Some tragic love stories are legendary- Shirin-Farhad, Laila-Majnu, Sohni-Mahiwal, but for each that became a saga, there are probably millions of love stories that were extinguished and never remembered or retold. You’ll find them in the forgettable inner pages of the newspaper, in whispered gossip at social gatherings and very often buried somewhere deep in the hearts of the very characters of the stories, as they keep up with the demands of their hum-drum lives. 

A tragic love story by Keval Sood, originally written in Punjabi. Translator: Unknown

#kevalSood #lovestory #Tragedy #lovers #love #Punjabi #punjab

Qurratulain Hyder was one of the most influential and successful progressive writers post Independence. She was bilingual, writing and translating in both Urdu and English. Her literary life was rich as a novelist and a short story writer, an academic, and a journalist. Her magnum opus, ‘Aag Ka Dariya’ is her best known work. The women in her stories live layered lives often in gray areas between theoretical morality and unforgiving reality. She was born in Aligarh into a literary family and completed her education there.  She then studied at Indraprastha College in Delhi and moved to Pakistan in 1947. Later she moved to England, but found her way back home to India, where she lived and wrote until her demise in 2007.

Did you know that “Timepass”- that uniquely Indian term, meaning passing of time in an aimless and unproductive way, gets harder as you get older. With his astute observations satirist Harishankar Parsai paints a picture of the “Time passer” (here’s a new word for you!) as one who is funny in his pursuits but also pitiful in his aspirations.

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Om Prakash Valmiki’s novel, 'Joothan' is considered a landmark in Dalit literature. His writing has been long considered to be a searing document of the caste system in India. 

In this story, a son returns home with his first salary. He wants to hand over the money to his father along with the bitter truth that his father had been oblivious to and one that has tormented the young man since his childhood.

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In the hands of a great writer everyday life is anything but mundane. It begs a closer, more nuanced examination. In ‘Saag Meat’ Bhisham Sahani weaves an intricate story where the talkative narrator tells the story of a man who is silenced by his circumstances. Is she apathetic? Does she herself deserve empathy? What about those in the story who we only hear about but never hear from? This deeply moving story by Bhisham Sahani is one of his best.

Bhisham Sahni could create memorable characters so profoundly real, they

#bhishamSahani #saagmeat #tamas #kahani #Hindi #Sahitya #kahaniyan #story #storytelling

Nothing slows time down like a good game of chess, unless you have a

A new kind of Hindi writing emerged post-independence approximately from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. The subjects that writers focussed on came from a newly independent, rapidly urbanizing and industrializing India. The narratives dealt with problems between the sexes, especially with the emergence of the working woman and the scenarios mirrored the difficulties of everyday negotiations of life and work. Mannu Bhadari was one of the pioneers of this “Nayi Kahani movement”. Her works spans decades and one finds many memorable female characters in her stories...one such is Bua in Akeli.

#kahaniya,#kahaniyan,#hindikahani, #hindi #kahaniyan,#storyjam,#podcast,#stories,#Urdustories,#newkahani,#feminist,#women #stories,#womanstories,#mannubhandari #मन्नू भंडारी

Shrilal Shukla, one of the greatest satirists in Hindi language was a Jnanpith awardee. A civil servant in his day job, Shukla had an upclose view of bureaucracy as well as the systemic rot that plagues it. Shukla’s acerbic, witty examination of rural life revealed a world of flummoxed villagers and petty politicians, of witty one liners that shine through the overall bleakness of village life. 

#satire #stories #kahani #ShrilalShukla

I have to confess that for a long time I associated Premchand’s writing with a kind of morose sentimentality. How and why that thought anchored itself in my head I have no clue, but it was no doubt a result of my ignorance.

I “discovered” Premchand in the last few years and am glad to be proven wrong. His writing has the depth and breadth that few other authors can claim. His observations are sharp, his humour sparkling and even the minor characters in his writing become unforgettable. And then there’s his personal life- his commitment to progressive writing, the relationship he shared with his writer wife- Shivrani, his commitment to his art. I keep adding to the list.

I am glad to share a story today that is as incisive a commentary on education, as it is witty.

It was a personal tragedy that propelled Mulk Raj Anand into a writing career. His first essay was in response to the suicide of an aunt excommunicated by her family for sharing a meal with a Muslim woman. It is the rigidity of the caste system and the deplorable condition that the poor of the country live in that became his literary preoccupation for the rest of his life. Known as India's Charles Dickens, Mulk Raj Anand, along with R. K Narayan is credited for having brought Indian English writing to International readers. One of the founding members of Progressive Writers Association, Mulk Raj Anand remained committed to the cause of Indian independence, writing propaganda materials while living in London. He continued to write after he moved back to India in 1947.

#hindikahani #IndianEnglish #ShortStories #audiostories