Short Stories in Modern Telugu Literature are a genre of literary writing. It deals with feudalistic prejudices to present-day problems and realities, which range from the serious to the satirical, from light hearted humour to grave discursive. In 1952, "Galivana", a short story in Telugu penned by Palagummi Padmaraju was adjudged as the second best short story in a world short story competition conducted by the New York Herald Tribune.

Moisture Trapped in Stone
"Moisture Trapped in Stone: An Anthology of Modern Telugu Short Stories", the book provides non-Telugu readers with an insight into the world of Short Stories in Modern Telugu Literature. The rich diversity of the selected stories, ranging from the serious to the satirical, from light-hearted humour to the gravely discursive makes it all the more interesting. The stories are about everyday lives and ordinary people, highlighting the issues confronting society and covering a wide spectrum of topics. Feudalistic prejudices to present-day problems and realities, every story has something fascinating to tell.

Some of the examples of Moral stories in the above mentioned book are as follows:

"A Gift of Gingelly Seeds" (original Telugu title "Tiladanam") by Rentala Nageswara Rao is about a poor Brahmin priest struggling to make both ends meet and his Maoist son who has gone underground.

"The Citadel in Disrepair" (original Telugu title "Koolina Bruzu") by Kethu Vishwanath Reddy highlights how factional violence ruined a village in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh.

"The Meticulous Calculator" (original Telugu title "Lekkala Mastaru") by Vasundhara is an interesting story of a man for whom maths is an anathema, and his wife, who is a master in doing calculations.

"The Cover" (original Telugu title “Dakkan") is about the travails of a Muslim family that migrates to Hyderabad for livelihood and is caught in the swirl of communal tension.

"The Homing Pigeon" (original Telugu title "Aedarilo Koyila”) by Madhurantakam Rajaram captures the journey of a youth to a remote village in Rayalseema in search of his roots.
Writers of Short Stories in Modern Telugu Literature Kasukhela Narasimha Rao (K.N. Rao) has managed to overcome the challenge while translating 28 selected short stories written by the stalwarts of yesteryears, as also new authors making waves in the realm of Telugu literature. A total of 17 writers are featured in the volume, 9 of them being women writers. Some of the authors whose stories feature in the anthology are B. Geetika, D. Kameswari, Jalandhara, Kalipatnam Rama Rao, Madhurantakam Rajaram and Popuri Lalita Kumari.

Short Stories in Modern Telugu Literature do not enjoy a degree of acceptance, same as its counterpart from other languages of the country, possibly because of non-availability in translated version. Short stories in regional languages mostly represent their respective cultures and the words are deeply rooted in that particular language and culture. When translated in other languages, especially English, it is a challenge to find equivalent terms while retaining the original essence and message.