![]() ![]() This possibly contributed to her forthrightness and to the spontaneous nature of her writing. Her sisters were married off when Ismat was a child and her childhood was mostly spent in the company of her brothers. ![]() The only condition is that one has to water the plant with one’s heart’s blood,” she wrote in her memoir.īorn in Badayun, Uttar Pradesh, the ninth of 10 children comprising six brothers and four sisters, Chughtai grew up in Jodhpur where her father was a civil servant. “Flowers can be made to bloom among rocks. She showed readers a world clothed in hypocrisy navigable only by force of will. ![]() A timeless story, it is perhaps even more relevant today than it was when the author wrote it half a century ago. Sacred Duty is a satire on the custom of arranged marriage. The case was dismissed.Ĭhughtai’s short stories reflect South Asian cultural realities. Her lawyer argued that since there were no explicit references to homoeroticism in Lihaaf, the author could not be accused of obscenity. Hauled to court for obscenity, Chughtai decided to fight instead of tendering an apology. Written in an era when “lesbianism” wasn’t publicly acknowledged, the story unfolds from the point of view of a little girl who hides under Begum Jaan’s bed and wonders what the two women are doing under a quilt that keeps moving. The frustrated housewife, whose Nawab husband has no time for her, finds sexual and emotional solace in the company of a homely female servant. Of course, Lihaaf (1942), a landmark in Urdu literature, is rightly famous for its focus on female sexuality and its lonely young woman, who yearns for her husband’s love, continues to speak to readers 80 years after she was created. While most readers continue to associate her with her short story Lihaaf (The Quilt), about a lesbian encounter in a zenana (women’s quarter) in a traditional Muslim household, her ouevre includes many other striking works. President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed presenting the Hum Sab Ghalib Award to Ismat Chughtai in New Delhi on 20 October 1975. In the days approaching October 24, the 31st anniversary of her death, it is fitting to pay tribute to the radical Urdu literary figure whose pen was as sharp as a double-edged sword, whose writings have a universal flavour and whose characters are timeless. ![]()
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