It is commonly stated that the short stories (afsanay) written in Urdu, especially during the progressive writers movement era i.e. between 1936 to around 1958, can arguably be regarded as world class. Munto, Baidi, Ismat, Krishan Chunder, Ghulam Abbas followed by modernists such as Intisar Hussain, Anwar Sajjad, Asad Muhammed Khan, Munsha Yad, Asif Farrukhi and many more successfully managed to use both tradition and innovation while writing significant short stories in Urdu. Short stories provide freedom for experimentation. They allow the writer to use uncommon prose styles to tell the story. This makes them more exciting, both for the writer, as well as for the reader. Valueversity continues the conversation with senior BBC producer, writer and eminent intellectual Arif Waqar Sahib about the evolution of short stories (afsanay) in Urdu. Please listen and enjoy!
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Shariq Ali