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Sultana's Dream and Padmarag
Sultana's Dream and Padmarag are boldly provocative works, particularly in the context of the era that spawned them. Written in English in 1905, Sultana's Dream is a delightful satirical work set in Ladyland, where men are in purdah and women firmly in charge of home and government.
Published in 1924 and translated here for the first time, Padmarag complements Sultana's Dream in its espousal of women's personal journeys towards emancipation. Resonant with autobiographical undertones, the novella is both a powerful indictment of male oppression and a celebration of Rokeya's faith in a universalist society where women, regardless of race, class, creed and religion, reject the diktat of a tyrannical patriarchal society in favour of a life devoted to improving their lot.
Playful, fascinating and intelligent, these novellas offer a keen insight into the psyche of a largely self-taught social activist who has, more than seventy years after her death, come to acquire near-iconic status in South Asia.
Published in 1924 and translated here for the first time, Padmarag complements Sultana's Dream in its espousal of women's personal journeys towards emancipation. Resonant with autobiographical undertones, the novella is both a powerful indictment of male oppression and a celebration of Rokeya's faith in a universalist society where women, regardless of race, class, creed and religion, reject the diktat of a tyrannical patriarchal society in favour of a life devoted to improving their lot.
Playful, fascinating and intelligent, these novellas offer a keen insight into the psyche of a largely self-taught social activist who has, more than seventy years after her death, come to acquire near-iconic status in South Asia.
193 pages, Paperback
First published May 16, 2005
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917 people want to read
About the author
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain
46 books112 followersBegum Roquia Sakhawat Hussain, popularly known as Begum Rokeya, was born in 1880 in the village of Pairabondh, Mithapukur, Rangpur, in what was then the British Indian Empire and is now Bangladesh.
Begum Rokeya was an inspiring figure who contributed much to the struggle to liberate women from the bondage of social malaises. Her life can be seen in the context of other social reformers within what was then India. To raise popular consciousness, especially among women, she wrote a number of articles, stories and novels, mostly in Bengali.
Rokeya used humor, irony, and satire to focus attention on the injustices faced by Bengali-speaking Muslim women. She criticized oppressive social customs forced upon women that were based upon a corrupted version of Islam, asserting that women fulfilling their potential as human beings could best display the glory of Lord. She wrote courageously against restrictions on women in order to promote their emancipation, which, she believed, would come about by breaking the gender division of labor. She rejected discrimination for women in the public arena and believed that discrimination would cease only when women were able to undertake whatever profession they chose. In 1926, Begum strongly condemned men for withholding education from women in name of religion as she addressed the bengal women's education conference:
"The opponents of the female education say that women will be unruly...fie !they call themselves muslims and yet go against the basic tenet of islam which gives equal right to education. If men are not led astray once educated, why should women?"
Begum Rokeya was an inspiring figure who contributed much to the struggle to liberate women from the bondage of social malaises. Her life can be seen in the context of other social reformers within what was then India. To raise popular consciousness, especially among women, she wrote a number of articles, stories and novels, mostly in Bengali.
Rokeya used humor, irony, and satire to focus attention on the injustices faced by Bengali-speaking Muslim women. She criticized oppressive social customs forced upon women that were based upon a corrupted version of Islam, asserting that women fulfilling their potential as human beings could best display the glory of Lord. She wrote courageously against restrictions on women in order to promote their emancipation, which, she believed, would come about by breaking the gender division of labor. She rejected discrimination for women in the public arena and believed that discrimination would cease only when women were able to undertake whatever profession they chose. In 1926, Begum strongly condemned men for withholding education from women in name of religion as she addressed the bengal women's education conference:
"The opponents of the female education say that women will be unruly...fie !they call themselves muslims and yet go against the basic tenet of islam which gives equal right to education. If men are not led astray once educated, why should women?"
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October 26, 2015
Here is home. Pre-Bangladesh War of Independence, Pre-the Greatest Subcontinental Geopolitical Fuckup Ever aka Partition. A Bengali Muslim woman unreservedly publicizing her feminist consciousness in the dawn of the last century in a nation only just starting to awaken from its centuries-old colonial stupor. But here is what makes this view of home alien to me - the imaginings of two discernibly different utopias with women at the helm of matters and men playing second fiddle to them.
Uncommon as it sounds, the seeds of awareness about pervasive gynophobia in a milieu tethered to noxious scriptural ideologies were first sown by a set of radical male educators/social reformers. Among colonial Bengali writers whose works continued to subvert and challenge oppressive social mores, the names of Tagore, Sarat and Bankim Chandra are usually bandied about whenever the discussion shifts to women characters of grit and ability. So much so that Tagore's 'সাধারণ মেয়ে' (Ordinary Girl) still remains a stirring ode written in honour of Sarat Chandra's dauntless fictional heroines none of whom were defined by attributes of femininity or sexual appeal. Even though female feminist thinkers (Rashsundari Devi, Pandita Ramabai, Tarabai Shinde to name a few) were also on the rise towards the end of nineteenth century, I cannot recall a contemporary woman writer's name who had a vision as openly renegade and incendiary as Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain's. This either fleshes out the extent of the deliberate effacement of women's history that academic circles and mainstream media are complicit in perpetuating or attests to the pure power of Rokeya Hossain's reformist spirit. (Consult Aubrey's status updates on Women Writing in India: 600 B.C. to the Present, V: 600 B.C. to the Early Twentieth Century for further proof)
It is both astonishing and not how Hossain's Sultana had dreamed of a 'Ladyland' before the appearance of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland. Gone in an extended visual gulp, all of 12 pages, Hossain's short story satirizes the 'zenana' or the imposed seclusion of Muslim women within the vaunted inner sanctum of the household. In 'Ladyland', women have negotiated a deal with male figures of authority during a time of political crisis, the outlandish outcome of which has witnessed a dramatic turning of the tables with men in purdah (the practice being ironically named 'mardana' which when translated into English reads 'manly' or 'macho') and women holding the reins of administration. The rationale behind this permanent near-incarceration of all male members of society seems to be grounded in the assumption that the latter are too dangerous and morally bankrupt to be let loose. (Here I grin at the memory of Virginia Woolf's sweet vitriol against all male violence in Three Guineas)
Inclusion of sentences like "In their proper places, where they ought to be." reinforce the notion that the author's primary objective has been to slay the 'sexism' monster and mock superstitious customs invented for the purpose of maintaining a skewed power balance in gender relations. It is a bit reminiscent of the kind of role reversal depicted in that controversial Eléonore Pourriat short film in which women are shown running topless through the streets while a fully-attired man is made to feel uncomfortable by the brazen but socially okay-ed display of skin. Essentially, the narrative is wrought on the compromise achieved between envisioning a realizable ecofeminist society where a liberal, scientific temperament is the dominant attitude to life and concocting a delicious revenge fantasy based on executing a clever switch between the sexes, keeping the heteronormative gendered roles intact in the process. In a roundabout critique of the colonial enterprise, Ladyland's ruling class also claim to be freed from any imperialist, expansionist zeal. It is, however, revealing that this feminist utopia does not harbour ambitions of becoming a socialist feminist utopia.
