The Exiles

by Qurratulain Hyder, Nadeem Aslam (Foreword by), Aamer Hussein (Foreword)

Moving between India and Pakistan, before and after Partition, these seven short stories chronicle a world of rapidly changing customs where families are sundered and lives are irrevocably changed by political circumstance beyond their control. In a voice poignant yet unflinching, these stories dissect the fading of love, lay bare the disappointments of adulterous liaisons, and expose the compromises forced upon women by money and class. Showing Qurratulain Hyder at her most astute, witty, and humane, these stories capture the humane essence of a culture struggling heroically through a complicated and turbulent time.

112 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

Qurratulain Hyder was an influential Indian Urdu novelist and short story writer, an academic, and a journalist. One of the most outstanding literary names in Urdu literature, she is best known for her magnum opus, Aag Ka Darya (River of Fire), a novel first published in Urdu in 1959 from Lahore, Pakistan, that stretches from the 4th century BC to post partition of India. Popularly known as "Ainee Apa" among her friends and admirers, she was the daughter of writer and a pioneer of Urdu short story writing Sajjad Haidar Yildarim (1880–1943). Her mother, Nazar Zahra, who wrote at first as Bint-i-Nazrul Baqar and later as Nazar Sajjad Hyder (1894–1967), was also a novelist and protegee of Muhammadi Begam and her husband Syed Mumtaz Ali, who published her first novel.

She received the 1967 Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for Patjhar Ki Awaz (Short stories), 1989 Jnanpith Award for Akhir-e-Shab Ke Humsafar, and the highest award of the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 1994. She also received the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India in 2005.