Tag Archives: Muslim Writers of India

Sabahat Afreen curated a women’s world sans fear and restrictions in her stories

January 7, 2024Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Women/Girls(since May26-2021)Authors of India, Book - Mujhe Jugnoon Ke Desh Jaana Hai, Muslim Authors of India, Muslim Women Authors of India, Muslim Women of India, Muslim Women of Lucknow, Muslim Women Writers of India, Muslim Women Writers of Uttar Pradesh, Muslim Writers of India, Muslims of Lucknow, Muslims of Uttar Pradesh, Positive News of Female Muslims of Lucknow, Positive News of Muslim Women of Lucknow, Positive News of Muslim Women of Uttar Pradesh, Positive News of Muslims of Lucknow, Positive News of Muslims of Uttar Pradesh, Positive News on Muslims of Lucknow, Positive Stories of Muslims of Lucknow, Sabahat Afreen, Sabahat Afreen - Author, Sabahat Afreen - Writermpositiveone@gmail.com

Siddharthnagar District / Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH:

Sabahat Afreen’s life will make you believe in the adage: where there is a will there is a way. Being born into an educated and prosperous family, Sabahat realized early in her life that her family was not open to women coming out of the four walls of the house, bracing against all odds to create their identity. She was raised seeing all women in her family in purdah.

However, somewhere in her heart, Sabahat Afreen was like a Secret Superstar of the Hindi movie by that name. Afreen was raised in a small village in Siddharthnagar district of Uttar Pradesh by her advocate father and a homemaker mother.

Sabahat Afreen started living in purdah in 10th class and after passing her 12th standard, She was not supposed to move out of the house alone. This resulted in her not attending college and opting for home study and writing examinations as a private student for her graduation years.

She was completing her master’s degree when she got married. Her husband’s family was politically connected and prosperous. She could have easily lived in comfort; Sabahat did not like to dress up like a doll wearing jewelery and expensive sarees and lounging around all day.

She said, “My mother was fond of reading and writing. She had an impact on me too. I used to write poems and stories in my childhood. Mom and Dad always encouraged me. It is a different matter that my works were never sent for publication as they didn’t believe in getting a picture of their daughter printed in the newspaper.”

She also realized the environment in her in-laws’ house was less conservative. “My father-in-law knew that I write, so he used to gift me a diary and pen; my husband also supported me.” She told Awaz-the Voice.

After marriage, she opened a secret account on Facebook and did not use her pictures for the DP. “I started writing stories on Facebook, my posts went viral. Someone suggested that I should send my stories to Neelesh Misra, (Editor, Gaon Connection, lyricist, and storyteller). His storytelling was popular. I emailed my story to him and he liked it. From that point, I was in his circle.”

Like Insia Malik (Played by Zaira Wasim) of Aamir Khan’s 2017 film Secret Superstar, she revealed her talent to the world by hiding her identity. Soon Sabahat Afrin was writing audio series, stories, and books for magazines and many apps across the country. She moved her two little daughters out of the closed environs of the village to Lucknow.

As it happens in such cases, most of the people who had opposed her once now praise and respect her. Her family is proud of her.

Recently her first story collection Mujhe Jugnuon Ke Desh Jaana Hai (I Want to Go to the Land of Fireflies)(Rujhan Publications, Rajasthan) was released. In it, Sabahat imagines in this country of fireflies women are also enjoying the same freedom as men, the doors of their hearts cannot be guarded, they too have the freedom to remarry after divorce, and they have the right to decide if they want to return to their husband’s house after feeling unwanted there.

Her stories are set in the backdrop of Muslim culture, but she manages to show that when it comes to the status and rights of women, it’s the same every year. Sabahat wants to free the fireflies from the clenched fists of Afreen women.Her first remuneration of Rs 30,000 as a writer was encouraging for Sabahat. She felt that being financially strong should be the priority of a woman. Now she shares her pictures on social media and with her stories.

