Mudassar Bashir

Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Mudassar Bashir's ‘Goyal’ (‘Precarious Shelter’) is an ambitious and culturally significant novel that explores memory, history, and identity through the intertwined lives of two central characters. First, there is Ijaz, a corporate executive burdened by past guilt. Then, there is Zahid, a professor engaged in recovering Lahore’s forgotten histories. Through these parallel narratives, Bashir examines the personal cost of cultural amnesia and the erasure of Punjab’s pre-Partition diversity.

The novel creatively critiques Pakistan’s state-driven historical revisionism. Characters such as Sheikh Ismail (formerly Ramesh Chand) embody the trauma of Partition and the peoples’ forced identity transformation. Zahid and his companion, a painter named Babu, symbolize a progressive intellectual resistance, committed to preserving the pluralistic memory of Punjab.

Bashir’s deep and intimate knowledge of Lahore—its people, culture, and layered history—provides a richly textured backdrop that enhances the novel’s atmosphere and gives authenticity to its setting. The prose is fluid and poetic, bringing both landscapes and memories vividly to life. The title  Goyal, evokes impermanence and encapsulates the novel’s central concern: the fragility of both personal and cultural memory.

2019 Biography

Mudassar Bashir is a seasoned journalist, historian, poet and story writer. He has produced eleven books including numerous articles on fiction and history in Punjabi and Urdu with special attention to Lahore’s cultural heritage and treasures. Three of his most recognized works are ‘Lahore di Vaar’, a cultural history of Lahore, ‘Kan Waghay Border’, a collection of short stories and ‘Samay’ a novel. His writings have been translated into English and Urdu, and transliterated into the Punjabi Gurmukhi script. With a childhood passion for writing stories, he was challenged and inspired by the famous writer and critic Najam Hussain Syed in 1999 to write in his mother language Punjabi. Bashir is the recipient of the Masud Khadarposh Award and the Shafqat Tanveer Mirza Award given by the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture.

Bashir holds Master of Arts degrees in Urdu, Political Science and History. As a guest commentator on the popular Mast FM103 Radio’s “Mauj Mela’ talk show hosted by Afzal Sahir, Bashir enlivens the conversations with his insightful commentary on history and its relevance to current affairs. While pursuing his research and writing Bashir also works in the media affairs department of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, Pakistan’s largest utility company.