This compilation is a group of Mulk Raj Anand’s short stories selected with the co-operation of the writer himself from a collection of his writings over the last forty years. As the fables in the Upanishads, the beast stories in the Panchatantra and the Buddhist Jataka tales shows, the short story is an art form Indian in origin and yet the paradox is that the modern Indian short story in English is a product of Western influences. From 1898, when ‘ the first collection of short stories in English by an Indian writer – Stories from Indian Christian Life by Kamala Sathianadan – was published to the present day, the short story has been tackled by most of the leading Indian writers of fiction in English. Among them Mulk Raj Anand is one of the most outstanding by virtue of his fecundity and the great variety of theme and mood, tone and technique which characterizes his short stories. Mulk Raj Anand has so far produced more than half a dozen collections of short stories over the last forty years. Anand’s short stories reveal variety of modes, such as strong social satire, uproarious laughter and acute psychological perception. The present selection is an attempt to represent the wide range and variety of Anand’s short stories. A born story teller, Mulk Raj Anand is one of the most outstanding short story writer.
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