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Chats Ep. 4 · On Qurratulain Hyder's sci-fi story “Roshni ki Raftaar”

Time traveling from 1960s India to early modern Egypt with the acclaimed Urdu writer Qurratulain Hyder and her story “Roshni ki Raftaar.”

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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
AUTHOR
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AUTHOR
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Live
Urdu Fiction
Posthumous
Qurratulain Hyder
Science Fiction
Time Travel
Urdu
Criticism
Language
SAAG Chats
Genre
Genre Tropes
Speculative Fiction
Fantasy
Philosophical Fiction
Syncretism
River of Fire
Roshni ki Raftaar
Sahitya Akademi
Genre Fluidity
Difficult Reading
Esoterica
Time & Space
Suez Canal Crisis
Narrators
Petty
Bureaucracy
Everyday Life
Indian Bureaucracy
Aligarh
Science
Characterization
Ethical Standards for Fictional Characters
Sci-Fi
Rockets
Romance
Bitterness
Scientist Characters
Surprise
Endings
Gender
Tonal Shifts
Humor
Short Story
Naiyer Masud

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Live
Urdu Fiction
30th
Nov
2020

A reading and discussion of the late Urdu writer Qurratulain Hyder and her short story “Roshni ki Raftaar” by editors Nur Nasreen Ibrahim and Zuneera Shah. Feat.: time travel, women in science, sci-fi traditions in Urdu compared to those in English, and much more.


Must-watch: Nur and Zuneera's thoughts on the ending, speculations on whether Hyder intended for a sequel, what she might think of criticisms, how the tonal shift affects the story, and how humor functions in the story. More importantly: why do we expect or want character growth? Is there a fundamental difference with regard to character growth between the Anglophone literary tradition and the non-Anglophone one?


Qurratulain Hyder is amongst the most acclaimed and influential Urdu writers of the 20th century, perhaps even the most popular alongside contemporaries like Ismat Chughtai (with whom she had a testy relationship). Best known for her magnum opus “Aag ka Durya” or “River of Fire,” Hyder was also a deeply expansive writer. Here, Nur and Zuneera discuss her use of fantasy and sci-fi framings, the manner of her world-building, and comparisons to contemporary films and TV shows in the most fun and audience-engaging SAAG Chats episode to date.

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