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"Set in Aligarh in the early 1960s, after the dust of Partition has ostensibly settled, Topi Shukla is a story of two friends - one Hindu and the other Muslim." "Through the characters of people like Topi and Iffan, the novel looks at the lives of ordinary people trying to survive in a society that insists on a brutal conformity of behaviour. It is about individuals whose spirits are paralysed because they cannot conform, and about history's inability to teach mankind any worthwhile lessons." "Language plays an important part in this narrative, operating almost as a character in its own right. Topi, as a Hindi bull in the Urdu china shop, invokes the historical stand-off between the two languages. The novel also explores the culture and psyche of Uttar Pradesh with its very Muslim Aligarh, its very Hindu Benares, and their exotic confluence in Lucknow."--BOOK JACKET.
A no-holds-barred expose of the Hindi film industry's sordid underbelly. Ali Amjad comes from Benares to make it as a scriptwriter in Bombay, only to experience the absurd and tragic reality behind the film world's glamour as he navigates through it with his fellow strugglers. A short, fascinating novel set in the Bombay of the 1970s, Rahi Masoom Raza's Scene: 75 is a crazy kaleidoscope of stories within stories populated by a cast of extraordinary and memorable - but also cynical and manipulative - characters, from struggling directors and wealthy lesbians to film-obsessed social climbers and sleazy producers. In this irreverent, surreal, deeply satirical and darkly humorous work, the author's biting prose takes an unflinching look at both Hindu-Muslim and class relations, as well as at how human ties corrode and wither because of ambition and self-interest. Superbly translated by Poonam Saxena, this lost classic from Rahi Masoom Raza rips off the tinsel curtain that hides the film industry's hypocrisy, insecurity and desperation for success. It is a novel that will delight and disturb in equal measure.
This book interrogates representations – fiction, literary motifs and narratives – of the Partition of India. Delving into the writings of Khushwant Singh, Balachandra Rajan, Attia Hosain, Abdullah Hussein, Rahi Masoom Raza and Anita Desai, among many others, it highlights the modes of ‘fictive’ testimony that sought to articulate the inarticulate – the experiences of trauma and violence, of loss and longing, and of diaspora and displacement. The author discusses representational techniques and formal innovations in writing across three generations of twentieth-century writers in India and Pakistan, invoking theoretical debates on history, memory, witnessing and trauma. With a new afterword, the second edition of this volume draws attention to recent developments in Partition studies and sheds new light as regards ongoing debates about an event that still casts a shadow on contemporary South Asian society and culture. A key text, this is essential reading for scholars, researchers and students of literary criticism, South Asian studies, cultural studies and modern history.
The twenty-five stories in The Greatest Hindi Stories Ever Told represent the finest short fiction in Hindi literature. Selected and translated by editor, writer, and translator Poonam Saxena, and ranging from early literary masters of the form such as Premchand, Chandradhar Sharma Guleri, Bhisham Sahni, Harishankar Parsai, Mannu Bhandari, and Shivani to contemporary greats such as Asghar Wajahat, Uday Prakash, Sara Rai, and others, the collection has stories of darkness, hope, triumph, anger, and irony. In Premchand's 'The Thakur's Well', 'low-caste' Gangi struggles to find drinking water for her ill husband; in 'The Times Have Changed' by Krishna Sobti, the matriarch Shahni bids a heart-br...
In Once Upon A Prime Time, Ananth Mahadevan pens the memoirs of his journey on Indian television. From first hand experiences with film makers who were the founding fathers of television serials, to today's consumerism driven shows, he has tasted them all. The book reads like an autobiography yet covers virtually every major player who was responsible for the nostalgia that Indian television now evokes. It incorporates exclusive moments with many celebrities and award winning directors. Join the actors on their sets as they perform for television and learn about the stories that made the shows come to life. Covering artistes and makers who impacted our world, such as Amitabh Bachchan, Hrishi...
Ai Ladki is prose in poetry, the tale of an old woman awaiting death and musing about her life. Without any fear of the imminent death, she is eager to start all over. The book describes the life instinct, the undaunted will to live.
Political, economic, and social conditions in India from 1947 to date.
Kamleshwar&Rsquo;S Kitne Pakistan Enjoys Cult Status As A Novel That Dared To Ask Crucial Questions About The Making And Writing Of History. With India&Rsquo;S Partition In 1947 As Its Reference Point, The Novel Presents A Limitless Canvas Against Which The Most Extraordinary Trial In The History Of Mankind Runs Its Course. Present In A Court That Transcends Space And Time Are Mughal Emperors Babar And Aurangzeb, Spanish Adventurer Hernando Cortez, Lord Mountbatten, Adolf Hitler And Saddam Hussein. Along With Political Leaders, Religious Zealots And Scheming Gods Of Mythology, They Stand Accused Of Creating Countless Fractured Nations, Leaving A Never-Ending Trail Of Hatred And Distrust. The...