Once Elephants Lived Here

by Geetanjali Shree, Daisy Rockwell (Translator)

The eleven stories cover a wide variety of themes, but all have in common the stylistic experimentalism which came to blossom fully in Tomb of Sand. There is an iconoclasm to Geetanjali Shree’s writing, especially beginning with this collection. Readers will soon learn that nothing is sacred to the author: narrative and genre conventions are summarily pushed off their pedestals and in their place we find…what? Entirely new ways of conceiving and presenting storytelling unfurl before us as we come to question our own rigid preconceptions of the short story genre. In one story, a woman spends all day compulsively walking in circles around her housing complex. There is no introduction, no explanation, no denouement. In another, a woman goes on a writer’s retreat, and in a pseudo-sci-fi turn of events, falls passionately in love with the sky. The other participants in the retreat are robots. In a third, “Butterflies” (included here), a narrator staying in a cottage in Kerala is overwhelmed with the grief over past events, but is surprised out of her self-indulgence by a mysterious group of young women who are either nurses or diabetes patients; she’s never sure which. Plots break, sentences shatter, grammar careens, new words are formed, and new narrative structures are erected and felled. Once Elephants Lived Here reveals to us the pathbreaking experiments that led to Geetanjali Shree’s magnum opus Tomb of Sand.

Genres: Short Stories

193 pages, Hardcover

Published June 22, 2026

About the author

Geetanjali Shree गीताजंली क्ष्री (She was known as Geentanjali Pandey, and she took her mother's first name Shree as her last name) (born 1957) is a Hindi novelist and short story writer based in New Delhi, India. She is the author of several short stories and three novels. Mai was short listed for the Crossword Book Award in 2001. She has also written a critical work on Premchand.

Her first story, Bel Patra (1987) was published in the literary magazine Hans and was followed by a collection of short stories Anugoonj (1991)

The English translation of her novel Mai catapulted her into fame. The novel is about three generations of women and the men around them, in a North Indian middle-class family. Mai is translated into Serbian, Korean and German. It has been translated into English by Nita Kumar, who was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award for the translation. It has been also translated into Urdu by Bashir Unwan with preface by Intizar Hussain. Furthermore, it has been translated into other languages: into French by Annie Montaut, into German by Reinhold Schein...

Her second novel Hamara Shahar Us Baras set loosely after the incidents of Babri Masjid demolition.

Reviews

[Natasha]

The International Booker Prize winning duo, Geetanjali Shree and Daisy Rockwell, come together to bring us this collection of eleven short stories. The collection was first published a few years before Ret Samadhi, and many of the stories are thematically and stylistically very similar to the award winning novel.
Most of the stories are hyper realistic- you recognise the characters because you know people who are very similar to them in real life, the situations they find themselves in are familiar, yet they get taken to a point where they almost cross over onto whimsy. The narrator of the story who decides to take a walk in the gated community where she lives and who never stops walking could be any of the "aunties" we ourseleves run into every day, yet, the situation she finds herself in is fantastical!
I enjoyed reading every single story, each of which transported me to the time and space where they were set.
What makes this collection really stand out is the quality of translation. At no point does it appear as it the story was written in any language other than the one I was reading them in. And there is clearly a lot of trust and affection between writer and translator because of which they collection appears as it does. This passage from the introduction by the translator sums it best-
"It is a common misconception that translating a collection of short stories must be easier than translating a novel. But most translators I know feel the opposite is true. This is because a considerable amount of labour goes into finding a voice and deciding on a consistent vocabulary and style for any given work, whether it is five hundred pages long or merely ten. In a collection of short stories, one begins these tasks afresh with each story."
I read the book during Women In Translation month and it is a book I would recommend very highly especially to those who love short stories.

