Anita Desai To RK Narayan 5 Indian Short Story Authors You Must Read

Temperature dropping, Sun passing below the horizon, birds flying back to their nest and you are still emersed in that book, telling yourself: one more page. Having time to read as long as you want is a privilege. Often you could find yourself not able to complete that book you started. Wait, start small, start now. You could dive into another world with a short story in those 30 minutes of evening tea, or while travelling in that busy metro. 

Here are the 5 Indian short story authors you should read:

R K Narayan

Giving his writing a desi touch and not following the western format, R K Narayan is one such writer who wrote what his heart said. His short stories dealt with nothingness, but ordinary Indian rustic life, which could be the reason he connected on a personal level with his readers. You can start your collection with Malgudi Days which features 32 short stories, moving to An Astrologer’s Day and Other Stories which combine the most precise form of humour and pleasantness set in village pictures. But, do not forget to leave behind a horse and two goats, because at the end of the day it’s the little things that matter. 

Anita Desai

If you are looking for something that can touch your heart, Anita Desai's work is what you are looking for. What is even more chaotic is the truth that her work never patronises a single theme as if words are bound to pronounce their truth as it is. Yet, she portrays with class subtle themes like tension among the members of the family, the alienation in the chaos and emotions in the heart and head of her characters, who go through culture clashes simultaneously dealing with generational differences. To get familiar with her work, start reading A Devoted Son move to Diamond Dust and might as well keep it in your collection Games At Twilight.

Rabindranath Tagore

Even though we remember him for his most prominent work Gitanjali, Rabindranath Tagore also left his marks on short stories. We could find religion and nature as dominant figures in his work while lending an ethereal effect with a poignant sadness. One can feel the women’s powerless position and their ignorance levels burdened by society’s expectations of them. 

You should visit his short stories to understand the silent lives of women at that time. From The Postmaster to Mashi and Subha. Also, you can time travel to your childhood in the readings of Kabuliwallah. A brief warning, if you are looking for Bollywood ‘happily ever after’ my fear is you won’t find it, rather an ending with a realistic outlook.

Suggested Reading: A Book That Talks About Often Unspoken Bonds Across Generations

Shashi Deshpande

From ‘The Legacy and other stories’ to ‘It was nightingale’, Shashi Deshpande's work dealt with the common people more precisely the relationship between the family. Be its unmasking of the mother-daughter relationship or a relationship between man and woman, Shashi encountered it with the most precise psychological ink. Her characters also find themselves swinging for their identity. An ordinary woman’s search for self-identity not only as a woman but also as a human being are woven into her stories. Even though she has written more than ninety short stories, you can find the most significant in two volumes, Collected Stories: Volume 1 and 2.

Sudha Murty

The way Sudha Murty molds her words to represent nostalgia, in her first collection of short stories she left a prominent mark on her readers’ minds. Not just that but beyond, she gave us all a reason to cherish our childhood memories with our grandparents. Her Grandma’s Bag of Stories is one of those fascinating books that mystically transports you to a wonderland, even as you flow in the vortex of love and warmth it generates. So, if you desire to get back those days of pure innocence in today’s busy life. Get a chair and dive right through her short stories. 

Picture Credit: SheThePeople

The views are author's own. The list is indicative and not exhaustive.