Stories Of The Soil : Classic Punjabi Stories

Stories of the Soil is a collection of over forty classic Punjabi short stories. Combining a rich oral tradition of kissas with tropes from Western literature, Punjabi short-story writers have developed their own unique way of portraying love, longing, ecstasy and malice. Spanning a century, these stories talk of life in the village and the town. There are haunting tales about Partition like A Matter of Faith by Gulzar Singh Sandhu where a horrible tragedy is viewed through the eyes of a child. Along with sensitive accounts of life from across the border in Pakistan are tales by the Dalits who until recently had been rendered voiceless. Amrita Pritam s The Vault , a metaphor for a barren womb, explores the identity of a Punjabi woman while stories like Surjit Birdi s Flies reveals the concerns faced by the Punjabi diaspora. Translated and edited by Nirupama Dutt, these carefully selected stories reflect every aspect of life in the land of five rivers.