Zameen / زمین

by Khadija Mastoor

Story of a girl at the time of indo-pak partition. Well written in Khadija's own style.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Pakistan, Literature, Fiction, Contemporary, India

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Khadija Mastoor is an Urdu writer from Pakistan famous for her novel Aangan.

Born in British India and later migrated to Pakistan with her sister Hajra Masroor, who is also a skillful writer herself, Khadija wrote 7 books on social and moral values. Her Books are:

1. Khail (1944)
2. Bochaar (1946)
3. Chand Roz Aur (1951)
4. Thakay Haray (1962)
5. Aangan (1962) - winner of Adamjee Literary Award
6. Thanda Meetha Paani (1981) - winner of Hijra Award
7. Zameen (1983)

Reviews

[Fuzaila · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know how they say the beauty of the original book is lost in translation? Well, I experienced it for the first time now. While Daisy Rockwell has done a splendid job of translating Mastur's book, I feel like this book would have been much much better had I read the original Urdu version.

The Promised Land is all about a found-family trying to cope up with each other while living in dire political circumstances. Sajidah is taken to a mansion by two friendly-looking strangers from a refugee camp in Pakistan. While they were decent people with good intentions, Sajidah has a hard time adjusting to her new life, especially with the new people around her.

My biggest problem with this book was how the writing conflicted itself each time. One moment Sajidah is very caring and emotional towards Taji, the household servant. But in the next, she'd say something rude and condescending to put her in her place. There were many such conflicting personalities throughout the vents in this book which just didn't sit right by me.

I didn't like the main character Sajidah, tbh.

I did not like how the book tried to imply that 'educated' people did not have to do household work, that servants are always lower than the people who are educated. This was implied many times, which seemed odd for a book that seemed to put a lot of emphasis on modern thinking.

While the characters themselves aren't deep, the plot is more about the politicl tension and how one's surroundings and circumstances shape the way they live.

This story provided a good background of Indians who were forced to migrate due to the partiton. But the writing and the characters didn't leave a lasting impact on me, so I'm afraid this book would soon be forgotten.

[Padmaja · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read so many books about the partition of 1947, which was a catastrophic event in itself and both sides suffered an immense loss. While I have read stories mostly about people who came to India from Pakistan, I never got to read about what happened in the Pakistani side of the border. So when I read ‘A promised land’ by Khadija Mastur, I was moved with her sheer intelligence, her understanding of complexities and most importantly women’s rights, something which women around the world are still fighting for.

Khadija Mastur is one of Pakistan’s most powerful writers. This book was first published in 1987 in Urdu. It’s a thematic sequel to ‘The women’s courtyard’.’The women’s courtyard’ ended in 1947, and this novel picks up from there, in Walton refugee camp in Lahore, where the protagonist, Aaliya was volunteering.

A new land has been created, and millions of people from India have arrived as refugees, in the new promised country, with hope in their hearts, uncertain of their future, but have full faith in Mohammed Ali Jinnah, ‘Quaid-e-Azam’. The timeline of this book is from 1947 to 1954. Our protagonist, Sajidah, arrives in Lahore with her father, knowing very well that she has escaped the horrors happened to women on either side of the border. She waits for her childhood sweetheart, Salahuddin ‘Sallu’, who has promised her that he’ll meet her in Lahore. She carries on with life with this hope in her heart. One day, Sajidah’s father dies, leaving her all alone, and this is where the novel takes a significant turn. Sajidah is given refuge (or sweetly abducted) in another refugee family. She finds herself drawn into the house and the women of the household who are spirited and they transform her choices. Each woman hangs on to hope inspite of the tragedy that has befallen them.

Let’s take a look at the women characters, Sajidah and Taji, the abducted girl from the camp, now a servant in the house, who is unpaid for all the work she does. Sajidah, is educated, can stand up for herself and is spared the fate of Taji. Taji is also a sex worker. Taji resigns to her fate. Sajidah, decides to stay in the house, because the world is terrible to a single woman. Taji, eventually dies, because if continuous abortions and constant sexual assaults.

