Freedom Fables: Satires and Political Writings

Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain; Translateed by Kalyani Dutta

ISBN 10: 9385932489 / ISBN 13: 9789385932489

Published by Zubaan, 2019

About this Item

From Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932), the writer of the feminist utopian fantasy Sultana s Dream , come these tales of gumptious wit, describing the twists and turns of India s two-hundred-year relationship with the imperial British. Freedom Fables begins with the two eponymous fables, both compact in form but temporally vast. The first story Muktiphal (translated in this volume as The Freedom Tree ) traces the rise of and divisions within India s Congress party. Gyanphal or The Tree of Knowledge , the second fable, begins in the Garden of Eden and moves swiftly to an idealised Kanakadwipa where a trading company beguiles the prosperous country and proceeds to ruin it. Throughout both, the fantastic floats easily over mere facts. Adam and Eve, the Almighty, djinns, paris, demons, and Mayavi magicians: these classic characters play decisive, intriguing roles. These major political satires are accompanied in this edition by six essays and two poems, which the intrepid Hossain wrote over a period of seventeen years. Interwoven through her writings are ideals that endure even today: education and emancipation for women, dignity for those living in the subcontinent, and freedom from colonial rule and influence.

Seller Inventory # 129964

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Freedom Fables: Satires and Political Writings
• Publisher: Zubaan
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9385932489
• ISBN 13: 9789385932489
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

From the writer of the delightful utopian fantasy Sultana’s Dream come these witty tales describing the twists and turns of India’s two-hundred-year relationship with the Imperial British. Available to contemporary English readers for the first time, Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s Freedom Fables is temporally vast but compact in form and size. The first tale, “Gyanphal—The Fruit of Knowledge”, begins in the Garden of Eden. This paradise swiftly devolves into an idealized Kanakdesha where a trading company beguiles the prosperous country and proceeds to ruin it. The second story, “Muktiphal—The Fruit of Freedom”, zeroes in on the rise and growth of India’s Congress Party.
 
Hossain’s political satires are published here together in a single translated edition, several translated into English for the first time. Intertwined in Hossain’s writings are enduring ideals: education and emancipation for women, dignity and freedom for Indians from colonial rule, and the many themes she employs in her works under these two overarching passions. Throughout these tales, the fantastic floats easily over mere facts. Adam and Eve, the Almighty himself, djinns, demons, and magicians—all of these classic characters play decisive, intriguing roles. Apart from these two bitingly witty satires , Freedom Fables includes an additional seven essays and poems that were written over a period of seventeen years.
 

About the Author

Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880–1932) was a pioneer of Islamic feminism. Popularly known as Begum Rokeya, she wrote the first work of feminist science fiction in Asia, Sultana’s Dream, in 1905. In addition to being a prolific writer, she was a visionary campaigner for women’s education; she founded the Muslim Women’s Association in 1906. Kalyani Dutta is an award-winning translator of stories from Bengali. Three of her translations form a part of the Harvard Edition of The Essential Tagore.