One of the pioneering women of the 20th century who probably didn't get the recognition she deserved in her lifetime was Saeeda Bano, the first woman in India to work as a radio newsreader on All India Radio (AIR) in 1947. However, Bano (fondly known as Bibi) did leave behind a poignant autobiography called Dagar Se Hat Kar in Urdu that was published in 1994. The book has now been translated into English by her granddaughter, Shahana Raza, a Dubai-based writer and journalist, and is titled Off the Beaten Track. In a chat with KT, Raza reveals that she translated the Urdu memoir into English so that more people could read about the unconventional yet inspiring journey of a woman of indomitable spirit — her grandmother Saeeda Bano. Excerpts from the interview:
What led you to translate your grandmother's memoir into English after so many years?
Dagar Se Hat Kar was published in 1994 in Urdu. My grandmother, whom I fondly called Bibi, suffered a paralytic stroke soon after. During that time, when I visited her in New Delhi, she asked me if I could translate the book into English for her. I told her that it was written in a language that I understood, but couldn't read or write. She remained quiet then, but a few days later when I was leaving for the US to make a life for myself, I received a parcel containing eight audio cassettes from her close friend, who told me, "Bibi asked me to read and record the entire book onto these tapes, just so that you could translate them into English." The tapes travelled with me to the US and stayed with me till I settled down in Dubai in 2000. I did try transcribing them once before, but was intimidated by the heavy Urdu vocabulary. I delayed it until three years ago, when my dad motivated me to try again.
What is the story behind Bano becoming India's first female voice on All India Radio?
An excerpt from the book tells us that, in 1938, a radio station was set up in Lucknow that also held shows for women and children; these were also hosted by women. My grandmother started participating in the radio shows regularly. When things on the personal front got a bit turbulent, she sent her application to BBC in New Delhi for a news reader and she got accepted. She moved from Lucknow (her husband's house) to New Delhi with her younger son and took up accommodation at the YWCA and began working at AIR full time.
What made her life an unconventional one?
Although I always saw Bibi as a bold, independent woman who was truly ahead of her times, it was after reading and translating her book that I understood she was truly a force to reckon with.
Back in 1947, she had walked out of her marriage and decided to lead life as a single, working woman, which was unheard of at that time. She had all the possible comforts of life when she lived in the ancestral house in Lucknow with her husband and in-laws — but when she realised it wasn't going in the right direction, she took the bold step of walking out of it along with her two boys, Asad and Saeed. She moved to New Delhi after putting her elder son in a boarding school and stayed in a women's hostel in Delhi. Apart from making professional strides where her career soared as she started doing more shows on All India Radio, she was also quite candid about her relationship with a married man — something not many would do even today..........................
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Forwarded by :- Shri. Jhavendra Kumar Dhruw.
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