The Pages of My Life: Autobiography and Selected Stories - Hardcover

Hiranandani, Popati; Panjwani, Jyoti

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198066945 ISBN 13: 9780198066941

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2011

Synopsis

Popati Hiranandani's (1924-2007) autobiograpy unfolds the experiences of her personal life trapped in the geo-political debris of pre- and post-Partition India. She traces the agony and ecstasy of her life, the critical junctures of becoming and unbecoming in the life of a Sindhi woman-the two phases of her pre-Partition and post-Partition life are fused by the inconsolable and unmitigated trauma triggered by the loss of home. Through an exegesis of gender relations in colonial and postcolonial India and scrutiny of personal experiences and memories, Hiranandani offers her understanding of the real obstacles that come in women's ways of wielding autonomy over their lives.
Hiranandani's short stories posit a fictional account of multifaceted existence of womanhood. Caught in the web of nostalgia, agony, pain of separation, and reunion-both imaginary and real-Hiranandani's protagonists attempt to veil their tears and recount the stories of the lives that remained untold and unheard for a long time.
Translated, and with an Introduction, by Jyoti Panjwani, this work traces the migration of the Sindhi community in pre- and post-Partition India. The detailed analysis of the development of Sindhi literature is accompanied by Panjwani's re-contextualizing of Hiranandani's life and work in present-day India.

About this title

About the Author

Popati Hiranandani (1924-2007) was one of the best-known Sindhi women writers and social activists of her generation. In spite of a busy teaching career, all through her life Hiranandani vehemently fought against the dowry system, which still persists in remote corners around the country. She is the recipient of several awards, including the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1982 for her autobiography.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0198066945
• ISBN 13: 9780198066941
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 179