Description

The forty-three stories from twenty-one languages anthologized here reflect the diversity and complexity of life lived in India. From the violence and mass hysteria of the Partition to the suppressed rage and gnawing self-pity of individuals trapped in broken homes-these stories capture the outer and the inner lives of Indian society. The sacred and the profane, the elite and the subaltern meet in many-layered narratives in these stories, providing us metaphors to visualize ourselves. These stories map an eventful century during which our country emerged into a nation. The images gathered here from the haunted interiors of the twentieth century are both disquieting and illuminating.