LARKANA: Stories are alive today, and at the launch of Dr Ehsan Danish’s new book Uha Raat (That Night), that pulse was felt by every attendee in the room.
The collection of stories by distinguished storyteller, researcher and critic Dr Danish was launched at an event organised by the Literary Department of the Arts Council of Pakistan, Larkana, on Tuesday evening.
Speakers on the occasion were of the view that as long as humanity breathes, stories shall continue to breathe alongside it. Men die, but stories endure.
It was in this spirit that the writers and intellectuals of Sindh gathered to celebrate a conversation with the distinguished storyteller, researcher, and critic Dr Ehsan Danish, and to mark the launch of his short story collection “Uha Raat” (That Night) an event organised by the Literary Department of the Arts Council of Pakistan, Larkana, on Tuesday evening.
Addressing the gathering, renowned writer Dr Fayaz Latif, director of Sindhology, remarked that Dr Danish was a man of multifaceted brilliance.
He was a writer of tender sensibilities and even his shortest stories stirred something deep within the heart and awoke the sleeping conscience, he said
Dr Ehsan Danish, former secretary of the Sindhi Language Authority (SLA), said writing stories was no idle pastime for him as in every story he had written, he poured the very blood of his heart.
The world might know him primarily as a researcher and critic, but at his core, he was a creator. Poetry and fiction had always been his first and truest loves, he said.
Celebrated writer and broadcaster Abid Abbas Kazmi observed that every word that flew from a writer’s pen was a sacred trust held for the reader.
Dr Danish was a widely-read, enlightened and progressive voice, he said.
He had not merely written stories, but he had also conducted exemplary research into the poetry of Shah Latif.
Akhtar Pia, chairman of the Literary Department, expressed that hosting such a conversation with Dr Danish was an honour for both the Arts Council and the department. He had devoted nearly 40 years of his life to literature, he said.
Prof Mukhtiar Samo, director of the Knowledge Centre, paid tribute to Danish’s dignified personality, saying that possessed a rare patience, forbearance and gravity of character. Regardless of the literary genre he explored, he consistently left his mark and earned the recognition he deserved, said Mr Samo.
Writer and journalist Nisar Khokhar declared that story still drew breath and lived with its full vital force.
“Dr Ehsan has written stories of human sufferings and tragedies that are magnificent in their craft and artistry. His flash fiction, in particular, is startlingly powerful.”
Ms Rafia Bukhari observed that running through Ehsan Danish’s stories was a deep undercurrent of pain and anguish. He had held the wounds of society before the mirror of language, she said.
Storyteller and researcher Dr Aziz Qasmani said that the art of writing short-short fiction was extraordinarily demanding, adding that Ehsan Danish was one of the most con-scientious writers of our generation.
Sattar Hallai said that a story was the cry of a thirsty peacock — one that pierced the hearts of those who felt deeply. That very cry resounded through the stories of Dr Ehsan.
He had rendered the tragedies of society with the mastery of a true and consummate artist.
The occasion was further enriched by reflections from a host of speakers each of whom shared their thoughts on Danish’s personality, artistry and the stories gathered in this new collection.
The Arts Council presented a commemorative shield to Dr Danish as a token of gratitude and admiration for a lifetime devoted to the living art of words.
Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2026