Postmodern Elements in the 21st Century Urdu Novels

Abstract

Postmodern condition erupted out of the knowledge explosion occurred during the later decades of the 21^st century. Like all other walks of life, this postmodern condition impacted the literary domain across the globe. The ancient norms of the literary tradition were challenged with an overwhelming skepticism. This skeptical insight was prone to precision, so the genre of novel was the only literary form which can cope with a skepticism of this scale. That is the reason that novel in the 21^st century has become a leading, and perhaps the only valid genre. Postmodern fiction has certain ideological traits, which can be marked as the recognition hyperreality, rejection of metanarratives, fragility of human mind in the form of schizophrenia and a playful attitude towards the once considered as most significant aspects of life. These themes have been skillfully depicted some of the 21^st century Urdu novels, i.e., Sifar se Aik tak(Mirza Athar Baig), Bhag Bhari(Safdar Zaidi), Daira(Muhammad Asim Butt) and Talash e Wajood(Aslam Siraj Ud Din). This article will analyze the traits of the postmodern fiction by analyzing the aforementioned Urdu novels.

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