Description
- Pub Date : March 2022
- Author : Moushumi Kandali; Parbina Rashid (Tr.)
- Publisher : Vintage Books
- Language : English
- Binding Type : Paperback
- Category : Literary Fiction/Short stories
- ISBN : 9780143451105
- MRP : 299
ABOUT THE BOOK
Many writers in the recent past have acquainted the rest of India to
the composite culture of this north-eastern state through their
writings. Black Magic Women makes a similar attempt with a stark
difference! Moushumi Kandal brings her characters out of Assam and
places them in the mainstream, capturing their struggle to retain their
inherent 'Assameseness' as they try to assimilate at the same time into a
larger picture.
The title story, Black Magic Women, is about how the mainstream India
perceives the Assamese women, who powered with the art of seduction
and black magic, are made to endure social discrimination that can range
from racial slurs to physical abuse. Juxtaposing two different eras, it is a
historic-fictional re-telling of gender bias chronicled in the early
nineteenth century colonial reportage by a British officer.
The stories make one pause, think and debate issues that range from
racial discrimination to the politics in the entertainment industry to
sexual harassment to the existential and ideological dilemma induced by
the complex sociopolitical scenario of the late eighties. Using a generous
sprinkle of fable, myth and various metaphors, they deliver a powerful
punch to the reader.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Moushumi Kandali is a bilingual short story writer, art historian and
translator. Her stories have been published in several national and
international literary magazines and edited anthologies such as 'Oxford
anthology of North East Writing', 'Penguin anthology of fifteen classic
Assamese short stories', 'The Greatest Assamese Stories Ever Told' published
by Aleph Book Company and many others. She has received several
prestigious awards for her creative writing.
