Fragments of Being and other stories

Since childhood, stories have been fascinating us and taking us on a tour of our world of dreams where everything is perfect. But as we grow, we encounter the world and humans with their own flaws and challenges. Life itself teaches us the way of living in such a strange world and when our patience succumbs to the harsh realities, the stories come to our rescue and we find solace in their embrace.

“Vajood Ke Tukde” by Mrs. Naseem Iqtidar Ali brings out a handful of such stories that portray our lives and relations with a great touch of reality. Human emotions are carved on pages with pure delicacy and give us a spine-chilling sensation we go through. The offered book “Fragments of Being” is the English translation of these stories, carefully recreated by Mr. Saleem Kidwai.

Naseem Iqtidar Ali was born on 7th February, 1936 in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Her first collection of short stories “Vajood Ke Tukde” (Fragments of Being) was published in 2007. The second collection, “Dhoop Chhaon Chehre” (Portraits in Black and White, 2014) consists of twenty-four portraits of people such as the poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Sarojini Naidu, Rasheed Hasan Khan, Suhaila Muhammad Habib and Krishan Chander. Published in the same year, “Deeda Wa Shuneeda” (Of Things Heard and Seen) is partly a collection of research-based articles on varying subjects. The fourth collection, “Hamaare Naam” (Addressed to Me, 2016) is a collection of her correspondence.

Naseem Iqtidar Ali is known for webbing human emotions with the cultural patterns and the realities she’d witnessed. She was the only woman member of the executive committee of the Muslim Personal law board. Also, she was President of 2 charities: Milli health & welfare society, Lucknow and Amna Memorial Public school. She passed away on January 19, 2019, battling cancer, leaving back various stories for us. 

Saleem Kidwai was born on 7th August, 1951 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. He was a medieval historian, gay rights activist, and translator. He completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in history from Delhi University and began teaching there in 1973. Kidwai was a Professor of History at Ramjas College, University of Delhi until 1993 and thereafter an independent scholar.

He was published with Ruth Vanita as co-editor of “Same-Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History”. He translated singer Malika Pukhraj's autobiography, “Song Sung True”. His other translations include “The Mirror of Wonders”, a collection of short stories by Syed Rafiq Hussain. Kidwai has also translated two novels of Quratulain Hyder – “Chandni Begum” and “Safina-e-Gham-e-Dil” as “Ship of Sorrows”. Saleem Kidwai suffered a cardiac arrest on 30 August 2021 and passed away in a hospital at Lucknow