Sharaf Shad

Sharaf Shad (also spelled Sharap Shad) was born in Ball Negwar, Dasht, Kech District, Balochistan, Pakistan, on 1 February 1979. He received his primary education at Government High School, Ball Negwar, and then took his matriculation exam at Degree College Turbat in 1999. He earned an MA in Balochi from Balochistan University in 2002, and an M.Phil. in Balochi in 2016 from the University of Balochistan, Turbat campus. He is a visiting teacher at Karachi University. (137) He also works as a host on a Balochi TV show on Vash TV, Karachi. (138)

Sharaf is mostly known for his translations of international literature, especially fiction, into Balochi. (139) He has translated and published The Stranger by Albert Camus (with the title Darámad), (140) Chronicles of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Péshgoptén Margay Ródaptar), (141) and The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz (Dozz o Kochekk). (142) In the same year as Dozz o Kochekk, 2015, he also published a collection of international short stories titled Bandigay Póshák (The Dress of the Prisoner). (143) A year later he published a translation of Ward Number 6 (Wárd Nambar 6) by Anton Chekhov, (144) followed by Albert Camus’ The Fall (Zawál). (145) In 2018 he published his translation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ work Short Stories of Marquez (Márkwezay Ázmánk). (146)

Sharaf has also published a book of his research articles in Balochi, with the title Labzánk, Darkessahi Labzánk o Shayr (Literature, Nonfiction and Poetry), (147) a book of his essays on Mubarak Qazi, a popular Balochi poet, titled Cherág Tahná Ent (The Candle is Lonely), (148) and a collection of short stories called Safará Dam Bortagén Ráhán (In the Exhausted Paths of the Journey). (149)

Sharaf Shad is famous for his symbolism. In the short story presented in this anthology, Rawt Rah Rawt Shap (Endless Road, Endless Night), the main character remains nameless and ageless and shows no individual identity throughout the story. As it unfolds, the story not only describes the lack of infrastructure in Balochistan, but also depicts a huge social dilemma in rural Baloch society.