Mehbub Gulley

“There is a delicate humour here that will have you laughing out loud.” - Rohini Nair, Asian Age (Mumbai & Pune)

“(Her) style is simple yet she keeps one absorbed in the fate of her characters through observation, insight and a sense of humour.” - Eunice De Souza, Mumbai Mirror

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Stefan, an art collector from Vienna, engrossed in his search for a meaning in life, finds a treasure under the shadows of the Charminar in the shape of a brown nymph with a small round face, wearing large glasses and sporting a severe look. But then he has the matter of the hockey sticks to contend with. “Hockey sticks seemed to be rated as the favourite article of accoutrement for men having a higher-than-the-average sense of moral outrage in India”. Stefan has the task of convincing Qudsiya’s hockey stick wielding uncles that he means well…

In New Ashokapur, Deputy Secretary Shiva Shambo is faced with the formidable challenge of launching the Stink Bum, an ultimate smelly weapon of aggression against the foe across the border in Humptidumptistan - MP (Muchaad Panwala) whose incessant heel clicking annoys the PM. Can Shiva outmanoeuvre the machinations of his boss, Pissapati Parmahans Chaturvedi (known in the secretariat as ‘Old Pisspot’) and launch the Stink Bum?

Mehbub Gulley and other short stories in this anthology by Thanksy Francis bring alive the sights and sounds of India and its many vibrant communities.