ABSTRACT
The afsanche, variously called the mini afsana or micro-story and best known in English as flash fiction, is a new addition to the wealth of the Urdu story. It is not more than 65 or 70 years old. Saadat Hasan Manto has been credited as introducing this genre to Urdu literature but as reiterated by Anwar Pasha, a renowned scholar and critic, it is Joginder Paul who imparted reliability and strength to the art of this genre. According to Pasha, many writers have attempted to write flash fiction in Urdu but Paul undoubtedly nurtured this art and gave it a decisive identity. It is Paul’s work as writer as well as an intellectual and philosopher that can now be seen in the four collections of afsanche that he has left behind: Silvatein (1975), Katha Nagar (1986), Parindey (2000), and Nahin Rahman Babu (2005). Pasha goes on to explicate through many different afsanche how Paul deals with different ideas and human feelings to create a varied palette of colours, human tendencies, and instincts.
