Page 51 - Synergy see page 60

BAPSI SIDHWA

Writer

The immensely gifted Bapsi Sidhwa
is indisputably Pakistan’s leading
diasporic writer. She has distilled her
experiences through her Zoroastrian
perspectives in her bestselling books
and won international critical acclaim
and prestigious accolades for her
insightfulness, her prose and her ability to
create characters that are easy to identify
with.

Bapsi Sidhwa is one of the most authentic
authors to emerge out of South Asia in
the postcolonial era. Her writings vividly
depict her personal experiences of the
Indian Subcontinent’s Partition, plight
of women, conflicts of a migrant and her
cultural identity.

The writer describes herself as a Punjabi-
Parsi-Pakistani and an author, essayist
and a playwright, reflecting her multiple
affinities and affiliations. A women’s rights
spokesperson, she brings to her books the
quintessential perceptiveness unique to
a female psyche, adding richness to her
narrative.

Bapsi Sidhwa was born in 1938, grew up
in Pakistan and now lives in Houston,
Texas. She received her BA from Kinnaird
College for Women in Lahore in 1957. She
has authored The Crow Eaters (1978);
The Bride, (1982); Cracking India (1991);
An American Brat (1993); Bapsi Sidhwa
Omnibus (2001); Water: A Novel (2006);
and City of Sin and Splendour: Writings
on Lahore (2006).

Her play, Sock ‘em With Honey played in
London in 2003 and the stage version of
An American Brat played to full houses in
Houston in March 2007.

The most prestigious honours Bapsi
Sidhwa has received are: ‘Bunting
Fellowship’ at Radcliffe/Harvard, 1986;
the ‘Sitara-i-Imtiaz,’ 1991; ‘Literaturepreis’
in Germany for ‘Cracking India,’ 1991, the
‘Lila Wallace - Reader’s Digest Writers’
Award,’ 1993 she was inducted into the
Zoroastrian ‘Hall of Fame’ in Houston,
in 2000. She received the ‘Excellence
in Literature Award,’ the Zoroastrian
Congress, Chicago, 2002; and ‘Italy’s
Premio Mondello,’ in 2007.

December, 2014 SynergyZ 51