{"product_id":"anita-agnihotri-selected-stories","title":"Anita Agnihotri : Selected Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnita Agnihotri: Selected Stories\u003c\/strong\u003e brings together twelve short stories by Anita Agnihotri, the award-winning Bengali writer known for works including \u003cem\u003eSeventeen\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Sickle\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eMahanadi\u003c\/em\u003e. The stories look closely at lives shaped by poverty, exploitation, displacement and difficult social circumstances, including workers, families and individuals whose experiences often remain overlooked. This English edition is translated by Arunava Sinha.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on Agnihotri's long engagement with people and communities during her career in the Indian Administrative Service, the collection presents stories rooted in close observation of life in India. Her characters encounter violence, inequality, displacement and abuse, while the writing combines social criticism with empathy and lyrical sensitivity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout This Book\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe twelve stories examine different forms of hardship and human vulnerability. One story follows a newly promoted superintendent of police whose experience of a subordinate's gruesome death leads him to develop a compulsive habit of washing his hands whenever he encounters blood or death. Another centres on a young girl working in a silk factory who repeatedly returns to its dangerous heat chamber despite the exploitation she faces.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eElsewhere, the displacement caused by the Sardar Sarovar Dam provides a parallel for a different kind of suffering. The wife of a Narmada Bachao Andolan activist appears outwardly principled and compassionate while privately experiencing the effects of his abuse and hypocrisy. Across these and other stories, Agnihotri examines the pressures placed on people by poverty, work, social structures and fractured relationships.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe collection reflects Agnihotri's approach to writing as an act of witnessing. Her experiences across towns and cities in India inform stories that pay attention to people whose lives can be difficult to see from the outside, while retaining tenderness alongside an unflinching examination of social realities.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat You'll Discover\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eTwelve short stories portraying overlooked lives and difficult circumstances\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eA police officer confronting the psychological aftermath of death\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eThe exploitation and dangerous working conditions of a young silk-factory worker\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eThe human consequences of displacement linked to the Sardar Sarovar Dam\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eFamily relationships affected by abuse, hypocrisy and personal suffering\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eStories exploring poverty, displacement, work and social inequality\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eA balance of social critique, empathy and lyrical storytelling\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003ePerfect For\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eReaders of contemporary Indian short fiction\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eReaders interested in Bengali literature in English translation\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eReaders interested in social realities and overlooked communities in India\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eReaders of Anita Agnihotri's translated works\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhy You'll Love This Book\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnita Agnihotri: Selected Stories\u003c\/strong\u003e offers twelve closely observed stories that bring marginalised experiences, social hardship and complicated human relationships into focus. Through precise and empathetic storytelling, Anita Agnihotri transforms observed realities into fiction that asks readers to confront, understand and remember lives often left outside the centre of attention.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Anita Agnihotri","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54554071728403,"sku":"BY36.891","price":335.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0812\/4494\/6707\/files\/AnitaAgnihotriSelectedStories_1.webp?v=1786336656","url":"https:\/\/booksandyou.in\/products\/anita-agnihotri-selected-stories","provider":"Books and You","version":"1.0","type":"link"}