Red Lungi (from Heart Lamp) by Banu Mushtaq (2025): A Review

Title: ‌Red Lungi (from Heart Lamp)

Author: Banu Mushtaq

Publication Year: 2025

Pages: 15

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Genre: Domestic Fiction, Biographical Fiction

Source: Ebook @everand_us

In "Red Lungi," Banu Mushtaq delves into the complex experience surrounding the religious ritual of circumcision, blending humor with serious themes. The narrative centers on a wealthy family, particularly Razia, the mother who battles migraines while caring for 18 children during the summer. Not all of these children are hers, and in a comedic twist, she decides to send six boys, including her own son, for circumcision to temporarily keep them quiet.

However, the story also tackles significant issues, highlighting the family's choice to provide free circumcision services for underprivileged children. Mushtaq contrasts a public ceremony lacking proper medical oversight with a hospital procedure for their own children. This raises important questions about why circumcision is often postponed until boys can remember the experience and why it is performed in such an inhumane and shameful manner, emphasizing the unnecessary trauma inflicted on both children and parents.

Through her characters in the first five stories—wives, daughters, and boys—Mushtaq captures the various traumas caused by cultural and religious expectations. She effectively demonstrates that no one is immune to these pressures, although the level of suffering may differ.