CONTENTS
Our Stories xiii
1 . RABINDRANATH TAGORE 3
The Hunger of Stones
Translated from the Bengali by Amitav Ghosh
2 . MUNSHI PREMCHAND 14
The Shroud
Translated from the Hindi by Arshia Sattar
3. R . K. NARAYAN 21
A Horse and Two Goats
4. BUDDHADEVA BOSE 36
A Life
Translated from the Bengali by Arunava Sinha
5. SAADAT HASAN MANTO 56
Toba Tek Singh
Translated from the Urdu by Khushwant Singh
6. THAKAZHI SIVASANKARA PILLAI 63
The Flood
Translated from the Malayalam by 0. V. Usha
7. VAIKOM MUHAMMAD BASHEER 69
The Blue Light
Translated from the Malayalam by 0. V. Usha
8. GOPINATH MOHANTY 79
The Somersault
Translated from the Oriya by Sitakant Mahapatra
9. KHUSHWANT SINGH 87
Portrait of a Lady
10. ISMAT CHUGHTAI 91
11. AMRITA PRITAM 101
Stench ofKerosene
Translated from the Punjabi by Khushwant Singh
12. ANNA BHAU SATHE 106
Gold from the Grave
Translated from the Marathi by Vernon Gonsalves
13. D. B. G. TILAK 113
The Man Who Saw God
Translated from the Telugu by Rang a Rao
14. HARISHANKAR PARSAI 128
Inspector Matadeen on the Moon
Translated from the Hindi by C. M. Naim
15. MAHASWETA DEVI 138
Draupadi
Translated from the Bengali by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
16. VIJAYDAN DETHA 150
Countless Hiders
Translated from the Rajasthani by Christi A. Merrill and Kailash Kabir
17. NIRMAL VERMA 160
Mirror of Illusion
Translated from the Hindi by Geeta Kapur
18. SUNDARA RAMASWAMY 173
Reflowering
Translated from the Tamil by S. Krishnan
19. U. R . ANANTHAMURTHY 182
Mouni
Translated from the Kannada by H .Y Sharada Prasad
20. NISHA DA CUNHA 200
Old Cypress
21. RUSKIN BOND 237
The Blue Umbrella
22. . GULZAR 254
Crossing the Ravi
Trans lated from the Hindi by Rakhshanda ]alii
23. ANITA DESAI 258
Games at Twilight
24. VILAS SARANG 265
A Revolt of the Gods
Translated from the Marathi by the author
25. AMBAI 2 7 6
In a Forest, a Deer
Translated from the Tamil by C. T. Indra
26. PAUL ZACHAR I A 282
Bhaskara Pattelar and My Life
Translated from the Malayalam by Gita Krishnankutty
27. DEVANOORA MAHADEVA 302
Tar Arrives
Translated from the Kannada by Manu Shetty and A . K. Ramanujan
28. IRWIN ALLAN SEALY 309
Last In, First Out
29. VIKRAM SETH 322
The Elephant and the Tragopan
30. MANJULA PADMANABHAN 345
Feast
31. GITHA HARIHARAN 355
Nursing God's Countries
32. CYRUS MISTRY 361
Proposed for Condemnation
33. SHASHI THAROOR 371
Trying to Discover India
34. UPAMANYU CHATTERJEE 383
Desolation, Lust
35. VIKRAM CHANDRA 402
Kama
36. ANJUM HASAN 465
Wild Things
37. AMRITA NARAYANAN 475
Stolen
38. SHAHNAZ BASHIR 486
The Gravestone
39. KANISHK THAROOR 492
Elephant at Sea
Acknowledgements 504
Notes to the Stories 506
Notes on the Authors 510
Notes on the Translators 514