With Bani Basu's latest novella on Kolkata, and M Mukundan's Kalarippayattu, Katha honours the novella for the first time. They add distinction to six other outstanding stories in this annual volume. The best among those published during the last two years, we hope these stories - handpicked by scholars, critics and writers, respected in their own languages - will phase. Eight languages, eight award-winning stories, more than eight ways to explore the many-layered reality of life and living in India, the silences that make experiences memorable. Enjoy!