'Padmarag' , on the other hand, written originally in Bangla is a lengthier work and does not seek easy recourse to the elements of the speculative/sci-fi genre to soften its blow of social criticism, choosing instead the hard ground of reality to establish its utopian credentials. The book's central thematic conceit evolves around the revered notion of 'sisterhood', a cornerstone of all feminist discourse. A diverse cast of female characters across race, class and religious divides, each one of them handcuffed to a personal history of patriarchal oppression, find a safe haven in Tarini Bhavan, a humanitarian and educational organization founded and administered by women. This is undoubtedly an extension of Rokeya Hossain's own lifelong charitable work for the welfare of Muslim women in undivided Bengal who in her opinion were being forced to follow a corrupted version of Islam.
Lacking as it is in significant character development or eventful plot progression or even dramatic tension, the reader is bound to be jolted out of his/her comfort zone in the very end. The eponymous Padmarag ('ruby' in Bangla), a clear representative of the subaltern, victim of patriarchal, racist and classist bias, one who surprisingly cross-dresses as an English-educated gentleman in the opening portion of the novel, shuns the constricting institution of marriage to carve out a life for herself outside the secure confines of Tarini Bhavan, even though she remains affianced in spirit. A truly shocking ending designated for a female protagonist if one considers the time and place of publication of this work.
Both short story and short novel serve as complementary pieces of an intellectual treatise emphasizing the urgent need for female emancipation. Precisely why this reminds me of Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable (political pamphlet with limited literary merit). But in no way is this admission an attempt at robbing this momentous work of its sociohistorical value in the annals of feminist literature.
Uncommon as it sounds, the seeds of awareness about pervasive gynophobia in a milieu tethered to noxious scriptural ideologies were first sown by a set of radical male educators/social reformers. Among colonial Bengali writers whose works continued to subvert and challenge oppressive social mores, the names of Tagore, Sarat and Bankim Chandra are usually bandied about whenever the discussion shifts to women characters of grit and ability. So much so that Tagore's 'সাধারণ মেয়ে' (Ordinary Girl) still remains a stirring ode written in honour of Sarat Chandra's dauntless fictional heroines none of whom were defined by attributes of femininity or sexual appeal. Even though female feminist thinkers (Rashsundari Devi, Pandita Ramabai, Tarabai Shinde to name a few) were also on the rise towards the end of nineteenth century, I cannot recall a contemporary woman writer's name who had a vision as openly renegade and incendiary as Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain's. This either fleshes out the extent of the deliberate effacement of women's history that academic circles and mainstream media are complicit in perpetuating or attests to the pure power of Rokeya Hossain's reformist spirit. (Consult Aubrey's status updates on Women Writing in India: 600 B.C. to the Present, V: 600 B.C. to the Early Twentieth Century for further proof)
It is both astonishing and not how Hossain's Sultana had dreamed of a 'Ladyland' before the appearance of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland. Gone in an extended visual gulp, all of 12 pages, Hossain's short story satirizes the 'zenana' or the imposed seclusion of Muslim women within the vaunted inner sanctum of the household. In 'Ladyland', women have negotiated a deal with male figures of authority during a time of political crisis, the outlandish outcome of which has witnessed a dramatic turning of the tables with men in purdah (the practice being ironically named 'mardana' which when translated into English reads 'manly' or 'macho') and women holding the reins of administration. The rationale behind this permanent near-incarceration of all male members of society seems to be grounded in the assumption that the latter are too dangerous and morally bankrupt to be let loose. (Here I grin at the memory of Virginia Woolf's sweet vitriol against all male violence in Three Guineas)
...it is not safe so long as there are men about the streets, nor is it so when a wild animal enters a marketplace.
Inclusion of sentences like "In their proper places, where they ought to be." reinforce the notion that the author's primary objective has been to slay the 'sexism' monster and mock superstitious customs invented for the purpose of maintaining a skewed power balance in gender relations. It is a bit reminiscent of the kind of role reversal depicted in that controversial Eléonore Pourriat short film in which women are shown running topless through the streets while a fully-attired man is made to feel uncomfortable by the brazen but socially okay-ed display of skin. Essentially, the narrative is wrought on the compromise achieved between envisioning a realizable ecofeminist society where a liberal, scientific temperament is the dominant attitude to life and concocting a delicious revenge fantasy based on executing a clever switch between the sexes, keeping the heteronormative gendered roles intact in the process. In a roundabout critique of the colonial enterprise, Ladyland's ruling class also claim to be freed from any imperialist, expansionist zeal. It is, however, revealing that this feminist utopia does not harbour ambitions of becoming a socialist feminist utopia.
'Padmarag' , on the other hand, written originally in Bangla is a lengthier work and does not seek easy recourse to the elements of the speculative/sci-fi genre to soften its blow of social criticism, choosing instead the hard ground of reality to establish its utopian credentials. The book's central thematic conceit evolves around the revered notion of 'sisterhood', a cornerstone of all feminist discourse. A diverse cast of female characters across race, class and religious divides, each one of them handcuffed to a personal history of patriarchal oppression, find a safe haven in Tarini Bhavan, a humanitarian and educational organization founded and administered by women. This is undoubtedly an extension of Rokeya Hossain's own lifelong charitable work for the welfare of Muslim women in undivided Bengal who in her opinion were being forced to follow a corrupted version of Islam.
A woman is taught the principle of self-sacrifice form birth. When she is a spinster, she sacrifices her own interests for the sake of her father and her brothers. When she marries, her husband's needs take precedence. And, finally, she sacrifices her own needs to those of her children.
Lacking as it is in significant character development or eventful plot progression or even dramatic tension, the reader is bound to be jolted out of his/her comfort zone in the very end. The eponymous Padmarag ('ruby' in Bangla), a clear representative of the subaltern, victim of patriarchal, racist and classist bias, one who surprisingly cross-dresses as an English-educated gentleman in the opening portion of the novel, shuns the constricting institution of marriage to carve out a life for herself outside the secure confines of Tarini Bhavan, even though she remains affianced in spirit. A truly shocking ending designated for a female protagonist if one considers the time and place of publication of this work.
