Reading aloud: Dr Naqvi has literature enthusiasts in splits

Dr Saeed Naqvi has compiled short stories and his first novel is ready for launch.

KARACHI: Dr Saeed Naqvi surely knows how to put his audience at ease. As he read aloud from his short story collection, Tuk Tuk Deedam, to 25 Urdu enthusiasts, he managed to get them to smile appreciatively. By the time the evening ended, they were in gales of laughter listening to his humorous writing.

Dr Naqvi was invited to have a casual reading session at The Second Floor cafe on Wednesday. The writer of three short story collections - Namabar, Doosra Rukh and Tuk Tuk Deedam - Dr Naqvi is all set to launch his first novel, Girdab, later this month.

He also translates English novels into Urdu. “There are many good short stories out there that are not available in Pakistan. I’m trying to bring those stories to people here,” he explained.

After living abroad for many years, Naqvi claimed that writing and translating text into Urdu helped him keep a strong grasp over the language and “refreshed” his Urdu. “I write for myself, but if others read it then it obviously helps my writing,” he claimed.

The humour in Naqvi’s stories is often tongue-in-cheek. “The people who are meant to understand it [the humor], will,” he explained.

When questioned by a member of the audience about the impact of his father’s dry wit on Naqvi’s own sense of humour, Naqvi smiled. “Well, in order to handle a sense of humour like that, you too need to develop a similar sense of humour”.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2014.