Ismat Chughtai
Ismat Chughtai عصمت چُغتائی | |
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Born | Badayun, United Province, Uttar Pradesh, British India | 21 August 1915
Died | 24 October 1991 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 'Bold text' | (aged 76)
Alma mater | Aligarh Muslim University |
Genre | Short stories and Novel |
Literary movement | Progressive Writers Movement |
Notable works | Works of Ismat Chughtai |
Notable awards | Padma Shri (1976) Ghalib Award (1984) |
Spouse | Shaheed Latif (1941–1967) |
Children | Seema Sawhny Sabrina Lateef |
Ismat Chughtai (21 August 1915–24 October 1991) was an Indian Urdu language writer. Beginning in the 1930s, she wrote on themes like female sexuality and femininity, middle-class gentility, and class conflict, often from a Marxist perspective. With a style characterised by literary realism, Chughtai established herself as a significant voice in the Urdu literature of the twentieth century, and in 1976 was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.
Biography
Early life and career beginnings (1915–41`)
Ismat Chughtai was born on 21 August 1915 in Badayun,Uttar Pradesh to Nusrat Khanam and Mirza Qaseem Baig Chughtai;[1] she was ninth of ten children–six brothers, four sisters. The family shifted homes frequently as Chughtai's father was a civil servant; she spent her childhood in cities including Jodhpur, Agra, and Aligarh, mostly in the company of her brothers as her sisters had gotten married while she was still very young. Chughtai described the influence of her brothers as an important factor which influenced her personality in her formative years. She thought of her second-eldest brother, Mirza Azim Beg Chughtai, a novelist, as a mentor. The family eventually settled in Agra, after Chughtai's father retired from the Indian Civil Services.[2]
Chughtai attained primary education from the Women's College at the Aligarh Muslim University and graduated from Isabella Thoburn College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1940.[3] Despite strong resistance from her family, she completed her Bachelor of Education degree from the Aligarh Muslim University the following year.[2] It was during this period that Chughtai became associated with the Progressive Writers' Association, having attended her first meeting in 1936 where she met Rashid Jahan, one of the leading women writers involved with the movement, who was later credited for inspiring Chughtai to write "realistic, challenging female characters".[4][5] Chughtai began writing in private around the same time, but did not seek publication for her work until much later.[5]
Chughtai wrote a drama entitled Fasādī فسادی (The Troublemaker) for the Urdu magazine Saqi ساقّی in 1939, which marked her first published work. Upon publication, readers mistook it as a play by Chughtai's brother Azeem Beg, written using a pseudonym.[6] Following that, she started writing for other publications and newspapers. Some of her early works included Bachpan بچپن (Childhood), an autobiographical piece, Kafirکافر, her first short-story, and Dheet ڈھیٹ (Stubborn), her only soliloquy, among others.[7] In response to a story that she wrote for a magazine, Chughtai was told that her work was blasphemous and insulted the Quran.[8] She, nonetheless, continued writing about "things she would hear of".[8] Her continued association with the Progressive Writers' Movement had significant bearings on her writing style; she was particularly intrigued by Angaray انگارے, a compilation of short-stories by the progressive writers. Other early influences included such writers as William Sydney Porter, George Bernard Shaw, and Anton Chekhov.[8] Kalyān (Buds) and Cōtēn (Wounds), two of Chughtai’s earliest collections of short stories, were published in 1941 and 1942 respectively.[7] Her first novella Ziddi, which was first published in 1941 was later translated into English as Wild at Heart.[1]
Niche appreciation and transitions to film (1942–60)
After completing her Bachelor's of Education degree, Chughtai successfully applied for the post of headmistress of an Aligarh-based Girls school. She met Shahid Latif, who was pursuing his Master's degree at the time and the two developed a close friendship.[6] Chughtai continued to write for varying publications during her stay at Aligarh; she garnered widespread attention for her short-story Lihaaf (The Quilt), which appeared in a 1942 issue of Adab-i-Latif, a Lahore-based literary journal.[2] Inspired from the rumoured affair of a begum and her masseuse in Aligarh, the story chronicles the sexual awakening of Begum Jan following her unhappy marriage with a nawab.[4] Upon release, Lihaaf attracted criticism for its suggestion of female homosexuality and a subsequent trial, with Chughtai being summoned to the court to defend herself against the charges of "obscenity". In the intervening years, Lihaaf has attached a greater significance; it was noted for its portrayal of the insulated life of a neglected wife in the feudal society and became a landmark for its early depiction of sex, still a taboo in modern Indian literature.[9] Lihaaf has been widely anthologised over the years, and following the critical reappraisals, has become one of Chughtai's best known works.[1]