[Bhavna]

An anthology of 11 stories, where each of them characteristically have Shree's writing traits, stamped with exploration of memory, aging women, loss, dissolving past

The Titular story much like Tomb of sand (TOS) breaks the fourth wall. One of my favourite stories, this one juxtaposes an elderly woman with a young worker. It makes a heart wrenching commentary on how cities are losing their old self

Another of my favourite stories was 'The Ends' which is also a much compact version of TOS. The quirkness in the story shows the classic traits of every Indian house hold

'Butterflies' was another beautiful story where a grieving narrator is staying at a peaceful cottage retreat in Kerala. Her profound emotional sorrow is unexpectedly disrupted by a mysterious, vibrant group of local young women, forcing her to step out of her isolation

While reading this after TOS, can make the experience a little underwhelming but I think it's unfair to seek the vastness of a generational story like TOS in short story format

Daisy Rockwell profoundly writes in Translator's note

"It is a common misconception that translating a collection of short stories must be easier than translating a novel. But most translators I know feel the opposite is true. This is because a considerable amount of labour goes into finding a voice and deciding on a consistent vocabulary and style for any given work, whether it is five hundred pages long or merely ten. In a collection of short stories, one begins these tasks afresh with each story"

Absolutely love Daisy's honesty here👇

"Most difficult for me was the story 'So Much Sky'... After struggling with the framing story in the original Hindi, I asked for permission to leave it out in English, to which Geetanjali generously assented. There is something about that story that changes completely when it enters English...Readers may be shocked at the outcome if they compare it to the original text, but I think it is a perfect example of how translation is a form of commentary or interpretation, and I am thankful that the author is willing to see it that way as well"

This one is a good way to sample Shree's writing style

Read It

[Rachna]

The book is a collection of 11 short stories each taking the reader to a completely new setting and feeling. They evoke nostalgia like the titular story, or you might get drawn into a fantastical world of joy and love, or you are forced to confront uncomfortable truths such as in These Days.

I would suggest taking a short break between every story. Each story transports you to a different world and you interact with it wholly. Once that story ends, you need a minute to step out of that world before you enter a new one.

Beautifully written, they are highly condensed versions of the style of writing we saw in Tombs of Sand.

[Tara]

Once Elephants Lived Here is an unusual collection of short stories. Some of the stories really stayed with me, while others were harder for me to connect with.
Geetanjali Shree does not follow the usual way of telling a story, and the writing often moves in unexpected directions. The title story was the best for me. It has a strange and slightly haunting quality that stayed with me.

Daisy Rockwell’s translation does a good job of carrying across the style of the original. However, while reading, I felt that certain nuances and images were not always fully captured or understood. The translator’s note about her experiences and encounters with the stories makes for a really good read.

All in all, a good collection, though not particularly impressive for me.

[Alisha]

Simplistic, and nicely written.

[Snehil]

Geetanjali Shree is like your fellow passenger on a train ride. You sit next to each other, initially hesitant to even talk, but then she breaks the ice by pointing out the trees and the mountains outside your window, that you didn't seem to notice. She takes out the lunch, shares it with you, you become friends, and start chatting because it's going to be a long journey. She shares the many stories that she has lived, experienced, or seen over the years.

She is a good friend, and just like any good friend she doesn't hide anything, and expects the attention that a good friend deserves. "Are you listening to me?", "Are you following me?", she asks several times after reading the expressions on your face. Once you pay attention to her words, you no longer feel rushed into a forest of words, but gently led into the fairyland of remembrance. She reminds you to feel; feel honestly, deeply, and freely. She shows you how to live in the present, feel the breeze on your skin as it touches your lover. "Can you see this? You have to!" she whispers in your ear as she shows you the diamond shaped Fuji Mountains, above and on the Kawaguchi Lake, and you realize that you have been living without embracing the entirety of life. When the train comes to a final pause, she says goodbye, all you are able to say is "thank you!" in return.

[Harshita Pandey]

Her short stories are even more experimental and enjoyable than her novel. So many stories in one collection… such diversity of work! In love with her after reading this. : )