Saleema, is another mysterious character throughout the book. I wasn’t able to understand her quite well, she always shrouds herself and never opens up to anyone and after Sajidah and Nazim’s wedding, she puts a curtain on herself completely. It’s never really revealed why, did she love Nazim or secretly loved Sajidah?

The male characters also have a pivotal role to play. Nazim, a leftist, has high hopes for the country and in the principles of ‘Quaid-e-Azam’. He works in the Department of Refugee rehabilitation, but quits because he sees the principles on which the new land was created is dwindling away and corruption is taking its place. Nazim is like any other guy, firm in his beliefs, an intellectual, but still he uses his misogynistic views, because he is attracted to Sajidah. She loathes him because they had a bitter first meeting and also because of the way he spoke about an old man’s missing daughter. She marries him, but she hates him for a major part of their marriage.

There are no two doubts that Mastur, being a writer with strong beliefs and a very progressive person, it reflects in her writings. Mastur’s writing is unadulterated, supported by the lucid translation by Daisy Rockwell. Mastur knows fully well what she is doing, and doesn’t drift away from the story, being aware of the violence and the events happening on both sides, especially with women. She strongly questions the norms of the time, despite being independent, women are yet to free themselves from the bondages of misogyny and patriarchy.

Mastur also touches on the political events of the time, making them a part of the story, but doesn’t dwell on it too much. Gandhi’s assassination, Jinnah’s death, the Rawalpindi conspiracy, in which leftists are arrested because of the failed coup, the Qadiani riots, also known as the Lahore riots, (the riots which happened in 1953 against the minority Ahmediya community).

Let’s compare the two protagonists of Mastur’s novels. Aaliya and Sajidah. Mastur definitely wanted a better world for both women in the books. Aaliya and Sajidah are educated, have strong beliefs and are looking to live their life independently. This shows her progressive thinking and feminist stand, which was so ahead of her time! This book is so layered, so complicated yet uncomplicated. Women’s rights are paid special attention, asking for equality in a male dominated household. Through such characters, Mastur demands a world more accepting of women’s freedom and the ability to stand on their own feet.

I highly recommend this book as well!!

5/5

[Mridula Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read numerous accounts on India’s post-partition story, but none from the other side of the border. ‘A Promised Land’ is a refugee’s story, forced to leave her ancestral home and move to a refugee camp in the newly formed country, Pakistan.

Sajidah arrives at the Walton Camp with her father. She has been subjected to a journey that is painful, both physically and mentally. When she is dragged into an affluent family of refugees, she uncovers a plight that is tragic and unfair. Sajidah meets the feisty Taji, who assures her that the only purpose she has in this strange house is to be a maid and serve these people who were smart enough to occupy a vacant Hindu house following partition. This is the plight of numerous girls who are snatched away from refugee camps and subjected to unfair treatment.

This family that Sajidah lives with, has anxious and loud discussions at dinner time that ends up in fights and tears. The difference in political opinion between Nazim and the rest of the family and their admiration of Kazim who aspires to become a government official takes a bad turn most of the time.

The women in this house, while trying to build a new home, face abusive words from their kids. They are victims of the patriarchy because all the three men in the house freely express their opinions without worrying about the consequences. Saleema, on the other hand, is an independent woman, who emerges as a strong yet mysterious character.

Sajidah, in love with Salauddin, rejects Nazim’s proposal and tries to find her beloved. But she fails miserably and hence, starts a family and officially enters this house as the daughter in law. Sajidah’s character grows throughout the story. What starts as a meek girl, clinging to her father ends in a woman with motherly feelings and finding empathy in her heart for the women she initially despised.

Nazim’s arrest demonstrates a land that is still unclear about its ideologies. His years in jail and his description of what he had to endure in the name of patriotism is grim and devastating. Parallelly, Sajidah battles with the world alone, as the man of the house is no longer with her. She is vulnerable to the forces outside, and even in her own home for that matter. This treatment, however, isn’t new to her. Being a woman and an outsider, she had to face prejudice, scorn, and abuse in this house that sheltered her.

The political events such as Gandhi’s assassination, Jinnah’s death etc. play an important role in shaping the characters and the story as a whole. These events bring the family close and divide them from time to time, leading to fierce battle of words between the members of the family.

