The leading Urdu scholar and literary critic Shamim Hanafi died on Thursday. He was 81 and was suffering from COVID-19 . Zaman Khan met him during Hanafi’s last visit to Lahore. Here are a few notes from that meeting. Professor Shamim Hanafi is widely known as a critic but not many know he is also […]
Poetry reaffirms our common humanity by revealing to us that individuals, everywhere in the world, share the same questions and feelings. Poetry is the mainstay of oral tradition and, over centuries, can communicate the innermost values of diverse cultures. In celebrating World Poetry Day, March 21, UNESCO recognizes the unique ability of poetry to capture […]
I stopped reading Urdu fiction long time ago but there were exceptions when novels by Bano Qudsia, Qurratulain Hyder, and Abdullah Hussain appeared. Whenever I finished reading one of their books, there was an innocent wish that the author who wrote the masterpiece was a friend of mine and I could call him or her […]