Now, I Won’t Drink Water — FLASH FICTION 𝒃𝒚 Mussarat Kalanchvi
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Mussarat Kalanchvi, born on 10 November 1956 in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, is a trilingual short story writer, playwright and non-fiction writer of Urdu, Saraiki and Punjabi. Her father Prof. Dilshad Kalanchavi was also a renowned scholar, critic and novelist of Saraiki. Mussarat Kalanchavi did her MA (History) from Islamia University, Bahawalpur. She was appointed as a lecturer in 1983. In 1985, she moved to Lahore after her marriage with senior journalist Aslam Malik. She retired as the Principal of Government College for Women Gulshan Ravi Lahore in 2016. She has also been a member of the Board of Studies (Saraiki) of Islamia University, Bahawalpur. She also enjoys the honor of being a jury member for several National Literary Awards, member of Board of Governors of Majlis Traqhi Adab, Government of the Punjab and member of Board of Governors of Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (PILAC), Government of the Punjab.
Mussarat wrote her first story when she was a fifth grade student. She is the first women who published a collection of short stories in Saraiki language, “Uchi Dharti Jhukha Asman” in 1976, which brought her accolade with the title of “The First Lady of Saraiki Literature”. When Radio Pakistan Bahawalpur started in 1975, Mussarat was a part of its pioneer team as an Assistant Producer and also voiceovers. She wrote her first play “Peekian Di Naukrani” (The Maid of Wife’s Paternal Home) for Radio. She also wrote and produced scripts for several programs. Her works include two books of Seerat of the Prophet Muhammad (SWA), three collections of short stories and a long story in Saraiki, ten long plays in Urdu, two drama serials in Punjabi and two in Saraiki. She is the first trilingual playwright. She won several prestigious literary awards. Recently, the Government of Pakistan has honored her with the Presidential Award of Pride of Performance on 23rd March, 2024 (announced on August 14, 2023) in recognition of her literary services. -
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Najam-uddin Ahmad is Urdu novelist and short story writer. He has published three novel: 𝘔𝘶𝘥𝘧𝘶𝘯 (The Burials) in 2006, 𝘒𝘩𝘰𝘫 (The Explore) in 2016, and 𝘚𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘮 (The Partners) in 2019, and two collections of short stories: 𝘈𝘢𝘰 𝘉𝘩𝘢𝘪 𝘒𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘯 (Brother, Let’s play) in 2013 and 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘶𝘳 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘈𝘧𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘺 (Flee and Other Short Stories) in 2017. Presently, he has been working on his Urdu novel, 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘑𝘦𝘦𝘵. A collection of Urdu Short Stories is also expected soon. He is also renowned for his translations into Urdu. Among other translations, he has recently translated the famous Turk epic “The Book of Dede Korkut” into Urdu, published by the Pakistan Academy of Letters. He has also translated a number of Urdu short stories into English. He has been bestowed with Pakistan Writers Guild Award, 2013 (𝘈𝘢𝘰 𝘉𝘩𝘢𝘪 𝘒𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘯), 7th UBL Excellence Award, 2017 (Translation of selected short stories of Nobel Laureates), and National Award of Translation, 2019 by the Pakistan Academy of Letters. His Novel 𝘒𝘩𝘰𝘫 was also short listed for 7th UBL Excellence Award, 2017.
“I won’t drink this water.… It has worms.” Model Ruby cried, looking into the bottle of Coke. Now I Won’t Drink Water She retched and ran out of the studio to inhale fresh air.