God be Praised by Ahmad Nadim Qasmi (First Year) Lecture # 02

God be praised is a short story written by a prominent Pakistani writer Ahmad Nadim Qasmi. When we talk about the present syllabus of intermediate part one, then we can confidently say that this is arguably the best story picked to be included in this syllabus. Being a teacher I have observed over the years that students take greater interest in this story only because of this fact that it reflects their own culture and surroundings, while going through this short story they feel themselves insider of this story. The educational authorities must realize this fact to include more translated stories in the syllabus of intermediate so that students not only read English language but also learn about their values and cultural issues with deeper interest. The stories like button button, the reward, and clearing in the sky do not arouse the interest of students as they find themselves outsider not only because of cultural differences but also due to foreign language. That is why it is far better to bring Pakistani short stories with English translation. God be praised is a story of a father with meager source of income and greater amount of responsibilities, having good number of children the main character Molvi Abul Barkaat finds himself in the whirl of hostile circumstances, especially related to the marriages of his growing daughters on the one side and hyperinflation on the other side. The story not only reflects the culture of rural Punjab but also highlights the cultural taboos and issues related to dowry and suitable marriage proposals for young girls.