STORIES OF THE SOIL

Waris Shah, I call out to you. Rise from our Grave. Speak out and turn. A page of another book of love ... - Amrita Pritam. Stories of the Soil is a collection of over forty classic Punjabi short stories. Combining a rich oral traditon of kissas with tropes from Western literature, Punjabi short-story writers have developed their own unique way of portraying love, longing, ecstasy and malice. Spanning a century, these stories talk of life int eh village and the town. There are haunting tales about partition like matter of faith'by gulzar singh Sandhu where a horrible tragedy is viewed through the eyes of a child. along with sensitive accounts of life from across the border in Pakistan are tales by the Dalits who until recently had been rendered voiceless. Amrita pritam's 'The Vault', a metaphor for a barren womb, explores the identity of a PUnjabi woman while stories like Surjit Birdi's 'files'reveal the concerns faced by the Punjabi diaspora. Translated and edited by Nirupama Dutt, these carefully selected stories reflect every aspect of life in the land of five rivers.