Gurmani Center
The Gurmani Center for Languages and Literature (GCLL) was established in 2010 with the generous support of the Gurmani Foundation to promote the study and research of Pakistani languages, including Arabic and Persian. Since its inception, the Center has grown into a leading hub for academic and cultural activities. It has hosted international conferences, published groundbreaking scholarship in the field of vernacular humanities, and offered a diverse range of courses in Pakistani languages.
One of the Center's flagship initiatives is the annual publication of Bunyad, a research journal recognized by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) as one of the top-ranked journals in Urdu studies. Beyond publishing, the GCLL regularly invites artists, poets, calligraphers, and fiction writers to showcase their work and conduct workshops on creative writing, research methodologies, and related themes.
Due to its extensive contributions, the Gurmani Center has become a cornerstone of the vibrant intellectual and artistic life not only on the LUMS campus but also in the broader cultural landscape of Lahore.
New Urdu Fiction – A Sitting with Sameena Nazeer
The Gurmani Centre is beginning a new conversation series on contemporary Pakistani fiction writers, and the session titled “A Discussion on New Urdu Fiction: A Sitting with Sameena Nazeer” marks the first event in this series. In this conversation, we will explore three of her important works, her novel Sīyāh Hīrē (2023) and her two short-story collections, Kallo (2021) and Jazzū Bhaiyā (2025). The session aims to engage with the thematic and narrative dimensions of Nazeer’s fiction and to open a broader conversation on contemporary trends in New Urdu Fiction.
Nazeer’s fiction moves through the shadows and silences that shape ordinary lives, illuminating the inner worlds of characters pushed to the margins of society. Whether it is the unsettling psychological depths of Sīyāh Hīrē or the close-to-life portraits in Kallo and Jazzū Bhaiyā, her writing consistently grapples with power,
vulnerability, and the complex negotiations of identity in contemporary Pakistan. Across these works, she explores human fragility with quiet intensity, addressing themes of trauma, female subjectivity, class hierarchies, and the emotional textures of everyday struggle. Her stories are neither sentimental nor detached; they are grounded, unflinching, and deeply humane, opening a window to the lived realities that often remain unspoken in mainstream Urdu fiction.
The event will also feature dramatic readings of her selected short stories by Sameena Nazeer, offering an opportunity to experience her prose in performance.
Date: Friday, December 5, 2025
Venue: A-11, Academic Block, LUMS
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Registration: https://forms.gle/vmRcdKf9oRMw9t4d9 register by Thursday, December 4, 2025, by 5:00 PM
Sameena Nazeer is a writer, actor, and theatre practitioner active in Pakistan’s contemporary literary and performing arts landscape. She teaches storytelling, acting, and scriptwriting at NAPA, Karachi Film School, and the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, and is widely known for her dramatic readings at literary gatherings across the country. She holds a master’s degree in Entomology and is a theatre graduate of the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA).
In 2024, she received the Muzi Lit Award in recognition of her emerging yet impactful contribution to Urdu literature. Her story “Beetle Leaf (پان کا بیڑا)” was included in a special anthology published in Bangladesh on the country’s 70th anniversary, featuring important Partition narratives from across the region. Alongside her fiction, Nazeer has written and directed several theatre plays performed throughout Pakistan and at NAPA, further showcasing her versatility as a storyteller.
Khalid Sanjarani is an Urdu fiction writer, essayist, translator, and researcher. He is currently serving as a Professor of Urdu at Government College University, Lahore. He has also been associated with Heidelberg University, Germany, as a postdoctoral fellow. Additionally, he has served as the Head of the Urdu Department at GCU Lahore. In recognition of his research on Allama Iqbal and Germany, the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Islamabad, awarded him the Best Researcher Award in 2019—the first award of its kind in the Urdu academic world. His areas of interest and research include Urdu fiction, the short story, and Iqbal studies.
We look forward to your participation in what promises to be an engaging discussion.