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Rawalpindi in the first few decades of the twentieth century is a prosperous, bustling town, witnessing the first stirrings of the freedom movement. It is in this place and time that a delicate child grows into adolescence, at the heart of an unusual family. Adulthood and the horrific business of Partition drive the young man to Bombay, then Ambala and finally Delhi. As he gathers life experience and hones his talent at writing, his politics are formed.
Set in a small-town frontier province in 1947, just before partition, Tamas tells the story of a sweeper named Nathu who is bribed and deceived by a local Muslim politician to kill a pig, ostensibly for a veterinarian. The following morning, the carcass is discovered on the steps of the mosque and the town, already tension-ridden, erupts. Enraged Muslims massacre scores of Hindus and Sikhs, who, in turn, kill every Muslim they can find. Finally, the ...
A new translation of stories by one of the best modern Hindi writers.In this collection of seventeen short stories, Bhisham Sahni examines middle India—the lower middle class—not rich or famous or famous or educated in convent schools, not cosmopolitan but urban or semi-urban. In these tightly told tales, he explores with precision of thought and expression the humanity of individuals and their places in society. The collection includes some of Sahni's best ...