Vampire

by Mirza Azeem Baig Chughtai

The unnamed narrator in Azeem Baig Chughtai’s Vampire—written as a letter toGod—is a 16-year-old girl who has just had her nikah ceremony. She dreams ofa life of happiness with a loving, handsome husband—whose face, however, shewill only see at her rukhsati, when she finally leaves her parents’ home for hermarital home.Then, tragedy befalls her. Separated from her family on the journey to hercousin’s wedding in a neighbouring town, she finds herself stranded at the railwaystation. She has no other recourse but to spend the night at the station master’shouse, discovering too late that the only other occupant is his male guest. In thespace of a night, her life is changed forever; she loses her ‘honour’ and faces theterrifying prospect of being shunned by her family, in-laws and friends.In her letter to God, she pours out her grief and terror, her conflictingemotions of denial and acceptance of the events of that night, until she reaches aconclusion. The decision she makes when she finally comes face to face with herhusband, leaves the reader both shocked and disturbed.The brother and literary mentor of the legendary Urdu writer Ismat Chughtai,Azeem Baig was an iconoclast and a feminist who did not hesitate to breakboundaries. Nowhere is this more evident than in Vampire. Long before termslike ‘rape syndrome’ and ‘secondary rape’ were coined, Chughtai dared to writeabout the unmentionable subject of rape in Muslim society—from the femalevictim’s perspective. What makes the novel unique and amazingly relevant is thatthis story, set in 1930s’ India, could well be happening in the twenty-first century.Flawlessly translated by his grand-daughter, Zoovia Hamiduddin, this is the firstof Azeem Baig Chughtai’s works to be translated into English.

152 pages, Paperback

Published February 20, 2024

Reviews

[Yash Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampire, a novel by Mirza Azeem Baig Chughtai, tells us the story of a sixteen-year-old girl who was raped prior to her wedding. It's a story that talks about the Rape Trauma Syndrome and the various stages of anguish and pain a survivor goes through. The book was originally written in 1932 in Urdu. The novel also presents the hypocritical nature of our society, where the victim has to suffer on many counts, whether it's the societal or the family. It's a short and powerful tale that will make you ponder about many things. Do read.

[Prachipallavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so difficult to read, but so necessary.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was written and published in 1932, but if I didn’t know otherwise, I would think it is a contemporary novel. The 16 year old unnamed narrator was brutally raped by a stranger; though she knows she tried to escape and fought back before being overpowered, she chooses not to talk about it. The book deals with her dilemma and the conflicting emotions running through her mind. She knows she is the victim, and yet she realises that by keeping silent, she has in some way made it seems a little difficult for her. But what else could she have done? She had to remain silent because society judges is the victim and not the perpetrator after all, it is her honour, and her family’s honour that is at stake, not that of the man who raped her. Has anything really changed even today? Doesn't the story continue to find resonance in what is happening now?

Detailed review here: https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2024/03/...