Sajidah is very different from Aliya, the protagonist of The Women’s Courtyard. While Aliya refused to get entangled in the webs of family and relations, Sajidah accepts this new family as her own. Her protests are only when she isn’t allowed to continue her studies. Aliya wants to leave the house behind whereas Sajidah always finds her way back.

Sameera was someone who fascinated me the most. She was always vocal about her thoughts and feelings but finally chooses a solitary, independent life away from her family. She detaches herself from her mother and her favorite cousin, who felt quite out of character. Her choices are different from the rest of the women as she is out in this progressive world to make something good out of her life.

‘A Promised Land’ talks about the importance of land, however small it is. A piece of land offers shelter and protection from a world that wants to tear you down. Through Sajidah, Mastur gives us the prejudice women are subjected too, inside the four walls of a house and through Saleema, we are asked to dream on about a progressive country that will treat both its sexes fairly.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book traces back its path to a newly established country called Pakistan. Most of us know about the brutal killings and trauma the partition caused but we know very less about the aftermath of 1947. The story starts in Walton Camp, Lahore. The newly found government has also set a Department of Rehabilitation. It is here that the story begins of Sajidah, of her life’s accounting errors which seems to go wrong in her head but we do not know it then.

Sajidah kept holding on to her memories of Salahuddin, a man she was in love with in
Delhi and hoped to meet him now in Pakistan. Back then it wasn’t just love people hoped to find in either of the two nations, it was also a roof on their head.

Nazim was also a similar migrant from India’s Kanpur whose family had laid claim on an abandoned Hindu mansion.

With misunderstandings and new learnings, Sajidah and Nazim’s story begin and in the background you get to know about the abductions, Rawalpindi Conspiracy and the Qadiani riots; major political currents of this time period between 1947 and 1951.

The author has also equated four prime female characters giving them space in the story and their journey of finding themselves.

Sajidah, finds education and love, respect and motherhood
Taji finds herself being used by Kazim, and eventually dies of multiple abortions
Lali finds strength and returns home to be a strong woman
While, Saleema rises above all to find her independence, and let’s go of love, romance, family

A book by Khadija Mastur who is a well known Urdu writer, translated by Daisy Rockwell, a US based translator.

[Madhubrata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this was like looking into a mirror. In Mastur, the Partition experience that colours my surroundings even now: a seventy-odd years after the actual event is reversed. The title reminded me of that refrain from Ritwik Ghatak's Subarnarekha, the promise of the new home that was never delivered. As with Hindu refugees from East Bengal to India, so too with Muslim refugees from India to West Pakistan. The promise reveals itself to be illusory, fragile, breakable. It's so funny how the things that separate us are the things that bring us together. The paradox of the borderland, the borderland as paradox. There is an elderly man in the refugee camp who wails for his lost daughter. By way of "comfort", he is told that daughters have been "stolen" from the other side too. This is a madman, and in his madness he breaks through the border(s) to arrive at the human. Can one be a refugee and still be human? We are not like other refugees. We are the real refugees. The assertion of the privileged among the displaced. Our loss matters because there is more to lose. All the losses that never get to speak their name, piling up in the background. The promised land is all corpses.

[Vishy · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Khadija Mastur's 'The Women's Courtyard', I decided to read her next novel, 'A Promised Land' ('Zameen').

'A Promised Land' continues the story from where 'The Women's Courtyard' leaves off. It is not a literal sequel though, because it has a different cast of characters and the story is different. But it is philosophically a sequel. In this story, Sajidah is with her father at the Walton refugee camp in Lahore. They have both somehow survived their long trek from India after Partition, and now they are both waiting at this camp to see how their future will pan out. Then something heartbreaking happens and Sajidah's life takes twists and turns that she doesn't expect, and what happens to her forms the rest of the story.

'A Promised Land' is similar in some ways to 'The Women's Courtyard', because we can feel a similar spirit pervading this book too, but it is also different in many ways. The cast of characters is smaller here, the theme of the book is different, and the historical backdrop behind the story is different. The main character Sajidah goes through a lot in life, and the ending of the story is interesting and complicated. Whether it is happy or sad, you need to read the book to find out.

