Here, translation unlocks stories from languages afar, people unknown yet familiar in voices that stun you and resonate with you. Here is your book of world stories

 

FICTION

Tape Recorderβ€” Swapnamoy Chakraborty

TRANSLATED FROM THE BENGALI BY REBA RANI BANERJEE   When Ratna wrote her name in Bengali, she would spell out all the letters that formed her name, the vowel sound in place. However, she ended…...

Any Day Now, Syedaβ€” Abhijit Sen

TRANSLATED FROM THE BENGALI BY SARBAN BANDYOPADHYAY   Only a single tree stands in this enormous field. It's a banyan. Wherever else you look, you'll only see the expanse of the field. At a…...

Beyond Argumentβ€” Dr. Urmila Shirish

TRANSLATED FROM THE HINDI BY AYUSHEE ARORA   β€œBhabhi ji, this is Dinesh speaking. I need to speak to Arun, urgently, but his phone is not reachable.” β€œYou may try his alternate number. But what…...

Raghunandan’s Death Reportβ€” Soham Das

TRANSLATED FROM THE BENGALI BY AMITAVA SEN Raghunandan died, defeating the hour-long effort of the doctors of the district hospital. Naturally, the post-mortem followed. Surgeons retrieved about two and a half kilograms of shit…...

Bahadur Shah Zafar’s Two Hindi poemsβ€” Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

TRANSLATED FROM THE HINDI BY PADMAJA IYENGAR-PADDY   Lagta Nahi hai Dil Mera My heart finds no connect with this barren land Has anyone felt fulfilled in this ephemeral world Nightingale resents neither the gardener nor the…...

The Monitor Lizardβ€” Uday Prakash

TRANSLATED FROM THE HINDI BY AYUSHEE ARORA   This incident relates to my Father. It also relates to my dreams, the city and the innate fear of the city as well.Β  My Father was…...

The Laneβ€” Chitra Mudgal

TRANSLATED FROM THE HINDI BY RITUPARNA MUKHERJEE   It was an afternoon at Connaught Place. Filled with the middling populace of June.Β  The two of us, a writer couple, came out of the Indian Coffee…...

Our Homeβ€” Chandra Kishore Jaiswal

TRANSLATED FROM THE HINDI BY ANURADHA DOSAD   One night, the son of a poor man experienced a delightful dream that lingered in his heart long after he awoke. Brimming with joy, he eagerly shared…...

The Story of Hazza, the Man who Begot his Fatherβ€” Faisal Al Hebainy

TRANSLATED FROM THE ARABIC BY OSAMA HAMMAD   There was a man called Hazzaa, but no one called him Hazzaa. They called him Bu-Saud, even though he never had a son named Saud, it was…...