This story by K. A. Abbas uses satire and irony to highlight the madness and futility of the religious riots that killed and displaced millions during the 1947 Partition of India. The Delhi-bred Muslim protagonist not only vilifies Hindus and Sikhs, but also looks down on the crude rustic Punjabi practitioners of his own faith. Like most bigots, he advances no reason for his hatred other than that the three groups have different accents, appearances and customs. Fate plays a cruel trick as an angry mob comes for him. Themes include religious and racial intolerance, fear, violence, sacrifice. More…

This story by K. A. Abbas deals with the social upheaval caused by the 1947 Partition of India. Told from the perspective of an elderly Sikh woman, it compares the community spirit and religious tolerance that existed before Partition with the hatred, bloodshed and displacement of Sikh and Hindu families that occurred afterwards. The compassionate, once wealthy protagonist, who lost everything when forced to flee Rawalpindi, demonstrates neither bitterness nor self-pity. However, she still sheds a tear for the “soft” memories like ripe apricots and fragrant baggoogoshas… Themes include brotherhood and inclusiveness vs. religious hostility, alienation, suffering, identity, resilience. More…

In this story by K. A. Abbas, an Indian man embittered by being forced to follow tradition and enter into a loveless marriage spends thirty years taking revenge on his family and society. He savagely beats his wife and sons, badly mistreats his farm animals, and is abusive to fellow villagers. As the story begins, his wife has left and he is alone in the world. In his misery, he finds solace and redemption through a family of sparrows nesting in the thatched roof of his hut. Themes include tradition, forbidden love, bitterness, revenge, cruelty, alienation and loneliness, connection, redemption. More…