The Book
This unique volume presents all 20 of Kazi Nazrul Islam’s short stories for the first time in English translation. Featuring rich imagery, evocative landscapes, references to music, classical poetry, folktales and more, these stories invite the reader to re-evaluate the ‘rebel poet’ as an empathetic humanitarian. The volume is a transnational, collaborative labour of love bringing together stellar editors and translators from Bangladesh and India. The stories are accompanied by a timeline of Nazrul’s life and a critical introduction that not only provides foundational contexts for the stories, but also highlights Nazrul’s attempt to counter majoritarianism and various hegemonies by dismantling hierarchies and celebrating intimate pluralities.
The Author(s)
Syed Manzoorul Islam is Professor Emeritus in the English Department of the University of Dhaka.
Kaustav Chakraborty is Associate Professor of English at Southfield College, Darjeeling.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Publisher’s Acknowledgements
Nazrul: A Timeline
A Critical Introduction to Nazrul’s Short Stories
Syed Manzoorul Islam and Kaustav Chakraborty
HARVEST OF SORROW
1. Harvest of Sorrow
2. Hena
3. In the Relentless Rain
4. Half Asleep
5. Insatiate Desire
6. Letter from a Political Prisoner
The AGONY OF THE DESTITUTE
7. The Agony of the Destitute
8. Autobiography of the Vagabond
9. Meher Negar
10. Evening Star
11. Rakshasi
12. Salek
13. The Widow
14. The Restless Traveller
THE SHIULI MALA
15. The Lotus-Cobra
16. The King of the Djinns
17. The Volcano
18. The Shiuli Mala
UNANTHOLOGISED STORIES
19. Letter from a Lost Boy
20. The Hawk-Cuckoo from the Woods
Editors and Translators