Synopses & Reviews
Ila Arab Mehta is an award-winning Gujarati author most noted for her explorations of feminist thinking. In this new translation of her beautiful and skillfully crafted novel
Fence, we meet Fateema Lokhandwala, a young Muslim woman in present-day Gujarat. Fateema lives in a divided world, where religion and class split society. A member of the Muslim minority, she struggles to carve out a place for herself, seeking her true identity and encountering triumph and tragedy along the way.
Fence is a powerful critique of the damage caused by Indian identity politics. It is also a classic coming-of-age story and a lively, yet tender, exploration by Mehta, a Hindu writer, of the dreams and aspirations of her Muslim sisters.
Synopsis
This is the story of Kaushalya, the sole heiress of a rich family, a girl who dares to dream and lives life on her own terms, questioning age-old customs and traditions. Kaushalya's life sees many ups and downs-from a fairy-tale childhood in an affluent family to marrying into a middle-class one, from being a young widow with a child to marrying her devar. In the background, the country and Kaushalya's land, Punjab, suffer the ravages of Partition. Kaushalya's resilience is passed on to the other women of the family in the coming generations, all of whom look up to her as an example and follow the values she laid down for them. Women Extraordinaire is a saga of the lives of five women of indomitable spirit, who refuse to crumble under pressure or give up because of the cruel twists of fate.
About the Author
Ila Arab Mehta is a renowned Gujarati author.Rita Kothari is an author, translator, and academic.