KARACHI: Two novels by Canada-based author launched
By Hasan Abidi
KARACHI: A Canada-based novelist, Nilofer Taimuri, launched her two novels at the Pakistan Arts Council on Friday. The novelist, a housewife, who had got her two novels launched from Lahore some years back
, resides in a country where Urdu is hardly ever heard.
Jaltay Gulshan, Rotey phool and Jab Shama Jali are the titles of her novels, which have great similarity in their plots and narration.
Poet Sarshar Siddique, who presided over the launch, received the novels very late, and therefore could not go through them properly, admired the writer for her love reflected in her creative writings for Urdu and Pakistan, while living thousands of miles away. "In a way, she serves the country better than most of us," he said.
Among the speakers who critically examined the novels, were Prof Anis Zaidi, Sarver Javed, Mr Talaat Aftab and Rashid Noor. Naqqash Kazmi, the chairman of the literary committee of the council, also spoke briefly while conducting the proceedings.
Sarver Javed was sad to note that no Urdu novel worth mentioning had appeared for the last five years or so. While short stories presented the life in flashes, novel was the real fiction, which portrayed life in full, he observed. The novels of Ms Nilofer were actually long stories, lacking the requirements of a novel, he added, saying that, however, the scenario she painted in both novels was excellent.
Prof Zaidi agreed with the opinion expressed earlier, and said that while dialogues were fine and scenic beauty presented was fascinating, the characters were elitist, and showed faultless people, ideal in every way, thus becoming "unnatural". They had no sins, no wrong doings and nothing to feel sorry for, except their misjudgements in matters of love, he said, adding that the novels were long romantic stories, and yet quite readable.
The novel, 'Jaltey Gulshan', showed a faith-bound, pardha-observing Muslim family, which was planted in the West, was quite to the liking of the writer.
Ms Talaat Aftab praised the writer for her dedication to art of writing. She had kept the Pakistani culture alive while living in the West, she said.
