This delightful anthology offers us a rare glimpse into a less known aspect of Ismat Chughtai’s writing- the warmth, humour and affection with which she writes on childhood. Shedding all the certainties of an adult she steps into a child’s shoes, looks upon the world with an unjaundiced eye, and presents us with scrapes, situations and sentiments that are refreshing in their candour.
As she says to three Innocents in her title story, “The pranks you engage in today are no different from the ones we played yesterday… So what advice can I give you? Actually, I look upon you as very interesting advice meant for me!”
This is Chughtai at her disarming best!
About the author Ismat Chughtai(August 1915 ? 24 October 1991) was an eminent Urdu writer, known for her indomitable spirit and a fierce feminist ideology. She was considered the grand dame of Urdu fiction, Along with Rashid Jahan, Wajeda Tabassum and Qurratulain Hyder, Ismat?s work stands for the birth of a revolutionary feminist politics and aesthetics in twentieth century Urdu literature. She explored feminine sexuality, middle-class gentility, and other evolving conflicts in the modern Muslim world. Her outspoken and controversial style of writing made her the passionate voice for the unheard, and she has become an inspiration for the younger generation of writers, readers and intellectuals.
