If Pakistan Were A Different Nation Then What Was Ts National & Cultural Identity? Where Could It Trace Its Beginning? The Short Stories- Written Originally In Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pushto And Suraiki And Now Translated Into English- Showcased In This Anthology Engage With The Above Questions In Their Own Ways, Articulating A Multiplicity Of Voices And Experiences. They Chronicle The Birth Of The Pakistani Nation In Traumatic Circumstances And Its Chequered History Over The Past Fifty Years, Through Depicting The ýDesires And Aspirations And Thousand Other Unnamed Feelingsý Of Their Protagonists. While Doing So, They Also Depict The Immensely Varies And Rich Tapestry Of The Cultural Life In Pakistan
Pakistan's finest women writers - Jamila Hashmi, Mumtaz Shirin, and Fahmida Riaz, amongst others - introduce us to the compelling cadences of a rich literary culture. A naive peasant is left with a white man's baby; a frustrated housewife slashes her husband's silk pyjamas; a middle-class woman sees visions of salvation in the tricks of circus animals ... Equally at ease with polemic and lyricism, these writers mirror the events of their convoluted history - nationalism and independence, wars with India, the creation of Bangladesh, the ethnic conflicts in Karachi - in innovative and courageous forms. Influenced both by the Indian and Islamic traditions of their milieu and by the shocking impact of modernity, they are distinguished above all by their artistic integrity and intellectual honesty. 'An excellent anthology by Urdu's foremost women writers' Muneeza Shamsie, Newsline 'I hope that this engaging and diverse work will encourage other translations of contemporary Pakistani fiction.' SOAS bulletin
Some of the best Urdu short stories, from the earliest to contemporary works, come together in this anthology; all in brand new translations. Some of the stories included here are available in different anthologies in other translations, but there are also several that have been translated for the first time, specifically for this volume. The book demonstrates the range of the genre in Urdu.
From the author of the award-winning Moth Smoke comes a perspective on love, prejudice, and the war on terror that has never been seen in North American literature. At a café table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man converses with a suspicious, and possibly armed, American stranger. As dusk deepens to night, he begins the tale that has brought them to this fateful meeting. . . Changez is living an immigrant’s dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by Underwood Samson, an elite firm that specializes in the “valuation” of companies ripe for acquisition. He thrives on the energy of New York and the intensity of his work, and his infatuation with regal Erica promises entrée into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore. For a time, it seems as though nothing will stand in the way of Changez’s meteoric rise to personal and professional success. But in the wake of September 11, he finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned, and his budding relationship with Erica eclipsed by the reawakened ghosts of her past. And Changez’s own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and perhaps even love. Elegant and compelling, Mohsin Hamid’s second novel is a devastating exploration of our divided and yet ultimately indivisible world. “Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard: I am a lover of America. I noticed that you were looking for something; more than looking, in fact you seemed to be on a mission, and since I am both a native of this city and a speaker of your language, I thought I might offer you my services as a bridge.” —from The Reluctant Fundamentalist
This anthology brings together English translations of twenty-six Urdu short stories by mostly renowned Pakistani writers. All the stories were written between 1947 and the present time. Authors range from the celebrated Saadat Hasan Manto to Dr Shershah Syed and Mehmood Zafar. Not all of these stories are necessarily the most famous works of their authors, and most of them have not been translated into English before. However, their exquisite depiction of diverse experiences and social realities justifies calling them unforgettable gems of Urdu short story writing. Selected and translated by Amina Azfar, these stories will delight the general reader and will also be found useful by students and scholars studying South Asian literature, culture, and history.
"Mr. Hamid reaffirms his place as one of his generation's most inventive and gifted writers." –Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "A globalized version of The Great Gatsby . . . [Hamid's] book is nearly that good." –Alan Cheuse, NPR "Marvelous and moving." –TIME Magazine From the internationally bestselling author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Exit West, the boldly imagined tale of a poor boy’s quest for wealth and love His first two novels established Mohsin Hamid as a radically inventive storyteller with his finger on the world’s pulse. How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia meets that reputation—and exceeds it. The astonishing and riveting tale of a man’s journey from impoverished rural boy to corporate tycoon, it steals its shape from the business self-help books devoured by ambitious youths all over “rising Asia.” It follows its nameless hero to the sprawling metropolis where he begins to amass an empire built on that most fluid, and increasingly scarce, of goods: water. Yet his heart remains set on something else, on the pretty girl whose star rises along with his, their paths crossing and recrossing, a lifelong affair sparked and snuffed and sparked again by the forces that careen their fates along. How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia is a striking slice of contemporary life at a time of crushing upheaval. Romantic without being sentimental, political without being didactic, and spiritual without being religious, it brings an unflinching gaze to the violence and hope it depicts. And it creates two unforgettable characters who find moments of transcendent intimacy in the midst of shattering change.
An exhilarating debut by a young writer from Pakistan: provocative, funny, disarmingly original stories that upend traditional notions of identity and family, and peer into the vulnerable workings of the human heart. From the high-stakes worlds of television and politics to the intimate corridors of home--including the bedroom--these wryly observed, deeply revealing stories look at life in Pakistan with humor, compassion, psychological acuity, and emotional immediacy. Childhood best friends agree to marry in order to keep their sexuality a secret. A young woman with an anxiety disorder discovers the numbing pleasures of an illicit love affair. A radicalized student's preparations for his sister's wedding involve beating up the groom. An actress is forced to grow up fast on the set of her first major tv show, where the real intrigue takes place off-screen. Every story bears witness to the all-too-universal desire to be loved, and what happens when this longing gets pushed to its limits. Are You Enjoying? is a free-spirited, confident, indelible introduction to a galvanizing new talent.
The Year Is 1998, The Summer Of Pakistan S Nuclear Tests, And Darashikoh Shezad Has Just Managed To Lose His Job In Lahore. As The Economy Crumbles Around Him, His Electricity Is Cut Off, And The Jet Set Parties Behind High Walls, Daru Takes The Bright Steps Of Falling For His Best Friend S Wife And Giving Heroin A Try. This Is The Story Of His Decline.
Winner of the 2021 Overseas Press Club of America Cornelius Ryan Award The former New York Times Pakistan bureau chief paints an arresting, up-close portrait of a fractured country. Declan Walsh is one of the New York Times’s most distinguished international correspondents. His electrifying portrait of Pakistan over a tumultuous decade captures the sweep of this strange, wondrous, and benighted country through the dramatic lives of nine fascinating individuals. On assignment as the country careened between crises, Walsh traveled from the raucous port of Karachi to the salons of Lahore, and from Baluchistan to the mountains of Waziristan. He met a diverse cast of extraordinary Pakistanis—a chieftain readying for war at his desert fort, a retired spy skulking through the borderlands, and a crusading lawyer risking death for her beliefs, among others. Through these “nine lives” he describes a country on the brink—a place of creeping extremism and political chaos, but also personal bravery and dogged idealism that defy easy stereotypes. Unbeknownst to Walsh, however, an intelligence agent was tracking him. Written in the aftermath of Walsh’s abrupt deportation, The Nine Lives of Pakistan concludes with an astonishing encounter with that agent, and his revelations about Pakistan’s powerful security state. Intimate and complex, attuned to the centrifugal forces of history, identity, and faith, The Nine Lives of Pakistan offers an unflinching account of life in a precarious, vital country.
