Naked Voices: Stories And Sketches

About the Author

Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-55) is one of the finest Urdu short story writers. Provocative, outrageous, scandalous, sometimes even blasphemous, Manto was the original enfant terrible of Urdu literature. Cocking a snook at society, literary norms and most notions of propriety, Manto touched the hearts of many with his convincing and utterly original portrayal of human fallibility.

Rakhshanda Jalil has edited two collections of short stories: an anthology called Urdu Stories and a selection by Pakistani women called Neither Night Nor Day. She has published five works of translations: Premchand's short stories, titled The Temple and the Mosque; a collection of satirical writing in Hindi by Asghar Wajahat titled Lies: Half Told; thirty-two satirical cameos by Saadat Hasan Manto, titled Black Borders; nazms by Urdu poet Shatryar, called Through the Closed Doorway; short stories by Intizar Husain called Circle and Other Stories; and a collection of Premchand's short stories for children called A Winter's Tale and Other Stories. Her translations have appeared in a number of journals and magazines; she has also co-authored, with Mushirul Hasan, Partners in Freedom: Jamia Millia Islamia and written Invisible City, a collection of essays on the little-known monuments of Delhi. She contributes regularly on issues of faith and community to major English newspaper and journals; co-edits Third Frame, a journal devoted to literature, culture and society; and works as Media & Culture Coordinator at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Earlier, she taught English at the universities of Delhi and Aligarh.