Sajidah was one of my favourite characters in the book. I also loved Taji, the maid, who speaks sharply, but who also suffers a lot. Out of the male characters, there is a zamindar who is quite a complex and interesting character. He is kind and cruel at the same time. It is hard to like him, but it is also hard to hate him. At one point, Sajidah feels like this about him –

"The Zamindar Sahib was upset, and she was astonished to find that a man who pummelled his wife over a few acres of land, beat his servants with slippers over the smallest error, and called her his sister was willing to pay a few thousand rupees for her welfare, She was pondering this when Nazim arrived."

I loved 'A Promised Land'. It is beautiful, poignant, and heartbreaking at the same time. It is sad that Khadija Mastur wrote just two novels. Now I've read them both, and I feel sad that there is no new Khadija Mastur novel to look forward to.

Some of my favourite parts from the book.

"What happens to humans who refuse love? They say the face of man is one of the most beautiful things in the world; how do such false sayings gain currency? The most beautiful thing in the world is the feeling of love; yardsticks for beauty are available everywhere, but there's only one for love, and it's universal. Even if people lust and steal and kill in the name of love, they cannot destroy it."

"Does anyone ever follow Lao Tzu's advice that one must govern with the same love and care as one would use to cook small fish? When had their emperor ever followed this teaching? He had only followed Lao Tzu's directive – leave my kingdom by all means but leave your knowledge and wits behind."

Have you read 'A Promised Land'? What do you think about it?

[Malahat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Khadija Mastur is a master storyteller. All of her books hit home. The way she crafts her protagonists- so strong with a voice that they make sure everyone hears- is phenomenal. My mother read her works when she was a young child originally in urdu and here I am reading her works today and we both agree that they are still beautiful still relevant.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

| Book Review | A Promised Land
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I picked this one up right after I finished reading The Women's Courtyard hoping that this would be better than the latter. A Promised Land was Mastur's second novel which again revolves around the same era. It begins conveniently where The Women's Courtyard ends but one can read it even if they haven't read the previous book. Though both the books fall along similar lines, Mastur has managed to create subtle differences be it in the characters or instances. I can't seem to make up my mind about which one I liked more for both failed to satisfy my expectations. I do admire Rockwell's consistency in narrating the Urdu novel spectacularly well.
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A Promised Land focuses on lives of people post partition. Compared to The Women's Courtyard, Mastur directs her interest mainly towards the life of a single woman named Sajidah. Sajidah, a young woman lives in a refugee camp for few days with her father after having had to abandon their house in India. Throughout her stay in the camp, Sajidah feels a heavy feeling in her heart when she witnesses the plight of people who have lost their dear ones. Things only worsen when one day her father falls ill and breathes his last. When thoughts of her future begin to worry her, a kind woman provides shelter to Sajidah in her house. Inspite of her meek protests she is then moved into a spacious mansion which is shared by a highly dysfunctional family. For the next few years she goes through a series of turmoil as she awaits for the man who had her heart back in India all the while observing the people of the house.
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The pitiful lives of women back then suppressed by patriarchy are written in vivid details. Be it the house maid who is raped consecutively or the beatings that a wife has to go through for dowry, it's painful to see that women had no say. Though the story was simple and moved at a leisurely pace, the characters weren't my favourite. Sajidah herself hates people for no valid reason and loses her cool quite often. The story felt very detached and lacked a strong sense of understanding. Even though Mastur has tried to bring in emotional context to the story, I couldn't feel its depth.
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It's a shame that I did not enjoy both renowned books by Mastur and now I find myself hesitating in trying out her other works. I often found the story quite exaggerating, be it the women's reaction to things around them or the way in which the characters perceived things, it was not pleasant. For example, a simple conversation during meal time would turn out into a full-blown confrontation with both the men and women yelling at each other. This in my view was unnecessary. Both the books did not impress me. I wouldn't suggest these two to others but I'll let you be the judge of it.
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Rating - 3/5

[Ming · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pacing and overall tone are stilted. It was a jarring, uncomfortable read.

I felt like this was a string of grammatically correct, translated English sentences. But there wasn't a sense of flow or movement among them.

The most coherent section was the "Afterword," written by the translator.

