Table Of Content8
This book is a collection of essays by international writer Bapsi Sidhwa gathered for the
first timein one edition by Teresa Russo, with a foreword written by Oscar-nominated film-
Landscapes
maker Deepa Mehta. Landscapes of Writing: Collected Essays of Bapsi Sidhwa provides a writer’s
perspective on issues of South Asian literature, linguistics, poetry, and views of political
events and globalization. In the first part of the book, Bapsi Sidhwa discusses her childhood,
of Writing
family life, and how she became a writer. There is also a revised essay detailing how her
book Cracking Indiabecame a film by Deepa Mehta. The second part of the book focuses on
her thoughts concerning war, terrorism, and how to achieve peace. This collection includes
L Collected Essays of
two letters, demonstrating her local and nationalistic perspectives to a larger view of an a
interconnected world. n
d
s Bapsi Sidhwa
c
a
p
Bapsi Sidhwais an international novelist, known for her perspective on the partition of e
s
the Indian subcontinent as a Parsi woman. The Crow Eaters (1980), Ice Candy Man (1982;
o
published as Cracking India, 1988), The Pakistani Bride (1983), An American Brat (1993), and
f
Water(2006) have been translatedinto several languages. Born in 1938 in Karachi, Sidhwa W
grew up in Lahore, Pakistan, and now lives in Houston, Texas. She received a degree from
r
Kinnaird College in Lahore and taught at Mount Holyoke College, Brandeis University, it
i
Columbia University, Rice University, and the University of Texas at Houston. Sidhwa was n
also a Bunting Fellow at Radcliffe-Harvard and the recipient of numerous awards, such as g
the prestigious German prize LiBeraturepreis (1991); the ItalianPremio Mondello for her |
novel Water (2007); and both the lifetime achievement award in Pakistan and the “Great
S
Immigrants: The Pride of America” prize by the Carnegie Corporation in 2013. ID
H
W
Teresa Russois an educator, scholar, and poet. She is the editorof Recognition and Modes of A
Knowledge: Anagnorisis from Antiquity to Contemporary Theory (2013), examining how recognition
theory has played a central role in the arts and humanities throughout history. She has a
PhD from the University of Toronto in comparative literature and has taught courses in the
arts and humanities at the Catholic University of America, American University, the Uni-
versity of Toronto, and Brock University. Her poetry has appeared in various publications,
including The Silenus (Oxford, U.K.) and Verbi Gratia (Washington, D.C.).
Bapsi Sidhwa
www.peterlang.com P
E
T
E
R Edited by Teresa Russo
L
A
N
G
I N T E R D I S C I P L I N A RY S T U D I E S I N D I A S P O R A S
Cover image: Mobeen Ansari
8
This book is a collection of essays by international writer Bapsi Sidhwa gathered for the
first time in one edition by Teresa Russo, with a foreword written by Oscar-nominated film-
Landscapes
maker Deepa Mehta. Landscapes of Writing: Collected Essays of Bapsi Sidhwa provides a writer’s
perspective on issues of South Asian literature, linguistics, poetry, and views of political
events and globalization. In the first part of the book, Bapsi Sidhwa discusses her childhood,
of Writing
family life, and how she became a writer. There is also a revised essay detailing how her
book Cracking India became a film by Deepa Mehta. The second part of the book focuses on
her thoughts concerning war, terrorism, and how to achieve peace. This collection includes
L Collected Essays of
two letters, demonstrating her local and nationalistic perspectives to a larger view of an a
interconnected world. n
d
s Bapsi Sidhwa
c
a
p
Bapsi Sidhwa is an international novelist, known for her perspective on the partition of e
s
the Indian subcontinent as a Parsi woman. The Crow Eaters (1980), Ice Candy Man (1982;
o
published as Cracking India, 1988), The Pakistani Bride (1983), An American Brat (1993), and
f
Water (2006) have been translated into several languages. Born in 1938 in Karachi, Sidhwa W
grew up in Lahore, Pakistan, and now lives in Houston, Texas. She received a degree from
r
Kinnaird College in Lahore and taught at Mount Holyoke College, Brandeis University, it
i
Columbia University, Rice University, and the University of Texas at Houston. Sidhwa was n
also a Bunting Fellow at Radcliffe-Harvard and the recipient of numerous awards, such as g
the prestigious German prize LiBeraturepreis (1991); the Italian Premio Mondello for her |
novel Water (2007); and both the lifetime achievement award in Pakistan and the “Great
S
Immigrants: The Pride of America” prize by the Carnegie Corporation in 2013. ID
H
W
Teresa Russo is an educator, scholar, and poet. She is the editor of Recognition and Modes of A
Knowledge: Anagnorisis from Antiquity to Contemporary Theory (2013), examining how recognition
theory has played a central role in the arts and humanities throughout history. She has a
PhD from the University of Toronto in comparative literature and has taught courses in the
arts and humanities at the Catholic University of America, American University, the Uni-
versity of Toronto, and Brock University. Her poetry has appeared in various publications,
including The Silenus (Oxford, U.K.) and Verbi Gratia (Washington, D.C.).
