The Greatest Telugu Stories Ever Told spans almost a century of work by some of the finest writers of short
fiction in the language. The storytellers included in the anthology range from literary masters such as
Chalam, Kanuparthi Varalakshmamma, and Kodavatiganti Kutumba Rao to contemporary writers like
Mohammed Khadeer Babu, Jajula Gowri, and Vempalle Shareef.
The tales found in this collection weave a rich tapestry of Telugu experiences. Illindala Saraswati Devi's
'Bad Times' discusses the downturn in Muslim fortunes after the integration of the nizam's state with the
Indian union. Boya Jangaiah's 'The Eclipse' chronicles the aching memories that besiege a Dalit poet when
he makes a brief stop at his village. Bandi Narayanaswami's 'Water' dramatizes the acute shortage of water
in the Rayalaseema region and its exacerbation by political rivalries. Kavana Sarma's 'House Number'
gently mocks a self-proclaimed math genius and his attempts at memorizing a simple house number. A
heartbreaking love story, Vempalli Gangadhar's 'Festival of Love' is a romance imbued with the fragrance
of jasmine fields.
Selected and deftly translated by Dasu Krishnamoorty and Tamraparni Dasu, these and the other stories
in this collection offer a window into how the Telugu people see the world and their place in it.