[Himani · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Thoughts have their own strength, they can climb higher than the skies, or sink to the nadir of the earth."

The book is outlined in the times after partition when people had to flee the soils on both sides of the border and had to deplete a large part of their existences or maybe their entire lives in refugee camps.

A Promised Land is a fictitious story of one such family. Sajidah and her father arrive in Pakistan after the partition and are surviving in the Walton refugee camps. Life is awfully rough like it has to be in those camps. You have to run for tea and food every time the authorities come to feed.

But it gets bad when Sajidah loses her father one day. He was the only one she had.

She is brought by Nazim to his house as he was linked with her father but She did not like him much. She is given hope that her intellect won't be left to die and she would be taken care of well. She always wanted to study.

She moves to the house but has not forgotten the promise her dear Salahuddin made and wish to be reunited hidden from the fate & uncertainty that is to unwrap in future.

The women in the book are the ones around whom the central part of the story rotates. There is Taji who has affected Sajidah's life when her own life was completely insignificant and full of abuse. There is Saleema, who was quite a paradox for me because of her behaviour. I kept assuming about her all the time.

There is Lali who is beaten by her husband for dowry she did not bring years ago. Amongst all this, Sajidah was one bold and independent woman who never gave up on her dream and always stood up against every wrong even if she was called names or targeted inside the house by Kazim (Nazim's brother)

The book takes time to set. It makes me wonder about life every woman has to live.

This was the English translation of the book done by Daisy Rockwell and I feel she has done pretty amazing work. The wording was crystal clear to comprehend the story.

Will recommend this book for sure.

[Amrita Pratap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Partition. This word has been a part of my life and the oral history of my family as far back as I can remember. It was but natural that I would always be drawn to literature from the subcontinent pertaining to this period in our history as a fledgling nation. However, even with everything I have read on Partition, my perspective on it would have been grossly wanting, without this book by Khadija Mastur. I began to understand how closely the experience of Partition across the border mirrored the horrors faced by those on this side. More than that however, Mastur's book serves as a rare and extremely crucial re-telling of Partition through the eyes of the women who lived through it. Not a woman who is victimised, not a woman who is important only as a plot device, but a woman whose life is sundered apart and then rebuilt, moment by moment, while she pierces the veil that is often drawn between the world of men and women.
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Every female character in this book is fleshed out in such detail that you can almost feel yourself amongst them, able to empathise with their failings and their motivations. There is Sajidah, whose story this essentially is, relentless in her wait for her lover, the elusive Salahuddin, who she is sure will come for her. Saleema, the fiery young woman who brings Sajidah from the refugee camp into her house and encourages her to occupy the space she is entitled to, while slowly succumbing to her inner darkness. Taji, the household's "rescued" servant, a victim of the class divide that marks the feudal patriarchal society on both sides of the border to this day, who resigns herself to a life of exploitation. Amma Bi and Khala Bi, so vastly different and yet equally ensnared by what we mistakenly call 'love'.
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In the hands of a story-teller like Mastur, the prose becomes lyrical and unsparing at the same time. There is no effort to shroud the ugliness and smallness of life in a mantle of grandiose rhetoric about Independence and nation-building. Every person is shown as they are, imperfect, brutal, vulnerable.
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Daisy Rockwell has done a remarkable job of translating the original from Urdu. However, I did feel that the language became stilting and jarring in certain places and some of the essence was lost in translation.

[itsnikhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I've just time traveled. And returned to my world a bit too early. I haven't read fictional books on Partition before, so this was a new experience for me. All the riots, deaths, looting, corruption had been only news but became real as I became a part of Sajjo's story. Set right after the Partition, we meet Sajidah and her father in a refugee camp waiting to be allotted a new home. Events unfold which cause Sajidah to live with a family who seem to work on a different dynamic altogether. The relationships this family shared reminded me of the one in 'Gachar Ghochar'.

The story is told with few time lapses. The dialogue and the writing was similar to some of the stories I had read in Hindi. This familiarity kept me going even though I felt that something was missing. Of course this was a translation, so it could have been that. But I think the open ended nature of some chapters added to that feeling. I want to read this in Urdu, hopefully I will get a chance to do that soon.

