Ismat - Ek Aurat is a narration cum enactment of short stories written by Ismat Chughtai. These will be a selection of her well-known stories such as: 'Chui-Mui'(Touch-Me-Not),'Gharwaali'(Home-Maker),'Ghoonghat'(The Veil) and 'Saas'(Mother-in-Law). 'Ismat Ke Afsaanay' is a glimpse into the daily life of households and especially their women as seen by Ismat Chughtai. The stories are characterised by their ability to go deep into the very skins of their characters and bring out all their weaknesses, strengths, their ordinariness and their uniqueness. Where most people would look onto the street and see a multitude of passing by, Ismat Chughtai had the ability to see people and appreciate the beauty of each individual as a whole - freckles, frailties and all: whether it be the fascination of a young girl with the process of childbirth as seen in 'Chui-Mui' ('Touch-Me-Not'), or the haplessness of a virtuous, God-fearing man when faced by his devil-may-care house-keeper in 'Gharwaali' (Home Maker), or the veiled tug-of-war between a fair bride and her dark groom in 'Ghoonghat' (The Veil), or for that matter the 'tu-tu,main-main' (war of words) between a mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law in 'Saas' (Mother-In-Law). Each one of these characters belong to us. They are recognizable as uncle, aunt, father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, neighbor and perhaps that is what makes them so endearing and their reality so real to us. The stories or Afsaanay, do not judge. They just hold a mirror to society; to the people around us and allow us the ability to experience the truth of each one.