Both short story and short novel serve as complementary pieces of an intellectual treatise emphasizing the urgent need for female emancipation. Precisely why this reminds me of Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable (political pamphlet with limited literary merit). But in no way is this admission an attempt at robbing this momentous work of its sociohistorical value in the annals of feminist literature.
August 26, 2023
”…the lover revels in his anguish, so why does he weep? The joy lies in the tears.”
Feminist literature? More like misandrist masterpiece!
Feminist literature? More like misandrist masterpiece!
December 25, 2020
Sultana’s dream and Padmarag by Rokeya Sakhawait Hussain.
A book i ignored for years
A book i thought to be a sob story
A book that outlived my expectations
A book that was written in early 20th century
A book written by a self taught activist
A book with 2 novellas as its content
Has a satirical dream of ladyland
Men are in purdah and women running government
Again, it tells its a dream
A beautiful ambitious dream of
A woman in purdah,
Then has another story
Another feminist dream
Set in a place Tarini Bhavan
Not any less than ladyland
An amazing feminist utopia
So appealing that i forgot it's a fiction
Enters a damsel in distress
Who takes multiple pseudonyms
Has all the world problems
then she’s everything but helpless
She's got help
There’s more then there’s nothing much
Its all how you and i understand
Again, trust me it's not a sob story of women
It is a witty sarcastic satire that owns up to it
Pick up this book right away
It's a short one go kinda book
You wont regret picking it,
If you’re still reading,
Don't come at me for this mere attempt
I don't know what to call this
Lets just say i changed format for this book
Tell me what would you call
This amateur format of mine
And rescue me
The whirlpool of my overthinking.
A book i ignored for years
A book i thought to be a sob story
A book that outlived my expectations
A book that was written in early 20th century
A book written by a self taught activist
A book with 2 novellas as its content
Has a satirical dream of ladyland
Men are in purdah and women running government
Again, it tells its a dream
A beautiful ambitious dream of
A woman in purdah,
Then has another story
Another feminist dream
Set in a place Tarini Bhavan
Not any less than ladyland
An amazing feminist utopia
So appealing that i forgot it's a fiction
Enters a damsel in distress
Who takes multiple pseudonyms
Has all the world problems
then she’s everything but helpless
She's got help
There’s more then there’s nothing much
Its all how you and i understand
Again, trust me it's not a sob story of women
It is a witty sarcastic satire that owns up to it
Pick up this book right away
It's a short one go kinda book
You wont regret picking it,
If you’re still reading,
Don't come at me for this mere attempt
I don't know what to call this
Lets just say i changed format for this book
Tell me what would you call
This amateur format of mine
And rescue me
The whirlpool of my overthinking.
Read
October 20, 2022Interesting as a document of early feminism and for the informatin about remarkable life of its author, but pretty weak as literature.
January 13, 2023
Sultana's Dream is a too short story, a sketch of a futuristic feminist utopia from turn of the last century India.
Padmarag is delightful though. It's full of all the winning characters, mysteries, romance, and intrigue you would get in, say, a Dickensian novel, but in the short package of less than 200 pages.
I'm surprised I'd never heard of Hussain until recently, but she deserves to be wider known.
Padmarag is delightful though. It's full of all the winning characters, mysteries, romance, and intrigue you would get in, say, a Dickensian novel, but in the short package of less than 200 pages.
I'm surprised I'd never heard of Hussain until recently, but she deserves to be wider known.
January 4, 2025
why don’t people write like this anymore
April 1, 2019
Sultana's Dream:
I discovered this short story and the novella 'Padmarag' by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain pretty randomly on Instagram. Before this I had no idea about the authoress and her body of work. This version of Penguin Classics has both 'Sultana's Dream' and 'Padmarag' in it. The short story 'Sultana's Dream' is about a utopian society where due to some circumstances the women do all the works done by men and men are bound for the household work as women do outside of this utopian Ladyland. The narrative wise story was very simple and easy to understand. What I liked most about the story was its treatment. The story is treated as a dream sequence and throughout it is treated as a dream. Though being a fairy tale kind of story and also a dream sequence, subtly the story showcases the conflict in a woman's mind. I think the two characters Sister Sara and Sultana are the two sides of one one female conscience. One who lives in a strong feminist utopia and other for whom this utopia is the ultimate fable. If the conversations which takes place between these two characters I found Sultana was constantly trying to convince Sister Sara about the stark realities and on the other hand Sister Sara tells her about how she and her people created this utopia.
In these conversations both Sultana and Sara, and more than them, their perspectives represent hopelessness and ultimate hopefulness respectively, and the authoress very subtly but strongly conveys that no matter how dark and hopeless the times may be there will always be a Sara in the conscience of every Sultana.
Padmarag:
If 'Sultana's Dream' was a dream fable of a feminist society, I would say that 'Padmarag' is its grounded and real version. The short story talks about a land in which women are free from all the sorrows, plights and agonies, and the novella tells a story about an abode where women live after going through all of those sorrows, plights and agonies. The Dina-Tarini Bhavan is is the practical manifestation of what Sultana dreamt of and so are its inmates. All of them including the founder of this abode are tormanted women. After struggling for most of their lifetimes now they have found their perfect heaven. Though a good one yet novella drags at some places and takes time to come to the point. I think the other problem was that it shifts back and forth focus on characters very quickly. The back stories of the inmates, after a point, felt very monotonous.
4 Stars.
I discovered this short story and the novella 'Padmarag' by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain pretty randomly on Instagram. Before this I had no idea about the authoress and her body of work. This version of Penguin Classics has both 'Sultana's Dream' and 'Padmarag' in it. The short story 'Sultana's Dream' is about a utopian society where due to some circumstances the women do all the works done by men and men are bound for the household work as women do outside of this utopian Ladyland. The narrative wise story was very simple and easy to understand. What I liked most about the story was its treatment. The story is treated as a dream sequence and throughout it is treated as a dream. Though being a fairy tale kind of story and also a dream sequence, subtly the story showcases the conflict in a woman's mind. I think the two characters Sister Sara and Sultana are the two sides of one one female conscience. One who lives in a strong feminist utopia and other for whom this utopia is the ultimate fable. If the conversations which takes place between these two characters I found Sultana was constantly trying to convince Sister Sara about the stark realities and on the other hand Sister Sara tells her about how she and her people created this utopia.
