Intizar Hussain has written Shehr e Afsos at a very significant time. Although there is no mention of any crisis in the short story, yet the fact remains that it was written after the separation of East Pakistan which had a profound effect on Intizar Hussain, who had lived through the times of the first Partition as well. A way to read the story is to suppose the men not as individuals but as the three countries, India, Pakistan And now Bangladesh. The First man is India, the second Pakistan and the third, the lost one is Bangladesh. All of the three men are the same but have a identity crisis which is portrayed through the "Masakh shuda chehre", where they cannot identify themselves. The third character is new in the game but will eventually face the same fate as the other two, which is why he is "lost" not dead yet.
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