A FAIR SELECTION
Shobhana Bhattarcharji
Modern Indian Short Stories, Volume Four: Assamese, Bengali, Oriya by Kishori Charan Das Indian Council for Cultu¬ral Relations, Delhi, 1984, 164 pp., 35.00
Jan-Feb 1984, volume 8, No 4

When the title of a book sounds so obviously limiting as the volume under review, one approaches it with hesi¬tation. What monsters of esotericism will one find here? And so it is a relief to discover that this book not only has a comprehensive introduction but also brief notes introdu¬cing each author which imme¬diately sets things in perspec¬tive. The introduction by the editor explains why these three states Of Assam, Bengal and Orissa are presented together; not only because they are geogra¬phically close to each other but also because all three ‘languages… have been derived from a common source, the Magadh Prakrit’. This linguis-tic similarity and regional proximity is then placed in broader context:

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