This selection from Ismat Chughtai s prose writing, comprising essays, commentaries and pen-portraits of her contemporaries, gives the reader a good idea of the artistic, political and social mores of her times. It also serves as a background to her own work and furnishes insights into the art and lives of her contemporaries.Chughtai s involvement with the Progressive Writers Association and her friendship with writers like Sa dat Hasan Manto, Patras Bokhari, Krishan Chander, Rajinder Singh Bedi, and others have resulted in a treasure-trove of writing, marked by her characteristic irreverence and wit.