Budhoo: And other Short Stories (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9789697492510)

"Budhoo and other short stories" is an anthology of short stories. It is not centered around a single theme, rather the treatise is very varied. The stories depict the Pakistani society in a unique way. You are sure to find satire, one odd love story, stories on domestic issues, social injustice, harassment of women, a little bit of fantasy and one odd story about personal acts of bravery.
Tinged with a smattering of Urdu words, the stories are basically meant for Pakistani readers. And it would not be out of place to say that they are equally good for the Desi readers, regardless of their current habitation.
Fiction is always inspired by real life and so while reading the book you may find instances where you might have heard or experienced similar events. Events and instances which we tend to ignore and abhor but are either forced to acquiesce to or accept. And in that sense readers will be able to relate to it and understand the message.
George Herbert wrote, "He that lives in hope dances without music". It is only when we accept our shortcomings that we can move towards betterment. And in that sense the book is a small effort towards betterment. The stories are purposeful and each one of them conveys a strong message. The book was initially self published with Auraq Publications, Pakistan.

Nauman Afzal is a telecom engineer by profession, a bibliophile by choice and a traveler by compulsion. He has never restricted himself to a particular genre (in reading books), the choice of books and his personal collection are very varied. But mostly it is fiction that inspires him. Some of his favorite authors are Khushwant Singh, Paulo Coelho, Garcia, William Dalrymple, Shafiq ur Rehman, Krishan Chander, Manto, Shaukat Siddiqui, Khalid Hosseini, Fredrick Backman, Harold Robbins, Sidney Sheldon, Mohsin Hamid, Omar Shahid Hamid and a few more. He has been writing technical articles for a long time and has published articles, travelogues and essays in print media as well online forums. Besides this he runs his own blog, writing about the things that inspire him. Being a bibliophile he wanted to pursue fiction writing and one of his stories "Running water" was published by Oxford University Press during the 2015 Karachi Literature Festival in a book titled "I'll find my way". "Mudslinging and other short stories" was his first serious attempt at fiction writing. "Budhoo and Other short stories", is his second book. Both published with Auraq Publications in Pakistan and also available over Amazon KDP.