HT Picks; New Reads
On the reading list this week is a collection of interviews with political prisoners and an ambitious volume of Indian short fiction.
Stories of survival and solidarity
“The first night in jail is reputed to be the hardest. After that, you learn how to survive, though many prisoners carry lifelong scars.”
The Feared brings together interviews conducted by author Neeta Kolhatkar with 11 political prisoners, and in some cases, their loved ones, in which she highlights the interviewees’ everyday lives within the walls of multiple prisons across India. In doing so, she calls urgent attention to the grave injustices meted out to thousands of undertrials. During long discussions, sometimes taking place over multiple meetings, Kolhatkar unearths personal anecdotes from the time her interviewees were incarcerated, bringing into focus the human face of prison inmates, while also detailing the wretched conditions relating to space, hygiene, medical attention, and food that they experienced. Apart from being an urgent call to action for prison reforms, The Feared is also an account of hope and strength, narrating unique stories of survival and solidarity, and the unexpected bonds and relationships formed in prison.*
A banquet of exceptional literature
100 Indian Stories is one of the most ambitious collections of Indian short fiction published in a single volume. The short story in India is over a hundred years old and this anthology brings together 100 of the finest stories written by the country’s writers, starting with the late nineteenth century – when Rabindranath Tagore and Fakir Mohan Senapati first made their mark. It then goes on to include some of the best fiction of the twentieth century before ending with work from the twenty first century. Importantly, the book sources stories from every major Indian language, region, generation and literary tradition, giving readers a banquet of exceptional literature.*
The evolving landscape of Indian marriage
When Love is Lost: Cases from the Family Courts of a Changing India offers a rare and compelling glimpse into the evolving landscape of Indian marriages. Blending legal insights with poignant real-life stories, narrated in the first person by those who have battled divorce, this groundbreaking relationship guide unravels the paradox of a society that reveres marriage as sacred yet faces a sharp rise in divorces. With empathy and clarity, the book delves into the emotional costs of ending relationships, at the same time offering legal insight and reflection for those navigating the complexities of modern relationships.*
*All copy from book flap.