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Khushwant Singh Selects Best Indian Short Stories
Khushwant Singh Selects Best Indian Short Stories - Volume II
Khushwant Singh, the country's foremost literary figure, serves up another volume of the finest fiction from across India.
'A good read . . . engaging . . . The names live up to their reputation.' - India Today
'Tremendous richness of characters on display.' - Deccan Herald
'Offers much . . . to the discriminating reader.' - Deccan Chronicle
'An eminently readable book . . . The range of geographical areas and social backgrounds that this selection represents are truly vast.' - The Tribune
'A good read . . . engaging . . . The names live up to their reputation.' - India Today
'Tremendous richness of characters on display.' - Deccan Herald
'Offers much . . . to the discriminating reader.' - Deccan Chronicle
'An eminently readable book . . . The range of geographical areas and social backgrounds that this selection represents are truly vast.' - The Tribune
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
28 people are currently reading
365 people want to read
About the author
Khushwant Singh
301 books1,435 followersKhushwant Singh, (Punjabi: ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ, Hindi: खुशवंत सिंह) born on 2 February 1915 in Hadali, Undivided India, (now a part of Pakistan), was a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column, "With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, was among the most widely-read columns in the country.
An important post-colonial novelist writing in English, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism, his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit.
An important post-colonial novelist writing in English, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism, his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 10, 2021
"I retired early, to read a bit and drift into sleep gently, and woke up only when the sun came up and shone through the window."
Twenty four short stories, fifteen authors.
The stories are enjoyable to read overall. The characters are memorable and distinct. Most of these stories stand out. I love this second collection more I would say compared to the first volume.
Each story has a different taste and has a unique charm. The nostalgia in each is what binds these stories together. There's a bone chilling ghost story as well!
I love how close the writing is to the heart of the people as I find them quite realistic and relatable at times. It talks about some of the all-time ongoing societal issues like the dilemma of the working class, the media influence, the ways people get themselves involved in violence and conflict which I find quite interesting to read and reflect upon.
My favourites include Namu,the Dhobi by P. L. Deshpande, The Corpse by Kamleshwar, An Accident by R. K. Laxman, The Gold Frame by R. K Laxman, Woman at the Window by R. K. Laxman, A Slice of the Melon by Manohar Malgonkar.
Twenty four short stories, fifteen authors.
The stories are enjoyable to read overall. The characters are memorable and distinct. Most of these stories stand out. I love this second collection more I would say compared to the first volume.
Each story has a different taste and has a unique charm. The nostalgia in each is what binds these stories together. There's a bone chilling ghost story as well!
I love how close the writing is to the heart of the people as I find them quite realistic and relatable at times. It talks about some of the all-time ongoing societal issues like the dilemma of the working class, the media influence, the ways people get themselves involved in violence and conflict which I find quite interesting to read and reflect upon.
My favourites include Namu,the Dhobi by P. L. Deshpande, The Corpse by Kamleshwar, An Accident by R. K. Laxman, The Gold Frame by R. K Laxman, Woman at the Window by R. K. Laxman, A Slice of the Melon by Manohar Malgonkar.
October 28, 2014
Khushwant Singh does a fine editorial job with selecting of some of the best short stories and the writers. On one side there are all time favourites like Ismat Chugtai, Mulk Raj Anand, Ruskin Bond, Amrita Pritam and Rajinder Singh Bedi. And on the other there are some fine discoveries (they were there but not known to me) like Qurratulain Haider, Krishan Chander, Suresh Chopra, Shashi Deshpande, Wendy Fernandes, Balwant Gargi and Abdul Jabbar. I liked particularly the stories by Qurratulain Haider, they were as vintage and classic as their times. I loved the innocent narration by a child in ‘Memories of an Indian childhood’ and ‘My Aunt Gracie’ and hope and simplicity in ‘A candle for St Jude’ and ‘Honour’. He is definitely going to my list of favourite short story writers. Other stories which made a mark were ‘Hijra’ by Abdul Jabbar – a poignant and true depiction of God’s creation.. ‘It was Dark’ by Shashi Despande a truthful and stark naked depiction… ‘Mataji and the Hippies’ is funny and interesting… and ‘The Brinjal cut out’ by Krishan Chander is witty take on our society. Read it and you will not regret it…
August 11, 2017
The art of short story writing is indeed an eloquent and yet an enigmatic one, is what is unfolded through this book. The stories find their way to your heart and stay with you for quite some time. The prequel and sequel interpretation of these stories can be distinct, by each person, is what makes it even more interesting. An absolute heart warming experience.
December 31, 2008
An interesting collection of stories leading one to the ultimate truth:
Your dustbin is spying on you and its not because your mad or because you drink too much Jim Bean.
Your dustbin is spying on you and its not because your mad or because you drink too much Jim Bean.
