The novel ‘Blue Dust’ by Aysha Salman was launched at ‘Kuch Khaas’ here on Saturday. The launch featured talk by poet and writer, Harris Khalique, Dr Iffat Idris and author of the novel, Ayesha Salman. A large number of readers and book lovers attended the launching ceremony.
The Blue Dust is an emotional, philosophical and cultural journey that maps the relationships, dreams, hopes and fears of three generations of a family in Pakistan and the Middle East. The central character is a loving girl who struggles largely with insecurities in her relationships and the world she is born into. Through the story of this family, the author also explored broad issues in Pakistan relevant to class and religious and social distinctions.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Iffat Idris commended the work of Ayesha Salman and spoke on Ayesha’s personal struggle, trials and tribulations that culminated in the writing of Blue Dust.
Ayesha Salman explained the message and motive behind her novel and spoke on issues which she tried to address in Blue Dust such as sexual abuse, sexual repression, class and religious discrimination. She read few excerpts from her novel and went on to commend the young Pakistani writers such as Mohsin Hamid, HM Naqvi and Shehryar Fazli, who, she said, were all making a difference by talking about pivotal social issues in Pakistan.
She also mentioned filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinnoy who made Pakistan proud. She thanked people for the appreciation and also offered special thanks to her father, Zulfiqar Ali, who, she said, was a great inspiration for the novel. Poet Harris Khalique said: “The novel ‘Blue Dust’ was woven with a passion to understand the complexity of existence, adding that the prose is highly imaginative and the expression is humane and sensitive”. He said Ayesha Salman’s writing is rooted in her personal experience with keen observation of the life attached to her, not just around her. “She writes as if she is a protagonist and a part of the subject matter herself. It is a sharp inner voice that can be heard through her writings,” he went on to add.
Removal of illegal sign boards demanded: Illegal sign boards have not been removed from all the major roads and markets of the city despite tall claims of the city district government. Heavy sign boards larger than the approved size still exist on either side of roads and in business centers including Commercial Market, Raja Bazaar, Liaqat Road, Murree Road, Said Pur Road, Sir Syed Road and plazas all over the city.
The spring season is ahead which is season of dust storms and fast winds. In this season threat remains that such huge boards may collapse after being hit by dust storm and cause life risks. “Last month a mammoth board fell on my car and it was damaged completely, said a citizen in Raja Bazar. “A few days earlier, a large billboard fell on live cables. No one was passing by the site of incident, otherwise he could have fallen victim to electric shock, said a shopkeeper on Murree road. Social and religious circles demanded immediate removal of the illegal sign boards from all the roads, plazas and market.
