A Study of Ghulam-Us-Saqlain Naqvi’s Travelogue "Terminus Se Terminus Tak"

غلام الثقلین نقوی کا سفرنامہ ”ٹرمینس سے ٹرمینس تک“: ایک مطالعہ

Abstract

Ghulam-Us-Saqlain Naqvi holds a distinguished place in contemporary Urdu prose. He is widely regarded as one of the significant modern writers of Urdu literature. His movements from his ancestral village “Bhirath” (Sialkot) to the metropolis of Lahore, along with his explorations of Lahore’s old quarters during his residence there, kept him in a constant state of creative motion. Alongside this, the characters of his short fiction—who frequently journey back and forth between rural and urban settings—reveal the underlying sources of his narrative art. These very aspects also steered Naqvi toward the non-fictional domain of travel writing. To date, three compilations of his travelogues have been published. His debut travel account, “Arz-e-Tamanna” (1988), presents his journey and observations in the sacred land of Hijaz. The second volume, “Chal Baba Agle Shehar” (1993), records his experiences of England. The third and final anthology, issued in 1997 under the title “Terminus se Terminus Tak”, comprises four travel sketches centered on his journeys across Pakistan. These include: “Koh-e-Bagh Sar Ki Taskheer”, “Lahore se Lodowal Tak”, “Karachi Mein Chaudah Roz”, and “Lahore se Chirat aur Landi Kotal Tak”.