Truth Tales: Contemporary Stories by Women Writers of India

by Laura Kalpakian (Editor), Meena Alexander (Introduction)

Here we meet Muniyakka, called “walkie-talkie” because she mutters to herself; Shakun, the dollmaker, an exploited artist who needs to feel that others depend on her; and Jashoda, professional mother to children of the rich, from Mahasveta Devi’s acknowledged masterpiece “The Wet Nurse.”

First published in 1986, this rich collection presents the work of some of India's most skillful contemporary writers, carefully selected from seven of the country's major regional languages. Although each writer is celebrated in her own language, many of the stories are presented here in English for the first time. The authors included Mahasveta Devi (Bengali), Ila Mehta (Gujarati), Suniti Aphaie (Marathi), Mrinal Pande (Hindi), Lakshmi Kannan (Tamil), Ismat Chughtai (Urdu), and Vishwapriya Iyengar (English).

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Womens, Feminism

184 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1990

Reviews

[Kelly Is Brighid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chosen for Women’s History Month. Did not disappoint. Short stories authored 1959-1986 by Indian women, translated into English.

[Brimate · Rating 4 out of 5]

i'm not a huge fan of short stories because they're usually not long enough for me to get into. these stories were a good collection of indian women writers of diverse backgrounds (although i suppose not too diverse since they're literate). but they're from different parts of India, translated from various languages. most stories are sad, as they reflect the conditions in which many indian women live. they're basically all feminist, reflected in different ways.

it's a good collection, and i'm looking forward to reading standard-length stories from the editor and a malayalee feminist writer mentioned in the foreward.

[Zinnia Gupte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the rich and varied voices from women in different parts of India telling their tales that were full of pain, suffering, trials and most of all hope. These are stories that will leave the reader breathless with compassion.

[Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rich stories, "Midnight Soldiers" and "Smoke" were my favorites, cool that there were 7 stories written in 7 different languages, diverse and interesting female perspectives/conditions