Public Talk | Urvashi Butalia

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Date: October 9, 2022
Time: 4 pm – 5:30 pm
Venue: Jameel Arts Centre, Lobby
Registration: Click here

Renowned feminist writer, publisher and activist Urvashi Butalia delivers a public talk revisiting her pioneering book The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India. Published in 1998, the book was the first major work to exhume the personal trauma of the Partition by narrating stories from the margins of history. The talk offers an intimate insight into how the book was conceived; the challenges of writing a feminist history when no archives are available; and what questions she would ask today if such a book were to be written. 

This event is an extension of Reading Between the Lines – a reading group co-organised by Art Jameel and Ishara Art Foundation revisiting the history of South Asia’s Partition through narratives that complicate the idea of cartographic borders by attending to stories of social partitions around gender, caste and language. The talk is a companion to the exhibition ‘Proposals for a Memorial to Partition‘ at Art Jameel, curated by Murtaza Vali.

The talk will be delivered in English. Please RSVP as seats are limited.

Urvashi Butalia
Urvashi Butalia (b. 1952) has been a leading voice in the women’s movement of India, having authored books such as The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India and Speaking Peace: Women’s Voices from Kashmir. Along with Ritu Menon, she co-founded Kali for Women, India’s first feminist publishing house, in 1984. In 2003, she founded Zubaan Books, an imprint of Kali for Women that has supported an exhaustive list of academic scholarship, autobiographies and genres ranging from literary fiction, science fiction to speculative fiction. Butalia lives and works in New Delhi, India.

About Jameel Arts Centre:
Jameel Arts Centre is an independent institution dedicated to exhibiting contemporary art to the public and engaging communities through learning, research and commissions. Founded and supported by Art Jameel, the Centre is located in Jaddaf Waterfront, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. For more information, please visit www.jameelartscentre.org.