* New Edition. * Includes a new translation of 'Fotikchand'.

    The stories range from the light-hearted to the sombre. Many are laced with Manoj Das' characteristic irony. Told with humour and compassion, wit and sensitivity, this collection brings together the best of the works of one of India's most mature and rewarding writers.

    He analyzes, through examples from dominant literary forms, the origins of both Hindi and Urdu; and evaluates the growth of serious Urdu poetry through studies of all its major forms and practitioners. This is a pioneering work that demolishes myths, proposing instead provocative new theses that all South Asian and Islamic scholars will find riveting.