Karachi, After Midnight Vol. 2 Launch at Printed Matter, NYC
by Khajistan Cultural Desk
·
March 5, 2026
6–8PM
Join Printed Matter for the launch of the second volume in Khajistan Press’ new book series Karachi, After Midnight—a gay man’s online diary from Pakistan’s dial-up era (2003–2009). A reading circle will bring this digital time capsule to life, performing selected entries from the multi-part series’ second volume.
Like Karachi, After Midnight Volume 1, Volume 2 contains three parts, published across three publications: PART I: BECOMING GAY, PART II: TEHZEEB-UL-IKHLAQ CHOWK, and PART III: FLOWERS OF SEPARATION.
You can order parts I-III of Volume 2 below:
Karachi, After Midnight: VOLUME 2—PART I: BECOMING GAY
Volume 2, Part I begins at night. Shams drives through Clifton and Defence, racing through the city with friends and lingering at traffic signals a little too long. He writes of testosterone and instinct. Desire feels everywhere, uncontained: in chatrooms, in passing glances, and in strangers on motorcycles.
In Part II, Shams moves through rage, boredom, prayer, and flashes of dry humor. Ramadan brings hunger; politics brings noise. The office air grows heavy with gossip. Religious language slips in not as a sermon, but as habit, routine, even sarcasm.
In Part III, the year closes heavier. Illness, funerals, fatigue, and depression settle in. At one point, Shams stops blogging for weeks. Desire remains, but it carries greater risk. In one entry, he realizes he is parked in a red-light area, staring at men. When a man opens his car door and sits beside him, panic sets in. He imagines being recognized. He imagines his family finding out. The night shifts quickly from possibility to danger.
Yet beauty still interrupts him: a stranger on the street, a room perfectly arranged, a spontaneous “good job” to Allah for making men beautiful. Fear and gratitude exist side by side as 2004 ends for Shams, without resolution.
Karachi After, Midnight is the record of a life: funny, searching, often heartbreaking, always real.
Shams Tabrizi (a pseudonym) is the author of Karachi, After Midnight.
Also Available:
Karachi, After Midnight: VOLUME 1—PART I: COUNTING TRAFFIC
Karachi, After Midnight: VOLUME 1—PART II: STORM SEASON
