Saadat Hasan Manto- Writer of Stark Realities
(Courtesy Iftikhar Chaudri) Saadat Hassan Manto (May 11, 1912 – January 18, 1955) was a Pakistani Urdu short story writer, most known for his Urdu short stories , 'Bu' (Odour), 'Khol Do' (Open It), 'Thanda Gosht' (Cold Meat), and his magnum opus, Toba Tek Singh'. Unfortunately having spent life on both sides of the border he was portrayed as an Indian writer in Pakistan and in India he was portrayed as a Pakistani writer. But truely he was a writer of the subcontinent above distinctions of coutry or religion.
He was also a film and radio scriptwriter, and journalist. In his short life, he published twenty-two collections of short stories, one novel, five collections of radio plays, three collections of essays, two collections of personal sketches.
Rail to link Dhaka, Delhi, Lahore?
Sacred Kerala–Transcending Communal Boundaries
Book Review
Name of the Book: Sacred Kerala—A Spiritual Journey
Author: Dominique-Sila Khan
Publisher: Penguin, New Delhi, 2009
Reviewed by: Yoginder Sikand
The southern Indian state of Kerala has a unique population mix. A little less than half of Kerala’s inhabitants are Hindus, who belong to various castes. The rest are Muslims and Christians, in roughly equal number, and a miniscule number of Jews, who form India’s oldest Jewish community. In contrast to much of north India, inter-community relations in Kerala have always been fairly harmonious, although the situation is beginning to change today. At the popular level, economic and social ties and inter-dependence between Kerala’s different religious communities have given birth to a strong sense of Malayali identity that transcends religious boundaries. This has been facilitated by the use of the Malayalam language by all of the state’s communities as well as a long-standing tradition of religious overlapping or shared religious identities, which is what this fascinating book is all about.
Is it just cricket? Indian team should have come to Pakistan
"The tour's cancellation means that terrorists have won; this is what they wanted to achieve."
I was quoted in a piece published by Hindustan Times
Cricket is not just a game. It is also a standard to measure the tense relationship between India and Pakistan at any given moment. With India's tour of Pakistan being called off, fans have been deprived of a rollicking good time. But not many players are complaining. The reason being the Mumbai terror attack.
Closing the gap
Delhi based writer Tridivesh Singh Maini sent this piece that was published here
The Indo-Pak relationship has been so enmeshed in political issues - mostly disputes - that often both countries tend to neglect important developments which facilitate cultural cooperation between them. Foreign ministries in both countries are engrossed in thinking of CBM’s, though if one were to look, not much progress has been made with regard to educational and cultural exchanges. Meanwhile, a Washington-based non-profit organisation named APNA, (Academy of the Punjab in North America) has taken a significant step — publishing a quarterly Punjabi magazine by the name of Saanjh (which means commonality in this context) in both Gurmukhi, the Punjabi script used in East Punjab), and Shahmukhi, the script used in West Punjab.
Adieu Mahmoud Darwaish
Courtesy AHRC
I come from there
I come from there and I have memories
Born as mortals are, I have a mother
And a house with many windows,
I have brothers, friends,
And a prison cell with a cold window.
Mine is the wave, snatched by sea-gulls,
I have my own view,
And an extra blade of grass.
Mine is the moon at the far edge of the words,
And the bounty of birds,
And the immortal olive tree.
I walked this land before the swords
Turned its living body into a laden table.
I come from there. I render the sky unto her mother
When the sky weeps for her mother.
And I weep to make myself known
To a returning cloud.
I learnt all the words worthy of the court of blood
So that I could break the rule.
I learnt all the words and broke them up
To make a single word: Homeland.....
*****************
Identity Card
Record!
I am an Arab
And my identity card is number fifty thousand
I have eight children
And the nineth is coming after a summer
Will you be angry?
South Asian Cooperation and the Role of the Punjabs
South Asian Cooperation and the Role of the Punjabs. Tridivesh Singh Maini. New Delhi: Siddharth Publications , 2007
South Asian Cooperation and the Role of the Punjabs is a book that approaches the topic of conflict resolution with a difference. Trividesh Singh Maini’s book does not approach peaceful cooperation from the normative security framework. Nor, for that matter, does the author take the increasingly emergent economic approach to conflict resolution despite the fact that the book’s content deals with the subject of regional cooperation. Alternatively, Maini’s book helps its reader understand the dynamics of cooperation and peace among members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation or SAARC (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and the island nations of Sri Lanka and Maldives) by presenting a cultural analysis.
