Set At Odds:Partition stories of India & Beyond: Stories of the Partition and Beyond

by Prafulla Roy, John W. Hood (Translator)

The stories in this volume dealing with the Partition of India and its continuing aftermath cover the whole of Prafulla Roys creative life so far, including his first story as well as some of his most recent. Roy looks beyond convenient communal labels to write about essential humanity in people whose destinies, to varying extens, have been taken out of their hands by those who have propagated the politics of difference in the pluralist society of contemporary India

284 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Prafulla Roy was a Bengali author, lived in West Bengal, India. He received Bankim Puraskar and Sahitya Akademi Award for his literary contribution in Bengali.

Reviews

[Anil Swarup · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the finest set of short stories I have ever read. The narration is simple but riveting. All stories are set in the backdrop of partition of the country that in itself was extremely tragic in more ways than one but the stories bring forth the impact on the poor and in some cases not-so-poor. What is common in all this are the human elements of empathy, sympathy and pathos that are brought out so eloquently in each story.

[Chirag Tulsiani]

By far the best collection that I’ve read on Partition and its aftermath. I wish the world celebrated Prafulla da in the same way as it celebrates Manto. My favorite stories from this book are:

The Dream Train.
The Boatman.
One King Goes and Another King Comes.
The Destination.
For a Little While.

[Yash Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set at odds, stories of the partition and beyond tell us that history is not only linear; it's circular too. As they say, what comes around goes around. Those who left the land of their forefathers came back again in one way or another. Some of them felt nostalgic, and some realised that they were not only identity less but also stateless. Storytelling at its best. 

When the partition of India took place in 1947, there was chaos everywhere. Hatred, malice, and distrust became the law of the land. Even in that darkness there were some people who made sure that evilness wouldn't triumph over goodness. Through their good deeds, they made that possible. And these people were not politicians or bureaucrats; they were common people who bore the brunt of the horror of partition. 

In fact, history, which we all read, seldom talks about such kinds of people, isn't it? But, in reality, these were the people with whom we could relate easily because they were part of that society with which we all associated. 

So, let's see what set at odds tells us about such people. 


What is Eet at Odds by Prafulla Roy? 
Set at odds, Stories of the Partition and Beyond is a collection of twelve short tales related to India's partition. The majority of the stories in this book talk about the people of Bengal and the experience(s) of the Bengalis of the partition and thereafter. 

Originally the book was written in the Bengali language. But it's translated in English by John W. Hood. And I enjoyed reading this book. I also recommend to you as a reader that you should read this book too. Although, make sure you read this book slowly and steadily. Each story has a particular message to convey. So, read it diligently. 

The book contains the following stories: 

. The boatman
. One king goes and another king comes
. The island in the river
. The dream train
. Unlawful entry
. The destination
. For a little while
. Where there is no frontier
. The father
. The foreigner
. Roots
. Stateless