Revival of Lucknow’s Culture in Anees Ashfaq’s Novel “Pari Naz Aur Parinday”

انیس اشفاق کے ناول "پری ناز اور پرندے" میں لکھنوی تہذیب کی بازیافت

Abstract

Anees Ashfaq is a versatile literary figure of our time. At once a novelist, short story writer, travelogue author, poet, translator, sketch writer, researcher, and critic, he embodies the richness of modern Urdu literature. Among his notable novels are “Dukhiyare”, “Pari Naz aur Parinday”, “Khawab Sarab”, and the recently published “Haich”. His fiction, particularly his novels, vividly reflect the cultural and social echoes of Lucknawi civilization. Before the narrative unfolds, a one-page summary of Naiyar Masud’s celebrated short story “Taus Chaman ki Maina” is presented serving as the very foundation upon which Anees Ashfaq expands his own narrative. In this way, “Pari Naz aur Parinday” may be read as a continuation and re-imagination of that seminal tale. In this article, it is explored that the novel offers a striking reflection of the subtle grace and cultural essence of Lucknawi civilization, an enduring hallmark of Anees Ashfaq’s literary vision.