The release of Blind Man’s Bluff: Twenty Short Stories by Dr. Lalit Mohan Sharma marks the arrival of a thoughtful and distinctive voice in contemporary short fiction. Drawing upon elements of fable, romance, and parable, the collection turns its attention to the ordinary events, subtle interactions, and larger social realities that shape human life. Rather than simply narrating stories, Dr. Sharma observes the world with an inquisitive intellect, looking beneath everyday experiences to uncover the complexities of human behaviour.
Blind Man’s Bluff brings together twenty short stories that explore the human condition from varied perspectives. Some stories remain closely connected to the intimate realities of daily life, while others adopt a wider, almost bird’s-eye view to examine political conversations, social developments, and the possible directions society may take. This movement between the personal and the public gives the collection an expansive character, allowing seemingly small incidents to reveal much larger truths.
At the heart of these stories is a persistent curiosity about people—their choices, contradictions, desires, relationships, and responses to the circumstances around them. The book seeks to unravel what may be described as the “ragged sleeve” of the human condition, stitching together observations and insights that invite readers to pause and reflect. Its use of fable and parable adds another dimension to the storytelling, creating space for ideas to emerge naturally through situations, characters, and consequences.
For Dr. Lalit Mohan Sharma, Blind Man’s Bluff represents a new literary direction while remaining connected to a long and accomplished engagement with words. Born in 1952, Dr. Sharma is a former government college Principal and a bilingual poet, translator, and author. His literary journey has established him as a seasoned voice in contemporary poetry. As Malini Joshi, Editor of The Literature Times, observes, his reflective poetry brings together personal introspection and universal human experiences.
Dr. Sharma has published fifteen books of English poetry and two anthologies of Hindi poems. His other works include Another Gandhi, a monograph on a freedom fighter, and A Three-Step Journey, an English translation of Zahid’s Urdu poems. His experience across poetry, translation, and literary writing brings a layered sensibility to his first venture into short fiction.
With twenty stories that combine imagination, observation, social awareness, and philosophical reflection, Blind Man’s Bluff offers readers a collection designed not merely to entertain but to provoke thought. It invites readers to look again at familiar situations, question accepted assumptions, and discover the extraordinary within the ordinary. As Dr. Sharma enters the world of short fiction, this collection establishes Blind Man’s Bluff as a compelling addition to his evolving literary journey.