This volume brings together, for the first time, an extensive collection of writings on ageing from a range of Indian languages. From the abandoned old woman in Krishna Baldev Vaid's play who becomes a Mother India, to the ageing female beggar in Kolatkar's poem who forces the almsgiver to confront her abjection, and in the process, his own, to the ninety-one-year old man in Chaman Nahal's story who returns to his old haveli as if he were finding his way back to the womb, this anthology presents us with the myriad ways in which contemporary Indian writers have explored the themes of ageing and the end of life. The stories, poems, and plays included here not only illustrate the importance of narrative as a means of understanding the experience of growing old, but also the complex and contested nature of age as a category of identity.
This well structured and thoughtful collection will be a valuable addition to anthologies of contemporary Indian writing. It will appeal not just to readers interested in South Asia, its literature, culture, and society but also to scholars of Gerontology.
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