Sabahat has written amazing stories that she must have picked up from around her and kept in the secret chamber of her heart to let them metamorphose into another form. Her stories look familiar to readers; after reading each one of her stories, the reader feels that he has seen these incidents.

Sabahat has adapted one such incident into a captivating story. The story Khoobsurat auratein (Beautiful Women) starts with this sentence – “even good looks are like a punishment, wherever she went people’s eyes were fixed on her.’ The heroine of the story, Alia, is very beautiful.”

Women are at the center of all Sabahat’s stories. The joys and sorrows of a woman, her dreams, her desire to fulfill them and social restrictions are the key elements in her stories. Sabahat is seen breaking these restrictions and traditions. Women in her stories are silent protesters except for Alia from her story Beautiful Women. However, they encounter opposition and in some cases, it’s also effective.

Sabahat becomes emotional while narrating her stories. She wishes to create a world for women where they have the freedom to fulfill their wishes and make their dreams come true. Her stories reflect her progressive thoughts.

Sabahat says that she never went to the market alone and yet when people knew about her through her stories, she felt confident to move to a big city with her daughters. “I reached Lucknow and rented out an apartment and enrolled my daughters in a good school. Today my daughters are studying, and life has become a bit easier for all three of us.”

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Onika Maheshwari, New Delhi / January 03rd, 2024

Senior Beary Writer U.A. Khasim Ullal passes away at 74

June 24, 2022Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Karnataka (under research project)Beary, Beary Language Writers, Beary Literary & Cultural Association, Beary Muslims of Karnataka, Beary Sahitya Academy, Beary Writer U A Khasim Ullal, Kendra Beary Parishad, Khasim Ullal, Khasim Ullal - Member - Beary Literary & Cultural Association, Khasim Ullal - Member - Beary Sahitya Academy, Khasim Ullal - Member - Kendra Beary Parishad, Muslim Writers of India, Muslims of Karnataka, Muslims of Mangaluru, Muslims Writers of Karnataka, U A Khasim Ullal, U A Khasim Ullal - Writer - Journalist, Umar Teekay, Umar Teekay - Chairman - Teekays Groupmpositiveone@gmail.com

Mangaluru , KARNATAKA:

Mangaluru:

Senior writer U.A. Khasim (74), who was one of the architects of the Beary Andolan passed away at his residence in the city during the early hours of Monday.

The deceased is survived by his wife, four sons, three daughters, and a legion of relatives and friends.

Writer Khasim has written stories, novels, poems, and various literary pieces in both the Beary and Kannada languages.

Apart from being at the forefront of the Beary Andolan, Khasim Ullal has also been a member of the Beary Sahitya Academy, he has also served as the office bearer of Kendra Beary Parishad and Beary Literary & Cultural Association for several years.

The sources close to the family of the deceased have informed that his funeral rites will be conducted at Kallapu Patla near Thokottu.

Many prominent personalities expressed their condolences and remembered Khasim Ullal’s rich contribution to the Beary movement and literature.

With his passing away, one more pillar of the Beary literary movement has crumbled. With his pioneering works in Beary literature by way of novels, poems, short stories, plays etc. he had given a big boost to the movement in its early years, said Umar Teekay, Chairman of Teekays Group in his condolence message.

source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> Karavali / by Vartha Bharati / June 20th, 2022

‘The Greatest Telugu Stories Ever Told’ provide an insight into Telugu short fiction realm

April 21, 2022Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social IssuesDada Hayat, Indian Muslims, Mohammed Khadeer Babu, Muslim Telugu Writers, Muslim Writers of India, Muslims of Andhra Pradesh, Muslims of India, Muslims of Telangana, Syed Saleem, Telugu Muslims, Telugu Writers, Vempalle Shareefmpositiveone@gmail.com

TELANGANA / ANDHRA PRADESH :

Anthologist and translator Dasu Krishnamoorty’s ebook ‘The Greatest Telugu Stories Ever Told’ gives a tapestry of Telugu experiences for readers.

