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Archive for February, 2007
“The sea is seeking you” (Rumi)
Silence is the sea, and speech is like the river.
The sea is seeking you: don’t seek the river.
Don’t turn your head away from the signs offered by the sea.
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
Thoughts on Basant from a reader
Zia from Islamabad writes: Read it here >>
Basant Moods - Lahore and Beyond
Lahore skies must be covered with kites today. Basant is the most loved public event. A newspaper report said:
 ”you’re either here or you’re a square - Lahore to host biggest ever Basant celebrations today..”
Tonight, So there will be fun and frolic all day long and shall continue into the early hours of the morning. There have been efforts to ban the event due to the dangers it poses to human life. But the Courts and the government relented.
Surveys show that Pakistanis (and Muslims) reject “terrorism”
The Daily Times Pakistan has published a story on surveys carried out by various organizations. The results are quite revealing not least for Pakistan.
Pakistani liberals would need to change their view that it is a society heading towards extremism and the Jihad-flaunting Islamists would be upset that they are not supported by an overwhelming majority. Most importantly, the global media barons would also be left bewildered as their spin-doctors and experts have been, to a great degree, proven wrong!
Petal to Petal …..More of Parveen Shakir
Nirmal has been visiting this blog and requesting for more translations of Parveen Shakir. I have found some on the Internet and here they are. Translations cannot do justice to the original pieces. Nuances are lost and metaphors change their shape. However, some of these are quite creative!Â
Egyptian Blogger Sentenced
Blogosphere faces another question - is it “free” enough?
An Egyptian court has sentenced a blogger to four years’ prison for …. read here for more
Admittedly, Soliman was a little harsh in his verdicts on Al-Azhar and the President, but then neither are Divine and infalliable.
By: nirmal
sir ur each and every blog is wonderful ,full of knowledge
MAy Allah bless u
Abu Ghraib Horrors by Botero
Came across the chilling works of Colombian artist Fernando Botero last night. A friend at Berkeley University forwarded me this link that led me to the moving images of the recent paintings by Botero called Abu-Ghraib
Botero, 73, is the modern master of Latin American art. His cheerful magical-realist paintings are well-acclaimed in the West and feature in major museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
“Man-Bitten” Ghalib: introducing himself
Ghalib’s immortal and complex poetry transcends time and sometimes even the boundaries of human thought.
The translation of this ghazal was found in Mirza Ghalib – A Creative Biography by Natalia Prigarina. Cited as an apt self-introduction, this is a timeless composition brings together myriad facets and moods of Ghalib. What a fascinating post-modern ‘unpacking’ of the self (that too in the nineteenth century)!
“Seeds of peace on cricket field”
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Saw this insightful piece by a Pakistani researcher in the Baltimore Sun.
Lies, Half Truths and Deceit
There is talk of war again. There is a familiar web of lies, half-truths and deceit. As if the smouldering cities and dying civilians in Iraq were not enough to quench the blood-thirst, the global war machine now wants another victim. Full entry here >>
India-Pakistan Peace Train (the journey must continue)
One day after the tragic bomb blast on the peace train, life goes on. The resilience of people in our part of the world is remarkable. Full entry here >>
On a Clear Day - A poem by HUR
 HUR - a reluctant poet in Islamabad - has sent a lovely poem. It was left as a comment on a post but deserves to be highlighted and posted as a stand alone object of beauty…
A picture tells a thousand stories
An old man in Iraq looks at the rubble left after another round of bombing. There is a bit of confidence in his posture. He hasn’t given up yet… View here >>
Friendship Train Blast - Derailing the peace process (yet again)
Blast kills 67 on India-Pakistan friendship train PANIPAT, India, Feb 19 (AFP) At least 67 people burned to death after a blast aboard a train from India to Pakistan that officials said Monday was intended to damage the peace process between the two neighbours. Article here >>
Hazrat Ali’s letter - testament of human rights and equality
Ali bin Abi Talib, the fourth Caliph and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed, wrote a long letter of guidance after appointing Maalik al-Ashtar to be Governor of Egypt.
Sharif Kunjahi’s ‘The Village’
Found this lovely poem in a piece that mourns the death of a prominent Punjabi poet, Sharif Kunjahi.