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Contributor

Muhammad Umar Memon

Contributor

Muhammad Umar Memon

Photograph: Alain Désoulièrs.

Muhammad Umar Memon is emeritus professor of Urdu, Persian and Islamic Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His collection of short stories, Tareek Galee, appeared in 1989. He has translated widely from English and Arabic into Urdu and from Urdu into English. His translations from Urdu include The Essence of Camphor and Snake Catcher, both by Naiyer Masud, and several other collections of short stories, including The Tale of the Old Fisherman, The Colour of Nothingness, Domains of Fear and Desire and An Epic Unwritten. He is the general editor of the Pakistan Writers Series, OUP, Karachi, and also editor of the Annual of Urdu Studies.

Articles by Muhammad Umar Memon

Dustland
By Naiyer Masud
During the red and yellow storms I even went out and watched the landscape changing color.
Translated from Urdu by Muhammad Umar Memon
You’re Where You’ve Always Been
By Azra Abbas
Cigaretteearlier touching my lipsnow floats in the ThamesDoes the river knowthe feel of such a touch?Touches are never forgotten.In the midst of chilly, gusting windsstanding before a poster of Marilyn…
Translated from Urdu by Muhammad Umar Memon
Destitutes Compound
By Naiyer Masud
For some time I thought about Childhood Love. What a strange name! Was it some woman? Some old flame of Murad Mian? What state must she be in now?
Translated from Urdu by Muhammad Umar Memon
Beyond the Fog
By Qurratulain Hyder
“People regard her as no more than a tart. Do you really want your daughter to become a striptease dancer in some hotel?”
Translated from Urdu by Muhammad Umar Memon
The Pose
By Anwar Khan
The moment he saw her, his hand stopped dead, his mouth fell open, and his eyes widened. She stared at the cop sweetly.
Translated from Urdu by Muhammad Umar Memon
Fable of a Severed Head
By Sajid Rashid
Although the picture of the unclaimed head didn’t exactly resemble his brother’s, the slightly curved nose and the scar above the upper lip were exactly like Chotto’s
Translated from Urdu by Muhammad Umar Memon
Two Old Kippers
By Siddique Alam
“Why don’t we toss a coin. Heads you’ll live longer, tails I will.”
Translated from Urdu by Muhammad Umar Memon
A Sheet
By Salam Bin Razzaq
A scrawny young man ran out of a narrow alley. His wrists were bound behind him and his clothes were on fire. “Help! Help!” he was shouting. “Water! Water!”
Translated from Urdu by Muhammad Umar Memon
Methun
By Rajinder Singh Bedi
Magan hesitated, fumbling for words, and then said, “Why, you could make a Gandhi, a Nehru . . .” And as if he’d made a mistake, he quickly corrected himself, “A nude, for instance.”
Translated from Urdu by Muhammad Umar Memon
The Saga of Jaanki Raman Pandey
By Zakia Mashhadi
“I used to be a simple, unpretentious Hindu. I got mixed up with you and became a fake Muslim. Then I didn’t even stay a true Hindu. I have become a complete heretic, what you might call an atheist.”
Translated from Urdu by Faruq Hassan & Muhammad Umar Memon
Of Fists and Rubs
By Ismat Chughtai
“But Ratti Bai, when you earn forty rupees, why whore around?”
Translated from Urdu by Muhammad Umar Memon
Pink Pigeons—Was It They Who Won?
By Fahmida Riaz
The tiny leaves break into applause. What are these trees called? I ask the interpreter.
Translated from Urdu by Muhammad Umar Memon
The Man With Three Names
By Asad Muhammad Khan
He had three names: Majeeta, Majeed and Ma'i Dada
Translated from Urdu by Muhammad Umar Memon
Do You Suppose It’s the East Wind?
By Altaf Fatima
The enormous weight of three hundred and sixty-five days once again slips from my hand and falls down into the dark cavern of the past.
Translated from Urdu by Muhammad Umar Memon