Sensitive, reserved and rebellious, young Haleema Mohammed feels stifled in her wealthy, conservative Muslim joint family in Hyderabad. Her only sources of solace are her free-spirited best friend Parvati, and her writing and painting. She pours her pent-up feelings and observations into high-flown, embroidered words and hides her writings under her mattress. At the first opportunity, she flies the coop and joins Parvati in Bombay. Life in Bombay in the swinging sixties is a revelation. Ardent suitors, parties, trips to Goa, occasional trysts with drugs and hippies Haleema, with Parvati  encouragement, experiences the fullness of life denied to her earlier. But more is in store a visit to Amsterdam and a two-year stay in London, new friends, her one true love and new realizations. But is it all meant to last forever, or will Haleemas fond dreams shatter when faced with hard reality? 

 

Lyrical and evocative, In Haleemas Words will take the reader on a journey through the mind of a passionate young woman trying to find her way through life. 

 

About the Author

Fatima Ahmed born in Hyderabad, is a senior artist with many solo and group exhibitions to her credit, both in India and abroad. Her work is included in many prestigious public and private collections like The National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, Birla Museum, Kolkata, and Harsh Goenkas collection in Mumbai. She has translated several leading Urdu authors into English. She was a columnist for Indian Post and Mid Day, Mumbai. She now lives in Pune.