Kuttiedathi and Other Stories is a careful collection of ten short stories. This collection brings together some of the most well known stories of M T Vasudevan Nair, fairly representative of his literary works. Written over a broad span of time from 1962 to 2000, the stories collected here reflect the built-in variety of his fictional concerns and the changing tones of his narration.

When the winds blow wild snuffing out the flames, it is the Master Carpenter who takes up the challenge. Some quick calculations later he raises a stone slab, and the lamp burns steady. When his own heart plays games, the games of desire, once again he triumphs. But how does a father react, who knows that his son has far surpassed his talent, and fallen short of his heritage? The legend of Perumthachan, the Master Carpenter is recreated vividly from a popular folk tale by MT Vasudevan Nair, the Jnanpith, Sahitya Akademi and Padma Bhushan award winning writer.

This is the story of Bhima, the second son, always second in line -- a story never adequately told until one of India's finest writers conjured him up from the silences in Vyasa's narrative. M.T. Vasudevan Nair's Bhima is a revelation -- lonely, eager to succeed, treated with a mixture of affection and contempt by his Pandava brothers, and with scorn and hatred by his Kaurava cousins, Bhima battles incessantly with failure and disappointment. He is adept at disguising his feelings, but has an overwhelmingly intuitive understanding of everyone who crosses his path. A warrior without equal, he takes on the mighty Bakasura and Jarasandha, and ultimately Duryodhana, thus bringing the Great War to a close. However, all of Bhima's moments of triumph remain unrecognized and unrewarded. If his mother saw glory only in the skills of Arjuna and the wisdom of Yudhishtira, his beloved Draupadi cared only for the beauteous Arjuna.

About the author: mulk raj anand, an indian english language author who depicted the lives of the poorer castes in a traditional indian society anand, a novelist, short story writer, essayist and an art critic, is frequently referred to as the founding father of indo-english writing anands prolific writing career spanned over 75 years, during which he was widely identified with the quest for a just, equitable and forward looking india anand wrote extensively in areas as diverse as art and sculpture, politics, indian literature and the history of ideas he has been conferred with several awards including the sahitya akademi award in 1972 and the padma bhushan for his contribution to english literature

This carefully selected collection of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer s short stories are characterised by a variety in theme and tone. He has enshrined in them every kind of experience from the pangs of hunger and sex to the rapture of mystic vision. Its range includes stark realistic pictures of the material world as well as the realm of fantasy haunted by ghosts and spirits. Basheer has written on love and hate, on politicians and pickpockets, on the fancies of childhood and on the disillusionments of adult life with an intense sense of the tragedy of life and at the same time an irrepressible sense of humour.