Kallo and other stories – Sameena Nazir and Saira Mujtaba

Description

For readers of Ismat Chughtai, Banu Mushtaq and Saadat Hasan Manto.

A tooth powder seller’s muse. A moustache-wielding matriarch. A beautician who keeps close company with rats.

The women in this unconventional collection of short stories break out of their societal bonds, challenge norms and write their own fates.

First published in Urdu in 2021 to critical acclaim, Kallo opens readers to a new world. Men, though instrumental, are incidental; piety and grime jostle for space; queerness of all kinds is welcome; and women’s passions, desires and fears are at the forefront.

This sharp takedown of the hypocrisies of society, particularly the man-made divisions of national borders, religion, caste and class, is a masterclass in irreverent satire – great if you love a bite in your humour – with female protagonists you can’t help but root for.