SO ..... YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT ME?...:))

I, Zeenath Jahan, was born in Quli Khan House, Upper Malik Pura, Abbotabad on 27th. June 1944. My paternal grandmother never let me forget the disappointment suffered at the birth of a second daughter to my father, Muhammad Yusuf Khan Khattak.

I inherited my love of reading and poetry from my father. As a child I used to write poetry. After a long hiatus, I have recently begun to write some poetry again. My great-grandfather, Ghulam Qadir Khan used to write pashto poetry. My grand-father, Muhammad Quli Khan used to proudly call me his 'poetess'.

My father insisted that his children learn to play a musical instrument. Since piano lessons were offered at my school, I learned to play the piano, and can still pick out some tunes. Later, of my own accord I tried to learn to play the Sitar. The teacher hurried me through and though I did learn to strum it, I refuse to do anything if I cant do it well.

My hobbies are reading, writing, knitting, networking and gardening....and anything else that cathes my fancy! Matriculating from Presentation Convent High School, Peshawar, in 1959; I did my intermediate from St. Francis Xavier Convent College Peshawar in 1961.

In 1961 I married Shaukat Elahi, son of Pir Bukhsh Khan Advocate, the well-known lawyer of Peshawar. After bringing up my children, Erum, Zahid and Maliha, I decided to complete my education. I had a veritable thirst for knowledge, and felt most inadequate with my F.A. degree. At 39 years of age I appeared as a private student for the B.A. examinations and passed in the first division. Ater a years effort, and with great difficulty, I bypassed the rules against over age students and joined the Psychology Department of the Peshawar University in 1985, and soon after my first grandson, Ahmad was born. Standing first in the M.A. previous examination, I received my degree in 1987. I could not appear for the Final examination in 1986, because of the birth of my second grandson, Salman, in January 1986.

In 1992 I joined the Philosophy Department of Peshawar University. The University authorities disallowed my admission (they do have some weird rules there ..:-p),but Dr. Saleem the then Chairman of the Department allowed me to attend classes. Unfortunately, due to certain personal problems I was unable to complete an M.A. in Philosophy.

In August 1995 my daughter Maliha (an Msc. in Computer Sciences) started the first Bulletin Board Service in N.W.F.P (a BBS is an offline computer club). The Khyber BBS was my first introduction to networking and in 1996 I discovered the Internet!....Life has not been the same since then....:))))

Now most of my time is spent in Cyberspace, where I have met many wonderful people who have taught me all I know about how to use the Net.

In 1995 I read a paper in the first Muslim Psychological Conference in Lahore (5th.- 7th. April), on a psycho-therapeutic theory I had developed, "The Third Force in Therapy".

Although I have been writing all my life, in 1995 for the first time I published one of my writings,a tribute to my father, on his fourth death anniversary. Jugnu Mohsin, the publisher of The Friday Times admired my writing enough to insist that I continue writing for the weekly. Most of my articles are aimed at introducing various aspects of Peshawar to the public at large, or are profiles on well-known personalities of the Frontier.

Encouraged, I published short stories, satires, gardening articles and articles on women's issues in the daily newspapers "The Muslim" and "The News", as well as in the monthly magazine, "Women's Own". In the time I have left over I am hoping to write a novel "When Horizons meet", a few chapters have already been written.

On 22nd. July 1996 I lost my husband.

I started to travel and visited many wonderful places and got to know many wonderful people. Among the people I met on my travels was John Larsen. John and I found we had a lot in common and in 2004 we got married.

In 2006 we moved to West Virginia to start the rest of our life together in this wonderful State. Although the people are generous and warm, they don't take to strangers easily. Luckily I have found a few friends whom I expect will be my friends for many more years to come.

As in the lives of many people, there have been many ups and downs in life too. I have faced many deep disappointments and betrayals. But InshaAllah (God Willing) the rest of my life will be the best of my life and I will finally complete the many books I have started to write: Where Horizons meet; NetSplit; MARYAM; The Withering Winds must Cease and a whole folder full of others that do not have a title as yet.

Mail me