October 19, 2018
Ever since I've picked up reading again, I find myself drawn to short stories for the snack-sized serving they offer in moments when you're not quite willing to commit to a seven course meal.
This book caught my attention at a book sale and I was taken by the cover and title. Best Indian Short Stories as selected by Khushwant Singh.
For a little over nine years, Khushwant Singh edited The Illustrated Weekly of India at which time it retained the top position in the country for the quality of short stories and poems published in it. It was a matter of prestige for young authors to have their work published in this weekly news-magazine.
From his time there, he put together a delectable selection of short stories that have been published by Harper Collins India in two volumes. These stories represent literature from different parts of the subcontinent and are written by authors who have made names for themselves in English literary circles as well as those known for their writing in regional languages.
With a strong central theme, and only a few characters, each of these stories carry the magic of an era long gone. They traverse a world of emotions and leave you stunned at the end with the simplicity of the plot and the hard-hitting punch to the gut.
Having read these, I'd say it is difficult to find such finesse in the craft of writing short stories today.
This book caught my attention at a book sale and I was taken by the cover and title. Best Indian Short Stories as selected by Khushwant Singh.
For a little over nine years, Khushwant Singh edited The Illustrated Weekly of India at which time it retained the top position in the country for the quality of short stories and poems published in it. It was a matter of prestige for young authors to have their work published in this weekly news-magazine.
From his time there, he put together a delectable selection of short stories that have been published by Harper Collins India in two volumes. These stories represent literature from different parts of the subcontinent and are written by authors who have made names for themselves in English literary circles as well as those known for their writing in regional languages.
With a strong central theme, and only a few characters, each of these stories carry the magic of an era long gone. They traverse a world of emotions and leave you stunned at the end with the simplicity of the plot and the hard-hitting punch to the gut.
Having read these, I'd say it is difficult to find such finesse in the craft of writing short stories today.
December 3, 2017
I liked the book for having introduced me to new set of Indian authors from across vernacular media. Whilst some stories didn't register , a few added interesting perspectives that mainstream Indian English authors haven't touched upon. Khushwant Singh's lust is never too far behind when you wonder why some of the stories got picked. Since it is a collection of short stories across varied themes, you are bound to find some to your interest.
August 31, 2022
Just like its predecessor, this book is also a mixed bag of stories - good, bad and average. The collection is eclectic and personal. So if you think this is selected by the great author hence it ought to be excellent, but it's not. PL Deshpande, M Karunanidhi, RK Laxman, Manto and Bhisham Sahni are stars of the show. But Manohar Malgaonkar's couple of stories are just average. Singh's own two stories towards the end are just the stuff of his regular, lecherous stuff.
July 26, 2020
My Favorites :
. The Accident
. The Foreigner
. The woman at the window
. Namu, the Dhobi
. The Accident
. The Foreigner
. The woman at the window
. Namu, the Dhobi
September 14, 2020
Good reading.
partially-read
March 30, 2024"A Slice of the Melon" by Manohar Malgonkar
rating: 1.5/5
"Woman at the Window" by R.K. Laxman
rating: 4/5
"The Landlady" by Inder Malhotra
rating: 2.5/5
"An Accident" by R.K. Laxman
rating: 3.5/5
"Temple Mouse" by Manohar Malgonkar
rating: 3.5/5
"The Second Nose" by Yashpal
rating: 1.5/5
rating: 1.5/5
"Woman at the Window" by R.K. Laxman
rating: 4/5
"The Landlady" by Inder Malhotra
rating: 2.5/5
"An Accident" by R.K. Laxman
rating: 3.5/5
"Temple Mouse" by Manohar Malgonkar
rating: 3.5/5
"The Second Nose" by Yashpal
rating: 1.5/5
February 6, 2025
Khushwant Singh Selects Best Indian Short Stories-Vol.II is a bunch of 24 short stories by Indian writers compiled by the legendary literary Sardar. With Khushwant Singh, humour and sarcasm go hand in hand and this book lives up to that reputation. While the 24 short stories cover a wide range of topics such as greed, agony, betrayal in relationship, workplace politics, love, hypocrisy and decadence of human society, but one common theme that threads them together is how sarcasm is used as a vehicle by the writers to deliver their social commentaries in these stories. At every step, the writers have tried to hold a mirror to the society about its morals standards.
The characters in these stories are very relatable for we come across them in our day to day lives or have heard about them from others. Be it the affable washerman, a jealous husband, a cheating spouse, an atheist friend or acquaintance, a man chasing fame and money, a corrupt policeman etc, all drawn from a wide range of human experiences.
.
The most standout aspect of this book, for me, was the short stories by RK Laxman, Sadat Hasan Manto & the unputdownable Khushwant Singh.
