1
of
1
Hawa Hawa
and Other Stories
Series: The India List
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Hardback
$3999
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 3-4 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
Hawa Hawa
$3999
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Latest News
The First Ever NZ Children's Book Week!
We are so excited to celebrate kids reading books with the first NZ Children's Book...
What Lizzy's Family Loved on a Long Weekend Away
We recently went on a family long weekend away to Ohakune, a new spot for...
Why We Still Love Pokémon
Pokémon has changed enormously since I was trading cards at school and playing it on...
Paw Patrol : The Dino Movie Toys Have Arrived!
The new Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie toys have arrived & are ready to ship!
New Releases to add to your TBR (11th August)
There's a new release for everyone this week - here's your TBR roundup! Lizzy shares...
See more"The stories collected in this book were originally published in Bengali by Protikkhon in 1995 as part of the volume Nabarun Bhattacharya, Chhotogolppa"--Title page verso.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
A collection of inventive and surprising short stories from one of India’s most prominent countercultural writers.
In this wildly inventive collection of Nabarun Bhattacharya’s stories, we meet characters such as a trigger-happy cop in an authoritarian police state, a man who holds on to a piece of rope from a deadly noose, a retired revolutionary thrilled by delusions of grandeur, and people working for a corporation that arranges lavish suicides for a price.
Ranging from scathing satires of society to surreal investigations of violence and love, these stories are also a window onto the political and social climate in Bengal. They trace both pan-Indian developments like the 1975 Emergency and local ones, such as militant-leftist Naxalism and the decades-long Communist reign in the state.
Expertly translated from the Bengali, Hawa Hawa and Other Stories is a journey through the mind of one of the most daring countercultural writers of India, one with particular resonance in these chaotic times.
Series: The India List
View all-
A Thousand Cranes for India
In Japan, there is a legend that anyone who folds one thousand paper cranes will have their wishes realised. But folding cranes, and the meditative, solemn care that it involves, has come to mean more than just an exercise in wish-making. Origami cranes have become a symbol of renewal, atonement, and warning. Their symbolism may have emerged out of Japan’s...Paperback$4099Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Beggar’s Bedlam
A hilarious and absurdist take on the political landscape of West Bengal, India. Beggar's Bedlam is a surreal novel that unleashes the chaos of the carnival on the familiar. Part literary descendant of Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita and part a reconstruction of lost Bengali history, Nabarun Bhattacharya's masterpiece is a jubilant, fizzing wire of subaltern anarchy and insurrection. Marshall...Hardback$3999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
General Firebrand and His Red Atlas
A fast-paced and action-packed dystopian novel, addressing the nature of power, the limits of rationality, and the dominance of fear. In a world on the brink of totalitarian rule, one man rises from the shadows to ignite a revolution and becomes the unlikely leader of a war of resistance that will shake the very foundations of power. General Firebrand, an...Hardback$4799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Hawa Hawa
A collection of inventive and surprising short stories from one of India’s most prominent countercultural writers. In this wildly inventive collection of Nabarun Bhattacharya’s stories, we meet characters such as a trigger-happy cop in an authoritarian police state, a man who holds on to a piece of rope from a deadly noose, a retired revolutionary thrilled by delusions of grandeur,...Hardback$3999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Our Santiniketan
A brief, evocative memoir from one of India’s greatest writers. “Like a dazzling feather that has fluttered down from some unknown place... How long will the feather keep its colours, waiting? The ‘feather’ stands for memories of childhood. Memories don’t wait.” In Our Santiniketan, the late Mahasweta Devi, one of India’s most celebrated writers, vividly narrates her days as a...Hardback$3599Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Our History, Their History, Whose History?
