KANNADA
Contemporary short stories
V. GOPALAKRISHNA
SAMAKAALEENA BHARATEEYA SANNA KATHEGALU — Male 2: Tr. by H.R. Chandravadana Rao; Sahitya Akademi, 35, Rabindra Bhavan, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi-110001. Rs. 150.
THIS ANTHOLOGY of 22 stories selected from 15 Indian languages features contemporary short story writers. Born as they were in the beginning of the 20th century, most of them were directly or indirectly influenced by the stories in English, apart from being influenced by stories in other Indian languages. Strikingly common in most stories are the offbeat themes, easy flowing narrative and depth of understanding of human relationships.
The Tamil story is a fine example of avoiding clichés and using language in a creative fashion.Characters in Malayalam stories are of the true-to-life types. Outmoded social practices and superstitions are run down severely in some of the stories.
It is desirable that the publishers get these stories translated directly from the original language instead of relying on the English version.
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