Jazeera-e-Sukhanwaran / جزیرہ سخنوراں

اردو اثاثہ

by Ghulam Abbas

Jazeera-e-Sukhanwaran is a satirical fantasy beautifully written by the prominent Urdu fiction writer Ghulam Abbas. In this humorous novella, a satirical fantasy situation is created which is related to the lives of Urdu poets and their poetic affairs. It was written in 1937, serialized in a literary magazine, and first published in a book form in 1941. It was only once published in Pakistan in 1961 and has been out of print for two decades.

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1937

About the author

Ghulam Abbas (Urdu: غلام عباس ‎) was an Urdu short story writer. His influence has been both long and deep. In his short stories he often exposes shortcomings, weaknesses and hypocrisy in human beings. But his tone is never sarcastic or venomous.

He was a great admirer of the Russian short story tradition.

His love for poetry, specially Urdu poetry was abiding and profound, but he never ventured into it himself seriously.

Abbas’ fame is purely because of his literary genius, as he became popular without associating himself or depending on any of the literary movement or group.

His short stories Anandi and Overcoat earned him international fame. Jaaday ki Chandni and Kan ras are his famous books containing remarkable short stories.

He died in 1982 in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.

Reviews

[W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ghulam Abbas's humorous literary fantasy about the lives of Urdu poets. Unlike his short stories,many of which are memorable,I found this book a struggle to finish.It bored me.

[Osama Siddique · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must confess this novella left me completely underwhelmed. Inspired by A Voyage to the Island of Articoles by the French Writer André Maurois (to be continued)

[Muhammad Soomro · Rating 3 out of 5]

A prime example of Ghulam Abbas’s humorous writing style which a reader can see in his short stories from time to time and which is even more evident in another novella of his,”Dhanak”. This is a satirical Chronicle of a voyager who by accident discover and enter an island inhibited by poets and their fans( مداح). This was different from most of the writings of Ghulam Abbas and couldn't leave a mark on me as a reader. Maybe because of the setting of the Novel or maybe I'm not mature enough as a reader to appreciate it yet.