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A sequel to ‘The Kidnapping of Mark Twain’, her first Bombay Mystery, Anuradha Kumar’s ‘Love and Crime in the Time of Plague’ is set in 1896. A ship docks in Bombay Harbour, and as the workers rush to unload the cargo, a scream rings out. A large black rat, frothing at the mouth, has bitten one of the men. As more inhabitants fall sick and die, the worst fear is confirmed — it is the plague. Efforts to deal with the disease scientifically are met with warning notes. And thus the mystery unravels.

As a native of Mumbai, the author has seen it constantly change over the years. What is vanishing is not just space, but memory, history and the very fabric of a living city. The city’s famed spirit of survival is being tested like never before. Through this book, the author endeavours to map this rapid transformation and to see what the human cost of that is. He hopes the book will strike a chord with not just the citizens of Mumbai, but also with those in other cities where similar changes are taking place.

Aimed at taking Punjabi literature to readers of other languages, this special supplement by Shabad magazine features short stories by Punjabi writers from across the world over the last 60 years or so. The translators write that the stories represent different eras, regions and circumstances. “Each story has its own distinct theme and tone, offering a new glimpse into human experience.” The writers featured include Ram Sarup Ankhi, Gurdev Singh Rupana, Raghubir Dhand, Kirpal Kazak and Prem Gorki, among others.

This book is an English translation of Punjabi writer Jinder’s selected short stories. In the preface, translator Kuldeep Singh writes how his stories break away from the conventional forms of linear narration. “His characters often live unbalanced lives, caught as they are between self-realisation and social expectation... Through psychological portraits, symbolic narratives and spiritual undertones, Jinder depicts the intricate realities of modern existence.”