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Lifting the Veil -Selected Writings by Ismat Chughtai

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Ismat Chughtai is a very renowned name in Urdu literature. Since the last few years I have come across reviews and recommendations of her works, especially her short stories revolving around female characters from different spheres of life and societal status. I am grateful for the different translated versions available, that I am able to read her works. Translated literature is just so important to delve into the essence of a culture, the ethos of its people and learn more about the world that it encapsulates. This particular collection is selected and translated by M.Asaduddin. As the 14-pages introduction to the collection goes, Ismat Chughtai is ‘ Urdu’s most courageous and controversial writer ’. Her pieces expressed female desires like no other during her times, they thwarted patriarchy, took real life socio-political observations and made a commentary out of it through stories and fictional characters, which showed the society a mirror. Doesn’t that intrigue you enough to read

3 Mystery Thrillers I Read Recently

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I have been reading a lot recently - fiction of course- novels of mystery and suspense. For when the real world is in chaos and devoid of good news and we are cocooned inside the safety of our houses, what else can one turn to but fiction. Fiction soothes, gives solace to the mind agitated with the current times and news and social media updates.  Mystery is my go-to genre in novels. I am always hunting for awesome thrillers, that build up the suspense and revelation towards the end is just mind-blowing. But when you read a lot in one genre, books tend to disappoint most of the times. So now-a-days I rely on the bookstagram community - I save the posts as 'to-read' for future reference. And following are the three of them that I read recently. 1. Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson I cannot swallow anything too dark, even murder mysteries. Crime fiction do not suit me, unless it is just about solving them - the investigator's point of view instead of the killer's. I

Queeristan by Parmesh Sahani

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  Queeristan (Amazon Link) Thanks to Audible Free Trial I listened to this amazing non-fiction on LGBTQ inclusion in Indian workplaces. Author Parmesh Sahani identifies as gay Indian, working closely with Godrej higher management and employees for years to create an inclusive workplace, both legally and in spirit. This book is a result of those years of experience, research, collaboration with individuals from difference spectrum of the society and organizations who has successfully transitioned into a queer friendly one.   Indian history is inclusive. From the Khajuraho temple architectures, to Konark to the Rig Veda, there is existing proofs even 2000 years ago of Indian inclusiveness of queer. It’s the draconian British law that criminalised it, which was scraped in 2009, came into effect once again following a sad judgement in 2013 and eventually was scraped off for good in 2018. I am in awe of the lawyers who fought this legal battle- colleagues and partners – Arundhati Katju

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