SHEENA — EXCERPT FROM NOVEL 𝒃𝒚 Dr. Waheed Ahmad
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Dr. Waheed Ahmed (born in 1959) is a Pakistani poet and novelist. He graduated in Medicine from the Punjab Medical College Faisalabad — his hometown — in 1983 and joined Civil Services of Pakistan in 1985. He served on several key posts in Accounts and Audit group of Pakistani bureaucracy. He served as Military Accountant General of Pakistan and retired as Additional Auditor General of Pakistan in 2019. Dr. Waheed Ahmed holds a niche in contemporary Pakistani literature. His poems are idiosyncratic in their style and theme, and illustrate an exceptional assortment of lyricism and modern imagism among rich and diverse world of Urdu poetics not only of Pakistan but of the whole Urdu World. He is considered among the masters of contemporary free verse. He has, to the day, published five collections of Urdu poetry: 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘢𝘧𝘪𝘺𝘢𝘯 (Transparencies) - 1994, 𝘏𝘶𝘮 𝘈𝘢𝘨 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘏𝘢𝘪𝘯 (We Want Fire) - 2002, 𝘕𝘢𝘻𝘮 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘢 (Dairy of Poems) - 2012, 𝘑𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘺𝘢𝘯 𝘜𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪 𝘏𝘢𝘪𝘯 (The Place Where Fairies Land) - 2020 and a long poem 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘵 𝘒𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢 𝘏𝘢𝘪 (Who Refits?) - 2022. Dr. Waheed Ahmed is the pioneer of a whole lot of poets-turned-novelists of Pakistan. He published his first Urdu novel 𝘡𝘪𝘯𝘰 in 2003 that introduced a whole new genre in Urdu fiction blending science fiction, fantasy, political satire, eco-fiction and a new face of humanism challenging the Unipolar model of the 21st century. So, he may also be called the pioneer of Polyphonic Fiction in Pakistan and Urdu world. His 2nd novel titled the 𝘔𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘪 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘢 (The Earring Guy) published in 2012. This novel is also polyphonic in its style that is set in a utopian hill somewhere in Pakistan and shows after effects of the Western war of terrorism on everything in the Pakistani society ranging from the ruling elite to the man in faraway rural areas. Dr. Waheed Ahmed’s fiction is marked by profound humanism in global era and his style is unique and befitting to his matter.
He is recipient of many awards, including pone of the highest state honors, 𝘚𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘢-𝘦-𝘐𝘮𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘻 (Star of Excellence) in 2023. He has recently been awarded the prestigious Life Time Achievement Award by Aasar Academy for his all-around literary works.
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Munir Fayyaz is a prominent poet (Urdu and English), Translator, Critic and serving as Assistant Professor (English) in F. G. Colleges, Islamabad, Paksitan. He gives lectures on Literature and Translation Studies in leading University of the Capital City. He has recently edited special issue of “Pakistan Literature” (Contemporary Short Stories of Pakistan) published by Pakistan Academy of Letters. Munir Fayyaz is also a broadcaster at Radio Pakistan Islamabad and Panelist of Pakistan Television (World) for Literary Programs. He has been translating Pakistani Poetry and Fiction into English since 2009. His debut translations into Urdu are: Contemporary Chinese Short Stories, Kyrgyz Writer Cengiz Aitmatov’s novellas, An Anthology of Nepali Poets as “Nepal ki Aawa” (The Voice of Nepal). Morevoer, He has also written profiles of poets and writers of International fame: Naguib Mahfouz and John Ashberry, and the US Poet Laureates Tracy K. Smith and Juan Philipe Herrera.
The Mundri Wala (The Earring Guy) rose from his chair while throwing this question on him and removed the thick, stubborn curtain from the window with a jerk. There came a flood of dazzling light in room.