Chughtai moved to Bombay in 1942 and began working as an Inspectress of schools.[6] She married Latif later that year in a private ceremony with Khwaja Ahmad Abbas serving as a witness.[1] She became increasingly involved in writing and found success with such short-stories as Gainda and Khidmatgaar and the play Intikhab, all of which were published during the period. Latif, who himself worked as dialogue writer in Bollywood introduced Chughtai to the Hindi film industry.[10] Chughtai's quasi-autobiographical novel Terhi Lakeer (The Crooked Line) was released in 1943; the book chronicles the lives of marginalised women in the backdrop of the waning British Raj.[7] Chughtai's exploration of the "inner realms of women’s lives" was well received by critics who variously described her work in Terhi Lakeer as "probing and pertinent"[11] and "empowering"[12]. The novel was translated into English by Tahira Naqvi, who compared Chughtai's writing style to that of French writer and intellectual Simone de Beauvoir, based on the duo's existentialist and humanist affiliations.[7]
Chughtai faced a court trial for alleged obscenity in her writings, Lihaaf in particular and was summoned by the Lahore court in 1944.[13] Fellow writer and member of the Progressive Writers' Movement Sadat Hassan Manto was also charged with similar allegations for his short-story Bu (Odour) and accompanied Chughtai to Lahore.[14] The charges notwithstanding, both Chughtai and Manto were exonerated.[15] The trial itself drew much media and public attention and brought notoriety to the duo. Although Chughtai fared better in the public eye, having garnered support from fellow members of the Progressive Writers' Movement, she detested the media attention, which in her view weighted heavily upon her subsequent work: "[Lihaaf] brought me so much notoriety that I got sick of life. It became the proverbial stick to beat me with and whatever I wrote afterwards got crushed under its weight."[14] Critical reappraisals for her works have noted otherwise; in a 1993 retrospective piece, Naqvi remarked that Chughtai's writing was "neither confined to nor exhausted" by the themes central to Lihaaf: "she had much, much more to offer".[6]
Chughtai made her debut as a screenwriter for Latif's 1948 commercially successful drama film Ziddi. Starting Kamini Kaushal, Pran, and Dev Anand in his first major film role, Ziddi was based on a short-story by Chughtai; she has rewritten the narrative in form of a screenplay for the production.[16][17] She wrote the dialogue and screenplay for the 1950 romance drama film Arzoo, starring Kaushal and Dilip Kumar. Chughtai expanded her career into directing with the 1953 film Faraib, which featured an ensemble cast of Amar, Maya Daas, Kishore Kumar, Lalita Pawar, and Zohra Sehgal. Having written the screenplay based on one of her short stories, Chughtai co-directed the film with Latif.[17] Upon release, both Arzoo and Faraib garnered positive response from the audience and performed well at the box-office.[18]
Chughtai's association with film solidified when she and Latif co-founded the production company Filmina.[7] Her first project as a filmmaker was the 1958 drama film Sone Ki Chidiya, which she wrote and co-produced. Starring Nutan and Talat Mahmood in lead roles, it tells the story of a child actor, who is abused and exploited over the course of her career. The film was well received by audiences and the success translated directly into a rise in Chughtai's popularity, as noted by writer and critic Shams Kanwal.[19] Sone Ki Chidiya has been described as a significant production for "[chronicling] a heady time in Indian cinema" and showcasing the "grime behind the glamour" of the film industry.[20] Nutan, who garnered a good response for her performance in the film, herself described it as one of her favorite projects.[21] Also in 1958, Chughtai produced the Mahmood-Shyama starrer romance drama Lala Rukh.[22]
Chughtai continued writing short-stories during the time despite her commitment to film projects. Her fourth collection of short-stories Chui Mui (Touch-me-not) was released in 1952 to an enthusiastic response.[23] The eponymous short-story has been noted for its "pertinent dissection of our society"[24] and contesting the venerated tradition of motherhood, especially its equation of womanhood.[7] Rafay Mahmood highlighted, in a 2014 editorial, the relevance of the story in the twenty-first century. Chui Mui was adapted for stage by Naseeruddin Shah as a part of a commemorative series Ismat Apa Kay Naam, with his daughter Heeba Shah playing the central character in the production.[24]refary is good writer
Critical reappraisals and subsequent acclaim (1961–91)
Following the translation of numerous of her works into English language, a renewed interest in the Urdu literature of the twentieth century, and subsequent critical reappraisals, Chughtai's status as a writer rose.[25]
Influences and writing style
Chughtai was a liberal Muslim whose daughter, nephew & niece were married to Hindus. In her own words, Chughtai came from a family of "Hindus, Muslims and Christians who all live peacefully".[26] She said she read not only the Qur’an, but also the Gita and the Bible with openness.[26]
Chughtai's short stories reflect the cultural legacy of the region in which she lived. This is especially notable in her story "Sacred Duty", where she deals with social pressures in India, alluding to specific national, religious and cultural traditions.[27][28]
In Chughtai's formative years, Nazar Sajjad Hyder had established herself an independent feminist voice, and the short stories of two very different women, Hijab Imtiaz Ali and Rashid Jehan, were also a significant early influence.[29]
Many of her writings, including Angarey and Lihaaf, were banned in South Asia because their reformist and feminist content offended conservatives (for example, her view that the Niqab, the veil worn by women in Muslim societies, should be discouraged for Muslim women because it is oppressive and feudal[30]). Many of her books have been banned at various times.[citation needed]
In popular culture
Publications on Ismat Chughtai
- Ismat: Her Life, Her Times. Sukrita Paul Kumar, Katha, New Delhi,2000. ISBN 81-85586-97-7.
