The Other in the Mirror: Stories from India and Pakistan

by Sehyr Mirza

“With a Mantoesque aura pervading this collection of stories from across the great divide of 1947, the reader becomes complicit in fiction’s inimitable capacity to subvert established “truths”. A tribute to the power of story-telling, this is a heart-warming, humanizing and inspirational collection that deserves a wide readership.” - Ayesha Jalal “Reading through this mosaic of enthralling stories, my emotions relentlessly oscillated between agony and hope. While these stories brilliantly bring to life familiar characters, they also manifest the compelling essence of fiction that takes you to unfamiliar paths. I’m sure this book will ignite in readers a desire to rise above boundaries and divisive politics.”- Nandita Das

Genres: History

234 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Abdul Khaleed]

In this set of carefully curated and translated short stories, Sehyr Mirza takes the reader on a journey across the India-Pakistan border to beautifully elucidate the everlasting heartache of the Partition. While S.H. Manto's stories focused on the happenings during the Partition and the horror thereabout, these stories deviate from that formula by instead focusing on how the division of the Subcontinent led to a multi-generational effect that still perpetuates communities to this day.

The stories are magnificently presented in a range of diverse thematic perspectives for the reader to explore the topic. From along the physical boundaries such as the Line of Control, villages stuck along the Radcliffe Line, the sea border, to the separation of families amist mass migration, the love/hate amongst diasporic communities, the exploration of the cultural juxtaposition of religion and language, and even the loss of a weath of cultural practices that was never properly inherited albeit poetry or culinary. I particularly enjoyed that it didn't just focus on the immeditate aftermath of the Partition but rather the butterfly effect it has had in South Asian communities in the decades since - reminding us that sometimes dotted lines leave a pain so bitter, the aftertaste never goes away.

A few personal favourites from the collection: Mind Your Language, Saathi, Tears from the River.

[Komal Hashmi]

What a beautiful, simple yet heartaching anthology! To read stories of partition and wars, the stories of loss and memories, the stories of kindness and duty, the cruelty of it all and also the worst case scenario of a nuclear war, was quite an experience.

And especially when these stories are written by a wide range of authors from both India and Pakistan). It was different from the usual books on the subject.

The writing is simple, but it packs a punch! Many profound themes and messages are present in these stories.