Book Description

"Highway' is the translation of Qamar Jamali's short stories into English. Qamar Jamali is a well-known Urdu fictionist of Hyderabad, Telangana. she is a live writer and continues to write. I personally met the writer and liked the thought behind her stories. The charecters of her stories aptly display the burning problems of the society which relates to the present scenario. They are not fictitious, they appear very much real and we find them in our day to day life. This appealed to me a lot. I translated her stories with the intention of making her known to the non-Urdu readers. "Highway" comprises ten stories.There is a variety of theme in her stories. Woman's emancipation is one of her themes. According to her a woman occupies not only a place in domestic field but also diverse positions in society.No doubt she speaks about the anguish of a woman, she doesn't do any oration instead she opens many doors for the characters to act and the readers to think. Her stories are her experiences and observations.The technique of dialogue explains the incidents in the stories."Lifeline" id one such very impressive story. The development of the story is by logical dialogue though it also has a psychological element in it.In her stories, "Aankhen", "Khwaab Tabeer" and "Tera Naam kya hai", we find characters, incidents,scenario,and dialogue move simultenously together. In 'Baandh Do' she gives a different perspective to Saadat Hasan Manto's,'Khol Do'. She gives a positive outlook to the story, apart from portraying the treachery of men. She tries to say that there is good along with the evil in the society. In the story, 'Highway', the writer aptly conveys the message of inhumanity in the society, through the words of the road. 'Shelter' is the story of adolescent crime. All through the story the protagonist is seen in search of love. 'Adam's Offspring', speaks of the helplessness of a brother to help out his sister and an ever risky situation of a woman in the hands of lustful men of the society. 'The Velvet Mite' is a pathetic story which depicts the stark reality of the days of Kargil war. The book, 'Highway', is the realistic image of the social mileu of the times. The writer not only picturizes the flaws of society but also suggests the measures to rectify them through the characters.