Five authors, two characters: Unique story collection launched

A rare literary collaboration bringing together five acclaimed Pakistani writers to tell different stories centred on the same two characters was unveiled at the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA).

Titled Zareena and Abid, the book features five original short stories by Senator (retd) Javed Jabbar, Naeem Sadiq, Rehana Alam, Taha Kehar and Talat Rahim. Each author interprets the same two characters in a distinct way, offering readers five contrasting narratives shaped by individual writing styles and perspectives.

The launch, held at NAPA's Zia Mohyeddin Theatre, included a panel discussion in which the writers reflected on the creative process behind the project and explained how they approached the shared theme.

Naeem Sadiq revealed that the idea originated with Javed Jabbar, who invited the four writers to lunch before proposing the collaborative project. Calling it a creative challenge, Sadiq said all the authors readily accepted.

Discussing his contribution, Change the Story, Sadiq said he had initially planned to write about a prominent individual. However, after spending nearly 25 minutes waiting alongside the person's security guard, he became more interested in the guard's life than that of his employer, inspiring an entirely different story.

Talat Rahim said writing within the framework of an assigned concept was unfamiliar to her, as she usually drew inspiration from personal ideas rather than prompts. Seeing "a girl and a boy" as the foundation of the project, she chose to write a romance, adding that unlike many of her previous works, her story ends on a hopeful note.

Taha Kehar, the youngest contributor to the collection, said the title of his story, The Understudy, came to him before the plot itself. He explained that he preferred exploring characters instead of creating conventional heroes and villains, making Zareena the emotional centre of his narrative.

Rehana Alam's contribution revisits the 1947 Partition, focusing on the human cost of migration. She said the story was inspired by the experiences of families who moved to Pakistan during Partition and aimed to highlight both the suffering and resilience that shaped the country's early years.

Closing the discussion, Javed Jabbar described South Asia as home to some of the world's finest short story traditions. Explaining his own interpretation, he said he imagined Zareena and Abid as unborn twins communicating inside their mother's womb, deliberately removing external influences and relying instead on silence and unspoken emotions to drive the narrative.

During the event, each author read excerpts from their work before audience members joined an interactive question-and-answer session.