In these conversations both Sultana and Sara, and more than them, their perspectives represent hopelessness and ultimate hopefulness respectively, and the authoress very subtly but strongly conveys that no matter how dark and hopeless the times may be there will always be a Sara in the conscience of every Sultana.
Padmarag:
If 'Sultana's Dream' was a dream fable of a feminist society, I would say that 'Padmarag' is its grounded and real version. The short story talks about a land in which women are free from all the sorrows, plights and agonies, and the novella tells a story about an abode where women live after going through all of those sorrows, plights and agonies. The Dina-Tarini Bhavan is is the practical manifestation of what Sultana dreamt of and so are its inmates. All of them including the founder of this abode are tormanted women. After struggling for most of their lifetimes now they have found their perfect heaven. Though a good one yet novella drags at some places and takes time to come to the point. I think the other problem was that it shifts back and forth focus on characters very quickly. The back stories of the inmates, after a point, felt very monotonous.
4 Stars.
August 8, 2017
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was a Bengali writer, educationist, social activist, and advocate of women's rights. She wrote Sultana’s Dream in 1905, which is a feminist utopia novella, where women run the world and men are in the purdah system. (Delightful satire, to say the least.)
Padmarag is another novel published in 1924, chronicling the lives of women from diverse religions, backgrounds and ethnicities, who are working together for the upliftment of women in their society.
I was most pleasantly surprised to read her progressive ideas and way of thinking, considering the era in which she lived and published these works.
Warning: Mild spoilers ahead.
Padmarag refers to the central character of the novel, via whom Begum Rokeya gives readers a most unconventional ending of courtship, rejecting domesticity in favor of individualism.
Rokeya’s Padmarag is a woman who has gone through a series of misfortunes, and arrives at Tarini Bhavan (the welfare center / school) utterly heartbroken and dejected.
Her story arch then moves to the unfolding of her personality to a strong, hardworking, self-sacrificing woman who though very much in love, chooses not to accept the expected path of domesticity.
The novel also depicts the circumstances of women in those days via other characters working at Tarini Bhavan, most of whom have back stories of suffering, either in patriarchy or matrimony, and have left their pasts behind to dedicate their lives to others in need. It portrays the suffering of women in the era, as well as the struggles of women in power during those days.
It does an excellent job of championing education for women, and not just the rote system that is the norm in our country, but quality education that would help them be self-sufficient and not ‘wooden dolls’.
Where Sultana’s Dream is a cheerful, often hilarious satire in an imaginary world, Padmarag is a gritty, melodramatic & authentic work of literature that outlines issues women face even to this day.
Padmarag is another novel published in 1924, chronicling the lives of women from diverse religions, backgrounds and ethnicities, who are working together for the upliftment of women in their society.
I was most pleasantly surprised to read her progressive ideas and way of thinking, considering the era in which she lived and published these works.
Warning: Mild spoilers ahead.
Padmarag refers to the central character of the novel, via whom Begum Rokeya gives readers a most unconventional ending of courtship, rejecting domesticity in favor of individualism.
Rokeya’s Padmarag is a woman who has gone through a series of misfortunes, and arrives at Tarini Bhavan (the welfare center / school) utterly heartbroken and dejected.
Her story arch then moves to the unfolding of her personality to a strong, hardworking, self-sacrificing woman who though very much in love, chooses not to accept the expected path of domesticity.
The novel also depicts the circumstances of women in those days via other characters working at Tarini Bhavan, most of whom have back stories of suffering, either in patriarchy or matrimony, and have left their pasts behind to dedicate their lives to others in need. It portrays the suffering of women in the era, as well as the struggles of women in power during those days.
It does an excellent job of championing education for women, and not just the rote system that is the norm in our country, but quality education that would help them be self-sufficient and not ‘wooden dolls’.
Where Sultana’s Dream is a cheerful, often hilarious satire in an imaginary world, Padmarag is a gritty, melodramatic & authentic work of literature that outlines issues women face even to this day.
May 24, 2020
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain is one of those writers who touched the deepest recesses of my heart with her poetic and empowering writing. While Sultana's dream is a story of a feminist utopia where women, with the help of science and technology, win wars and preside over the nation, Padmarag is a realistic version of it. In Sultana's dream, men are kept in seclusion instead of women, under a regime called Mardana. When Sister Sara asks Sultana why women in her world allow themselves to be shut up in seclusion, Sultana responds by saying "because it cannot be helped as they are stronger than women." To this, Sister Sara says - "A lion is stronger than a man, but it does not enable him to dominate the human race." While I loved Sultana's dream, I felt more connected and empowered by reading Padmarag. The strength of those women in Tarini Bhawan inspired me to no limits. Their arguments against patriarchy were so resolute and filled with such satire and intellect. I absolutely loved the ending. It reaffirmed my faith in feminism. I absolutely loved Siddhika's characterisation. She was just so bold, selfless and strong that no man can ever measure up to her. As she says in one of the instances - "Are we women puppets that men can reject us at will and take us back again when it suits them to do so? The era is over when men would trample on us and still have us licking their boots." The comments Tarini had to face and endure shows our society's predisposition towards successful and ambitious women who strive to regain their power. The story is so ahead of its time. It talks about consent, domestic violence against women, unfair and unlawful marriage practices in Indian society, privileges men behold and dictates the stories of women who emerge from it stronger and more determined than before. Reading Padmarag must have been one of the best decisions I ever made because most literature out there speaks about white feminism and I never really got around to reading South Asian feminism with such rigor before.
September 16, 2013
Sultana's Dream...a book I had heard about since kindergarden, but never actually happened to read. It is brilliant, and becomes increasingly more brilliant as you put it in context of 1905's Bengal, where the purdah system reigned and the subcontinent was still under the ruthless British rule. This science fiction has a reversed sex-roles dystopia (it seems quite utopi-c, though), solar energy, electric irrigation and transportation and quite a few other marvels. I think it should be made a required reading for schools in Bangladesh. Also, I just found a fanfic on it!
'We do not covet other people's land, we do not fight for a piece of diamond though it may be a thousand-fold brighter than the Koh-i-Noor, nor do we grudge a ruler his Peacock Throne. We dive deep into the ocean of knowledge and try to find out the precious gems, which nature has kept in store for us. We enjoy nature's gifts as much as we can.'
A really good short-story.
'We do not covet other people's land, we do not fight for a piece of diamond though it may be a thousand-fold brighter than the Koh-i-Noor, nor do we grudge a ruler his Peacock Throne. We dive deep into the ocean of knowledge and try to find out the precious gems, which nature has kept in store for us. We enjoy nature's gifts as much as we can.'
A really good short-story.
