“The Plastic God-Box” – By Ambai
Translated by Vasantha Surya
`Krishna, raa…’
Ladling out some rice-and-ghee on the window sill and tap-tapping it once with the back of the ladle, Amma called...
The window – By Sundara Ramaswamy
Translated by E. Annamalai and H. Schiffman
The cot I was lying on was near a window. I had collapsed on it one evening a...
Water Play – By Perumal Murugan
At first he was somewhat confused and hesitant when they invited him. “Me?” he whispered disbelievingly under his breath. But then desire and eagerness...
Mylapore – By Maa. Aranganathan
Translated from the original Tamil by Nakul Vāc
It came and went like a flash of lightning. The ticket he had purchased was still in...
Mother – by N. Pichamurthi
Translated by E. Annamalai & H. Schiffman
I was traveling on a train. My attention, which was focussed on looking out of the open window...
Perfume – By Ashokamitran
“You want me dead!” he shouted at his wife.
“Eat something and go. Your lunchbox is ready,” his wife said. But he was already halfway...
Lunch – By Ashokamitran
Chaturanga said:
Subbanna screamed at seeing me. ‘You here? Thought you were in Vijayawada!’ The whole street was startled.
‘I came here on a transfer.’
‘How long...
Refugee Girl – By Appadurai Muttulingam
Translated by: Aniruddhan Vasudevan
The girl in the green-yellow-white waitress uniform was a refugee. She could be either from India or Sri Lanka, or perhaps even...
Horoscopes – By Appadurai Muttulingam
Translated by Padma Narayanan
Ayya had great expectations of us. As soon as his children were born, he had their horoscopes cast by a famous...
Kaanchanai – By Pudhumaippithan
Translated from Tamil *
I just couldn’t sleep that night, for no apparent reason. My mind was neither troubled, nor was it overflowing with happiness...















