A compilation of short stories penned by master storytellers and edited by one of the legendary novelist; this was my first attempt to read Hindi literature outside of academic world. And, I’m so pleased with this wonderful compliation put together by the famed Sahitya Akademi.

There are 30 different stories penned by the stalwarts of Hindi literatures such as Amritlal Nagar, Krishna Sobati,Bhishma Sahni etc. With the regions as diverse as the plains of Ganga to the foothills of the Himalaya, these stories cover almost all of the Hindi speaking heartland. Also with diverse settings come the different settings of characters, their personas, professions/ occupation, regional understandings etc.

I found these stories are having a common theme of loss like losing a person, an object or part of life. Maybe this might not be a recurring theme in all the stories; but it comes to forefront in stories such as ‘Hansa jay akela’, ‘Malabe kaa maalik’, ‘Baadlo ke ghere’, ‘Dojakhi’ to name a few.

An impulse picking of this book from my library has given me such a reading pleasure. And more than anything, it has opened a whole new door to Hindi literature world which I’ve not ventured so far.