Timeless Stories that Bind India

The collection brings together the country's finest short stories in fiction writing spanning three hundred years

- GANESH SAILI

A great short story reveals a moment of truth,' writes Ruskin Bond while introducing this anthology of a 100 Indian Stories ably edited by AJ Thomas. As the book's cover declares, it turns out to be a feast of remarkable short fiction spanning three centuries. These stories begin in the 19th century, move on to the 20th, and end with two decades of the 21st century. Bond likens the short story to a 'flash of lightning. For those of us who happen to live in the hills of Landour, we are fortunate to have seen lightning-both forked and sheet-light up many a dark monsoon night. Then comes the roll of distant thunder. But you don't have to worry because it is merely the applause as you exit a stadium. Other writers, too, have found this ridge bristling with lightning: John Lang, the Australian-born author who spent his last years up here, found 'Landour and the Cape of Good Hope' as the best places in the world to see the displays of lightning.