Ghunghru (Urdu)

Ali Khan, Washburn University

Abstract

Thirty years ago, during the mid-seventies, when I was studying law in Pakistan, I wrote two books of short stories. They were called "Ghantian" and "Ghunghru." Together, they may be called The Bells. I was in my twenties and at the time I was introduced to English, Urdu, and Punjabi literature. I was also part of the young intellectual community of Lahore. We would gather in the American Council located near Fatima Jinnah Medical School. Friends would sit in the café below the Council’s library and talk literature, world affairs, and politics. Many of these friends later joined the federal government; others were engineers most of whom who eventually migrated to America. The Bells emerged from intellectual experiences closely associated with the American Council.