Shah Ibn Sheen

Introduction by Mehlab Naseer

Fida Ahmad, better known as Shah Ibn Sheen (also written, e.g., Shah Ebne Shin), was born on 8 September 1992 in Dasht Maksar village, Balochistan, Pakistan. He received his primary education in the same village. After that his family moved from place to place for various reasons, and he went to school in several different towns. When Shah was in the 9th grade his family moved to Gwadar where he continued his education.

After completing high school Shah moved to Karachi and graduated in sociology from the National College, Karachi. Later he completed an MA degree in political science at the University of Balochistan, Quetta. In 2018 Shah participated in a Chinese language programme at Zhenjiang University, Jiangsu, China. Shah is currently working with an NGO as a social organizer in the Public Primary Health Initiative (PPHI) in Gwadar. (231) He is also a member of Gwadar Educational and Literary Welfare Society.

Shah found himself to be interested in working with radio. He used to listen to the Vividh Bharati Service (VBS) (232) and was very much inspired by the radio host Kamal Sharma. (233) As a result of the passion for radio that this aroused in him, Shah began working at Radio Gwadar, Balochistan, broadcasting Balochi programmes. He also worked in radio in Karachi and Quetta. Currently Shah is the chief editor and director of an online literary radio, Radio Zergwát, which he founded a few years ago.

In 2000, encouraged by the Baloch poet Ahmed Abdal, who also came from Dasht Maksar, Shah tried his hand at writing poetry in Balochi. Ahmed Abdal edited his poems and sent them to the Balochi magazine Máhták Balóchi for publication.

Shah took a further step on his literary journey after reading A. R. Dad’s short story Hasan Sól, which is also published in this collection. This story made a great impact on Shah. He began writing scripts for radio in 2010, and wrote the script for a short film Métag (Village), directing and recording the audio himself in 2012. He wrote three other radio plays the same year: Daryá Tonnig Ent (The Sea is Thirsty) in two parts, and Bábol Bárén Kojá Shot (So Where Did Bábol Go?). He wrote another play, Átráp (Environs), in 2015. He personally directed and recorded these as well. Today Shah is basically known as a writer of short stories and a scriptwriter, but he also writes poetry. Most of his work has been published in local literary magazines.

Shah Ibn Sheen’s story Dorbáni (Dorbani) offers a glimpse of the hard life of Baloch nomads. Dorbani, the main character of the story, is a victim of fate and cultural norms. She is driven by the harsh hand of destiny throughout the story.