KARACHI: The dramatic readings held at Habib University on Monday saw the group Zambeel perform on the works of progressive Urdu writers Qurratulain Hyder and Ismat Chughtai.
Titled as ‘Lady Changez Khan and Pom-Pom Darling’, the programme was convened by Dr Asif Aslam Farrukhi who game details about the two anglicised titles, with Lady Changez Khan being Chughtai and Hyder as Pom Pom Darling.
“The reason why these two writers have these two names is that they both awarded these titles to each other. The story goes that unlike today when people publicly insult their counterparts using media platforms, these two writers used intellectual means to criticise the way of writing. Haider who wrote about the high society of the times was criticised for her style by Chughtai and Krishen Chander and the pamphlet written by them was titled ‘Pom Pom Darling’.”
