KAHANI: Short Stories by Pakistani Women

Description

Pakistani’s finest women writers – Jamila Hashmi, Mumtaz Shirin, and Fahmida Riza, amongst others – introduce us to the compelling cadences of a rich literary culture. A naive peasent is left with a while man’s baby; a frustated housewife slashes her husband’s silk pyjamas; a middle-class woman sees visions of salvation in the tricks of circus animals.

Equally at ease with polemic and lyricism, these writers mirror the events of their convoluted history – nationalism and independence, wars with India, the creation of Bangladesh, the ethnic conflicts in Karachi – in innovative and courageous forms. Influences both by the Indian and Islamci tradition of their milieu and by the shocking impact of modernisty, they are distinguished above all by their artistic integrity and intellectual honesty.

‘An excellent anthology by Urdu’s foremost women writers.’ -Muneeza Shamsie, Newsline

‘I hope that this engaging and diverse work will encourage other translations of contemporary Pakistani fiction.’ -SOAS Bulletin

Aamer Husseinwas born in Karachi and moved to London in 1970. He is the author of three collections of stories, includingTurquoiseand This Other Salt. He reviews regularly forThe Independentand theTLS, as well as for several Pakistani national newspapers. He holds visiting posts at the University of Southampton and the University of London, and is also a Fellow of the Royal Soceity of Literature.