Bapsi Sidhwa
www.peterlang.com P
E
T
E
R Edited by Teresa Russo
L
A
N
G
I N T E R D I S C I P L I N A RY S T U D I E S I N D I A S P O R A S
Cover image: Mobeen Ansari
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR
Landscapes of Writing
“Bapsi Sidhwa is a national treasure!”
—Fatima Bhutto, author of The Runaways
“Landscapes of Writing is a fascinating collection of essays that offers a plethora of information
on Bapsi Sidhwa’s life, fiction, and her viewpoint on various issues—literary, social, and
political. It is not an exaggeration to say that the present book is a rich treatise on current
issues—on minorities, patriarchy, and the condition of women in South Asia. This book is a
welcome addition to the corpus of fast-growing scholarship on Bapsi Sidhwa and South Asian
studies in general. It will be immensely useful to students, teachers, and scholars.”
—R.K. Dhawan, University of Delhi
Landscapes of Writing
INTERDISCIPLINARY ST UDIES IN DIASPORAS
Irene Maria F. Blayer and Dulce Maria Scott
General Editors
Vo l. 8
The Interdisciplinary Studies in Diasporas series
is part of the Peter Lang Humanities list.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.
PETER LANG
New York Bern Berlin
Brussels Vienna Oxford Warsaw
Bapsi Sidhwa
Landscapes of Writing
Collected Essays of Bapsi Sidhwa
Edited by Teresa Russo
PETER LANG
New York Bern Berlin
Brussels Vienna Oxford Warsaw
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sidhwa, Bapsi, author. | Russo, Teresa, editor.
Title: Landscapes of writing: collected essays of Bapsi Sidhwa /
Bapsi Sidhwa and edited by Teresa Russo.
Description: New York: Peter Lang, 2019.
Series: Interdisciplinary studies in diasporas; vol. 8
ISSN 2378-0975 (print) | ISSN 2378-0983 (online)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018029964 | ISBN 978-1-4331-5811-7 (hardback: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4331-5812-4 (ebook pdf) | ISBN 978-1-4331-5813-1 (epub)
ISBN 978-1-4331-5814-8 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: Essays.
Classification: LCC PR9540.9.S53 A6 2019 | DDC 824/.914—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018029964
DOI 10.3726/b14288
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.
© 2019 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com
All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.
table of contents
Foreword by Deepa Mehta vii
Author’s Preface ix
Editor’s Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction: Bapsi Sidhwa’s Contributions to
South Asian Literature xv
Part I. Life, Memories, and Writings 1
Chapter 1. Why and How I Write 3
Chapter 2. Linguistics: New English Creative Writing
(A Pakistani Writer’s Perspective) 15
Chapter 3. Lahore: Landscapes of My Writing 27
Chapter 4. Reading and Writing: A Private Addiction 37
Chapter 5. Truth and Fiction 45
Chapter 6. The Television Boycott 49
Chapter 7. Watching My Novel Become Deepa Mehta’s Film 55
Chapter 8. Two-Way Culture Shock 61
Chapter 9. A Puff of Air 65
Chapter 10. Manna of the Angels: Parsi Cuisine 69
vi landscapes of writing: collected essays of bapsi sidhwa
Chapter 11. Journey to the Black Mountains 77
Part II. Political Thoughts: Essays on World Events 87
Chapter 12. Letter to My Grandson 89
Chapter 13. A Letter to The Hindustan Times: In Defense of
Deepa Mehta’s Water 95
Chapter 14. A Selective Memory for History 99
Chapter 15. 2008 in Retrospect: The Most Momentous Year! 105
Chapter 16. Crusades for the Modern Era 109
Chapter 17. The Minorities and the Muse 117
Chapter 18. Who Are the Taliban? 127
Chapter 19. Threat of War Between India and Pakistan, Still a Reality 133
Chapter 20. Bury the Hatchet for Peace Sake! 137
Appendix A 141
Appendix B 143
Index 147
