Kicking up Dust

This book is a biography of the author and very skilfully presents a picture of her childhood, juxtaposing childish playfulness with the realities of the urban middle class she lived in. This prose is engrossing because it presents a child's frank and forthright perspective of the society she lives in. The curiosity of a rebellious child forced to survive in the adult world is an insight for the readers into the mind of child forced to grow up before her time. A number of the author's poems, also translated by Samina Rahman, are included in the volume as well.