Zulfiqar Ghose, a renowned Pakistani-American author born on March 13, 1935, and passed away on June 30, 2022, explores themes of emergency and mortality in his narrative 'Disturbed Nights.' The story unfolds around the experience of witnessing repeated ambulance visits to a neighbor's house, leading the narrator to reflect on the implications of the sirens and the nature of life and death. Through vivid imagery and the tension of waiting, Ghose captures the unsettling atmosphere of uncertainty in a suburban setting.

1. Pakistani-American novelist
ZULFIQAR GHOSE
Born: March 13, 1935, Sialkot
A novelist, poet, short-story writer,
autobiographer, essayist, and literary critic’
A Master of Language and Style
Satire and Irony in His Novels
Died: June 30, 2022, Austin, Texas, United States

2. ZULFIQAR GHOSE
DISTURBED
NIGHTS 1
2
20XX
For the second time these last twelve months a neighbour
has summoned an ambulance on a dark, humid night.
A t first I've though t the distant siren as usual o f some
emergency across the valley and imagine d an accident
in which a ma n driving home late from a bar has crossed
the grassy media n and plunged into an oncoming truck,

3. ZULFIQAR GHOSE
DISTURBED
NIGHTS 2
3
20XX
or young boys in a Jeep , bee r cans in hand and shouting
along with thumping rock music , have lost control
at an unexpectedly sharp bend in the road , for these
are the morning-paper headlines telling o f a night's
disasters as on e pours skimmed milk in a measure d
portion o f granola and reads of unnecessary deaths;

4. ZULFIQAR GHOSE
DISTURBED
NIGHTS 3
4
20XX
but then the neighbourhood dogs begin to howl
as if the siren, very loud now, stabbed their ears,
and I run out an d see the elm tree lit u p by approaching
headlights an d the n the whole front yar d illuminated .
F o r a second the whit e light dazzles, then alternate red
a n d blue flashes make me fling a hand across my eyes.

5. ZULFIQAR GHOSE
DISTURBED
NIGHTS 4
5
20XX
The ambulance is slowing down approaching my house .
The first time it came I stood behind a photini a hedge
I'd trimmed an d fertilized in the spring to make it grow
protectively thick and watched the paramedic s walk u p
to the neighbour's front doo r like late dinner guests.
They remained inside a long time an d I waited in my garden ,

6. ZULFIQAR GHOSE
DISTURBED
NIGHTS 5
6
20XX
the continuously flashing beams of the ambulance
making the front o f my house a stage where electricians
tested a lighting effect before a performance . A paramedic
returned to the ambulance and wheeled a stretcher
to the house just as I' d once seen in the same driveway
the UPS man wheel a large package to the door.

7. ZULFIQAR GHOSE
DISTURBED
NIGHTS 6
7
20XX
But this second time I watch two paramedic s
go inside the next neighbour's house , return to the ambulance
and then back to the house , repeatedly, thrice .
They walk with heads bowed like I've seen county tax
appraisers do , walking out o f their whit e utility van parked
in the street, going to a house to settle a question of value.

8. ZULFIQAR GHOSE
DISTURBED
NIGHTS 7
8
20XX
They haven't yet come out for the stretcher. I should go in .
The ambulance is parked right across from my drive
and the flashing red an d blue beams hurt my eyes;
but I stay outside , taking up a stand behind the photinia hedge ,
a n d wait to see if the paramedics when next they come out
will no t just drive away, but it's a long , tense wait.

9. A SUFFERED MIND MAKES A RESTLESS PILLOW.
THANK OU
Presentation Title 9