- Ismat Chughtai, A Fearless Voice. Manjulaa Negi, Rupa and Co, 2003.81-29101-53-X.
- "Torchbearer of a literary revolution". The Hindu, Sunday, 21 May 2000.[1]
- Kashmir Uzma Urdu weekly, Srinagar, 27 December 2004, 2 January 2005.[2]
- "Ismat Chughtai – Pakistan-India (1915–1991)", World People, 5 May 2006.[3]
- Eyad N. Al-Samman, "Ismat Chughtai: An Iconoclast Muslim Dame of Urdu Fiction", Yemem Times, 13 April 2009
Stage productions
Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah have presented 'Ismat Aapa Ke Naam'عصمت آپا کے نام for the past nearly twelve years.[citation needed] Her story 'Chouthi Ka Joda' چوتھی کا جوڑا is presented frequently by many theatre groupes. A Bengali adaptation by Pushpal Mukherjee was staged in Kolkata in 2017 by the theatre group Bohuswar under the direction of Tulika Das.[citation needed] Danish Iqbal adapted her story 'Mughal Bachcha'مغل بچہ for stage which was presented at the Theatre Festival organised by Government of Delhi to commemorate her birth centenary.[citation needed] This play also contained biographical references about her works and early influences.[citation needed] Danish Iqbal also wrote a play, عصمت اور منٹو, highlighting the love-hate relationship between Ismat Chughtai and Saadat Hasan Manto.[citation needed]
Bibliography
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1948 | Shikayat شکایت | – | Dialogue writer |
1948 | Ziddi ضدی | – | |
1950 | Arzoo آرزو | – | |
1951 | Buzdil بُزدل | – | |
1952 | Sheesha شیشہ | – | |
1953 | Fareb فریب | – | Also co-director |
1954 | Darwaza دروازہ | – | |
1955 | Society سوسائٹی | – | |
1958 | Sone Ki Chidiya سونے کی چڑیا | – | Also producer |
1958 | Lala Rukh لالہ رُخ | – | Also co-director and producer |
1966 | Baharen Phir Bhi Ayengi بہاریں پھر بھی آئیں گی | – | |
1973 | Garam Hawa گرم ھوا | – | Filmfare Best Story Award (shared with Kaifi Azmi) |
1978 | Junoon جنون | Miriam Labadoor | Cameo appearance |
Awards and honours
Year | Work | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1974 | Terhi Lakeer | Ghalib Award | Best Urdu Drama | Won | [31] |
1975 | Garam Hawa | Filmfare Award | Best Story | Won | |
– | Government of India State Award | – | Won | ||
1976 | – | Indian civilian awards | Padma Shri | Won | [32] |
1979 | – | Andhra Pradesh Urdu Akademi Award | Makhdoom Literary Award | Won | |
1982 | – | Soviet Land Nehru Award | – | Won | [33] |
1990 | – | Rajasthan Urdu Akademi | Iqbal Samman | Won | [33] |
References
- ^ a b c d Gopal, Priyamvada (2012). Literary Radicalism in India: Gender, Nation and the Transition to Independence. Routledge Press. pp. 83–84. ISBN 978-1-134-33253-3.
- ^ a b c Parekh, Rauf (30 August 2015). "Essay: Ismat Chughtai: her life, thought and art". Dawn. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
{{cite web}}
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- ^ a b c Patel, Aakar (14 August 2015). "Ismat Chughtai's fearless pen". Livemint. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
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- ^ Gupta, Neeta. "The Short Stories". School of Open Learning. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
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- ^ a b Asaduddin, M (1 April 2012). "Dude, it's not lewd". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
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- ^ a b Mahmood, Rafay (6 March 2014). "Ismat Apa Kay Naam: The Shahs take the stage". The Express Tribune. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
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External links
- 1915 births
- 1991 deaths
- Indian women screenwriters
- Filmfare Awards winners
- Indian Muslims
- People from Budaun
- Urdu short story writers
- Urdu writers from India
- Indian memoirists
- Women memoirists
- Indian feminist writers
- 20th-century Indian women writers
- 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
- Aligarh Muslim University alumni
- Urdu women writers
- 20th-century Urdu writers
- Urdu-language novelists
- Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education
- Women writers from Uttar Pradesh
- People from Jodhpur
- Novelists from Uttar Pradesh
- Screenwriters from Uttar Pradesh
- 20th-century Indian short story writers
- Indian women novelists
- Indian women short story writers
- Indian women essayists
- 20th-century Indian essayists
- Best Story National Film Award winners