The Writer’s Foretold — Excerpt from Novel 𝒃𝒚 Saleem Shahzad
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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.
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Born 0n December 15, 1957 in Bahawal Nagar, Punjab, Pakistan Saleem Shahzad is a trilingual poet, novelist, translator and historian of Pakistan. He is a retired Government Officer. His literary work, spanning 45 years, consists of 10 books: 06 poetry collections 02 Saraiki novels, a book of history, translations of short-stories from Punjabi and Saraiki into Urdu. Saleem Shahzad received National Literary Award twice (on collection of Saraiki poems “𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘢 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘳”, 2007 and Saraiki Novel “𝘎𝘩𝘢𝘢𝘯”, 2012) and 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘨𝘩𝘢-𝘦-𝘐𝘮𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘻 from the Government of Pakistan in 2023. He transformed trend of traditional poetry style and diction, using the unusual and untouchable subjects in his poems with his zigzag shaped to lines. His novels also provide rejuvenation to themes and diction of Saraiki novels. So, he may unquestionably be labelled with the honour as a trend setter writer and poet. Saleem Shahzad’s novel “𝘎𝘩𝘢𝘢𝘯”(Whirlpool), published in 2012, has been considered as prediction to the pandemic CORONA because novel depicts story of an epidemic which confines people to homes wearing masks. Now-a-days, he has been working on another novel in Punjabi language. His two collections of poems are to be published soon.
IT is said, the curse flared-up from its mouth with a wailing scream. What was the curse? Who had casted it? Nobody knew anything about it.