This use of culture is persuasive. The author posits himself and his book as scholarship that thinks outside the bureaucratic box of normal research on South Asia with its vested interests in the region to reveal the “emotional” trajectory of cooperation that is occurring in this region. Using culture to support his thesis, Maini illustrates for the reader various cultural exchanges between two cities, Amritsar in East Punjab in India and Lahore in West Punjab in Pakistan. These include visits to religious shrines, literary exchanges and especially recent transportation events such as the initiation of bus services to help people meet their relatives on the other side of the border.
South Asia has lost a great crusader of peace
Nirmila Deshpande is dead. She will be remembered for her invaluable services for peace in the region. This statement from the Asian Human Rights Commission says it all:
"Nirmila Deshpande, a well known peace crusader of India, died on May 1, 2008, after a long period of illness. She was 79-years-old and left behind so many followers who like her, wanted peace. From her early years she was a Gandhian and an enlightened person whose only aim in life was to work for the cause of humanity. Nirmila was the one by whose efforts the bus service between different cities of India and Pakistan particularly, between the Kashmiri people of both sides, were started. She worked extensively all her life for peace among various religious and linguistic communities in India and to achieve this cause she undertook a 40,000-km padyatra (long march) across India to carry Mahatma Gandhi's message of Gram Swaraj. She firmly believed that although it was difficult to practice Gandhian principles, it was the only way towards a truly democratic society.
At the time of her death she was Chairperson of the Pakistan India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy, an organization with chapters all over India and Pakistan that works for peace in the region.
Dear Che – A poem by K.G. Sankarapillai
A Poem by K.G. Sankarapillai
Dear Che
Dear Che,
you came to our university campus
in mid sixties
with a comrade and a modernist friend
with visuals of jungles past and present
with a vision of a new battle for justice.
Like a fresh wind of October
you joined us
moved us
renewed us
and smoothened our entry into history
with love, dreams and plans.
You told us about the sleeping rebel powers
of mountains and forests of the new minds;
quite often you talked of the day when
‘the Andes would become
the Sierra Maestra of America.’
Our modernist friend said:
you are the red star over the world
tarnished by America;
you are the future of the world
crippled by America;
you are the Jesus of the modern age
crucified by America.
Although you remained evergreen in us
showed us the exit to the oceans
from the lyrical ponds of our
post Independent Indian youth;
the exit to the storm from the water lily breeze
of our weeping romantic poems;
dear doctor, you redefined us
living with us
living for us
living in us
passing the confidence of torrents into our deserts
weaving sunlit paths into our prodigal nights.
You brought world into our words
and future into our past.
You opened blast-furnaces for our ore.
Two poems on justice -from Sri Lanka
Herat Hami
A poem by Wimalaratne Kumaragame (a translation)
Herat Hami who lived in Aliya Watunu Wawe*1
Even someone like me was more important than him
Though Harat Hami cut dead bodies*2
He was twenty, thirty times more decent than me
In the hospital of Aliya Watunu Wawe
He spent his time removing night soil
Though he lived happily with a monthly salary
Whenever I saw him I was moved with sadness
A hard, wiry body, handsome and thin
Not much of age, fresh and young
No wife as yet
I was perplexed by the job he did
Making someone like me sad
Each day he carried my excrement
If someone dies suddenly
Doctor comes
He cut the dead bodies in front of us
None from the farmer, worker or elite caste
Ever did such a job
No known disease of mind he had
He did no harm to any dwellers of the forest
He spread a docile smile
Every word of his spread ahimsa
Every evening he drank burning water
His heart overflowed with kindness
His sister was stabbed
Recalling her my eyes get wet
He did not cry the day his sister died
When she had a fever he wailed with tears in his eyes
When his younger sister died he went with a doctor
Her dead body was cut by Herat Hami
Though the villagers blamed him in harsh words for this
He did not care much about the world's violent flesh
As he was not born in a rich mansion
He went to the temple at every Poya
He was a member of the newly built stupa
Even more than that he respected Iyyenayaka*3
Translation by Basil Fernando
the world I do not need..Amir Khusrau
Amir Khusrau
I am a pagan (worshiper) of love: the creed (of Muslims) I do not need;
Every vein of mine has become (taut like a) wire; the (pagan) girdle I do not need.
Leave from my bedside, you ignorant physician!
The only cure for the patient of love is the sight of his beloved –
other than this no medicine does he need.
If there be no pilot on our ship, let there be none:
We have God in our midst: the pilot we do not need.
The people of the world say that Khusrau worships idols.
So I do, so I do; the people I do not need,
the world I do not need.
