‘Kalki’ R. Krishnamurthy, one of the pioneering giants of the Tamil press in the tumultuous times of the nationalist movement, was a versatile and prolific writer, inscribing the urgencies of his time in his fiction. This collection brings together the best of Kalki’s short stories, which contain some of his most colourful and enduring characters and themes of Tamil popular fiction of the nineteen thirties and forties. There is in these stories the heady urgency of the freedom struggle, the piquant humour of the parodied Tamil gothic and devastating social satire. In her sensitive translations, Gowri Ramnarayan has succeeded in capturing the nuances of the gently mordant wit that made Kalki’s stories the highlight of the magazines they were originally published in, creating for themselves a dedicated following that flourishes undiminished to this day. Coinciding with the centenary of Kalki’s birth, this volume is a well-deserved tribute to a writer whose breadth of vision and genius imagined and served a new India.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1839.

The Greatest Tamil Stories Ever Told showcases some of the best short fiction to emerge out of Tamil Nadu, dating from the last century to the present day. Two of the earliest stories included here are Subramania Bharati's 'The Story of a Crow Learning Prosody', a satirical tale about the exaltation of language, and 'Kalki' Krishnamurthy's 'The Governor's Visit', about how bigwigs in little places pandered to the British rulers during the time of the Raj. While some stories in this volume wrestle with the idea of public justice, as in Father Mark Stephen's 'Penance' and Sa. Kandasamy's 'The Slaying of Hiranya', others, such as Ambai's 'Journey 4', hide secrets that could destroy lives and relationships if they are ever revealed. Featuring memorable works by, among others, Bama, Perumal Murugan, and Poomani, the thirty stories in this collection, selected and edited by Sujatha Vijayaraghavan and Mini Krishnan, come together to paint a striking picture of the Tamil people.

Munshi Premchand (1880 - 1936) brought realism into fiction and introduced the genre of short story while writing in Hindi and Urdu. He wrote in a simple, direct and highly expressive language that reflected the social milieu of his times. Selected Short Stories brings together seven of Premchand's masterpieces that transcend time and place. These stories speak of human emotions that have universal appeal-love, sacrifice, compassion, resolve, justice, respect and friendship. Hamid's selfless act, Sujan Singh's quest to identify a suitable candidate for the top post, Bansidhar's unwavering resolve in face of the power of money, the friendship between Hira-Moti and Jumman-Alagu, the temporary intoxication of Ishwari's friend and the evolving relationship between two brothers are poignant stories that will be of enduring value to young readers.

Life and achievements of Sonia Gandhi, b. 1946, president of Indian National Congress.

Story of Siva, Hindu deity.