February 23, 2023
Je me suis finalement procuré ce livre de Rokeya Hossain après avoir lu et relu plusieurs fois la très courte nouvelle eutopique Sultana's Dream (au point d'en avoir écrit une traduction il y quelques années). La relire plusieurs années plus tard me procure toujours un grand plaisir de lecture et j'y trouve même de nouvelles perspectives (comme un petit angle d'analyse thématique écoféministe à explorer...)!
Acheter ce recueil m'a donné aussi l'occasion de lire un autre de ses textes, beaucoup plus long celui-là, le récit Padmarag qui,à travers un roman choral, traite autant de la condition des femmes, que de l'éducation, la famille, la romance, etc. Je dois avouer avoir été un peu moins intéressé par ce récit, très bien écrit et pensé (même comique par moment notamment lorsqu'on arrive aux lettres envoyés à l'école), les passages sur l'éducation sont vraiment fantastique, mais la partie plus "évasion" de ma lecture m'échappait complètement et je me suis souvent pris à penser à autre chose durant ma lecture ce qui est assez rare.
Le recueil se finit par deux minuscules essais de deux, trois pages sur des réflexions d'Hossain qui honnêtement s'inscrive très bien dans l'époque, très axé sur l'éducation des femmes et la participation dans la vie public, mais dans les justifications sont un peu essentialistes et axées sur le fait "In short, our girls would not only obtain university degrees, but must be ideal daughters, wives and mothers - or I may say obedient daughters, loving sisters, dutiful wives, and instructive mothers." (p. 210) donc toujours dans un but relationnel à un·e autre. C'est un peu dommage que ce soit les derniers mots du recueil.
Acheter ce recueil m'a donné aussi l'occasion de lire un autre de ses textes, beaucoup plus long celui-là, le récit Padmarag qui,à travers un roman choral, traite autant de la condition des femmes, que de l'éducation, la famille, la romance, etc. Je dois avouer avoir été un peu moins intéressé par ce récit, très bien écrit et pensé (même comique par moment notamment lorsqu'on arrive aux lettres envoyés à l'école), les passages sur l'éducation sont vraiment fantastique, mais la partie plus "évasion" de ma lecture m'échappait complètement et je me suis souvent pris à penser à autre chose durant ma lecture ce qui est assez rare.
Le recueil se finit par deux minuscules essais de deux, trois pages sur des réflexions d'Hossain qui honnêtement s'inscrive très bien dans l'époque, très axé sur l'éducation des femmes et la participation dans la vie public, mais dans les justifications sont un peu essentialistes et axées sur le fait "In short, our girls would not only obtain university degrees, but must be ideal daughters, wives and mothers - or I may say obedient daughters, loving sisters, dutiful wives, and instructive mothers." (p. 210) donc toujours dans un but relationnel à un·e autre. C'est un peu dommage que ce soit les derniers mots du recueil.
October 11, 2024
read for my South Asian Book Club!
While the narratives were short and straightforward, the fact that a Bengali woman wrote a feminist utopia in 1905, in English (her fifth language), is incredibly inspiring. Even though it's a speculative short story, it sparked deep conversations in our group. It was revolutionary for its time and remains just as significant 120 years later.
While the narratives were short and straightforward, the fact that a Bengali woman wrote a feminist utopia in 1905, in English (her fifth language), is incredibly inspiring. Even though it's a speculative short story, it sparked deep conversations in our group. It was revolutionary for its time and remains just as significant 120 years later.
September 13, 2024
Sultanas dream-4.
Padmarag- 4.5
Padmarag- 4.5
March 25, 2022
🌛Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, also known as Begum Rokeya, was a Bengali writer, activist, and educator. She held a strong belief in the power of education for emancipation. Her ardour for Indian feminist movement was such that all her writings revolved around the theme of oppression of women and called upon them to protest against the injustices.
This particular book by @penguinclassics encapsulates two of her major literary works: Sultana's Dream and Padmarag.
🌛Sultana's dream is a short satirical story which talks about an alternate world called 'Lady-land' where the roles of men and women have been reversed. While women dominate the public life, men stay at home confined to their sections of 'mardana'. It focuses on the importance of brain over brawn, the liberating power of education, and the inculcation of scientific temper to attain freedom.
🌛Padmarag, the novella, showcases the author's exemplary skills at weaving a feminist story. Here, the utopia is 'Tarini Bhavan', a haven for victims of patriarchy like Usha, Helen, Sakina, Rafiya and Saudamini. Together with Mrs. Dina-Tarini Sen, they run a full-fledged institution catering to downtrodden women and the needy. At the heart of the eponymous novella is the agonizing tale of Siddika (Padmarag). We witness her evolution from a sombre, melancholy girl to a self-reliant and independent woman. The story underpins the indispensability of education and acquisition of vocational skills for women to break away from the throes of oppression. It mirrors and draws inspiration from Rokeya Begum's own life and the indignations discharged at her for fighting against the patriarchal norms.
🌛Both the works depict fascinating feminist utopias. Sultana's dream was originally composed in english itself, whereas Padmarag has been masterfully translated by @barnitabagchi from bengali to english. It is a remarkable book which I thoroughly enjoyed. Two feminist stories written by an Indian author in the early 1900s should be motivation enough to read them. However, once you pick this book up, you will not be disappointed.
P.S.- Do not read the Introduction before the novel because it contains some spoilers.
For more reviews, find me on instagram- @the.magicofwords
This particular book by @penguinclassics encapsulates two of her major literary works: Sultana's Dream and Padmarag.
🌛Sultana's dream is a short satirical story which talks about an alternate world called 'Lady-land' where the roles of men and women have been reversed. While women dominate the public life, men stay at home confined to their sections of 'mardana'. It focuses on the importance of brain over brawn, the liberating power of education, and the inculcation of scientific temper to attain freedom.
🌛Padmarag, the novella, showcases the author's exemplary skills at weaving a feminist story. Here, the utopia is 'Tarini Bhavan', a haven for victims of patriarchy like Usha, Helen, Sakina, Rafiya and Saudamini. Together with Mrs. Dina-Tarini Sen, they run a full-fledged institution catering to downtrodden women and the needy. At the heart of the eponymous novella is the agonizing tale of Siddika (Padmarag). We witness her evolution from a sombre, melancholy girl to a self-reliant and independent woman. The story underpins the indispensability of education and acquisition of vocational skills for women to break away from the throes of oppression. It mirrors and draws inspiration from Rokeya Begum's own life and the indignations discharged at her for fighting against the patriarchal norms.
