Stayed Back, Stayed On is the first ever anthology of short fiction by Bengali Muslim writers in English translation. The nineteen stories in this collection explore the aspirations and anxieties of Muslim lives in rural and urban Bengal, enmeshed in religious sensibilities, class, sexuality, and the tussle between tradition and modernity. Through voices across generations, Stayed Back, Stayed On delves into the inner courtyards and hearts of the community that chose to live on the western side of the Bengal border after the Partition of 1947.
About the editor
Epsita Halder is Professor at the Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Her first monograph, Reclaiming Karbala: Nation, Islam and Literature of the Bengali Muslims (2023), on Bengali Muslim cultural nationalism, received the World Award for the Book of the Year of Iran (2025) as well as an award from the Indian History Congress (2023). Epsita Halder edited and co-translated an anthology of Abul Bashar’s short stories, The Open-Winged Scorpion and Other Stories (2021).
General Introduction Editor’s Introduction
Salt Water – Syed Mujtaba Ali – trans. Nazes Afroz In Whose Name the Cow Is Slaughtered – Syed Mustafa Siraj – trans. Ipshita Chanda The Merchant of Sagar Island – Abdul Jabbar – trans. Sarmistha Dutta Gupta & Shambhobi Ghosh The Prayer Beads – Abdur Rakib – trans. Debalina Sen The Merchant of Paradise – Abdur Rowf – trans. Paramita Brahmachari Qasid – Abul Bashar – trans. Sipra Mukherjee & Epsita Halder The Birth of a Fable – Kamal Hosain – trans. Paramita Brahmachari The Boundary – Murshid A.M. – trans. Sucheta Bhattacharya My Ela-ting Bela-ting Bestie – Afsar Ahmed – trans. Sipra Mukherjee The Water of Zamzam – Answar Uddin – trans. Supriya Chaudhuri Falling Apart – Hasir Mallick – trans. Debalina Sen Noorbaksh’s Cannabis Plant and the Story of a Butterfly – Sohrab Hossain – trans. Sipra Mukherjee Beradane Islam – Niharul Islam – trans. Paramita Brahmachari Moon-Touched – Nadira Sultana – trans. Debalina Sen The Qissa of Rashida Bewa – Samim Ahmed – trans. Arunava Sinha The Noose – Ayesha Khatun – trans. Paramita Banerjee Imam Bhata, or A Tale of Survival – Asadul Islam – trans. Maharghya Chakraborty In the Slumber of Liyaqat Ali – Sadique Hossain – trans. Devalina Mookerjee & Epsita Halder A Man Madly in Love or the Chronicle of a Madman in Love – Hamiruddin Middya – trans. Sucheta Bhattacharya
Glossary About the Contributors About the Editor