✨ Beyond Bhadralok: Contemporary Urdu Short Stories from Kolkata ✨

Kolkata is often painted as the city of bhadralok culture, nostalgia, and Bengali literary heritage, but beneath its familiar façade lies a world of hidden narratives, untold emotions, and diverse voices. Contemporary Urdu Short Stories from Kolkata shatters stereotypes, bringing forth a vivid, evocative collection of modern Urdu fiction from the city—stories that pulse with life, conflict, and the intricacies of human relationships.

In these pages, you’ll encounter a writer obsessed with a broken railway clock, a friendship that withers before it can fully bloom, and the mystical awakening of ancient sleepers in a modern world. From dreams and disillusionment to history and heartbreak, these stories traverse a wide spectrum of experiences, revealing a Kolkata that is far more than what meets the eye.

Curated by Shams Afif Siddiqi, an acclaimed scholar and writer, and Fuzail Asar Siddiqi, a literary researcher delving into the complexities of modernist Urdu fiction, this collection is a testament to Kolkata’s literary plurality.

      Step into a Kolkata you’ve never known before—where Urdu weaves its own stories, where the past and present collide, and where every turn of the page reveals a new, unexpected facet of the City of Joy.