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Poonam Saxena, journalist and a translator brings together a wonderful set of stories under this title for the readers. Translated from Hindi, these short stories are carefully chosen to please a wide range of people, each with a theme of its own. The list includes many renowned writers such as Premchand, Uday Prakash, Yashpal and the likes. Albeit I did enjoy reading most of the stories, few did not seem too impressive but this is not an uncommon occurence when it comes to translated books. As it often happens with translated works, few stories lacked the actual essence post translation. But what I liked the most was Saxena's introduction to the book in which she speaks of her love towards Hindi literature and how she curated the list.

By the time I finished reading the book, I had my few favourite chapters. A Feast For The Boss, for one speaks of a son who views his aged mother as a liability. The story unfurls painfully with the mother showering unconditional love on her son in spite of his spiteful behaviour. Another favourite was 'Phoolo's Kurta' which subtly speaks of child marriage. 'The Thakur's Well' points out the stark differences in the caste system, something that is still very much prevailing in our country. Tales of partition broke my heart, one being Shahni's forced farewell from her motherland and the other speaking of a man's return to his land decades after the partition. The stories are an eclectic mix, each one unique in its own way highlighting the societal standards and discrimination that comes along with it. Many of the stories carried significant emotional value which were heartbreaking to read given the backdrop it was set against. Saxena's clever choice of stories has clearly garnered much fanfare amidst the readers. If you are ardent reader of Hindi literature and are looking for translated stories that carries different themes, this one's definitely for you.

Rating : 4.2/5