Raising the profile of South Asian writers since 2007
by Kavita A. Jindal Glass Scissors is a debut poetry book with a purpose, and although the purpose is ‘reflection’, in both senses of the word, the poems it offers are political, confessional, tense and temperamental. Bobby Nayyar as a poet is strikingly frank about himself, his pain and his desires. This acutely personal and …
Shahrukh Husain’s latest novel, A Restless Wind offers a fictional account of modern Indian maharajas – the royals who lost their power when the nation gained Independence in 1947. This is an intriguing story of London-based barrister, Zara Hamilton who travels home to Trivikrampur after a decade, at the request of her Aunt. Deeply troubled, …
As someone who once sat in front of an editor and pitched an ‘Asian Bridget Jones saves publishing industry’* feature idea I was thrilled to hear about the publication of Ayisha Malik’s debut novel, Sofia Khan’s Not Obliged. Was my wishful thinking finally coming true? Could this be a thing? In Sofia Khan we find a …
Small Hands by Mona Arshi This debut collection is small but perfectly formed. The poems are diverse, each deeply personal which offer insight into the poet’s world – her culture, her family life, the loss of a brother which propel to keep reading. Expect to be inspired, this one left me self-reflecting and wondering. wet …
reviewed by Jane Wallace There is more than one bad character in this darkly beautiful novel: the term could equally be applied to the city that forms its backdrop, Delhi, as well as the love interest to which it ostensibly refers. With her mother deceased and her estranged father living in Singapore, twenty-year old Idha is …
reviewed by Divya Dubey Bani Basu is one of the most prolific writers in Bengal and a recipient of the Tarashankar Award forAntarghaat (Treason), and the Ananda Purashkar forMaitreya Jataka. She has also received the Sushila Devi Birla Award and the Sahitya Setu Puraskar. It is a pity that her work has not been more widely translated. …
reviewed by Nigel Collett Two poets bestrode the cultural life of the Hindu and Muslim communities of India before Partition: for the Hindus, Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali sage; for the Muslims, Allama Sir Muhammad Iqbal, a Punjabi Muslim of Kashmiri descent. Tagore won the Nobel Prize for literature, was knighted (though he returned his knighthood …
reviewed by Divya Dubey The Golden Pigeon, Shahid Siddiqui’s debut work of fiction, is best described not so much as a historical novel but as a historical fantasy. Using the contradictions faced by Muslims in post-Partition India as the foundation of his story, the author has layered in elements of magic realism: his is a …
My Name is….tells the real story of Molly Campbell, who hit headlines in 2006 after running away to Pakistan to live with her father. Initially Molly was thought to have been abducted by her father and taken to Pakistan. Days later, a happy Molly was seen in Pakistan declaring her name is Misbah and that …
by Susmita Bhattacharya After a long wait, short stories have finally found a place of their own in the literary world. Alice Munro winning the Nobel Prize for Literature champions the short story form. Lydia Davis upholds the Man Booker International Prize for her short fiction. At last, there is recognition and importance given to …