Buno Kahani

Buno Kahani (बुनो कहानी, Hindi for “weave a story”) was a collaborative relay fiction writing experiment I ran on Blogger between 2005 and 2007. Instead of one author owning a story from start to finish, a group of Hindi bloggers took turns: one would begin a story, another would continue it, with no prior discussion of plot, direction, or length.

🆕 Collector's Edition

Buno Kahani is now available worldwide on Amazon and in India via Pothi.com in eBook and paperback formats. This curated collection compiles our community’s collaborative stories, enhanced with fresh edits, new additions, and beautiful hand-drawn style illustrations.

🏆 As a special bonus, the Paperback edition of the book includes an exclusive, unfinished story (not available online or in the eBook version). We invite you to step into the co-author’s shoes and complete the story (or better style, write Part-2 and invite someone else to complete it or relay it further).

Submit your story endings to podbharati at gmail.com.

🛒Buy Paperback (with bonus material) 🛒Buy eBook

How It Worked

Every story lived as a series of numbered chapters, with no single author in control of where it was headed. A blogger would pick up wherever the previous chapter left off, free to twist the plot, introduce a character, or change the tone entirely. That constraint (writing blind, with no say over what came before and no idea what would come after) is what gave the results their suspense and unpredictability, for readers and contributing writers alike.

The Stories

• कथा 1 ~ मरीचिका - A reflective, nostalgia-filled narrative exploring long-buried emotions and past relationships when a long-lost love unexpectedly reappears.
• कथा 2 ~ मृत्युंजय - A suspenseful tale centered on existential dread, twist of fate, and calculated psychological tension after a mysterious manuscript predicts exact death dates.
• कथा 3 ~ दड़बे का आसमान - A realistic depiction of lower-middle-class domestic struggles, technological disruption at work, and unexpected personal redemption.
• कथा 4 ~ कारे कजरारे - A multi-chapter romantic and social drama tackling colorism, societal expectations, self-worth, and scientific ambitions.
• कथा 5 ~ अपराध बोध - A gripping psychological thriller built around lingering guilt, terrifying nightmares, and shared traumatic secrets among colleagues.
• कथा 6 ~ कवर स्टोरीः घासीराम की भैंस - A lighthearted story with a distinctly rural, folk flavor focusing on eletronic media, quirky village antics, and local color.

Related

Buno Kahani predates the 2006 revival of Nirantar, the Hindi blogzine I went on to co-found — both grew out of the same conviction that Hindi blogging worked best as a shared, collaborative effort rather than a solitary one.