Raising the profile of South Asian writers since 2007
The Husbands, written by Sharmila Chauhan and directed by Janet Steel Reviewed by Farhana Shaikh If this is what a feminist utopia looks like, then at first glance, it appears to be lots of fun. Welcome to Shaktipur, a remote village some 50 years in to the future, where women are prized for breeding, …
The normative definition of feminism is the endorsement of women’s rights, particularly that of achieving equality to men. This could be political, social, economic or even cultural for that matter. Feminism and Bangladesh. Two words that differ from the emergence of Britain’s New Woman during the Fin-de-siècle, the Western World’s First-Wave women’s suffrage movement and …
by Shamika Shabnam “Every twelve-year-old boy pressed into battle by them, every ten-year-old girl forcibly married to mullah eight times her age, every man lashed, every woman beaten, every limb broken.” The Blind Man’s Garden is a heart-rending novel, unveiling the perilous conditions of post 9/11 Afghanistan. Jeo and Mikal, two friends …
21st Century Mumbai is a city of new money and soaring real estate, and property kingpin Dharmen Shah has grand plans for its future. His offer to buy and tear down a weathered tower block, making way for luxury apartments, will make each of its residents rich – if all agree to sell. But …
A Chinese blog which was turned into a book and feature film has been published in English. The Ai Mi blogs were first seen on the Chinese blogosphere where they became an instant hit with readers. The author, whose identity remains anonymous, won a traditional publishing contract and went on to sell a million copies …
While researching a photoessay on the first decade of the 21st century, Tarsem discovers a photograph of Rubina, a former university friend now working as a campaigner. Unable to comfort his wife who has just recovered from her second miscarriage, and cope with the spectre of restructure and redundancy at his office, he contacts her. …
Curry enthusiasts will be delighted by TV Chef Anjum Anand’s latest book treat, I Love Curry. Amongst the 50 easy to follow curry recipes are mouth watering images – enough to tempt anyone to have a go! If you’re a fan of Madhu Jaffrey’s fine cookery books you will find this a joy! It has an …
From the first moment Anil Mayur sees Lina Merali he is mesmerised – there is only one thing he knows. He has to make her his. For Lina Merali, whom the blurb says is a devoted muslim daughter (but I would disagree with this) its not just a simple matter of whether she likes Anil. …
by Suhel Ahmed Transforming the desire to write to the actual act of writing has become something of a struggle lately. Every time I open up my notepad, it’s as if I’m standing at the bottom of a rock-face, staring up at the glorious summit, yet at that moment a vertiginous feeling courses through me …
ROBBIN YASSIN-KASSAB the road from Damascus published by Penguin June 2008 It is summer 2001 and Sami Traifi has escaped his fraying marriage and minimal job prospects to Damascus. In search of his roots and himself, he insteads find a forgotten uncle in a gloomy back room, and an ugly secret about his beloved father… …