🌛Both the works depict fascinating feminist utopias. Sultana's dream was originally composed in english itself, whereas Padmarag has been masterfully translated by @barnitabagchi from bengali to english. It is a remarkable book which I thoroughly enjoyed. Two feminist stories written by an Indian author in the early 1900s should be motivation enough to read them. However, once you pick this book up, you will not be disappointed.
P.S.- Do not read the Introduction before the novel because it contains some spoilers.
For more reviews, find me on instagram- @the.magicofwords
April 26, 2021
Sultana's Dream
The story of Sultana's Dream is a beautiful depiction of what the world would have been like had it not been ruled, plundered, looted, and selfishly used for mere territorial expansions, of course, by men. The story is a clear gibe on men and what they have made their world to be; a portrayal of women and their world in the absence of atrocities unleashed by men is showcased in the story making it a perfect read. Among the few specific things pointed out like men whiling away their time at work or their unspeakable interest in warfare while accusing women of inefficiency, some other important issues have been discussed like that of role reversal i.e. where men are alloted the household work without pay like cooking for families in the kitchen. Yet another eccentric viewpoint that holds equally valid in the contemporary world is that the exercising of rights by one does not devoid the others of theirs. Sultana's Dream is relevant in every way to the present world and must be given a read.
Padmarag
Begum Rokeya's novella Padmarag is a mix of several life events that have taken the shape of a novel. These include her close relationship with her brother, the problems she faced at the school she opened for women in Calcutta, the many women resident there and their entangling stories, and Rokeya's take on it. Padmarag is a work of fiction with touches of mysticism and feminism in some places. Despite that, it would be incorrect to call the work as completely related to or depicting the ideology of feminism. The story is too melodramatic in certain parts and glorifies the victimhood or sacrificial nature of women. In other places, it does challenge certain hardships like refusal of a family to accept a woman who ran away from the clutches of robbers or downplaying the importance of blood relations as step relations could be equally giving, even more. On the whole, Padmarag is more like a story that should be read as such. Anyone looking purely for a feminist angle might be disappointed.
The story of Sultana's Dream is a beautiful depiction of what the world would have been like had it not been ruled, plundered, looted, and selfishly used for mere territorial expansions, of course, by men. The story is a clear gibe on men and what they have made their world to be; a portrayal of women and their world in the absence of atrocities unleashed by men is showcased in the story making it a perfect read. Among the few specific things pointed out like men whiling away their time at work or their unspeakable interest in warfare while accusing women of inefficiency, some other important issues have been discussed like that of role reversal i.e. where men are alloted the household work without pay like cooking for families in the kitchen. Yet another eccentric viewpoint that holds equally valid in the contemporary world is that the exercising of rights by one does not devoid the others of theirs. Sultana's Dream is relevant in every way to the present world and must be given a read.
Padmarag
Begum Rokeya's novella Padmarag is a mix of several life events that have taken the shape of a novel. These include her close relationship with her brother, the problems she faced at the school she opened for women in Calcutta, the many women resident there and their entangling stories, and Rokeya's take on it. Padmarag is a work of fiction with touches of mysticism and feminism in some places. Despite that, it would be incorrect to call the work as completely related to or depicting the ideology of feminism. The story is too melodramatic in certain parts and glorifies the victimhood or sacrificial nature of women. In other places, it does challenge certain hardships like refusal of a family to accept a woman who ran away from the clutches of robbers or downplaying the importance of blood relations as step relations could be equally giving, even more. On the whole, Padmarag is more like a story that should be read as such. Anyone looking purely for a feminist angle might be disappointed.
February 3, 2024
5/5
fuck!!!!!!! IN THIS HOUSE WE STAN SIDDIKA/ZAINAB/PADMARAG!!!!
i love Indian literature and Feminist literature, then it is combined in a book like this with such heavy culture and diversity and passion and soul, and BAAM, im sold. This is a very very simple book, it consists of two stories first being a 15 paged story based on a utopian feminist country named Ladyland, and the second is heavily based on literal women's badassery and their rise from oppression in the 1920s(fictional ofc). The sexism has reduced of course but the resemblance to what it is now and what it was a century ago is uncanny. Talking about the language, the translation is very simple and beautiful, and it's not a sad book, it's a book of rising above but it just makes you cry for the most basic achievements. The story is intertwined perfectly with a reveal at the end.
fuck!!!!!!! IN THIS HOUSE WE STAN SIDDIKA/ZAINAB/PADMARAG!!!!
i love Indian literature and Feminist literature, then it is combined in a book like this with such heavy culture and diversity and passion and soul, and BAAM, im sold. This is a very very simple book, it consists of two stories first being a 15 paged story based on a utopian feminist country named Ladyland, and the second is heavily based on literal women's badassery and their rise from oppression in the 1920s(fictional ofc). The sexism has reduced of course but the resemblance to what it is now and what it was a century ago is uncanny. Talking about the language, the translation is very simple and beautiful, and it's not a sad book, it's a book of rising above but it just makes you cry for the most basic achievements. The story is intertwined perfectly with a reveal at the end.
April 16, 2023
3.5 - Sultana's Dream I really enjoyed. I loved reading about this society run by women. I mean Sister Sara had it right when she said "they are fit for nothing". I enjoyed it.
Padmarag I didn't enjoy as much because it was just a bit slow and not my type of story. I did enjoy all the different characters and their stories however. I think learning their history was my favorite part of it.
Padmarag I didn't enjoy as much because it was just a bit slow and not my type of story. I did enjoy all the different characters and their stories however. I think learning their history was my favorite part of it.
May 23, 2010
Good fun. I felt Sultana's Dream came apart a bit at the end, but was impressed by the ending of Padmarag. Note to self: Sultana's Dream was written originally in English; Padmarag in Bengali.
April 4, 2023
a cute little short story revolutionary for the time it was written but not the best i’ve read
April 24, 2023
There is a phenomenon that literary authors tend to be dismissive of science fiction, to ignore or dismiss it even – or especially – when they appropriate its tropes (typically with less success). Tanya Agathocleous takes a different approach with the introduction to Rokeya Hossain’s “Sultana’s Dream” and Padmarag, arguing for their place in the history of science (or speculative) fictional utopias. The introduction mentions H.P. Lovecraft and Octavia E. Butler, and the recommended reading includes nearly three pages of SF and secondary literature. I found the book shelved in the science fiction section, and thus read it as science fiction.
This works well for “Sultana’s Dream”, a utopian work in which the eponymous Sultana falls asleep and dreams of Ladyland. In Ladyland, men are secluded and women run the world, achieving technological feats and an end to war. In the grand tradition of utopian fiction, “Sultana’s Dream” is provocative, challenging the social setting in which it was written to think about how its assumptions work to make the world worse.
