Khushwant Singh Selects Best Indian Short Stories-Vol.II is a bunch of 24 short stories by Indian writers compiled by the legendary literary Sardar. With Khushwant Singh, humour and sarcasm go hand in hand and this book lives up to that reputation. While the 24 short stories cover a wide range of topics such as greed, agony, betrayal in relationship, workplace politics, love, hypocrisy and decadence of human society, but one common theme that threads them together is how sarcasm is used as a vehicle by the writers to deliver their social commentaries in these stories. At every step, the writers have tried to hold a mirror to the society about its morals standards.
The characters in these stories are very relatable for we come across them in our day to day lives or have heard about them from others. Be it the affable washerman, a jealous husband, a cheating spouse, an atheist friend or acquaintance, a man chasing fame and money, a corrupt policeman etc, all drawn from a wide range of human experiences.
The most standout aspect of this book, for me, was the short stories by RK Laxman, Sadat Hasan Manto & the unputdownable Khushwant Singh.
Prior to this book, I wasn't aware that India's greatest-ever cartoonist also wrote such skillful and engaging prose. Laxman came into his own in the story "The Golden Frame". It goes to show that creative writing ran in the veins of the Rasipuram siblings despite their divergent paths.
Manto, another literary stalwart, had a knack for going straight to the point without undermining the background. The way he brought both the stories "Mozelle" & "Siraj" to an end after the climax was a treat to read.
And then there is Khushwant Singh, the writer who doesn't care about niceties or subtleties and hits you straight with his writing style. Found him at his sarcastic best in the story " The Bottom-Pincher" and hilarious best in "The Kama Sutra Game", a creative take on Vatsyayana's categorisation of women in his epic erotic work.
A very satisfying read of short stories written in 20th century India.
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