Reflections in a Cracked Mirror

Reflections in a Cracked Mirror constitutes the third part of the trilogy in which Fahmida Riaz has explored the theme of political violence in the subcontinent. In. this work of extraordinary depth and literary charm, she treats the ironies and torments of South Asian political culture on a creative personal level and manages to bring into focus the dilemma central to the diverse communities inhabiting the subcontinent: How does one learn to live with those with a different religious, linguistic or ethnic background? Her exploration of the ordinary lives of the people of the region-devastated and torn apart by decades of political violence-enlightens, provokes and entertains the reader at the same time.

In Reflections in a Cracked Mirror-originally published in Urdu under the title Karachi in a special 1996 issue of the quarterly Aaj-Fahmida Riaz has brought to perfection the unique form of narrative-a blend of travelogue, reportage and interior monologue that she crafted in Zinda Bahar Lane, and uses it to deal with the complex themes of ethnicity, identity and displacement in the backdrop of the intense political violence that engulfed Pakistan’s southern port city during the 1990s. Using this flexible form, she has skilfully woven a tapestery of events and introspection to depict the fragmented socio-political reality of those terrible days-target killings, sniper shooting, torture, custodial deaths and human rights abuse for all kinds when the people of this city were left to their own devices to face the fear, anxiety and hopelessness, and the absurdity of it all.

Widely acclaimed as an accomplished Urdu poet, prose-writer and translator, Fahmida Riaz is one of the finest practitioners of the modern verse form in Urdu. She is known for her exquisite use of language and her bold treatment of contemporary feminist and political themes in her writings. Fahmida Riaz has published several volumes of poetry and prose. She lives in Karachi.

ISBN 969-8380-41-8