Crime and police
The Arabic word ‘noor’ has multiple meanings. Depending on the context, it can mean brightness, divine light, or simply ‘light’. ‘Raushnai’ is a Persian word having similar meanings, but it…
Animal stories
This is the last part of my series on animals in literature, and I would like to move to insects with a brilliant story, ‘Laal Chiontay’ (Red Ants) by Ismat…
The fiction of Altaf Fatima
Hardly a week had passed since the death of Fahmida Riaz that we lost another writer of outstanding merit and talent – Altaf Fatima – who died at the age…
Sindh, academic freedom and comedy
A recent visit to Sindh coincided with three important developments which attracted a lot of attention on mainstream and social media. Since they have educational and linguistic dimensions, some analysis…
Punjabi intelligentsia revisited
A few weeks back a note to the Punjabi intelligentsia was published in this space. The response it received was overwhelming and I continue to get a message or two…
Writing for children
An email circular drew my attention to The ABC of It, an exhibition of children’s books that opened at the New York Public Library last week. The NYPL website announced…
Manto’s human psyche
Three years before his death, Saadat Hasan Manto “undertook to compile a book of his friends’ observations about his personality” so that his readers “know as much about him as…
Packed and gone
There is an old saying ‘bus ho chuki namaz, musalla uthaiye’. It is used to convey to the concerned person that there is nothing left to talk about and they…
