The stories in this collection are drawn from the rich oral narrative tradition of the Indian subcontinent, on sources as diverse as the Katha Sagar, Puranic lore, Sufi legends, Jataka tales, Kissa-kahani and dastan, as well as Intizar Hussain's own training and experience as a veteran newspaper man. In story after story he seeks to retrieve the past, to see it better, to understand it, maybe even learn from it. Taken together, they cover a gamut of emotions - nostalgia for a world left behind in India, angst for the amputated 'other' abandoned in the former East Pakistan, concern over the two emerging nuclear powers, a cathartic repurging of his own Shia Muslim legacy and much more.
About Author
Intizar Husain was born in India, migrated to Pakistan in 1947 and has been living in Lahore ever since. A much-loved master storyteller, he has published seven collections of short stories, four novels besides travelogues and translations.