Analytical Study Of “Harf-E-Shouq” By Mukhtar Masood In Context Of “Episteme”

Abstract

Mukhtar Masood is a renowned Urdu writer. He is famous by his uniqueness in essays. He has written four books namely, “Aawaz-e-Dost”, “Safer Naseeb”, “Harf-e-Shouq”, “Loh-e-Ayyam”. “Harf-e-shouq” has not only a literary significance, but its historical, national and social significance is also unquestionable. In this book, Mukhtar Masood has described his childhood experiences, the narration of wars, the effects of Fort William College and Aligarh College, Tehreek-e- Pakistan, the establishment of Pakistan, political and national figures in a detailed manner. This is the reason that even today we can feel the contemporary consciousness of that era in this book. In literature this contemporary consciousness is called “episteme”. Episteme is the set of ideas and assumptions often unconscious that underlie and constrain what is accepted as knowledge in a particular period. This article describes “Harf-e-Shouq” in the context of the concept of "episteme".