The first collection of contemporary Kashmiri short stories translated into English, The Stranger Beside Me, was widely reviewed and appreciated in its first edition. Here are the voices of major Kashmiri writers like Ali Mohammad Lone, Akhtar Mohi-ud-din, Amin Kamil, Abdul Ghani Beg Athar, Avtar Krishna Rehbar, Bansi Nirdhosh, Ghulam Rasool Santosh, Harikrishna Kaul, Hriday Kaul harati, Anees Hamadani, Rattan Lal Shant, Nazir Jahagir and Nayeema Ahmad. Their deeply sensitive portrayal of characters caught up in the vortex of circumstances throws light on conflicts and dynamics that exists in most human societies, but given the present situation in Kashmir, these stories acquire a particular poignancy and would help in understanding the predicament of people living in a de-sensitised, hostile world. The subjects range from personal traumas to a deeper social malaise, highlighting individual tragedies as well as a dysfunctional social milieu created by political and other forces over which common people have no control. Though set in Kashmir, they are not located in a particular time or place, as the concerns they raise are of universal interest. In these stories, dealing with characters from different levels of existence and awareness, a beautiful mosaic of life is created, where almost all its facets find place. The translation into English introduces this genre of Kashmiri literature to a deservedly wider readership.
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