Student ( Makhan Lal Chaturvedi University ,Bhopal) | Posted on | Entertainment
Who is Ismat Chughtai and why her stories should be read in present times?
Thinker | Posted on
Ismat Chughtai is one of those dangerous women of Urdu Literature, whom society would rather have not had at the times she was writing. Known best for her short stories, she was as fearless a writer, as she is a strong women herself. It is said about her that she wrote what she spoke.
(Courtesy: thehindu)
The most famous of her short stories, Lihaaf or The Quilt, which was a pre-partition, progressive piece of literature, earned her a lot of criticism and a court trial in Lahore for the homosexual eroticism the story deals with. It was the same time when another prolific Urdu writer, Sa’adat Hasan Manto was facing a trial for his short story Bu or The Odour.
(Courtesy: theaerogram.com)To Ismat Chughtai, the judge said that her story is fine but Manto’s is filled with filth. In reply, she remarked that it’s not the stories that are filled with filth, but the society. And yes, it is necessary to rake up this filth so that it become visible and can be cleaned up, she added. This philosophy of hers, is truly visible in her stories like Lihaaf , Ghoonghat, Amir Bai, and Chirri ki Dukki.
I think this is enough to tell you who exactly Ismat Chughtai, better known as Ismat Appa, was. She did not restrict herself to literary fiction, but tried her hand in cinema also. She wrote the screenplay of Ziddi (1948) which was based on one of her stories. She also wrote the screenplay for Arzoo (1950), and directed Faraib (1953).
On her birthday, if you ask me to describe her in just one word, that word would be “rebel”. She was so much ahead of her times (and she still is), that the thoughts and philosophies deemed as “modern” at that time used to look backward in front of her stories. And it is here, where the relevance of her short stories lies today, even after her death. Just like Manto, her stories can perfectly be superimposed on today’s scenario. Manto’s upcoming biopic features Ismat Chughtai as one of his friends.
(Courtesy: sampsoniaway.org)
All in all, her stories offer us the worldview of the “filth” of society, and enhance the beauty of Urdu literature and language for us.
Here is an adaptation of Ismat Chughtai's short story Lihaaf:
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