This is a story of love, loss, social evils, relationships in the Indian subcontinent and the family dynamics that are common to all despite the borders that have been created. If you are looking for books to see how partition impacted women, and how some evils lived in the society for centuries and have continued to, this is a book to highlight these issues.

[Noor Fatima · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that made me cry. So I had to stop, absorb, give myself time to cope with the characters, then continue furthur. The book has done really well in dealing with the realities of what Partition meant for those who have experienced it. So many things aren't said explicitly, but their undertones are remarkable. Emotions are conveyed without giving words to them. I would also like to think that the author plays it safe in many ways by not saying things out loud. Just to make it fit for all kinds of audiences. The tussle on morality in the novel is pretty strong.
The story actually got quite predictable for me. The reason why I kept going is because of the way Khadija Mastoor has given detail to some very ordinary moments and made the life of these characters extraordinary.
I would recommend a read if one is interested in Partition literature.

[Salman Khalid · Rating 2 out of 5]

سیدھی سچی بات ہے کہ بالکل سمجھ نہیں آئی۔
نہ کہانی کی نہ مقصد کی۔ بڑا بے ربط سا 'اَن رئیلسٹک' قسم کا ناولٹ ہے۔ کردار ایسے کمزور اور بے سر پیر کہ آج کا پانچ سالہ بچہ بھی ان سے بہتر ری ایکٹ کر سکتا ہوگا۔
خدیجہ مستور کا نام بڑا ہے، میری بات چھوٹی ہے۔ اوپر سے یہ کتاب ملی بھی تحفتاََ ہے تو کچھ مروت بھی ضروری ہے اس لئے تھوڑے لکھے کو ہی کافی جانیں۔

[Shreya · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can appreciate what "lost in translation" actually means- struggled through this read.

It provides an insight into the lives of those affected by the partition, and the story itself is captivating- the writing/ translation less so. Was delighted to reach the "Afterword" section- because not only did it imply the end of the book, but was also the best written part.

[Debdatta Chakraborty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is set on the period of partition of India and Pakistan where innumerable people crossed borders, some lost their family, some lost their homes while many lost their lives, all because they were promised a better land.
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Sajidah and her father were among the other refugees in the Walton camp in Lahore. They were spending their days in the hope to get back everything they had lost, until one day Sajidah's father dies leaving her all alone in the dark phase of history.
Her world almost collapsed until she was taken into a home by a woman Saleema and Nazim, who was a camp officer. After she went to that household, she felt something queer in that household after she came across the housemaid Taji. Kazim, an dishonest government officer and Nazim, a liberal thinker, both brothers often clashed for their differences in political ideologies.

Soon after she adjusted herself in that household, despite of the bitter truth about each members she had learnt.

Sajijah can be seen protesting for what's wrong, standing up for her dream, getting herself educated and everything that women of that era were generally deprived off.

But the actual incidents in the lives of women are also mentioned in the text. The way women were treated, people fighting for a piece of land, claiming lands their own. Lands that were promised to the people in a way they always dreamt off.

A story that shows how reality has always been, may be in any piece of land. A story worth reading amd my first book on the context of Pakistan.

[Hope of Readers World · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those who are separated will meet if the Creator wishes…

Title/ Cover –

The cover is pretty fascinating. It shows that the people on both sides of the partitioned land roaming meaningless in search of a meaningful life and taking refugees under the camps.

Storyline –

The story follows the partition of India that happened during the partition of Pakistan. Many of the people who crossed the border lost their homes and families. The book talks about the times after partition when there was a shortage of land on both sides of the border.
A Promised Land is a fictional story about a family that settles in Pakistan after the partition. When Sajidah's father died, she lost everything she had. For her father, nothing was left to chance. Her world almost collapsed when she was taken into a home by Nazim and Saleem. There, she felt that something was not right in the household. She learned that the brothers were not on the same political wavelength. Sajijah is a woman who stood up for what's right. She was able to get herself educated and get her dream job.

Conclusion –
A story about how reality has always been, and how it can be in any place. This book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in Pakistan or in historic events. This book held me captive because of Sajidah's genuine eagerness towards her dream to study and educate herself even in those times where educating girls was not given any importance at all.

