The story of my exile began on that unfortunate day when an ill-fated interest in literature came over me. It seems that every writer I liked had been in exile at some time. Marquez had been, Kundera too. Some had angered the...

This distress of his was increasing day by day. It felt like a century since he had left his homeland, the Mountains. That homeland, that old country, and the people who live there, even though they were struggling with vario...

From the moment I was born and first opened my eyes, I saw that all the people in my family were filled with joy. From all directions, everyone sung my praises with different melodies. As for Auntie, she was so happy she decl...

“I have taken out the books you asked for.”, “Ok mom, then send them to me if someone travels here.”, “My daughter, nowadays people don’t tell anyone when they go abroad, but I’ll ask your father to take them to the airport. ...

He lived alone in his city. There was no one else living anywhere in the entire city. He was fond of his solitude. Not a single person had settled in the city except himself. The city panorama was so pleasant that it could br...

The tribal council sent a detailed report on all aspects of the case and concluded that Dawlat Khan found his brother’s wife sleeping with a stranger and murdered them both on the spot. Two years ago Sahti was married to Dawl...

“Meet your aunt.” My uncle pointed towards a beautiful girl. “Her…?” I asked, astonished. “Yes, yes. She is your aunt Dorgol.” The moment I heard the name Dorgol I slid back into a labyrinth of memories from the past ten year...

Uffff… Dear God, what shall I do? How did I become so helpless! I have strength, yet I’m helpless. I have relatives, yet I’m desolate. Ufffff… My throat is dry. No one gives me as much as a drop of water. My body is entirely ...

It was a summer day. The sun was high in the sky. Early in the morning he had left for the beach and now he was sitting on the shore. There was still a touch of last night’s chill in the sand. He cast a look at the foamy wave...

“Get out of my house! You’ve ruined my life! Accursed was the day I married you! Tell me, in all these ten years have you ever brought me a moment of happiness?” He gave her a slap and then a kick. She fell down. The barrage ...

Nabi Dad had been at his shop continuously since nine in the morning. But his mind was on Golsher’s shop more than his own, because hardly a customer had turned up at his shop. Golsher’s shop, on the other hand, was so crowde...

Kenagi sold the whole camel-load of unripe dates for eighty rupees, wrapped the money in his handkerchief and slipped it under his loincloth. Then he tethered his camel and strolled to the bazaar. He needed to buy some essent...

The bus was jiggling along a bumpy road. It was past midnight and the passengers were asleep or half-dozing in their seats. Only two people were awake. One was the driver who was playing an old Indian song on the radio as he ...

After a very long time he dreamed again, after about eleven years… He had not dreamt since he was thirty-five, and now he was an old man of forty-six. Today, as he was lying on his bed in the nephrology ward, he closed his ey...

Not long after we moved into our newly rented house, a cat started turning up there. Every night when we sat down to dinner, we heard meowings through the air vent of the room, coming from a hungry cat on the veranda. Drawn b...

I had not picked up more than ten shells when four uniformed soldiers surrounded me. One tore the bag from my back and shook out the contents onto the ground. I was at a loss what to tell them when the butt of a rifle thudded...

Even after so much medication and treatment, the lamp of his fortune refused to shine. His wife had also tried everything she’d been told might help. One day, a colleague at the office gave him some advice: “They say there is...

Indifferent to everything I sat brooding on the shore. I don’t know what time of the night it was. I was quite dismayed about what had happened three days before. I could not eat properly, and I did not think my boss would be...

The very first ray of sunlight found its way between Mezar’s and Didar’s necks. They shivered and began scanning their surroundings thoroughly. They both thought they had spent the whole of last night like this. Mezar and Did...

I am a bird-trap. I have been entangled here for about a year now, at the top of a high kahur tree. The hot days and cold nights, the humidity and dryness, the wind and rain, the scorching heat of the summer winds, have all m...

The lines on my palms never showed any signs of good fortune. Still I kept going to him to have my palm read on the first Friday of every year. I knew that he had got tired of encouraging me, but he couldn’t say so. His name ...