Padmarag is more complicated. Distanced from the setting in which it was conceived, I found it difficult to quite understand the utopian aims of Tarini Bhavan and the social expectations placed upon its characters. The phenomena of women-run institutions, women taking control of their own destinies, and female education are pretty normal in my experience, and marriage tends to be personal choice rather than familial arrangement. As such, the revolutionary utopian elements of this story are less obvious.
In the story itself we are presented with a sort-of mystery, although the basic outline was pretty obvious to me, bolstered by the tragic and/or infuriating backstories of the women who live and work in Tarini Bhavan. Many of these stories do give the sense of the masculine supremacist dystopian world that these women have escaped; others emphasise the horrible effects of British colonial rule in India. I say ‘dystopian’ because this world is distant to me, although this was the world in which Rokeya Hossain lived.
I find it difficult to assess the success of Padmarag as a novel because the expectations it flouts are those of a world very distant to me. It’s the kind of story where I need more historical context than I have. “Sultana’s Dream”, on the other hand, is direct and simple and thus worked for me.
Some of the historical context is elaborated upon in the two essays bundled with this edition: “God Gives, Man Robs” and “Educational Ideals for the Modern Indian Girls”. The former of these advocates for the liberation of Muslim women in accordance with the teachings of Islam. The latter argues for a tradition of teaching in India that should be revived for the contemporary era. For me, these essays illustrate how well science fiction, in particular utopia and dystopia, aligns with social movements past and present. I think a lot of science fiction would benefit from the inclusion of similar essays.
This works well for “Sultana’s Dream”, a utopian work in which the eponymous Sultana falls asleep and dreams of Ladyland. In Ladyland, men are secluded and women run the world, achieving technological feats and an end to war. In the grand tradition of utopian fiction, “Sultana’s Dream” is provocative, challenging the social setting in which it was written to think about how its assumptions work to make the world worse.
Padmarag is more complicated. Distanced from the setting in which it was conceived, I found it difficult to quite understand the utopian aims of Tarini Bhavan and the social expectations placed upon its characters. The phenomena of women-run institutions, women taking control of their own destinies, and female education are pretty normal in my experience, and marriage tends to be personal choice rather than familial arrangement. As such, the revolutionary utopian elements of this story are less obvious.
In the story itself we are presented with a sort-of mystery, although the basic outline was pretty obvious to me, bolstered by the tragic and/or infuriating backstories of the women who live and work in Tarini Bhavan. Many of these stories do give the sense of the masculine supremacist dystopian world that these women have escaped; others emphasise the horrible effects of British colonial rule in India. I say ‘dystopian’ because this world is distant to me, although this was the world in which Rokeya Hossain lived.
I find it difficult to assess the success of Padmarag as a novel because the expectations it flouts are those of a world very distant to me. It’s the kind of story where I need more historical context than I have. “Sultana’s Dream”, on the other hand, is direct and simple and thus worked for me.
Some of the historical context is elaborated upon in the two essays bundled with this edition: “God Gives, Man Robs” and “Educational Ideals for the Modern Indian Girls”. The former of these advocates for the liberation of Muslim women in accordance with the teachings of Islam. The latter argues for a tradition of teaching in India that should be revived for the contemporary era. For me, these essays illustrate how well science fiction, in particular utopia and dystopia, aligns with social movements past and present. I think a lot of science fiction would benefit from the inclusion of similar essays.
Read
April 26, 2024two beautiful stories about fictional feminist utopias. enjoyable, tender, comforting. got goosebumps at the end! it was written in 1905 by a female activist in india and has been a feminist classic since. tis true that the dreams and imagination of the artist are the same as that of the activist!
fav quotes:
"Everyone wore saris and dresses in blue or saffron. Shoes and socks, the badges of 'civilization', were conspicuous by their absence. No one wore any jewelry; at the very most, some wore shankhas or bangles. None bore any signs of extravagance. All they seemed to be garbed in was simplicity and generosity."
"Lost in contemplation of nature's poetry, could one help lauding God's artistry? That day, Siddika was at her melancholy best. Her endlessly gloomy thoughts swirled around her. She sighed deeply over some reflection or the other and her eyes welled up with tears."
"True, there is no novelty to it; but see what a lovely sight it is today! The sun is departing, as though it were making its way home, utterly exhausted. And the melancholy earth is gazing at it with mournful eyes, as though it were saying, "Where are you off to, abandoning me to the dark? Spare a glance for me at least!" The moon, on the other hand, reassures the earth with a gentle smile, "Why worry? I am here, offering you pure, soothing moonlight."'
"A woman is taught the principle of self-sacrifice from birth. When she is a spinster, she sacrifices her own interests for the sake of her father and brothers. When she marries, her husband's needs take precedence. And, finally, she sacrifices her own needs to those of her children."
"The more valuable the desired object, the greater should be the sacrifice associated with it!"
fav quotes:
"Everyone wore saris and dresses in blue or saffron. Shoes and socks, the badges of 'civilization', were conspicuous by their absence. No one wore any jewelry; at the very most, some wore shankhas or bangles. None bore any signs of extravagance. All they seemed to be garbed in was simplicity and generosity."
"Lost in contemplation of nature's poetry, could one help lauding God's artistry? That day, Siddika was at her melancholy best. Her endlessly gloomy thoughts swirled around her. She sighed deeply over some reflection or the other and her eyes welled up with tears."
"True, there is no novelty to it; but see what a lovely sight it is today! The sun is departing, as though it were making its way home, utterly exhausted. And the melancholy earth is gazing at it with mournful eyes, as though it were saying, "Where are you off to, abandoning me to the dark? Spare a glance for me at least!" The moon, on the other hand, reassures the earth with a gentle smile, "Why worry? I am here, offering you pure, soothing moonlight."'
"A woman is taught the principle of self-sacrifice from birth. When she is a spinster, she sacrifices her own interests for the sake of her father and brothers. When she marries, her husband's needs take precedence. And, finally, she sacrifices her own needs to those of her children."
"The more valuable the desired object, the greater should be the sacrifice associated with it!"
July 22, 2024
TL; DR - a classic and historical must-read, particularly due to the significant contribution to the intersectional feminist movement.
RSH is one of the intesectional feminist icons : Bengali (at a time where there was a hegemony of Urdu language), Muslim, and feminist. Her stories (literally!) speak for themselves, and their classic and groundbreaking natura warrant a read at least once in one’s lifetime. Personally, I do not wish to write a review for her stories as they contributed significantly to the legacy of the intersectional feminisg revolution in the Indian Subcontinent.
