Here’s a tale of a woman coming out of the shadows with sheer grit and determination
WE FIND RENOWNED author Vikram Seth doing something he usually doesn’t agree to very easily. After all, it isn’t exactly easy for an author concentrating on a much-awaited work to find time and agree to do a book launch for someone he hasn’t met or read any previous work of. But then some situations demand going out of the way and Zarina Bhatty’s book happens to be just one of them. For, it’s not every day that you have an enthusiastic octogenarian Muslim woman, who happens to be the former President of Indian Association for Women's Studies and also that of Young Women’s Christian Association write about her struggles, fighting many stereotypes along the way. Her memoir, Purdah to Piccadilly hit the stands this month. This work took two years to come together and chronicles the life of over eight decades, penned down beautifully by the author. As for the title, Bhatty says, “Reflects my life journey from a burqa-clad young girl who got two degrees from the University of London; Piccadilly really refers to London.” Over 200 pages narrate, among other things, the political and social conditions of undivided and post-Independence India. “I wanted to be honest and just share my story as it were”, says Bhatty.
And honest she has been. In the Preface she writes, “Even after 50 years, I cherish the memory of the day when I was sitting in the Royal Albert Hall and my name was called out. It was an international gathering of students, most of who belonged to the privileged classes, including those from royal families worldwide. I got up to receive my degree from the British Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth, who was then the Chancellor of the University of London. I could not help recalling my humble past as the daughter of a middle-class family who had an illiterate grandmother and a mother who had no schooling and was taught only Urdu at home.”
Purdah to Piccadilly is divided into 14 chapters, begins with the author’s family living in Rudauli, Uttar Pradesh, and is interspersed with personal anecdotes and nostalgia. It gives the reader a glimpse into the mundane life of young Bhatty and her interesting journey that concludes with her moving to Mussoorie, and finding a home in the hills.
No stranger to the written word, Bhatty’s first book, Women’s Role in Beedi Industry was published a decade ago, and was sponsored by Internal Labour Office, Geneva. As for her latest endeavour, she states, “It took me nearly two years to write, as I wrote several drafts,” she tells us while nursing a fractured wrist. “I faced the common dilemma that I suppose most writers of biographies face; that is, how honest must one be in writing about one' family and friends. To respect intellectual honesty, should one risk the displeasure of dear ones?” she asks.
Bhatty, the latest entrant to the growing list of authors who have penned their work living in Landour, Mussoorie, gives fascinating accounts of sheer grit, perseverance and determination of a Muslim lady preand post-partition India. What would have made the book even more interesting is if there were more photographs and images to compliment the writing, which is a must-read for those who want a flavour of the times gone by.