Their language of love

In her first ever collection of short stories, Bapsi brings to life a whole world of characters that appear and dissapear and then reemerge sometimes in her cherished homeland and at others in the far-off new world. However, their stories never appear to leave the threshold of their soil. Ordinary or larger than life, happy or unhappy, vindictive or forgiving, they are the true reflection of their land, its tormented history and its dwindling indigenous culture. Whether it be Roshni and her husband in the title story 'Their Language of Love', Sehra-bai and her daughter in 'Sehra-bai's Story', Feroza and her mother in 'Breaking It Up', the little girl in 'The Trouble-Easers', Ammiji and others in 'Defend Yourself Against Me', the terrified woman in 'A Gentlemanly War', or the people in two stories about Ruth all seem to contribute towards the greater story of their region. Wherever Bapsi lives, her stories are the proof that her heart will always be in Pakistan.