#HUArzu Center for Regional Languages & Humanities Invitation Booklet

ARZU

THE ARZU CENTER FOR REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

LAUNCH OF THE ARZU CENTER Wednesday, Feb 25th, 2015, 5:30 - 8:00 pm

ARZU

THE ARZU CENTER FOR REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

LAUNCH OF THE ARZU CENTER Wednesday, Feb 25th, 2015, 5:30 - 8:00 pm

ARZU

THE ARZU CENTER FOR REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

You are cordially invited to the inauguration ceremony of Habib University’s Arzu Center Date: Timing: Venue:

February 25, 2015 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm Habib University Auditorium

To register:

www.habib.edu.pk/arzu

RSVP Hamza Iqbal Email: arzu@habib.edu.pk Phone No.: 021-38797082

LAUNCH OF THE ARZU CENTER Wednesday, Feb 25th, 2015, 5:30 - 8:00 pm

ARZU

THE ARZU CENTER FOR REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

About The Arzu Center for Regional Languages and Humanities contributes to Habib University’s overall vision and institutional mission through fostering pedagogy, research and scholarship in the various languages from Pakistan. The center is designed to contribute to the revitalization of these languages and literatures that have been adversely affected by the lack of clearly defined educational and national priorities. The Arzu Center is part of Habib University’s School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and will serve to meet the vernacular requirements of the University. Its scope of work covers a wide range, including language instruction, translation from and into the regional languages, development of pedagogical material, cultural and literary preservation and the promotion of language-based activities. Currently, the center provides pedagogical support to one of Habib University’s required courses, Jehan-e-Urdu, and will cover Sindhi and Punjabi in the next phase. Eventually, the Arzu Center’s ambit of languages will include Pashtu, Baluchi, modern-day Hindi, Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic.

The Center is named after the 18th century poet, linguist and lexicographer, Sirajuddin Ali Khan Arzu.

Agenda Time 5:30 – 5:45

Program Agenda Welcome and introduction to the Arzu Center

5: 45 – 5: 50

Introduction to the speakers

5: 50 – 6: 10

Speech: Intizar Husain

6:10 – 6:25

Speech and recitation: Zehra Nigah

6:25 - 6: 40

Speech and recitation: Imdad Hussaini

6:40 – 7:30

Shatranj Ki Baazi: Dramatic Reading by Zambeel Group

7:30 – 8:00

Tea

ARZU

THE ARZU CENTER FOR REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

Speakers Intizar Husain is a celebrated Urdu novelist and short story writer. His works include four novels, a number of collections of short stories (which have now been collected into two volumes), travelogues, critical articles and memoirs.

His well-known novel Basti has been reprinted many times and translated into English. Born in India, he migrated to Pakistan in 1947 and settled in Lahore. Intizar Husain is a well-known column-writer and contributes regularly to newspapers in both Urdu and English. Recognized for his distinctive prose style and as a trend-setter in Urdu fiction, he has received many awards from Pakistan, India and the Middle East. In 2013, he was nominated as one of the finalists for the Man Booker International Prize for lifetime literary achievement, the first writer in Urdu and from Pakistan to achieve this distinction.

Zehra Nigah is one of the foremost Urdu poets of Pakistan. She was one of two female poets to gain prominence in the 1950s, when the scene was dominated by men. Zehra Nigah has three collections of poetry to her credit, and recently a collected edition of her poems was published from Lahore. Her poetry is remarkable for its lyricism and engagement with social issues, and she has received various awards at home and abroad in recognition of her work. Zehra Nigah is also a scriptwriter of several popular television serials and films. Coming from a well-known literary and intellectual family, she counts the writer, artist and TV personality Anwar Maqsood and playwright Fatima Suraiya Bajia among her siblings.

LAUNCH OF THE ARZU CENTER Wednesday, Feb 25th, 2015, 5:30 - 8:00 pm

ARZU

THE ARZU CENTER FOR REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

Imdad Hussaini is a poet who writes in both Sindhi and Urdu. He is a writer, scholar, lyricist and playwright.

Born into a literary family of Hyderabad, Sindh, he is an educationist by profession. Imdad Hussaini has worked in various literary institutions of Sindh, such as the Sindhi Adabi Board, the Sindh Textbook Board, the Institute of Sindhology, and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Sindhi Language Authority. He has been secretary of the Sindhi Adabi Board and Editor of the Board’s literary journal, Mehran. Hussaini has published four volumes of poetry in Sindhi, has translated Mirza Qaleech Baig’s novel Zeenat into Urdu, and has also rendered the Sindhi epic Chanesar into Urdu. A volume of his own poems in Urdu was launched at the Karachi Literature Festival in 2014, and he has also translated a selection of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry into Sindhi.

ARZU

THE ARZU CENTER FOR REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

Shatranj ki Baazi Adapted from Munshi Premchand’s short story

www.facebook.com/ZambeelDramaticReadings www.zambeeldramaticreadings.wordpress.com

zambeel dramatic readings

Shatranj ki Baazi

Originally written in Hindi as ‘Shatranj ke khilari’ by Munshi Premchand (published in 1924), Shatranj ki Baazi was later retitled and translated into Urdu by the author a few years later. Set in Lucknow in the last days of Nawab Vajid Ali Shah’s kingship, the story centers around the jagirdars, Mirza Sajjad Ali and Mir Roshan Ali, and their obsession with chess in the face of the rapidly deteriorating political and social conditions of Awadh.

About

Zambeel Dramatic Readings aims to present texts in Urdu and English in dramatic form, to create a dynamic collusion between literature and performance.

Referencing traditions of storytelling and the contemporary form of the radio play, Zambeel’s works traverse time and geographical boundaries to interpret and enliven narratives through sound and recitation.

Zambeel Dramatic Readings was founded by Mahvash Faruqi, Asma Mundrawala and Saife Hasan in September 2011.

Credits

Performed by Mahvash Faruqi Meesam Naqvi Nazr-ul-Hasan Asma Mundrawala

Original music Yousuf Kerai

Direction

Asma Mundrawala

LAUNCH OF THE ARZU CENTER Wednesday, Feb 25th, 2015, 5:30 - 8:00 pm

LAUNCH OF THE

E ARZU CENTER

ARZU

THE ARZU CENTER FOR REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

Shatranj ki Baazi Adapted from Munshi Premchand’s short story

www.facebook.com/ZambeelDramaticReadings www.zambeeldramaticreadings.wordpress.com

LAUNCH OF THE ARZU CENTER Wednesday, Feb 25th, 2015, 5:30 - 8:00 pm

zambeel dramatic readings

ARZU

THE ARZU CENTER FOR REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

ARZU

THE ARZU CENTER FOR REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

LAUNCH OF THE ARZU CENTER Wednesday, Feb 25th, 2015, 5:30 - 8:00 pm

ARZU

THE ARZU CENTER FOR REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

ARZU

THE ARZU CENTER FOR REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

www.habib.edu.pk/arzu

Email: arzu@habib.edu.pk Phone No.: 021- 38797082

LAUNCH OF THE ARZU CENTER Wednesday, Feb 25th, 2015, 5:30 - 8:00 pm

:

ARZU

THE ARZU CENTER FOR REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND HUMANITIES

LAUNCH OF THE ARZU CENTER Wednesday, Feb 25th, 2015, 5:30 - 8:00 pm

Habib University: University Avenue, Off Shahrah-e-Faisal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Karachi-Pakistan www.habib.edu.pk

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+92 21 11 10 42242 (HABIB)