''Udaas Naslain'' (translated into English as ''The Weary Generations'') is an Urdu novel by Pakistani writer

Abdullah Hussain Datuk Abdullah Hussain , (25 March 1920 – 31 December 2014) was a Malaysian novelist and writer. He received the Malaysian National Laureate in 1996 which made him the 8th recipient of the award. Early years Abdullah was born on 25 Mar ...

. His debut novel, it led to his rise to prominence in Urdu literature. It won the Adamjee Literary Award in 1963, the year of its publication. It is considered as a masterpiece and one of the greatest novels in Urdu literature. It was translated into English and published in London in 1999. The original edition of the book had a cover by

Abdur Rahman Chughtai Abdur Rahman Chughtai (21 September 1894 – 17 January 1975) was a painter artist and intellectual from Pakistan, who created his own unique, distinctive painting style influenced by Mughal art, miniature painting, Art Nouveau and Islami ...

. The English edition was translated by

Asghar Nadeem Syed Asghar Nadeem Syed (اصغر ندیم سید) (born 14 January 1950) is a Pakistani playwright, TV drama serial writer and poet. He has written shows for the Pakistani state channel, PTV, STN. Early life and career Syed was born in 1950 in th ...

. The book is a work of episodic fiction and focuses on the roughly 35 years leading up to the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

. The book is divided in three parts as World War I days to, Indian independence day and culminating in Partition. Main Character Naeem is a Victoria Cross winner who after showing gallantry in Belgium and France returns to his village Roshan pur. The highlights of novel include trench warfare of World War I, village life, incident of Jallianwala Bagh and massacre Qissa Khwani Peshawar .

References

Urdu-language novels 1963 novels Sang-e-Meel Publications books {{1960s-novel-stub