HOSHRUBA featured on ABC Book Show with Ramona Koval.

One of the longest epic fantasies in the world is the 19th century Urdu classic Hoshruba. The huge work was compiled by two of Urdu's greatest prose writers. Spread over 8,000 pages, it was immensely popular and acclaimed in the history of Urdu literature.

Until now, the richness of the language and its length deterred its translation into English or any other language. Now Toronto-based writer and translator Musharraf Ali Farooqi is taking on the mammoth task of translating Hoshruba into English.

His publishing venture, the Urdu Project, is dedicated to publishing English translations of classic and contemporary works of Urdu literature.

Musharraf thinks it will take him about 10 years to complete the translation of Hoshruba, and the first volume has been published. It is called The Land and the Tilism.

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