Celebrated author Jeelani Bano’s stories were cosmopolitan, reflecting a deep social consciousness and acute awareness of society, said author and literary historian Rakshanda Jalil.
Ms. Jalil was speaking on Friday at Bano ki Kahaniyan at LaMakaan, an event celebrating the literary legacy of Padma Shri awardee Jeelani Bano. She said that Ms. Bano, who passed away earlier this year, was not a regional writer, and that her work reflected both cosmopolitanism and internationalism.
Taking exception to the tag “woman writer”, Ms Jalil pointed out that the expression is problematic. Even more so, she said, is the label “Muslim woman writer”. While it is true that such writers may be Muslim, women and writers, grouping these identities together amounts to pigeonholing, she opined.
The evening saw authors and translators Volga and Mehak Hyderabadi reading Telugu translations of Ms Bano’s stories.
Speaking to The Hindu, technologist and co-founder of LaMakaan, Ashhar Farhan, who is Ms Bano’s son, said his mother spoke Telugu fluently and regarded it almost as her first language. “She had a Dalit wet nurse named Lakshmi, whom she called ‘Amma’. The Telugu she spoke was Telangana Telugu,” he said.
