By Sumanyu Satpathy

What gives the book its cutting edge, however, is the well-thought-out interpretative perspective that considers the subject of Odia literary modernity from multiple standpoints, thus providing a polyphonic picture of the phenomenon. The fact that the book is done in English redounds further to its credit, for this enables the local story to take its place under the sun and alongside other publicized stories of modernity in the Indian bhashas. Together these stories add up to a narrative totality of Indian literature in its diverse bhasha output.


Reviewed by: Himansu S. Mohapatra
Edited by Sudha Tripathi. Guest Editor: Brajratna Joshi

The most prominent identification of Gagan Gill’s writings by commentators has been her Buddhist belief system. Several essays have engaged with this aspect of her writing commenting on her spirituality, her philosophical bent of mind and her meditative approach to the world. Radhavallabh Tripathi identifies the foundations of Gill’s writings to be the Buddhist principles of acceptance of suffering, searching the reasons for suffering, tearing off the illusion of craving and the concept of impermanence of the world. He notes that she belongs to the long intellectual tradition in India that after Buddha centres on suffering.


Reviewed by: Kopal
Translated and introduced by Srinivas Reddy

It is definitely breathtaking to see the width of traditions he has managed to bring under the ambit of his compilation which he has translated himself. Translations are generally a source of joy as the translator is adding his or her enjoyment to the words of the writer and this one is no exception. In this compilation, there are translations from works in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Tamil.


Reviewed by: Sudhamahi Regunathan
Translated from the original Kannada by Krishna Murthy

Such luminous moments of insight, introspection and self-awareness make for a richly rewarding reading experience. They highlight the grey zones in the moral and sociopolitical terrain that the narrator and a whole host of his fellow-citizens from the twin villages of Uralli and Makkigadde must traverse daily as they struggle to keep their rather tenuous lives and livelihoods on an even keel.


Reviewed by: Cheriyan Alexander
By Ambai. Translated from the original Tamil by Gita Subramanian

Subverting reader-expectations of hard-core detective fiction, Sudha Gupta compromises on sheer objectivity to come across as a compassionate, socially responsible person. The titular story of the collection is framed by two schemes of domesticity—Sudha, Naren and their daughter Aruna, including their household helps share a relationship of camaraderie and stability, while Naren’s researcher friend Kishen, Madhavi and two school-going daughters inhabit a home inscribed by fear, trauma and suspicion. Though the story guides us through the unravelling of a heinous crime,


Editorial

It, therefore, gave me particular pleasure to be able to edit this volume of remarkable Indian short fiction for Aleph. We don’t make any claims to the book being a comprehensive representation of all the great short fiction published in this country. Rather, what I have tried to do is present a wide selection of stories I have read and admired. As with all anthologies, there are stories that we have been unable to include as we were unable to track down copyright holders.


Reviewed by: By AJ Thomas