The threads of this hand-knitted "Sweater" start with love, take the narrator places, and finally culminate in a hierarchy of needs. Nostalgia woven in the strands of the sweater keeps giving warmth. This story by Zubair Ahmad remains one of the most well known, and most loved short stories from West Punjab.

Zubair Ahmad (b. 1958), Short story writer, poet, critic grew up in an old neighbourhood Mohalla Krishan Nagar in Lahore. His ancestors came from Batala, Gurdaspur. He retired as Associate Professor of English from Old Islamia College, Lahore in 2018.

He has published three collections of short stories. The collection 'Kabootar, Banere te Galiãn' (2013) won first Masud Khaddarposh Award for Best Book of Punjabi Fiction for Year 2013 and the Dhahan International Punjabi Literature Prize for Short Stories in 2014. Third book of stories 'Pãni di Kandh' was published in 2019. He has also published a book of poems 'Dum Yãd na Keeta' (1996).

His book of literary criticism 'Wichãr Lekh' was published in 2016. He has written columns about Punjabi literature in daily Dawn and The News on Sunday. 'Grieving for Pigeons: Twelve stories of Lahore', translated by Anne Murphy is published by Athabasca University Press, Edmonton, Alberta later this year.

His story ‘Doors and Windows on a Rainy Day’ is included in the collection Stories of the Soil: Classic Punjabi Stories edited by Nirupama Dutt (Penguin, 2010). Another of his story “The Door is Open” was published in A letter from India: Contemporary short stories from Pakistan edited by Moazzam Sheikh (Penguin, 2004).

Ahmad founded 'Nai Ufaq' in 1975-76 with Irfan Malik, and other friends. He was convener of the Punjabi Parchãr Committee 1982-86 and held first Punjabi School in 1984-85 conducted by Lakhat Pasha. He worked in the first Punjabi daily newspaper Sajjan 1988-90 as a volunteer sub-editor. He founded Kitab Trinjan, the first exclusive non-commercial, non-profitable Punjabi bookshop and ran it as a volunteer during 1997-2009, which was re-opened last year. He co-edits 'Baramah' with Amarjit Chandan, an annual Punjabi magazine published in Lahore.

Prem Parkash has compared his short story sensibility with that of Rajinder Singh Bedi’s. He has published two books of poetry 'Koi Dumm yād Nā Kitā' (1996) and 'Sadd' (2012) and a book of short stories 'Meehn Buhey te Bārian' (2001) and 'Kabootar Banerey te GalliaaN' (in the Gurmukhi script. 2008).

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- Manpreet Sahota

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