The Greatest Telugu Stories Ever Told (Aleph Book Company) provides us a glimpse into the huge Telugu literary realm. Spanning virtually a century of literary works by a number of the most interesting writers of short tales, the gathering mirrors the Telugu-speaking individuals’s perspective of the world.

Co-authored by anthologist and translator Dasu Krishnamoorty along with his daughter Tamraparni Dasu, the anthology incorporates works of 21 writers, proper from Chalam and Kanuparthi Varalakshmamma to Vempalli Gangadhar and Vempalle Shareef.

Influence on society

Elaborating on the factors in choosing the tales, the writers say they seemed for brokers of change. “Vempalle Shariff’s ‘Curtain’, for example, is a diatribe against the norms that keep Muslim women behind a curtain of patriarchy and prevent them from participating in the wider society. Sometimes, the story is so compelling in its cathartic message that it requires no other reason than its merit to be included.

‘Mother’s Debt’ (Mohammed Khadeer Babu) and ‘Predators’ (Syed Saleem) both highlight the wretched lives of those compelled to live in poverty at the edges of society,” says 93-year-old Krishnamoorty, connecting with us from New Jersey.

On selecting works of writers like Kanuparthi, Illindala Saraswati Devi, Achanta Sarada Devi and Chalam — who wrote about social inequity — Krishnamoorty says the brand new technology of writers continues to push that battle ahead in new instructions and develop into energetic devices of social change, as evidenced by Boya Jangiah, Jajula Gowri and others. “Writers alone cannot cause a change but are certainly a big part of the process,” he says.

On being requested if some writers are both overrated or underrated, Tamraparni responds, “All the writers in the anthology, and many more that could not be included, deserve their reputation and accolades. The younger ones are perhaps underrated simply because the world doesn’t know of them yet. We hope that our anthology helps them gain the recognition they deserve.”

Diverse works

The anthology consists of works by six Muslims, 5 ladies and 5 Dalits. Krishnamoorthy says their goal was to provide a platform for the varied assortment of expertise significantly in underrepresented communities. “Telugu Muslims have always been a beacon of literary excellence. Only they can write with such passion and knowledge about their lived experience that comes through with such heart-wrenching intensity in ‘Adieu, Ba’ and ‘A Mother’s Debt’,” he provides.

Speaking of the challenges in translating, Tamraparni says, “Translation is inherently tricky; matching the idiom of the original with an equivalent one in English, rather than a literal translation; finding the equivalent of unique words, for example a word like ‘ thaayilam’ (a special treat, typically sweet, for a child) in Dada Hayat’s ‘The Truant’; retaining the voice of the original writer intact; avoiding the temptation to editorialise or tamp down unorthodox content as in Chalam’s ‘Madiga Girl’; how to preserve the musicality of the original language, as in ‘Molakala Punnami’.”

Describing working together with her father as a excessive octane expertise, Tamraparni says story choice was a degree of rivalry. “Some of the differences were generational, and some were temperamental. We agreed on most stories but there were four or five that needed energetic debate,” she provides.

Support system

Krishnamoorty had moved to the US to dwell along with his daughter’s household after he misplaced his spouse and there, he discovered translation a solution to keep engaged to tide over the powerful interval. “He brought an amazing level of intensity and enthusiasm to it even though he was almost 80 at that time,” says Tamraparni who alongside together with her father, launched a literary non-profit organisation, IndiaWrites Publishers, to assist the interpretation of up to date Indian short fiction into English. Together additionally they revealed a month-to-month on-line literary journal, Literary Voices of India, for a number of years. And 15 years later, the father-daughter duo revealed their second anthology The Greatest Telugu Stories Ever Told.

”I’m grateful that translation has given me such a stimulating and rewarding expertise to share with my father,” says Tamraparni.

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source: http://www.dksnewsonline.com / DKS News / Home> Entertainment> Art / by devanandsingh9199 / April 08th, 2022