Unfolding tales: Dr Shershah Syed dissects society’s ills in new book

Ob-gyn launches ‘Jo Dil Nikle, Toh Dum Nikle’ at T2F


Scholar Kurun Singh (left) in conversation with Dr Shershah Syed (right) at the latter’s book launch. PHOTO: AYESHA MIR/EXPRESS

KARACHI: In his stories, Dr Shershah Syed has discussed those societal ills which are difficult to talk about and by giving them a story-like shape, these issues can be addressed more deeply, said scholar and Urdu professor Kurun Singh.

He was speaking at the launch of Dr Shershah's collection of short stories 'Jo Dil Nikle, Toh Dum Nikle' at The Second Floor on Tuesday evening. Dr Shershah is an obstetrician and gynaecologist by profession and is also serving as the president of the Pakistan National Forum on Women's Health. He has penned 10 books and the latest one is a collection of short stories.

Singh talked about how the writer's stories seem to have messages between the lines and are rich in imagination, to an extent. "One also frequently sees a character of doctor in his stories, making one believe that the community [to which] he belongs is full of such stories," he added.

Issues of forced Hindu conversion in Sindh, themes of religion, charm of the West and rights of others are some of the salient features of the book, said Singh. "[When] our people move to Western society, they are unable to settle in that life," he said. He talked about how the people want their children to live in the West, but still be attached to the Eastern world. "This cannot happen. One also gets to learn this in this book," Singh said.

Referring to a particular story from the book on Taliban, Singh said that as opposed to the common perception that someone else's children are brainwashed and led to such extremist paths, the story tells us a different aspect of it. "In this story, the father himself leads his son to this path," he said. Singh added that the character is able to save himself and begins a new life somewhere else. Dr Shershah read out some excerpts from his stories. One particular story was 'Sarak Maharaj' in which a Hindu stops praying to his god and begins worshipping the road that is connected to a city. In the story, the construction of roads has led to economic and social development of the village and lives of the people had improved, because of which the man starts worshipping it.

Answering a question on how he became a writer, Dr Syed said that he loves writing stories. "Whenever I read my own work, I wonder if I have really written it," he said, adding that it is the element of human emotion in his stories that strikes him the most.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25th,  2016.

 

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