Books carried to Lahore

In a 2015 interview, Urdu writer Intizar Husain recalled arriving in Lahore with clothes, bedding and books. Among them was an old Urdu Bible from his father’s cupboard, which had fascinated him as a child. He described an interest in Sufi stories and Russian fiction, including Chekhov. Recalling the loss associated with his move to Lahore, he remembered Ramlila performances and said that he read the Ramayana in Urdu and English and summaries of the Mahabharata. He was drawn to stories woven within stories, and connected that attraction with his later interest in the katha-kahaani storytelling tradition. These are his own recollections, rather than an independently verified inventory.[1]

Reading and the writer’s voice

Asked in 2013 where a newcomer might begin, Husain suggested his novel Basti and the short-story collection Aakhri Admi. For English readers he named The Chronicle of the Peacocks in Alok Bhalla’s translation. He described Aakhri Admi as marking a change in his fiction. His answers named the Urdu novelist Ratan Nath Sarshar and Anton Chekhov among his literary heroes; he also spoke of Buddhist Jataka stories and the storytelling he learned from his grandmother. On political issues, he said a novelist could engage with them but should speak in an individual voice. This was his answer to a particular question, not a rule that every writer must follow.[2]

A collection across genres

The University of Hawai‘i Press lists Story Is a Vagabond, a 2015 issue of Mānoa devoted to Husain, with fiction, drama and essays. Its contents list several collaborators alongside Husain. For example, the fiction list includes “Qayyuma’s Shop” with Moazzam Sheikh and “The Prisoner(s)” with C. M. Naim; the play “The Deluge” is listed alongside Alok Bhalla and Nishat Zaidi. The essay section includes “Between Me and the Story” with Rakhshanda Jalil. The publisher’s contents page provides a useful route into the range of translated material and its credits. It does not substitute for reading the works or the volume’s introduction, which have not been examined for this entry.[3]

Sources & notes

Source records include access dates and, where known, limits on what was examined. Checks used AI assistance; independent human or specialist review has not been completed.

  1. Seema Chishti; Intizar Husain. As extremists do not read literature, we are safe: Pakistani writer Intizar Husain ↗Author interview · Source date: 2015-01-04 · Locator: Selected interview, books carried to Lahore. Accessed 2026-11-02.Selected answers read; memories remain attributed.Return to Books carried to Lahore, paragraph 1 ↑
  2. The Guardian; Intizar Husain. The Man Booker International prize finalists speak ↗Author responses · Source date: 2013-05-14 · Locator: Intizar Husain questionnaire answers. Accessed 2026-11-02.Only Husain’s written answers inspected for use.Return to Reading and the writer’s voice, paragraph 1 ↑
  3. University of Hawai‘i Press. Manoa 27(1): Story Is a Vagabond ↗Publisher record · Source date: 2015-10-06 post · Locator: Volume record and contents. Accessed 2026-11-02.Contents inspected; included works and introduction unreviewed.Return to A collection across genres, paragraph 1 ↑
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Record PH-PEO-0137 · English edition · human review not performed