<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail-row" style="margin:0px 75px;padding:0px;width:1200px;clear:none;font-size:14px;display:block;direction:ltr;min-width:768px;max-width:1350px;box-sizing:border-box"><div class="gmail-twelve gmail-columns" style="margin:0px;padding:0px 15px;width:1200px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;min-height:1px;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"><div class="gmail-panel gmail-white gmail-block-4" id="gmail-news_ticker" style="background:rgb(255,255,255);margin:0px;padding:20px;border:1px solid rgb(230,230,230);font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box"><div class="gmail-one gmail-columns" style="background:rgb(248,248,248);margin:0px;padding:0px 15px;width:90px;text-align:center;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;min-height:1px;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"><div class="gmail-trending" style="margin:0px;padding:15px 0px 0px;height:40px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box"></div> </div> <div class="eleven gmail-columns" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;width:1033.92px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;min-height:1px;box-sizing:border-box;float:right"> <div class="gmail-tickercontainer" style="background:rgb(255,255,255);padding:0px;overflow:hidden;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box"> <div class="gmail-mask" style="margin:0px;padding:5px 0px 0px;height:30px;overflow:hidden;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box"> <div class="gmail-tickercontainer" style="background:rgb(255,255,255);padding:0px;overflow:hidden;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box"><div class="gmail-mask" style="margin:0px;padding:5px 0px 0px;height:30px;overflow:hidden;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box"><ul class="gmail-newsticker" id="gmail-ticker01" style="font:700 10px Verdana;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:10928px;list-style-type:none;list-style-position:outside;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%;opacity:1"> <li style="background:rgb(255,255,255);margin:0px;padding:0px;height:22px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"> <span style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;color:rgb(255,0,0);box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%">9:12 PM | April 30, 2019</span> <a style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 50px 0px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/chinese-delegation-visits-ucp">Chinese delegation visits UCP</a> </li> <li style="background:rgb(255,255,255);margin:0px;padding:0px;height:22px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"> <span style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;color:rgb(255,0,0);box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%">8:15 PM | April 30, 2019</span> <a style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 50px 0px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/an-open-letter-to-pm-imran-and-the-people-of-pakistan">An open letter to PM Imran and the people of Pakistan</a> </li> <li style="background:rgb(255,255,255);margin:0px;padding:0px;height:22px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"> <span style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;color:rgb(255,0,0);box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%">7:34 PM | April 30, 2019</span> <a style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 50px 0px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/british-american-tobacco-contributes-rs5m-in-dam-fund">British American Tobacco contributes Rs5m in dam fund</a> </li> <li style="background:rgb(255,255,255);margin:0px;padding:0px;height:22px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"> <span style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;color:rgb(255,0,0);box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%">7:15 PM | April 30, 2019</span> <a style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 50px 0px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/contemporary-trends-in-education-imperative-for-development-arif-alvi">Contemporary trends in education, imperative for development: Arif Alvi</a> </li> <li style="background:rgb(255,255,255);margin:0px;padding:0px;height:22px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"> <span style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;color:rgb(255,0,0);box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%">6:49 PM | April 30, 2019</span> <a style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 50px 0px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stret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coration:none;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/indian-army-says-found-footprints-of-yeti-in-himalayas">Indian Army says found footprints of 'Yeti' in Himalayas</a> </li> <li style="background:rgb(255,255,255);margin:0px;padding:0px;height:22px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"> <span style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;color:rgb(255,0,0);box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%">4:27 PM | April 30, 2019</span> <a style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 50px 0px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/Sri-Lankan-educationists-to-visit-Pakistan-on-orientation-tour">Sri Lankan educationists to visit Pakistan on orientation tour</a> </li> <li style="background:rgb(255,255,255);margin:0px;padding:0px;height:22px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"> <span style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;color:rgb(255,0,0);box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%">3:47 PM | April 30, 2019</span> <a style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 50px 0px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/f-35-project-without-turkey-is-bound-to-collapse-erdogan">F-35 project without Turkey is bound to collapse: Erdogan</a> </li> <li style="background:rgb(255,255,255);margin:0px;padding:0px;height:22px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"> <span style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;color:rgb(255,0,0);box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%">3:45 PM | April 30, 2019</span> <a style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 50px 0px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/uks-theresa-may-to-face-another-no-confidence-vote-from-tory-activists">Theresa May to face another no-confidence vote from Tory activists </a> </li> <li style="background:rgb(255,255,255);margin:0px;padding:0px;height:22px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"> <span style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;color:rgb(255,0,0);box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%">3:19 PM | April 30, 2019</span> <a style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 50px 0px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/heat-wave-grips-karachi-as-temperature-touches-41-degrees">Karachi witnesses soaring temperature</a> </li> <li style="background:rgb(255,255,255);margin:0px;padding:0px;height:22px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"> <span style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;color:rgb(255,0,0);box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%">3:01 PM | April 30, 2019</span> <a style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 50px 