The theme of epidemics has been traced in the world literary works since antiquity. In ancient times, epidemics were considered as a divine punishment to men for their sins. Identifying pandemic as a spatial phenomenon, the Greek historian Thucydides delineated its social and psychological stimuli. The pandemics have been considered to have been extremely impacting the social norms and collective psyche of respective land. However, the literature created quite amid a pandemic is, in most of the cases, incidental. Apart from slew of incidental writings, few great works have been emerged out the of sheer theme of pandemic. This article takes stock of fictional writings produced during COVID-19 pestilence in Urdu. One novel and a fairly good number of short stories were published by Urdu writers. Though most of them are incidental, they depict social, psychological, and political meanings attached to or drawn from pandemic.

Ahmad, Deputy Nazeer. Kulyāt-i Nazīr Aḥmad. Delhi: Kitabi Dunya, 2003.

Chaudhry, Khawar. Ṯilism-i Kohan. Faisalabad: Misal Publishers, 2020.

Ejaz, Ghazala Qamar. ‘‘(Kо̄rо̄nā’i Afsānā) Paglī’’ Culture Booklet. October 20, 2020. urdu.culturebooklet.com/Blog/pagli. Accessed June 14, 2021.

Farrukhi, Asif. ‘‘Vabā kē Dinо̄ṅ mēṅ Afsānē.’’ Humsub. March 15, 2020. humsub.com.pk/305242/. Accessed March 26, 2021.

Ghalib, Asadullah. Khuṯūṯ-i Ghālib. Compiled by Ghulam Rasool Mehar. Lahore: Sheikh Ghulam Ali & Sons, 1982. 

Hariri, Yuval Noah. ‘‘Kо̄rо̄nā Vāyras kē Ba‘d kī Dunyā.’’ Translated by Saeed Naqvi. Dunyāẓād 49. Karachi: October 2020.

Ibn Arabi, Muhyiddin. Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya. Beirut: Dar Al Kotob Al-Ilmiyah, 1420 AH.

Leavy, Barbara Fass. To Blight With Plague: Studies in a Literary Theme. New York: New York University Press, 1992. 

Nayyar, Nasir Abbas. Aik Ẓamāna Khatm Huā Hai. Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2020.

Nayyar, Nasir Abbas. ‘‘Vabā: Āj Kal aur Ḍisṭopīyāī Fikshan.’’ Humsub. March 26, 2020. humsub.com.pk/314592/. Accessed March 4, 2021.

Pamuk, Orhan. ‘‘Vabā kē Din Hamēṅ Kiā Sikhātē Haiṅ.’’ Translated by Shehla Naqvi. Dunyāẓād 49. Karachi: October 2020.

Qazi, Mehmood Ahmad. Kuṅvāṅ. Gujranwala: Department of Language and Literature, Islamia College, 2020.

Roy, Abhik. ‘‘Literature and Pandemics.’’ Daily The Statesmen. New Delhi: July 31, 2020.

Roy, Arundhati. Lāmēḥdūd Inṣaf kā Aljabrā. Translated by Shafiq ur Rahman Mian. Islamabad: Vanguard Books, 2009.

Shah, Noorul Huda. ‘‘Almīa.’’ Dunyāẓād 49. Karachi: October 2020.

Tanha, Ali. Ulṭē Rukh kā Daryā. Lahore: Fiction House, 2020.

Tarar, Mustansar Hussain. Shehar Khālī, Kūchā Khālī. Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 2020.

Toynbee, Arnold J. Mankind and Mother Earth. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976. 

Thucydides. The Peloponnesian War. Translated by Martin Hammond. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Yasir, Ammar. ‘‘Afsānā Nо̄vā Hā’iṭs.’’ Deedban. October 28, 2020. deedbanmagazine.com/blog/fsnh-nww-hy-ytts. Accessed April 4, 2021.