmiki Shaani Shekhar Joshi AsgharWajahat Uday
Prakash Sara Rai