However, I do wish that Padmarag had ended differently. Ending that story on a theme of romance sort of went against the entire feminist and empowering theme. Even though the character refusing the relationship was her asserting herself and a form of empowerment, ending the story depicting her as doing something independently would have been more suitable.
RSH is one of the intesectional feminist icons : Bengali (at a time where there was a hegemony of Urdu language), Muslim, and feminist. Her stories (literally!) speak for themselves, and their classic and groundbreaking natura warrant a read at least once in one’s lifetime. Personally, I do not wish to write a review for her stories as they contributed significantly to the legacy of the intersectional feminisg revolution in the Indian Subcontinent.
However, I do wish that Padmarag had ended differently. Ending that story on a theme of romance sort of went against the entire feminist and empowering theme. Even though the character refusing the relationship was her asserting herself and a form of empowerment, ending the story depicting her as doing something independently would have been more suitable.
January 14, 2024
I loved both the stories. My only problem with the book was the translation. The current translation leaves a lot to be desired. Beyond a point, I was beginning to wonder if the English version hadn't twisted the original intent of a few chapters. It's also very interesting to see how far we've come in our thinking and yet, how much certain things remain the same since the time the book was written more than a century ago. Despite the blotchy translation, I would still recommend this book to get a peek inside the world of Muslim Bengalis from the pre-independence era. If you read the foreword, you'll learn that a lot of the story derives from the writer's personal experiences, Padmarag possibly more autobiographical than it lets on in the novella.
January 18, 2024
3.5 stars
Sultana’s Dream is such an original, engaging piece of speculative fiction, and I really enjoyed how it managed to blend thoughtful social critique with humour.
Padmarag is also a fantastic social critique, and an important contribution to the history of anti-colonial, feminist thought, but I did have some issues with it narratively-speaking. There were quite a few instances where a bunch of backstory and important information about the characters was dumped on the reader all at once, rather than being woven into the story, which I found a little jarring. It was still an engaging story, but those moments took me out of it a bit.
Sultana’s Dream is such an original, engaging piece of speculative fiction, and I really enjoyed how it managed to blend thoughtful social critique with humour.
Padmarag is also a fantastic social critique, and an important contribution to the history of anti-colonial, feminist thought, but I did have some issues with it narratively-speaking. There were quite a few instances where a bunch of backstory and important information about the characters was dumped on the reader all at once, rather than being woven into the story, which I found a little jarring. It was still an engaging story, but those moments took me out of it a bit.
March 20, 2024
Sultana's Dream - Standard short utopian work - nothing unique if you've read a lot of these but still pretty interesting. Also interesting how such similar stories/imaginations emerge from seemingly disparate cultures
Padmarag -More interesting. Reminiscent of Sarah Scott's "Millenium Hall" as the intro notes. Notable depiction of female society formed to provide girls education/alms for disenfranchised women and the poor. Inspired by the author's own experiences running a similar institution and a very interesting document of these efforts paired with a subversive romance plot. Really liked the ending.
Padmarag -More interesting. Reminiscent of Sarah Scott's "Millenium Hall" as the intro notes. Notable depiction of female society formed to provide girls education/alms for disenfranchised women and the poor. Inspired by the author's own experiences running a similar institution and a very interesting document of these efforts paired with a subversive romance plot. Really liked the ending.
November 27, 2024
Written over a hundred years ago, Rokeya Hossain’s idea of a feminine utopia is a wondrous one that inspires. The story of Padmarag though uninteresting at times was ultimately quite sweet, enchanting even, and by the last few chapters, as hearts swelled and loves rounded out I was giddy, saying out loud to myself ‘I do love a romance’.
Noting also the final brief essays on religion, tradition, education, and finally women’s role in Indian society - I am reminded of a Francis Bacon quote, “Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted... but to weigh and consider.” It is certainly how I would like to behold life and the world, and these words, these worlds, these stories of another time.
Noting also the final brief essays on religion, tradition, education, and finally women’s role in Indian society - I am reminded of a Francis Bacon quote, “Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted... but to weigh and consider.” It is certainly how I would like to behold life and the world, and these words, these worlds, these stories of another time.
May 8, 2025
Reading Sultanas Dream was like an actual dream. It ended abruptly, I was craving more….. Ladyland made me curious and left me with questions but also with somewhat of a soothing feeling. Oh, a women’s world. How strange. It was easy to read. Really a daydream. Entering Padmarags world then afterwards was different as she is certainly not living in Ladyland but in India around 1900 something. I had to re-read sections to understand the story and it felt more of an effort than Sultanas Dream which doesn’t make it any less inspiring or valuable. What a great text, what a great author.
August 27, 2025
what an amazing read. Picked this up on a whim because of how cool the cover looked and it did not disappoint. It is a translation so i wonder what is lost, there are some footnotes clarifying some things.
such a fun short story to prime the novella. Women have always, are, and will always be dreamers.
I AM hung up on the ending, disattisfied but i believe it adds to the impact. Oh i am a lover and i want, NEED, love to win. But i suppose it doesn’t always win in the way we want, as we all know… )
:/
such a fun short story to prime the novella. Women have always, are, and will always be dreamers.
I AM hung up on the ending, disattisfied but i believe it adds to the impact. Oh i am a lover and i want, NEED, love to win. But i suppose it doesn’t always win in the way we want, as we all know… )
:/
October 30, 2019
Bengali, feminist, Muslim writer from early 1900s - writing pre- partition. Often we see Muslim feminists as a relatively new thing - although there is a long history of feminists from that tradition.
I appreciated how she separated the concept of cultural seclusion from purdah. The women in Padmarag although in some ways harmed by a society that does not consider them equal - all have a sense of personal empowerment.
I appreciated how she separated the concept of cultural seclusion from purdah. The women in Padmarag although in some ways harmed by a society that does not consider them equal - all have a sense of personal empowerment.
May 12, 2024
I think there is a tendency to read utopias and devalue them as impossible, impractical or imprecise. Dystopia feels both terrifying, but also more relatable. And yet…I am finding myself more and more drawn to attempts to describe utopia.
One of the most resonant parts of Padmarag is the fact that the idyllic Bhavan Tarini is the fact that it acknowledges all the ways different expressions of the patriarchy interact with the various cultures, all to the detriment of those deemed women.
One of the most resonant parts of Padmarag is the fact that the idyllic Bhavan Tarini is the fact that it acknowledges all the ways different expressions of the patriarchy interact with the various cultures, all to the detriment of those deemed women.
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