Nasira Sharma is a highly distinguished Indian writer and journalist born in 1948 in Allahabad. Fluent in Hindi, Urdu, Persian, English, and Pashto, her writing is deeply informed by her extensive journalistic work across geopolitical conflict zones, including Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq.
A hawker who sells old clothes, Kasim represents the lowest rungs of the economic ladder. Without education or skills to adapt, he falls into a "bottomless pit" of deprivation. Hunger By Nasira Sharma Pdf 21
"Hunger" is a prescribed text in the ICSE (Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) English Literature syllabus for Classes 9 and 10. Its inclusion in the curriculum is highly significant for several reasons. Nasira Sharma is a highly distinguished Indian writer
: A middle-aged rag seller whom Rizwan chooses for his first interview. Kasim is disillusioned and wary of outsiders, especially after being cheated by empty political promises in the past. Without education or skills to adapt, he falls
Some library databases index the story in “Volume 21” of a larger collected works series. If a university library has digitized a specific edition (e.g., Nasira Sharma Rachnawali Vol. 2, Issue 1 ), the metadata might be miscataloged as "21."
The story concludes with a profound realization for Rizwan. As he interviews Kasim, he realizes that despite his education, he is no different from the worker he is questioning. When he goes to record Kasim’s address—which Kasim doesn't even have—Rizwan ends up writing his own address. In that moment, the "hunger pangs in his abdomen" serve as a visceral reminder of their shared plight.
The short story " Hunger " addresses the intersection of poverty, dignity, and survival through two primary characters: and Kasim .