[Kitabi_and_desi |veenita jeph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello friends, Happy Thursday.
It's time for another book review. It is my ever first time reading a translation book written by women.
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(TW: this book about the women situation and the problem of household workers.)
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A Promised Land by Khadija Mastur perfectly translated from Urdu by Daisy Rockwell is the story of the partition time. This story plots in the refugee camp of Lahore.
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The story starts with Sajidah and her father, they migrated from Delhi after the government announces the partition. Where they meet with the camp office Nazim. After his death, Nazim said to her to join his family and live with his family. But, she starts facing problems in his family with the members of the house. Especially Kazim brother of Nazim. Who thinks household worker Taji born to serve him, sexually or others things as well?
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After some time Sajidah adopts that family and starts adjusting to them. Lately, she decided to settle with the Nazim and marry him.
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I love this book a lot, translation is the completely perfect way and inflow.
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Highly recommended to all. Guys read this book once your life. you never be disappointed after reading this book. Book Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
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TBH: I prefer women's writing to understand the world.
Their writing helps us to make stronger around the world.
~veenita~

Tell me your fav women author?

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am grateful to Daisy Rockwell for opening up the world of Khadija Mastur’s writings to those of us who are not strong Urdu readers. While The Women’s Courtyard (Aangan) was set in pre-partition times and carried over towards the end to post-partition, The Promised Land is set after partition as Pakistan works to establish itself. What’s great about Mastur’s writing is that she is a true feminist in her words and the way she maps out her narrative. Her heroines are living in a patriarchal society in a world and time period when women were at the “mercy” of men in a way - and yet, these characters carry with them a strength, a ferocity and desire to survive on their own terms. This is what sets her stories apart from so many others. This is a story not only about the promised land (Pakistan), but also about complex relationships and characters. Getting into the storyline would be too involved, but each character is well/written and understandable on a level, except the wretched Kazim, who is the “villain” of this story. Saleema is another character who is difficult to assess. Is she heartbroken over Nazim? Or is there something else we are supposed to understand….does Saleema love Sajidah? That’s not clear, but it does make Saleema a mystery of sorts.

Overall, The Promised Land is a great book, one I couldn’t put down. Highly recommended.

[Sukhmanjot Kaur · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A Promised Land" is a translated version of a urdu novel "zameen". This was khadija Mastur's second book. This book is a story of Sadijah who moves to pakistan with her father in 1947 after partition. In this book life of other women:- Taji, Saleema, lali, khala bi and amma bi are also highlighted. women suffered the most during the time of partition and are still suffering. How this male dominating society always wants to control women and show how powerful they think they can be with money is what the author has written. Domestic violence, sexual harassment are the biggest issues of the society. Around 100,000 women were raped during partition. Women suffered the most at that time. Stories about partition need to be read by everyone so that we can understand how horrifying it was for the people at that time. There is a information in this book which says that most of the books about partition are written by male authors so reading books from female authors perspective is important. This Book is fast paced. There are few pages in the end of the book which try to give you a clear perspective of the situation then. I recommend this book to everyone.

[Zuicy Beauty Akoijam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Khadija Mastur's 'A Promised Land' begins in 1947, with the creation of Pakistan. The book opens with a scene at the Walton Refugee Camp in Lahore, of an old man screaming with despair for his abducted daughter.
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Instead the old man is taunted by a man - “Baba! Who is this daughter you cry for? That was no daughter, Baba! That was the most valuable of looted goods. Your screaming won’t bring her back. Your voice cannot reach her!”. Sajidah, a young woman who happens to witness the scene, wants to slap the evil man across the face for addressing women as spoils of looting. Instead, she ends up marrying the man! . 🍃

The novel is a story about Sajidah, who longs to be reunited with her beloved Salahuddin, but whose journey out of the camp takes an altogether different unforeseen route.
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The novel throws light on the violence meted out to women during partition. Mastur tries to draw the parallelism between ABDUCTION, FEUDALISM AND PARTITION. For Mastur, the abduction of women and the seizure of land are closely related concepts . Just as the unattended property must be reallocated, so too must the abandoned women in the new 'promised land'.