0px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/mahira-khan-embraces-getting-older-with-her-trademark-elegance">Mahira graciously embraces her grey hair </a> </li> <li style="background:rgb(255,255,255);margin:0px;padding:0px;height:22px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"> <span style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;color:rgb(255,0,0);box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%">2:37 PM | April 30, 2019</span> <a style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 50px 0px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/656725">Pakistan, Nigeria Naval Chiefs discuss bilateral ties</a> </li> <li style="background:rgb(255,255,255);margin:0px;padding:0px;height:22px;font-size:14px;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box;float:left"> <span style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 10px 0px 0px;color:rgb(255,0,0);box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%">2:33 PM | April 30, 2019</span> <a style="font:700 11px Verdana;margin:0px 50px 0px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:100%" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/pm-imran-to-perform-ground-breaking-of-mohmand-dam-on-may-2">PM Khan to perform ground-breaking of Mohmand Dam on May 2</a> </li> </ul></div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <span style="text-align:left;color:rgb(34,34,34);text-transform:none;text-indent:0px;letter-spacing:normal;font-family:"Lato",arial;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:400;text-decoration:none;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n’t want to have a second profession added to writing.” She said.</p> <div class="gmail-read_more" style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 10px;font-size:16px;font-weight:700;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box">READ MORE: <a style="color:rgb(255,0,0);line-height:16px;text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/an-open-letter-to-pm-imran-and-the-people-of-pakistan">An open letter to PM Imran and the people of Pakistan</a></div><p style="margin:0px 0px 17px;padding:0px;line-height:24px;font-size:16px;font-weight:400;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box">To a question about the place and city in the novel, she responded that it’s a book that doesn’t pretend to universalise anything or conceptualise anything. It’s a book of great detail about a place. On a question about her fiction and non-fiction works, she maintained that: I don’t actually see my fiction and nonfiction as extensions of each other.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 17px;padding:0px;line-height:24px;font-size:16px;font-weight:400;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box">“This novel has been ten years in the writing, but I think in the twenty years between The God of Small Things and now, I have travelled and been involved with so many things that are happening and written about them at length” she said.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 17px;padding:0px;line-height:24px;font-size:16px;font-weight:400;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box">The conference was attended by as many as 25 national and international speakers other than Roy including Dr. Asif Farrukhi, Dr. Shahid Siddique and many others.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 17px;padding:0px;line-height:24px;font-size:16px;font-weight:400;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box">Famous writer, critic and Dean of Arts and Humanities at University of Karachi, Dr. Asif Farrukhi in his keynote address stressed to bring regional and Urdu language literature into English, while sharing his views on a case study of reading contemporary Urdu literature from Pakistan based on Asad Khan’s work, A new harvest of anger. He said historic themes; social and class conflicts as well as contradictions emerge from contemporary Urdu poetry and fiction, often not available in the current syllabi and lead to limited understanding of Pakistani society.</p> <div class="gmail-read_more" style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 10px;font-size:16px;font-weight:700;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box">READ MORE: <a style="color:rgb(255,0,0);line-height:16px;text-decoration:none;box-sizing:border-box" href="https://nation.com.pk/30-Apr-2019/british-american-tobacco-contributes-rs5m-in-dam-fund">British American Tobacco contributes Rs5m in dam fund</a></div><p style="margin:0px 0px 17px;padding:0px;line-height:24px;font-size:16px;font-weight:400;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box">Dr. Shahid Siddiqui , an educationist and a Dean of Social Sciences, NUML at Islamabad also delivered a keynote address on “ language , life chances and the Matthew effect”. He discussed the gloomy picture of mishandling and inappropriate policies towards adoption of national language. He maintained that literature is a political tool and it is not confined to enjoyment only. He added that language and literature is the best tool to utilize for construction of society and it also determines breaking or making the stereotypes.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 17px;padding:0px;line-height:24px;font-size:16px;font-weight:400;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box">Dr. Tahir Khailiy, Vice President Academics at IIUI vowed that conferences of such importance will be part of the activity calendar to determine role of literature in the prosperity and reconstruction of society. He also hailed efforts of the department and IRD for managing to bring best speakers and experts to discuss the theme of conference.</p><div class="gmail-fb-quote gmail-fb_iframe_widget" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:14px;display:block;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box"><span style="width:169px;height:47px;text-align:justify;vertical-align:bottom;display:inline-block;box-sizing:border-box"></span></div><p></p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 17px;padding:0px;line-height:24px;font-size:16px;font-weight:400;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box">Dr. Ayaz Afsar, Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences said that one of the purposes of the conference is to encourage debate, interaction and networking among the national and international experts and students. “I would like to propose that the goal of the English departments should be reclaiming the primacy of asceticism in literary criticism” he added.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 17px;padding:0px;line-height:24px;font-size:16px;font-weight:400;direction:ltr;box-sizing:border-box">The event was also addressed by Dr. Husn ul Amin, Executive Director, IRD who apprised about the role of IRD in society building. The Arundhati talk, rest of the sessions and discussions were mediated by Dr. Muhammad Sheeraz Dasti, the conference secretary who, earlier, also elaborated the details of sessions. The conference witnessed around 100 papers relevant to the theme of conference.</p></div></div></div></div></div><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" dir="ltr">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies                     <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone:  (215) 898-7475<br>Fax:  (215) 573-2138                                      <br><br>Email:  <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a>    <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div></div>