This collection of four short stories - in a bilingual edition - presents the translation from Urdu, then the original texts by Qurratulain Hyder. The author evokes atmospheres fed with her childhood memories, funny or tragic life scenes, intimate suffering through which is emerging the sophistication, but also the cruelty of Indian society at the time of partition. The book includes an introduction by Margaret Gricourt and the French translation of the preface that Qurratulain Hyder wrote for The Sound of Falling Leaves, an anthology of short stories of which she ensured herself the English translation-adaptation. Translations from English and Urdu by Marguerite Gricourt.
The audio recording of the four short stories, read in Urdu by Arjumand Bano Wajid, Safia Halkem and Yasmin Hosain, can be obtained by downloading from L' Asiathèque's website.
Qurratulain Hyder is considered, in India but also in Pakistan, as a pioneer and a leading figure in Urdu literature and this book is the first to reveal the importance of her work to the French public.
Also available in the same collection :
Raf Raf Express (bilingual Hindi-French).
The audio recordings of the four short stories read in Urdu by Safia Halkem, Arjumand Bano Wajid and Yasmin Hosain can be downloaded for free here :
01 L'Arc-en-ciel des souvenirs - 02 Dalanwala, mémoires d'une enfance indienne - 03 Carmen - 04 Le bruissement des feuilles d'automne