[Japneet (millennial_reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"How could she understand what it was like to break free from the poisonous jaws of violence for which no antidote had yet been invented."

'A Promised Land' is Khadija Mastur's second novel and the book reflects on the horrors of partition, class politics, the idea of 'ownership' and offers a virulent feminist critique of neo feudalism and patriarchy. The book manifests itself as an iconic new age, modern novel and the issues are dealt with in a nuanced manner. However, I felt there were some gaps in the translation and it could have been better but the ambiguity of the book has been sustained and that is one of the feats of this book.

'A Promised Land' is the story of Sajidah who with her father reaches the new country, Pakistan. The book talks about all the 'promises' (made and broken). Through Taji, Sajidah, Saleema, Amma Bi and Khala Bi it also talks about the place, safety and independence of women in this new country which like the rest of the world is essentially patriarchal.

Something the book does and deserves praise for is it brings forth the idea of women being treated as objects whose bodies are treated as sites of revenge. There is a clear reference to women being 'possessions' which reflects on the toxicity of the mentality in South Asian countries especially during the times of war. We see women being wronged time and again and marriage becoming their only way to safety and the book questions it all and that left me with a lot of questions.

No, this is not one of your books with a happy ending where things end perfectly for everyone. Yes, it deserves to be read, exactly because of that!

[Riya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feelings are lost in translation and that is what happened here. I really believe, if I could've read it in the original text I would've like a lot more than I actually did.

The story was so intricately woven around these women who were strong, smart and were looking for a better life. But how being a women become their biggest liability. The writing style of this translation felt short in expressing the pain, desperation, strength of these women for me.

But as I am aware of the thousand stories of partition, i could actually relate these in my head which just gave me a better perspective.

This story began in the mid of chaos and ended nowhere. That is how life was for all these women in those time and maybe still is. Life went on, while some women fought and some gave in to the circumstances. The female characters felt so real to me, so they were relatable in so many ways.
I flew through this book in two sittings, it definitely ain't my favourite but it's worth a read.

[Nisarg Hivare · Rating 4 out of 5]

A partition literature and a good attempt by Daisy Rockwell to translate the tale from Urdu Novel 'Zameen'. It is one of the few literatures where we find a female protagonist. The story depicts how the woman(Sajidah) often goes taciturn by feudal mindset, abuses, forced labour( forced for domestic labour and much more), sacrificing mother, independent (indifferent) sister, corrupt bureaucracy amid Marshall law in Pakistan, a leftist husband who has made a Shahi Qila ( Fort Jail) his second home, Big Zamindars, first love(Salahuddin) which had completely been transformed by wealth his had gained and much more.
Obviously reading Urdu would be a first hand experience however if you are there for partition literature then pick this book without further delay😊.

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about partition when Pakistan separated from India. I am very weak in factual knowledge about that event, thus I was rather lost while reading this book. For some unexplainable reason I kept picturing this story as a play or a movie. I also got the characters mixed up. Still, I would say that it is a very remarkable story illustrating what life, family, business and status was like before partition, and how it changed. Mostly heartbreaking throughout.

[Arisha Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8
I expected too much from this book. 'The women's courtyard ' has set the standard so high that this one kinda disappointed me.
however it is a nice read. like Aliya's sisters lover, Salahuddin also turned into a greedy vile man. its just so sad that Shajida spent years ignoring her husband and waiting for him. its kinda funny too

Nazim is like Zartasha from NAMAL😀i would hate to be a Zartasha in someone's life

[Mustafa Ahmad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting read, timing immediately after partition and highlighting the aftermath , patriarchal society.
Male dominance and most importantly the facade of Pakistan that couldn't hold barely after it was created.

[Feroz Hameed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mastoor's ability to portray the main characters in this novel is mesmerising. She has captured every essence of their emotion and feelings very vividly, like a real household story happening in front of your eyes.

[Mah-i-kan Kurd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written. Contained rich and profound characters; Taji, Saleema, Sajidah, Amma and Khala bi. Enjoyed it thoroughly.

[Mahrukh | diaspora.reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story about the Partition.

"Thoughts have their own strength, they can climb higher than the skies, or sink to the nadir of the earth."