An Evening in Lucknow: Selected Stories

Khwaja Ahmad Abbas

Edited by Suresh Kohli

Harper Perennial, 

296 pages, R299

A new edition of stories from a celebrated, multilingual and versatile Indian writer. Abbas’s background in journalism and film-making is evident throughout these stories, which address themes of superstition, caste and romance, each in a unique and rich style. Often satirical and hard-hitting, the stories give the reader a glimpse into Abbas’s social conscience and perhaps his commitment to progressive causes. The volume includes interviews with the author and a letter from Mulk Raj Anand.