Ideas of Contemporariness and Friendship: Re-imagining Democracy in Abdul Bismillah's "Atithi Devo Bhava/Guest is God"

<p>Democracy in popular consciousness is understood both as a set of rules, procedures, and institutions, and as a group of officials and functionaries who manage the democratic system. This paper argues that legal and constitutional procedures are not the only means of understanding democracy. The research examines how Abdul Bismillah’s short story Athithi Devo Bhava explores alternative ways of conceptualising democracy outside the realm of legality, viewing it instead as a site of continuous negotiation. To achieve this, the study critically engages with ideas of contemporariness and friendship as parallel frameworks for reimagining democracy as an ongoing and evolving process. </p>