Diwali in Muzaffarnagar: Stories

Set largely around Muzaffarnagar, the collection follows young men and women caught between the past and present, the metropolis and the small town, and the competing needs of solitude and family. The stories examine how violence, social expectations and personal histories shape relationships and individual choices.

Tanuj Solanki is an Indian writer whose first novel, Neon Noon, was shortlisted for the Tata Literature Live! First Book Award. He received the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2019 for Diwali in Muzaffarnagar. His short fiction has appeared in publications including The Caravan, Hindu Business Line and DNA.

The collection brings together stories of teenage friendship disrupted by violence, a young man confronting his roots during Diwali, a woman struggling with her father's death, and a married couple dealing with trauma from the wife's childhood. Together, the stories explore love, grief, family, belonging and the difficult relationship between individual identity and social surroundings.