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Bantering with Bandits and Other True Tales of India
Bantering with Bandits and Other True Tales of India is a collection of essays that draws upon reportage, travel, and personal history. The author looks back over a decade of experience as a reporter covering stories as diverse as the decline of the dacoit menace in Chambal; starvation, particularly amongst the Sahariyas, a tribal community in Madhya Pradesh, and weavers in Uttar Pradesh who have lost their livelihood; and discovering that the desperate poverty in Punjab has the underpinnings of an explosive caste dynamic that has caused much religious controversy in recent times. A set of essays looks at the connections between economics, social disempowerment, and the moral pressures that make for a society where girls must fear assault or murder at any time, even before birth. Through other essays, Zaidi examines the meaning of home and belonging, identity, the right to public spaces, and a perfectly brewed cup of chai.Bringing together the personal and political, the essays in the book offer a clear-eyed and unflinching view of lesser-known aspects of our country and its people.
Kindle Edition
Published August 5, 2023
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About the author
Annie Zaidi
20 books359 followersAnnie Zaidi writes poetry, essays, fiction, and scripts for the stage and the screen.
She is the author of The Comeback (2025), City of Incident: A novel in twelve parts (2021), and Prelude to a Riot, which won the Tata prize for fiction (2020). She is a recipient of the Nine Dots prize (2019) for Bread, Cement, Cactus: A memoir of belonging and dislocation.
Her other books include Bantering with Bandits and Other True Tales (collection of essays, short-listed for the Crossword Book Award (non- fiction) in 2010, Gulab (novella), Love Stories # 1 to 14 (short stories), and The Good Indian Girl (co-authored with Smriti Ravindra), and Crush (poetry).
She is also the editor of 'Unbound: 2,000 Years of Indian women's Writing' and of 'Equal Halves'.
Her work has appeared in various anthologies, including Mumbai Noir; Women Changing India; India Shining, India Changing, and in literary journals like the Griffith Review, The Massachusetts Review, Big Bridge, Out of Print, and The Aleph Review.
Her work as a playwright has been performed and read in several cities. She received The Hindu Playwright Award (2018) for Untitled 1. Her radio script ‘Jam’ was named regional (South Asia) winner for the BBC’s International Playwriting Competition (2011).
She has also written and directed several short films and the documentary film, In her words: The journey of Indian women.
She is the author of The Comeback (2025), City of Incident: A novel in twelve parts (2021), and Prelude to a Riot, which won the Tata prize for fiction (2020). She is a recipient of the Nine Dots prize (2019) for Bread, Cement, Cactus: A memoir of belonging and dislocation.
Her other books include Bantering with Bandits and Other True Tales (collection of essays, short-listed for the Crossword Book Award (non- fiction) in 2010, Gulab (novella), Love Stories # 1 to 14 (short stories), and The Good Indian Girl (co-authored with Smriti Ravindra), and Crush (poetry).
She is also the editor of 'Unbound: 2,000 Years of Indian women's Writing' and of 'Equal Halves'.
Her work has appeared in various anthologies, including Mumbai Noir; Women Changing India; India Shining, India Changing, and in literary journals like the Griffith Review, The Massachusetts Review, Big Bridge, Out of Print, and The Aleph Review.
Her work as a playwright has been performed and read in several cities. She received The Hindu Playwright Award (2018) for Untitled 1. Her radio script ‘Jam’ was named regional (South Asia) winner for the BBC’s International Playwriting Competition (2011).
She has also written and directed several short films and the documentary film, In her words: The journey of Indian women.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 2, 2023
Excellent book ! Serious issues are interspersed with pages of subtle humour, it’s very readable and the prose is very good.
Displaying 1 of 1 review