Daily Times

Talmeehat

Waheeduddin Saleem

Editor: Rauf Parekh

Talmeehaat means ‘Allusions’. As it is a literary device, allusion leaves to the reader to figure out the meaning or context of the expressions and the objects that the writer or poet intends to refer to. This work by Waheeduddin Saleem, first published some 90 years ago, is still relevant today and has some rare allusions richly and finely explained. It includes all the relevant allusions used in Urdu including the ones taken from Persian, Arabic and Hindi sources.

Pirani & Other Short Stories

Jamal Abro

Pirani & Other Short Stories is an English translation of Jamal Abro’s collection of short stories published originally in the Sindhi language. Abro is considered to be amongst the best writers in Sindhi. The book comprises 16 short stories that capture the essence of the land and the people of rural Sindh. Pirani & Other Short Stories arrests the reader’s interest with its diversity, specific characteristics and penetrating depiction of Sindh’s social order. These classic short stories are accompanied by an informative introduction exploring the background of the stories and appreciating the significance of the finer points of the plot and the rendition. The work also includes two enlightening profiles of the author. The translation remains faithful to the style and mode of the original Sindhi text and adds to the authenticity of the narrative. This book certainly fills a gap in the dearth of accessible Sindhi literature available to the English readership.

Noak Jhoak

Shanul Haq Haqqee

This is a collection of Shanul Haq Haqqee’s satirical literary essays. He had a fascination for words. Whatever he wrote, whether it was poetry or translation, be it criticism or journalism, it had a tinge of linguistic penchant, for his chief concern was words. These essays are written in Shanul Haq Haqqee’s characteristic style. This book can be used as a supplementary reader by the students of Urdu literature as well as by general readers.

Gondniwala Takiya

Novelette

Ghulam Abbas

This novella is about fluctuating moral values and the evolving social milieu in rural Punjab of the early 20th century. The work is one of the earliest Urdu novels to portray rustic Punjab with such keen observation. A ‘takiya’ or a ‘corner’ used to be a reclusive place for hermits and Sufis but today as a result of changing values and commercialisation, such ‘corners’ have become extinct. Sultan, the main character, returns to his village after a long time and is shocked to see that the corner that was shaded by a fig tree is no more. Although he is happy with the progress that the village has made over these years, a deep sense of being an alien in his own village grips his heart.

Nigar Khana

Mazameen e Shanul Haq Haqqee Ki Muntakhib Tehriraen

Shanul Haq Haqqee

This is a selection of Shanul Haq Haqqee’s literary essays. Haqqee had a fascination for words. Whatever he wrote, whether poetry, translations, criticism, or journalism, had a touch of his linguistic predilections. His chief concern was words and his experimentation in poetry was basically an effort to understand the usage and vocabulary of Urdu. Following in the footsteps of Ameer Khusro, Haqqee composed Pahelis, or riddles and Kehmukarnis, a kind of comic riddle. He even composed Rekhti, a genre of Urdu poetry written in the jargon of women and expressing sentiments peculiar to them. This book can be used as a supplementary reader for students of Urdu literature as well as general readers.