Ismat Chugtai's short story "Chauthi ka Jaura" follows Kubra, an unmarried woman living with her mother and sister in hopes of finding a husband. Kubra's mother sacrifices her savings in an attempt to please Rahat, her nephew, in hopes he will marry Kubra. However, Rahat mistreats the family and leaves without proposing. Heartbroken, Kubra's health declines and she dies of tuberculosis, highlighting the oppressive expectations placed on women to marry in society.

1. Ismat Chugtai
Chauthi ka Jaura
Gokhale Education Society’s
S.M.R.K. B.K. A.K Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Nasik-5.
CC English (HL)
T.Y.B.Com. Sem V
Unit 1
Ms.Geetanjali Gitay
Assistant Professor
English

2. About the Author
•Ismat Chugtai (21 August 1915 – 24 October 1991) was an
Indian Urdu language novelist, short story writer, and a
filmmaker.
•She was educated at Aligarh Muslim University,Lucknow.
•Beginning in the 1930s, she was associated with the Progressive Writers’
Association.
• She was one of the prolific writers of short stories and novels.
•She wrote about the themes of femininity, middle class gentility, class conflict.
•Chughtai established herself as a significant voice in the Urdu literature of
the twentieth century, and in 1976 was awarded Padmashree, the fourth
highest civilian honour by the Government of India.

3. • Kubra – an unmarried girl.
• Bi- Amma – Kubra’s mother.
• Hamida – Kubra’s younger sister.
• Rahat - Kubra’s cousin.Bi- amma’s brother’s son.
• Bundo’s Mother – Bi- Amma’s closest friend.
Characters in the Story

4. Background to the Story
• The story is built around a local custom, the chauthi ka jaura, the dress worn by
the bride on the fourth day of the wedding celebrations, when newly married
bride and groom visited the bride’s family for a special celebration.
• The dress was made of red cotton and sometimes lined with white.
•It was believed that during the preparation of the trousseau, if even one piece of
the elaborate chauthi ka jaura was cut inexactly, then something would surely go
wrong with the marriage negotiations.
• It may include mehr, an amount of money paid to the bride by the bridegroom.
• In the story, women meet in seh dari , literally ‘three doored room’ , opening out
into the courtyard. It was essentially women’s space , an informal sitting room.

5. • The story opens in the courtyard of the house. In the seh dari, a clean sheet
of cloth has been spread out on the diwan waiting to be cut into a chauthi ka
jaura.
• Bi- Amma is an expert in stitching chauthi ka jaura. Her husband is no more and
she lives with her two daughters Kubra and Hamida.
• The women from the neighbourhood are sitting silent.
• Whenever anyone fell short of cloth, they will bring it to Kubra’s mother and
she would cut it expertly.
• But that day, a really very short piece of white lining was brought to her for
cutting. She measured it perfectly to fit the necessary length.
• Everyday there would be tense scenes in her house as her mother measured
the cloth. The omen of chauthi ka jaura was very delicate.
• Every day, Bi-Amma would take out the red cloth she bought to stich chauthi ka
jaura for Kubra and look at it. However, the silver sequins and the golden zari
on the cloth became dull as Kubra’s wedding procession never arrived.
Plot Summary

6. •Kubra’s mother is worried for her marriage.
•Kubra would spend her days doing housework, scrubbing pots and pans.
• She would often hide herself in the storeroom full of swarms of mosquitoes.
• After her father’s death, no marriage proposals came for her.
• Then one day, a telegram appears to tell that Rahat, Bi-Amma’s brother’s son
is going to come and stay with them for his police training.
• Bi- Amma is all excited. She sees Rahat as a possible groom for Kubra.
•On suggestion of Bundo’s mother, she sells her tiny gold studs and buys
gold tatting, sequins and a quarter yard of red cotton.
Plot Summary
Tatting
Cotton
Sequins Jaura

7. Plot Summary
• Even Hamida prays that Rahat should agree to marry Kubra.
• Rahat comes to stay with them.
•After ear-studs, Bi-Amma sells her two pairs of earrings, her heavy silver anklets and
then her four bangles.
• Rahat is feasted on parathas and meatballs , pilaf rice and fine cuts of meat while
Kubra, Hamida and Bi-Amma lived on bread and water.
• All their sacrifices were only to get Rahat agree to marry Kubra.
•However, all this special treatment makes no difference in the attitude of Rahat.
• Seeing this, Bundo’s mother suggests that Hamida should try to make friends with Rahat
and try to judge his opinion about Kubra. They decide to play practical jokes on him.
• They decide to feed him Kebabs made up of hay. The joke fails miserably when Rahat
couldn’t recognise it and says that he is so used to eating hay and husks that he can’t
tell the difference.
• However, he starts spending more time at home but talks with Hamida rather than
Kubra. Kubra spends her days working hard. She even knits a sweater for him.
• Kubra’s own health is failing because of the hard work and she has coughs and colds.

8. Plot Summary
• However she keeps working hard in the hope to get married as she is a
burden to her mother.
• Hamida tries to help her but soon realises that Rahat may not be good.
• She tries to tell this to Kubra but to no avail.
• Rahat does not utter a single word of appreciation. Bi- Amma finally
arranges for an offering made to a saint.
• Kubra asks Hamida to take the plate of offering to Rahat.
• When Hamida takes the plate to Rahat, he misbehaves with her.
• The next morning, after living in their house for six months, Rahat leaves for
his home in haste for his wedding date , with another girl is fixed.
•After that nobody fries eggs or cooks parathas or knits sweaters in their house.
• Kubra had been suffering from tuberculosis and dies.
• In the last scene, we see Bi –Amma, again successfully stitching a chauthi ka
jaura, but not for her daughter.

9. Observations
• This tragic story points at an undue importance placed on marriage of a girl
by the society.
• Kubra loses her health and life, her mother loses all her saved jewellery only
to get her married off. The money is not spent on girls’ health or education.
• Rahat, literally meaning relief , in fact becomes a huge problem for them.
As a man, he takes the treatment given to him for granted and in the end
leaves ungratefully, breaking down Kubra completely.
• Chauthi ka jaura becomes the symbol of ultimate aim, ultimate success a
woman can achieve, marriage. It is also the symbol of oppressive customs
of the society.
• This story again focuses on the discriminatory treatment given to women by
the society.