A bold daughter of Indian Independence, Ismat Chughtai was a master storyteller and Urdu's most outspoken woman writer. Born in 1915, Chughtai came from a family of intellectuals and writers and was briefly associated with the Progressive Writers' Movement in Lucknow. An intense individualist and iconoclast, her output was prolific and her work widely acclaimed in both India and Pakistan. She died in 1991.
Originally written in Urdu, these 15 short stories are of seminal importance in illustrating the development, acceptance, and historical progress of Indian women writers. They also delineate the reluctant approval of several topics in fiction, particularly lesbianism and homosexuality, which had been only tacitly recognized earlier in Indian life and literature. The title story, The Quilt, is a pioneering achievement; when it was first published, Chughtai had to defend herself before the Imperial Crown Court of India. Other stories, such as Sacred Duty, Scent of the Body, and The Morsel, also demonstrate the author's accomplishments, for her fiction is outspoken, humorous, sometimes cynical but always energetic and convincing. A highly significant account of women's longtime struggle to find their place in Indian society, with Chughtai leading the endeavor in both her writing and her life; recommended for public libraries.--Library Journal
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