An overview of nationalism and its impact on the study of history from one of India's most prominent historians. In this timely book, historian Romila Thapar delves into the complex world of nationalism and its impact on the interpretations of the past and on the discipline of history itself. History, she expounds, is no mere collection of information and chronology,...Hardback$3599Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Dog Star
Set in the underbelly of Calcutta, a story that reimagines a city's relationship with its abandoned animals, interlacing dark humour and political critique into a fable of resistance. A city on edge and a reckoning long overdue—Dog Star is a searing fable of vengeance and the limits of human empathy. Nabarun Bhattacharya's novella unfolds in Calcutta, where the city's dogs,...Hardback$3999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
The Murderer’s Mother
A tense sociopolitical novel exploring power, violence, and morality in 1970s India. The Murderer’s Mother takes readers to the late 1970s in the Indian state of West Bengal, where the Communist Party–led Left Front has just been voted into power. It tells the story of Tapan, who has been installed as a gang leader by the most powerful man in...Hardback$4799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
At the Jincheng Hotel
From one of India's best-known artists, an inspired exploration of China's cities and small towns and villages, highlighting landscapes and everyday life. In 1985, K. G. Subramanyan visited China on an invitation from the China Artists Association, exploring Beijing, the Dunhuang caves, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, and Guangdong. Rather than its old monuments and new cities, what caught his eye were China's...Hardback$7599Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Gold Sand, Gold Water
A river that once carried gold now bears the weight of memory and the struggles of those who call its banks home. The Subarnarekha River shimmers with legend; once said to carry flecks of gold, it remains a source of both promise and hardship for those who live along its banks. In Gold Sand, Gold Water, Nalini Bera conjures a...Hardback$4799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Home in the Dark
When civility is just a mask, what happens when it slips? This collection of gripping stories pries open the cracks in urban life, revealing the chaos and cruelty beneath. Home in the Dark peels back the polished surface of middle-class life to expose the shadows lurking underneath: violence, betrayal, and the unsettling truths we refuse to see. In these fifteen...Hardback$6500Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
Every Day a Celebration
A poetic journey through five decades of Karnataka's history, this collection brings K. S. Nisar Ahmed's timeless verses to a new audience. K. S. Nisar Ahmed captured the soul of Karnataka and the pulse of everyday life in verses that are as provocative as they are deeply lyrical. Every Day a Celebration gathers some of his finest poems, spanning over...Paperback$5199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Bhattacharya's Hawa Hawa is praised for its biting satire and timeless wisdom, skilfully bridging past and present. While rooted in daily life, the stories are infused with surreal elements from Calcutta's realities. Some reviewers note it's a slow and unsettling read, yet its critique of power dynamics remains ever relevant.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780857429827
Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 03 May 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Seagull Books London Ltd
Contributors:
- Translated by Subha Prasad Sanyal
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 18.0mm
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 229.0mm
Weight: 367g
Pages: 152
About the Author
Nabarun Bhattacharya (1948–2014) was born into a family of writers, filmmakers, artists and academics. A journalist from 1973 to 1991, he gave up that career in order to become a full-time writer. His best-known works include the novel Harbert (1992). Subha Prasad Sanyal is the winner of the Harvill-Secker Young Translator’s Prize (2018). He is pursuing a degree in English from Jadavpur University, Calcutta.
Also by Nabarun Bhattacharya
View all-
Beggar’s Bedlam
A hilarious and absurdist take on the political landscape of West Bengal, India. Beggar's Bedlam is a surreal novel that unleashes the chaos of the carnival on the familiar. Part literary descendant of Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita and part a reconstruction of lost Bengali history, Nabarun Bhattacharya's masterpiece is a jubilant, fizzing wire of subaltern anarchy and insurrection. Marshall...Hardback$3999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Dog Star
Set in the underbelly of Calcutta, a story that reimagines a city's relationship with its abandoned animals, interlacing dark humour and political critique into a fable of resistance. A city on edge and a reckoning long overdue—Dog Star is a searing fable of vengeance and the limits of human empathy. Nabarun Bhattacharya's novella unfolds in Calcutta, where the city's dogs,...Hardback$3999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks
More from General Fiction
View all-
The Wedding People
'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...Set$12400Elsewhere:$15500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Goal
Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Red Rising
The first book in the incredible New York Times bestselling series Darrow is a Helldiver, toiling beneath the surface of Mars. As a member of the Red caste, he performs grueling labor in the belief that his sacrifice will enable future generations to one day inhabit the surface of the Red Planet. The Reds are humankind's lowest caste, living in...Paperback$2200Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseThe Ballad of Falling Dragons [Special Deluxe edition]
The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling sensation When the Moon Hatched continues with the second book in The Moonfall Series, The Ballad of Falling Dragons… Raeve’s thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor – a staunch beacon from a past she’s yet to face. With Rekk’s blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the...Hardback$5999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Score
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession... Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Score now for the perfect friends with benefits romance! He knows how to score, on and off the ice... Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn't have...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Carl's Doomsday Scenario
Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever...Hardback$4699Elsewhere:$6000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Golden Son
ENDER'S GAME meets THE HUNGER GAMES in this, the second in an extraordinary trilogy from an incredible new voice.'I'm still playing games. This is just the deadliest yet.' Darrow is a rebel forged by tragedy. For years he and his fellow Reds worked the mines, toiling to make the surface of Mars inhabitable. They were, they believed, mankind's last hope....Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Theo of Golden
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from…His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance –...Paperback$2899Elsewhere:$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseOn Mystic Lake
One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...Paperback$3100Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
East of Eden
Set against the backdrop of the fertile Salinas Valley in California, East of Eden is a profound and compelling novel by John Steinbeck, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. This masterful narrative charts the intertwining destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—across multiple generations. Steinbeck's intricate portrayal of human nature and enduring exploration of moral themes...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
General Fiction lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Hannah's listGeneral Fiction
Gothic Reads for Dark Nights
With the advent of movie adaptations like Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein, it looks like pop culture is seeing a revival of the...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Top 10 Most Recommended Books
These are my Top 10 books that I always recommend to my friends and whānau when they ask for recommendations for getting...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Books to Escape a Reading Slump
A reading slump can be a frustrating feeling and hard to break out of, but we've gathered together a list of crowd...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![Star Shipped]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Lizzy's Pride Fiction Picks!
June marks Global Pride Month so in case you're looking for your next great fiction read, here's a list of some of...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Readers’ Top 100 Novels of All Time - from The Guardian
There was some controversy when The Guardian released their critics and authors list of the top 100 novels of all time, but...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Favourite Books of 2026
The first half of 2026 has been packed with brilliant books, making it hard to choose favourites but here are a few...View the list
