Stories from Modern India

Stories From Modern India presents some of the best-known voices of India—writers who have either chosen English as the language of expression or sought to express themselves in other Indian languages, underscoring the oft-contentious label of unity in diversity, and exploring in the process India in it multitudinous manifestations. This anthology explores a variety of subjects—the struggle for independence, and communal disharmony by Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya and Samaresh Basu; manipulation and political influence by RK Narayan and Manohar Malgaonkar; ambition by Bhisham Sahni; jealousy and sacrifice, aptly depicted by Ismat Chughtai; love and betrayal, portrayed by Gopinath Mohanty; freedom and choice, reaffirmed by Sagar Sarhadi, and also corruption, desertion, superstition and migration—through a gamut of human emotions, highlighting the universality of their themes. Abounding in memorable characters, this collection provides a glimpse of a nation in search of itself.