Synopsis Now in paperback edition, this anthology of forty-three stories from twenty one languages reflect the diversity and complexity of life lived in India. From the violence and mass hysteria of the Partition of the suppressed rage and the gnawing self-pity of individuals trapped in broken homes these stories capture the outer and the inner lives of Indian society. The sacred and the profane, the elite and subaltern meet in many-layered narratives in these stories, providing us metaphors to visualize ourselves. These stories map an eventful century during which our country emerged into a nation. The images gathered here from the haunted interiors of the twentieth century are both disquieting and illuminating.