Author: Eminent Contributors
Editor(s): Moazzam Sheikh
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 168
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0143030493
Description
The literary history of Pakistani languages, of which there are several, including Punjabi, Sindhi and Pashto, is quite old and rich. All the regional languages have their masterpieces and important works that have held dialogues with the time and place they were crated in. These works in the hands of a skillful scholar and translator measure up to the best in the world.
A Letter from India brings together the best short fiction by some of the most important voices of Pakistani literature. Refreshing in their style and diverse in their themes, these stories - in English, and translated from Urdu and Punjabi - reflect a move away from nationalism and parochialism as they examine issues of identity, sexuality, individual freedom and interpersonal relationships.
If Intizar Husain’s A Letter from India presents us with an insight into the psyche of a family torn apart by Partition (and the consequent loss of a family tree), in Asad Mohammad Khan’s The Squatter we discover pure and simple human love that doesn’t lend legitimacy to religious barriers. In Nadir Ali’s Feeqa’s Death the protagonist’s dram becomes a device to reflect on sudden tragedies wrought upon a community by outside forces, while Zubair’s The Door Is Open manipulates dreams to deconstruct personal fear and family tyranny. Sorayya Khan’s and Azra Waqar’s stories speak of the lingering pain and guilt that seep into individual lives form national tragedies left unquestioned and unexplored. And while Sport’s humanizes social outcasts, Ashu Lal’s Mangoes in the Time of Winter critiques the decadence of exclusive sub-cultures.
Bold, sensitive and intricate, this collection is a timely reminder of the rich diversity of Pakistan’s multi-ethnic society. An eclectic selection of contemporary short stories from Pakistan.
Contents
Introduction
The Barbarians and the Mule by Moazzam Sheikh
Papa’s Girl by Soniah Naheed Kamal
The Door is open by Zubair Ahmed
If Truth Be Told by Javed Shaheen
Barriers that Remained by Vali Ram Vallabh
The dying Sun by Syed Afzal Haider
Jungle by Ikramullah
Feeqa’s Death by Nadir Ali
A Letter From India by Intizar Husain
In his own time by Talat Abbasi
Spots by Zahur-ul-Haq Sheikh
Mangoes in the time of Winter by Aush Lal
The Squatter by Asad Mohammad Khan
The Tie that Binds by Faiza Rana
The Home-Bound by Asif Farrukhi
Old Men by Asadullah Ghazanfar
The Buffalo by Sorayya Khan
Hieroglyphics by Fahmida Riaz
Paths by Azra Waqar
Notes on Contributors
Copyright Acknowledgements