Literary Works of Urdu Writers

15/07/2025

02/01/2025

On a random afternoon, Ratna Pathak Shah’s husband and fellow actor Naseeruddin Shah bumped into Ismat Chughtai at a bookshop in Mumbai. The author was never known to mince her words. She stared at him accusingly and said “Kamaal hai, mujhe jaante ho, pehchante ho… tumne mera kaam bhi nahi padha. Sharm nahi aati tumko? (Wow, you know me, recognise me… yet you haven’t read my work. Aren’t you ashamed?” Ratna recalled.

So, he picked up the book, read it entirely and decided to create a play about Chughtai’s stories in which Ratna Pathak Shah adopted the old traditional way of grandmothers narrating stories. At one point she would be a character and at the next, the narrator again.

They were initially worried that many in Mumbai would not understand Urdu. However, it turned out to be a major success. Over the past 22 years, Motley Productions, founded by Naseeduddin Shah has staged the play 600 times.

Read here: https://tinyurl.com/4er79r7h

11/12/2024

LITERARY historiography has come a long way in Urdu. Beginning from Muhammad Husain Azad’s legendary Aab-i-Hayat...

16/06/2024

Pictured here are Wajida Tabassum, Ismat Chughtai, and Qurratulain Haider, who left an indelible mark on Urdu fiction and the literary landscape of the 20th century. Their courage and realism challenged societal norms, inspiring future generations of writers.

In 1942, Krishan Chander penned an introduction for one of Ismat Chughtai's books where he revealed the initial dismissiveness faced by Ismat from male writers. They speculated that a man must be writing her stories, later labeling them as "low level" and "disgraceful." Yet, Ismat persisted, establishing herself as a writer of substance who helped to create a space for women within Urdu literature.

10/06/2024

It was a pleasure to experience the magic of Ghalib through live theater! What better way to pay tribute to a legendary poet?

22/02/2023

What if we didn’t all read the same book for book club? What if we all just committed to reading a book, any book, and came together to talk about it with everyone? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you have come to the right place!
Our book club is all about meeting up, talking about the books you love, and whatever else is on your mind. We want to build a community of like-minded, open-hearted people and have some fun along the way. See you soon!

27/05/2022

Dastangoi, a 13th century Urdu oral storytelling art form, has its origin in the Persian language. Dastan means a "tale" and the suffix -goi makes the word mean "to tell a tale".

ENTRY FREE

04/03/2022

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21/02/2022

February 21st is celebrated as International Mother Language Day. The first and only book I have read in my mother tongue Punjabi is Saif Al Malook by Mian Muhammad Baksh. It was my grandfather's copy and had an Urdu translation as well. It's great to be among people on this page who are close to our heritage and appreciate the arts and literature of the subcontinent.