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Ismat Chughtai Ke Shahkar Afsanay / عصمت چغتائی کے شاہکار افسانے
392 pages, Hardcover
Published June 1, 2017
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About the author
Ismat Chughtai
99 books313 followersIsmat Chughtai (Urdu: عصمت چغتائی) (August 1915 – 24 October 1991) was an eminent Urdu writer, known for her indomitable spirit and a fierce feminist ideology. She was considered the grand dame of Urdu fiction, Along with Rashid Jahan, Wajeda Tabassum and Qurratulain Hyder, Ismat’s work stands for the birth of a revolutionary feminist politics and aesthetics in twentieth century Urdu literature. She explored feminine sexuality, middle-class gentility, and other evolving conflicts in the modern Muslim world. Her outspoken and controversial style of writing made her the passionate voice for the unheard, and she has become an inspiration for the younger generation of writers, readers and intellectuals.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 1, 2021
4.5 stars
Urdu is my first language, and yet, most of the feminist literature that I consume is in English. My preferred language of dissent is English. It's an absolute tragedy.
Which is why I am so, so grateful that I capped off my reading year with this brilliant collection. There are around 40 short stories and essays in here, and out of these, I can only think of three or four that missed the mark for me.
This is a spectacularly well-curated assortment of Ismat Chughtai's fiction and non-fiction.
If you're looking to get into her work, I'd recommend her essays, ''Aadhi Aurat Aadha Khuaab'' and ''Ek Baat'' as a starting point.
''Aadhi Aurat Aadha Khuaab'' is a feminist text, and the title is a reference to Rabindranath Tagore's poem, ''O Woman''. In this essay, Chughtai talks about how men deprive women of their humanity by putting them on a pedestal, attaching to them all sorts of virtues, and then completely vilify women when they fall short of these impossible standards. There's a lot of discussion in here about how women are constantly told that it is in their nature to be submissive, self-sacrificing, nurturing, and to bear pain without complaining. She further explores this theme in Chuui Muui - a hard-hitting story about what women’s bodies are subjected to, what they are capable of, and how their threshold for pain and endurance is tested over and over again. And yet, it is women who are called fragile or, as the title says, chuui muui (literal translation: touch-me-not).
In ''Ek Baat'' Chughtai responds to people (mostly old male authors) that attack her stories for being vulgar. This is such a fantastic essay where Chughtai redefines what she finds vulgar, and how, in South Asia, vulgarity is people's favourite word to use to shut up anyone who doesn't shy away from difficult conversations. Chughtai held up a mirror to the society, and people didn't like what they saw.
Chughtai addresses repressed sexuality, desires, frustrations, relations between men and women, sexual exploitation, violence towards women and marginalized groups. A lot of her short fiction (Ghar Waali, Nanhi ki Naani, Chauthi Ka Jora) is an intelligent intersection of gender and class.
Chughtai is also known for exploring issues from a Marxist perspective. Her stories Mein Chup Raha and Khareed Lo make a sharp comment on capitalism and consumerism. Kacche Dhaage and Woh Kaun Tha are two alarmingly relevant stories - the former is a commentary on political tensions and curbing of personal freedoms while the latter very smartly and poignantly explores Hindu-Muslim relations/tensions.
Bhabi is such a beautifully written story about girls that are forced to age too quickly. It's also about the erasure of a woman's individuality after marriage; how her identity is reduced to her relation with her husband.
Another one of my favourites in here is a story called Kanvari : some really memorable, colourful characters in a story that’s actually a very sad look at the life of a love-struck, flighty film star who makes questionable decisions, but Chughtai's gaze is always sympathetic. The story is narrated by this film star’s friend who also happens to be a writer, so the dynamic between these two women is really interesting, and I had a lot of fun reading their conversations.
I also adored Ek Shauhar Ki Khatir which follows a single woman in her 20s, going to Bombay for a job interview. This is the story of that train ride to Bombay and how our unnamed narrator is interrogated by several different women on her journey. Our witty narrator answers all of their questions with a sense of humour that made this story an absolute joy from start to finish.
This is a collection that does absolute justice to Chughtai's intelligence, wit, humour, observation and writing talent.
Urdu is my first language, and yet, most of the feminist literature that I consume is in English. My preferred language of dissent is English. It's an absolute tragedy.
Which is why I am so, so grateful that I capped off my reading year with this brilliant collection. There are around 40 short stories and essays in here, and out of these, I can only think of three or four that missed the mark for me.
This is a spectacularly well-curated assortment of Ismat Chughtai's fiction and non-fiction.
If you're looking to get into her work, I'd recommend her essays, ''Aadhi Aurat Aadha Khuaab'' and ''Ek Baat'' as a starting point.
''Aadhi Aurat Aadha Khuaab'' is a feminist text, and the title is a reference to Rabindranath Tagore's poem, ''O Woman''. In this essay, Chughtai talks about how men deprive women of their humanity by putting them on a pedestal, attaching to them all sorts of virtues, and then completely vilify women when they fall short of these impossible standards. There's a lot of discussion in here about how women are constantly told that it is in their nature to be submissive, self-sacrificing, nurturing, and to bear pain without complaining. She further explores this theme in Chuui Muui - a hard-hitting story about what women’s bodies are subjected to, what they are capable of, and how their threshold for pain and endurance is tested over and over again. And yet, it is women who are called fragile or, as the title says, chuui muui (literal translation: touch-me-not).
In ''Ek Baat'' Chughtai responds to people (mostly old male authors) that attack her stories for being vulgar. This is such a fantastic essay where Chughtai redefines what she finds vulgar, and how, in South Asia, vulgarity is people's favourite word to use to shut up anyone who doesn't shy away from difficult conversations. Chughtai held up a mirror to the society, and people didn't like what they saw.
Chughtai addresses repressed sexuality, desires, frustrations, relations between men and women, sexual exploitation, violence towards women and marginalized groups. A lot of her short fiction (Ghar Waali, Nanhi ki Naani, Chauthi Ka Jora) is an intelligent intersection of gender and class.
Chughtai is also known for exploring issues from a Marxist perspective. Her stories Mein Chup Raha and Khareed Lo make a sharp comment on capitalism and consumerism. Kacche Dhaage and Woh Kaun Tha are two alarmingly relevant stories - the former is a commentary on political tensions and curbing of personal freedoms while the latter very smartly and poignantly explores Hindu-Muslim relations/tensions.
Bhabi is such a beautifully written story about girls that are forced to age too quickly. It's also about the erasure of a woman's individuality after marriage; how her identity is reduced to her relation with her husband.
Another one of my favourites in here is a story called Kanvari : some really memorable, colourful characters in a story that’s actually a very sad look at the life of a love-struck, flighty film star who makes questionable decisions, but Chughtai's gaze is always sympathetic. The story is narrated by this film star’s friend who also happens to be a writer, so the dynamic between these two women is really interesting, and I had a lot of fun reading their conversations.
I also adored Ek Shauhar Ki Khatir which follows a single woman in her 20s, going to Bombay for a job interview. This is the story of that train ride to Bombay and how our unnamed narrator is interrogated by several different women on her journey. Our witty narrator answers all of their questions with a sense of humour that made this story an absolute joy from start to finish.
This is a collection that does absolute justice to Chughtai's intelligence, wit, humour, observation and writing talent.
October 27, 2022
واقعی شاہکار افسانے 🫡
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews