Sunday, August 01, 2010

When i read Childhood i was wondering whether anything was different between Ismat's younger days and ours. Aren't we always told not to do this and that. Not to go near a heap of cleaned rice lest we scatter grains of rice hither. And being a girl, the privileges she carries with her are less. Even with all the modernisation we talk about. I've sensed that most times when in the company of male cousins. Ismat hated it from what i gather.

I never understood if religion could be the way of living at some places. In Kafir the narrator announces that she's switched her religion to be part of Holi celebrations in a Hindu household. She does that often calling her friend a non-believer often when it pleases her. If even during play, children were so ingrained in religious beliefs, how would they grow as adults? Quite surprising

Ismat Chugtai is straight with what she writes.

In my stories, i've put down everything with objectivity. Now, if some people find them obscene, let them got to hell. It's my belief that experiences can never be obscene if they are based on authentic realities of life.
Yes, Ismat was courageous enough to express herself in a very forthright manner. In The Quilt, a neglected wife in her prime, looks upto homosexuality when she's neglected by her husband. Her writings are influenced by characters who were associated with her; perhaps, with people with whom she shared her childhood. Maybe this close observation helped her gain the precision noted in her short stories. Her unfinished autobiography Kaghazi hai Pairahan, gives a more vivid description.

Lifting the veil
Selected Writings of ISMAT CHUGHTAI

2 comments:

shruthihegde said...

Your post makes me want to read her books...Good post...Hey you know i am finding it hard to get used to your new template, i am still imprinted by your old template:)

mouna said...

ms,
i think that you'll enjoy her writing.