Prior to this book, I wasn't aware that India's greatest-ever cartoonist also wrote such skillful and engaging prose. Laxman came into his own in the story "The Golden Frame". It goes to show that creative writing ran in the veins of the Rasipuram siblings despite their divergent paths.
Manto, another literary stalwart, had a knack of going straight to the point without undermining the background. The way he brought both the stories "Mozelle" & "Siraj" to an end after the climax was a treat to read.
And then there is Khushwant Singh, the writer who doesn't care about niceties or subtleties and hits you straight with his writing style. Found him at his sarcastic best in the story " The Bottom-Pincher" and hilarious best in "The Kama Sutra Game", a creative take on Vatsyayana's categorisation of women in his epic erotic work.
A very satisfying read of short stories written in 20th century India.
The characters in these stories are very relatable for we come across them in our day to day lives or have heard about them from others. Be it the affable washerman, a jealous husband, a cheating spouse, an atheist friend or acquaintance, a man chasing fame and money, a corrupt policeman etc, all drawn from a wide range of human experiences.
.
The most standout aspect of this book, for me, was the short stories by RK Laxman, Sadat Hasan Manto & the unputdownable Khushwant Singh.
Prior to this book, I wasn't aware that India's greatest-ever cartoonist also wrote such skillful and engaging prose. Laxman came into his own in the story "The Golden Frame". It goes to show that creative writing ran in the veins of the Rasipuram siblings despite their divergent paths.
Manto, another literary stalwart, had a knack of going straight to the point without undermining the background. The way he brought both the stories "Mozelle" & "Siraj" to an end after the climax was a treat to read.
And then there is Khushwant Singh, the writer who doesn't care about niceties or subtleties and hits you straight with his writing style. Found him at his sarcastic best in the story " The Bottom-Pincher" and hilarious best in "The Kama Sutra Game", a creative take on Vatsyayana's categorisation of women in his epic erotic work.
A very satisfying read of short stories written in 20th century India.
December 3, 2015
An eclectic collection of short stories from various parts of India. Some of them very good and some not so great.
The ones that appealed to me were as follows:
In "Confessions of a Dustbin" by Karunanidhi the author describes the life from the perspective of a dustbin into which people keep discarding unwanted stuff and it being cleared by the municipality truck. The author shows his atheism and his scoff for religion by speaking about the sexual escapades that the dustbin learns about the Indian Gods from an old book about puranas that somebody has thrown into its belly.
"The Accident" by R. K. Laxman. In this story the author illustrates how a person running away from crime almost crashes into a tree because the papers that he had carelessly thrown in the back seat are stirred up by the air circulating through the car and covers his face preventing him from seeing where he is headed. He uses this trick later to get rid of the goon who has come after him for the spoils.
In "The Palace Orders" by Manohar Malgaonkar speaks about how two people exploit the similarity of a country bumpkin being similar to that of a royalty with a great influence in the country. They use the person to extort money from various people. In the end the country bumpkin tries to double cross them and tries to run away with the extorted money to satisfy his grandfather's dream of flying from his hometown to Delhi by airplane.
In "A Slice of the Melon" by Manohar Malgaonkar describes how unscrupulous persons skim the money that pours into the political party's coffers during the election time. A small time help who sees this happen sets up a front to try and skim some of this money and he almost succeeds.
"Temple Mouse" by Manohar Malgaonkar speaks about how hollow the people are. He describes how a person close to a "spiritual" guru milks his position to make money for himself while another person who is the right hand man of a famous actor does the same.
Both the stories of Sadat Hasan Manto, selected by Khuswant Singh have the element of sexuality in them and this is not surprising given the proclivity of Khushwant Singh for writing stories with at least a tinge sex in them. Did not enjoy either of them, not because of the sex content, but because of the lack of depth.
The author has three stories of his own all obviously reflecting his beliefs and topics close to his heart, that of Agnosticism, bottom pinching and Kama Sutra. The Bottom Pincher and The Agnostic are an OK read, the third is not at all good.
All in all OK read.
The ones that appealed to me were as follows:
In "Confessions of a Dustbin" by Karunanidhi the author describes the life from the perspective of a dustbin into which people keep discarding unwanted stuff and it being cleared by the municipality truck. The author shows his atheism and his scoff for religion by speaking about the sexual escapades that the dustbin learns about the Indian Gods from an old book about puranas that somebody has thrown into its belly.
"The Accident" by R. K. Laxman. In this story the author illustrates how a person running away from crime almost crashes into a tree because the papers that he had carelessly thrown in the back seat are stirred up by the air circulating through the car and covers his face preventing him from seeing where he is headed. He uses this trick later to get rid of the goon who has come after him for the spoils.
In "The Palace Orders" by Manohar Malgaonkar speaks about how two people exploit the similarity of a country bumpkin being similar to that of a royalty with a great influence in the country. They use the person to extort money from various people. In the end the country bumpkin tries to double cross them and tries to run away with the extorted money to satisfy his grandfather's dream of flying from his hometown to Delhi by airplane.
