Conversation Series on Contemporary Urdu Fiction

Thursday, 16 April 2026 | 6:30 - 8:30 PM | CR 0-07, Law School, LUMS

The Gurmani Centre for Languages and Literature hosted the third session of the conversation series on Contemporary Urdu Fiction. It was a session with Zaki Naqvi regarding this recently published short story collection, Dīyar o Dasht. The session, moderated by Khalid Sanjrani, revolved around the relationship between natural ecologies, the state, and the broader environmental and social peripheries that shape a writer’s imagination. The discussion foregrounded how these elements inform and structure an author’s episodic creativity, situating literary production within a wider ecological and socio-political context.

A significant portion of the conversation was devoted to the craft of short story writing. The author reflected in detail on the process of conceiving an idea, emphasizing how a story often emerges from a deeply felt engagement with one’s surroundings. Nature, in this regard, was discussed not merely as a backdrop but as an active, generative force that informs narrative texture and thematic depth. The session further explored the technical dimensions of creative writing, including the shaping of narrative, the development of characters, and the disciplined refinement of literary form. Overall , it was particularly discussed that how an idea evolves into a structured story through sustained engagement with both craft and context.

The session also featured two dramatic readings from the author’s work by Laraib Fatima, including a story "Shanakhtī Card" and another selected passage. These readings offered the audience an experience of the text and its emotional and aesthetic resonance. The event concluded with a lively question-and-answer session, where participants engaged actively with the author’s ideas and processes that shape contemporary storytelling.