‘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 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. The fabled city of Lahore also becomes a character, providing a richly textured backdrop that enhances the novel’s atmosphere and gives authenticity to its setting. However, Goyal at times allows historical details to overpower the narrative momentum.
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. Goyal marks a meaningful step forward for Punjabi fiction in Pakistan.