In "A Slice of the Melon" by Manohar Malgaonkar describes how unscrupulous persons skim the money that pours into the political party's coffers during the election time. A small time help who sees this happen sets up a front to try and skim some of this money and he almost succeeds.
"Temple Mouse" by Manohar Malgaonkar speaks about how hollow the people are. He describes how a person close to a "spiritual" guru milks his position to make money for himself while another person who is the right hand man of a famous actor does the same.
Both the stories of Sadat Hasan Manto, selected by Khuswant Singh have the element of sexuality in them and this is not surprising given the proclivity of Khushwant Singh for writing stories with at least a tinge sex in them. Did not enjoy either of them, not because of the sex content, but because of the lack of depth.
The author has three stories of his own all obviously reflecting his beliefs and topics close to his heart, that of Agnosticism, bottom pinching and Kama Sutra. The Bottom Pincher and The Agnostic are an OK read, the third is not at all good.
All in all OK read.
January 2, 2012
Indian Short Stories selected by Kushwant Singh [Vol 1], a collection of stories in the indian backdrop from some famous and some not so famous authors [surprisingly some famous names like Premchand didnt make it to the list].. the stories are short and as most of them are translated either from Hindi or Urdu, one can sense the lost in translation effect - the phrases that can be captured in one language cannot always make it to a different language without losing their beauty. I found most of the stories that I have read so far a bit abrupt without a clear message, also the earlier indian authors had a marked inclination towards sad endings...probably they mirrored the indian society problems of religion and poverty which we have been shielded from by our parents very effectively so find difficult to relate to.
I give it * * stars, pick it up for a journey or some situation where you dont have the luxuary to give undivided attention to the book. You can leave it in the middle and come back [which wont be difficult as its definitely not a page turner] and continue again without the "interuppted" feel.
I give it * * stars, pick it up for a journey or some situation where you dont have the luxuary to give undivided attention to the book. You can leave it in the middle and come back [which wont be difficult as its definitely not a page turner] and continue again without the "interuppted" feel.
September 27, 2014
Khushwant Singh is a master of vocabulary and this choicest collection of stories shows his taste for words and prose.
This book is a collection of short stories by Indian writers carefully chosen by Khushwant Singh. It includes two stries by Khushwant Singh also.
Stories are quite entertaining and thought provoking. Some stories you would find pointless in beginning and sums up everything in the end nicely. Some stories end abruptly and leave you thinking.
Overall an enjoyable book and recommended for those who want to have a quick and light read.
This book is a collection of short stories by Indian writers carefully chosen by Khushwant Singh. It includes two stries by Khushwant Singh also.
Stories are quite entertaining and thought provoking. Some stories you would find pointless in beginning and sums up everything in the end nicely. Some stories end abruptly and leave you thinking.
Overall an enjoyable book and recommended for those who want to have a quick and light read.
March 23, 2016
I'd have given this one five stars but some of the stories were just okay on the scale. The better ones weren't many and I wished to read more of them, or wished they would have been a little longer.
Pick this one up and enjoy. Recommended.
Pick this one up and enjoy. Recommended.
March 4, 2016
A pleasurable companion during my recent examinations. True to his word, Khushwant Singh's anthology is a kind of all-India curry cooked with spices gathered from different parts of the subcontinent. Apart from his own contributions, I especially loved the works of M. Karunanidhi and RK Laxman.
July 16, 2012
amrita pritam's 'the birth of a poem' left me inspired to write something creative.
Currently reading
January 6, 2013Good
October 13, 2014
I wouldn't call it a really great collection but some of the stories are really worth reading.
Currently reading
February 7, 2016sdd
June 10, 2012
A very nice, nostalgic collection of short stories. Enjoyed the read and going to go for part 2.
August 13, 2013
Very bad collection.
March 31, 2017
It feels sad to give an average rating to a book that is so obviously lost in translation. Many stories give you the impression that they would've been better enjoyed in their original or native language. Some stories begin and end with an abrupt tone which can only be explained as gaps in translation. Nevertheless, there are stories to be enjoyed, which tell you about the times in India much before we existed. Celebrated literary giants feature in the book - PL Deshpande, Yashpal, ,RK Laxman, Bhishm Sahni, BK Karanjia and Khushwant Singh himself. The stories that I especially enjoyed are 'The Accident' (lovely spinning of the yarn), ' 'The Fat Frog', 'Miss Scrooge', (fine writing), and 'The Agnostic'.
This book is recommended for very light reading- something that you don't really need to read, but not a bad choice completely either, especially if, like me, you aim to read Indian writing every now and then.
This book is recommended for very light reading- something that you don't really need to read, but not a bad choice completely either, especially if, like me, you aim to read Indian writing every now and then.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews