A Case of Indian Marvels: Dazzling Stories from the Country’s Finest New Writers, recently released by Aleph Book Company, is an anthology of short fiction by India’s most exciting new writers. Edited by editor and publisher David Davidar, the anthology brings together 40 selected short stories of writers 40 years or younger as of 2020. The collection explores “every aspect of the Indian ethos in original and electrifying ways.”
Some stories are not afraid of exploring the current socio-political climate and aspects of contemporary society, while other stories in the collection evoke life as lived in India’s villages, small towns and big cities.
Some of the writers whose stories are included in the anthology like Kanishk Tharoor, Madhuri Vijay, Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, Meena Kandasamy, Prayaag Akbar, Tanuj Solanki, Samhita Arni, Neel Patel and Avinuo Kire have already published acclaimed books. Other promising writers whose stories have found space in the anthology are working on their soon-to-be-published debut short story collections and novels.
“Some of the stories that feature in this anthology already memorably record the period we are passing through and it’s inevitable that the writing of the future, no matter how obliquely, will be shaped by what the country’s writers have witnessed,” David writes in the introduction. “Our writers, the writers represented here, and others like them, and yet others who will follow them, will record this time in new, unsettling, and truthful ways—it’s what will ensure the murk that enshrouds India today will not be forgotten.”
In an interview with The Wire, David Davidar talks about the selection process of short stories included in the anthology, why they couldn’t find enough great translations of short fiction by younger writers from other languages, and how turbulent times can produce some of the best writings in India.
Edited excerpts follow.
Apart from the 40 under 40 criteria, were there other factors to select the short stories that were included in this collection? Many of these stories have been published elsewhere. What was unique about these stories that merited their inclusion in the anthology?
The main criterion was literary excellence. To begin with, there was a much more extensive longlist that was compiled from several sources, which was then whittled down by me to the final 40. Besides literary excellence, I wanted the selection to reflect the best work of writers belonging to the millennial generation and Generation Z – so the age of the writers was the second important consideration. Yes, all these stories have appeared in a variety of publications but that was the point of the anthology – it was intended to showcase the best-published work of next-gen writers.
Given that this anthology was premised on it being a selection of the finest stories of the writers belonging to the generations in question, it made a lot of sense to only include work that had been filtered over and over again – these stories have been appraised by various experienced editors (magazine editors, book editors, editors of online journals and so on) since they were first written, and have passed multiple tests of excellence, and so there is no doubting their quality.
Further, many of the stories were revised for publication in this anthology, so they have been polished to a high gloss.
To answer the second part of your question, in my opinion, these stories could only have been written by Indians (or writers of Indian origin) who possessed a very contemporary sensibility – that’s what makes them all unique.
A Case of Indian Marvels
Ed. David Davidar
Aleph Books (September 2022)
You write in the introduction that the stories included in this collection “reflects the country’s chaos and every one of them does that exceptionally well. This bodes well for the future of Indian literary fiction. Dark times often make for unforgettable literature.” Do you think that the space, and publications, especially for short stories that reflect the polarised times and the current socio-political environment in the country is shrinking?
I don’t think there is any question at all that in today’s socio-political environment, every kind of freedom, including creative freedom, is under threat – either overtly or in rather more insidious ways that lead to things like self-censorship. Will such coercion and bullying stop writers from eventually writing what they will? Will it produce great literature? I think history has shown us that some of the finest writing to be had anywhere in the world was forged in times that were turbulent – that will happen here as well.
How do you see the future of short stories as a literary form in Indian writing in English? Are younger writers in India increasingly drawn to the short story form?
I think the short story will continue in parallel with other literary forms. I don’t have any evidence to prove that young writers are being increasingly drawn to the short story. Some write short fiction, others write novels, and yet others write poetry and plays – in this, the current era is no different from other eras.
How will quality translation of short stories from regional languages into English help writers from all of India’s languages find wider audiences, as you’ve noted in your introduction?
Well, quality translations into English will help writers in languages other than English find a pan-Indian audience for starters. Also, the market for books in English is the largest in the country so they will achieve a wider readership as has happened with some writers.
How are these young writers, whose short stories are included in the anthology different from more senior writers in terms of their writing craft, and themes and issues explored in their fiction?
The themes, issues, and subjects that most of these writers are exploring aren’t that different from those that have preceded them. It’s in the treatment and style that these stories are often different from fiction written by previous generations. There’s a fair amount of dystopian fiction on offer that wasn’t that common in the work of those who preceded them.
The majority of stories included in the anthology are written in English, with only a few inclusions of short stories translated from other languages. How do you explain this disparity?
The answer to that is simple – all of us who were looking couldn’t find enough great translations of short fiction by younger writers from various languages. Although there is a lot more fiction being translated today than in the past, we need even more to be translated – not just into English but into languages other than the language in which the fiction was originally written.
As an editor and reader, did any short story stand out for you in terms of its experimentation, unique theme, or writing style in this collection of diverse stories?
I liked all the stories in the anthology otherwise they wouldn’t have been included. That said, I have a particular preference for stories that are political in some way – that’s probably why there are quite a few stories that fit that description in the book.