Naanak’s wisdom
A little over fifty years ago our Persian teacher, a pious maulana in the old mould, was explaining the exemplary character of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). He quoted lines from Baaba Naanak to explain his point 'Ek ne keh di ek ne maani'. This was not uncommon. From great Punjabi poet Hafiz Burkhurdar (17th century) to a common Punjabi villager, everyone quoted Naanak. Now they teach no Naanak at Punjab University Lahore, because Naanak was a non-Muslim.
However in Muzaffar Ghaffar's series on Punjabi classic poetry, you get an insight into the great wisdom and beauty of Naanak's poetry. Muzaffar is a great cultural asset and in presenting a selection of Naanak after seven volumes in this remarkable series on Sufi poetry of Shah Husayn, Bulleh Shah, Sachal Sarmast and Khawaja Farid, he has excelled himself in this one. His series presenting all the major poets of Punjabi language in English is a work unique not only in the subcontinent but among world literature. In no other language are all the major poets of a language explained so comprehensively and competently by one author. Punjabi has a very rich heritage and Muzaffar has done justice to this colossal undertaking.
The Other Half – divided hearts meet in Kashmir
Thanks to Beena Sarwar's updates, I read this moving account, THE OTHER HALFÂ in 'Srinagar diary' by Kalpana Sharma.
... the Indo-Pak peace process, the people to people exchanges, the opening up of meeting points along the Line of Control have
raised some hope that permanent peace is possible. Apart from the larger questions, what concerns the ordinary person is finding ways to increase communication between divided families and communities straddling the LoC. This was the question that engaged a group of almost 50 women from both sides of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Fourteen women from the Pakistan side of Kashmir crossed the Wagah border in mid-November, travelled by road to Jammu and then flew in to Srinagar to meet their counterparts on this side of the border.
This was the first time such a meeting was held between women from the two sides.The result was unusual and memorable. For the women from the Pakistan side, it was a deeply emotional moment. Many of them came with preconceptions. They had heard of the sufferings of people on this side of the border. They were upset at seeing the soldiers on the street. They were even more perturbed that they could not call their families and inform them of their safe arrival.
Pearapong – when art deals with conflict
BC is carrying the captioned post of mine today. I am posting some excerpts here:
Violence: targeting the lamp of Chishtiyan
 
Agar Gaiti Sarasar Bad Girad,
Chiragh-e-Chishtiyan Hargiz Namirad
If the entire universe is devastated by the storm
the lamp of Chishtiyan shall not cease to illuminate
Just as Eid announcement was made in this part of the world, the sad news of bomb blasts in India were splashed all over TV channels. In particular, the blast in Ajmer Shareef - opposite the dargah - was shocking. Despicable and pusillanimous!
How could the enemies of peace target a shrine that is above the Muslim/Hindu and other formal identities. Ajmer is the fulcrum of a Sufi practice and represents the broad spiritual, syncretistic consensus in South Asia.
The reaction of authorities was quite predictable as if an automated, pre-recorded message was ready with the officials:
Union Home Ministry sources in Delhi said it was a terror strike in which militants had used a low-intensity improvised explosive device.
They said the terror outfits, including Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, were against Sufi Islam and they could be prime suspects behind the blast which came barely 10 days ahead of the meeting of Indo-Pakistan anti-terror mechanism here on October 22...
However, the latter has some validity as we have a track record whereby the extremist elements always resist any progress towards the much needed peace - Let us not be daunted by this cowardice.
But this is so so sad. Though in the words of the devotees:
Ilahi ta-abd-astana-i-yar-rahe
Yeh-asra-hai-gharibon-ka-barqarar rahe
Oh God, may this Shrine of the beloved exist till the last day
may this refuge of the poor remain forever!
Anyone listening?
Thanks to my friend Temporal, I had a chance to read this account of contemporary Pakistan - The diary of a border crosser - authored by Rehan Ansari published by DNA. This piece highlights the recent developments in Pakistan and the major shifts underway.
My stints in Pakistan should have made me a believer in the coming revolution, instead I developed a knee jerk teary-eyedness when listening to revolutionary Faiz.
Admittedly, the article is woolly and rambles, but it does present an upbeat picture of contemporary Pakistan. It ends with advice to the Indians to change their visa policy and help the ones struggling for democracy in Pakistan.
Welcome, you and your pals come and go as you like,'Â should be India's birthday gift to these Pakistanis. Happy Birthday, we acknowledge that you have arrived.
Great advice but here is what I had to say on the article that:
..competently presented the changing contours of Pakistani society and its inherent dynamism - a free media and rising middle class are accelerating the emergence of a "new" Pakistan.
Hope someone is paying attention to this in India, not least the media that still has to shed its acquiescence to the bureaucratized worldview of the Indian establishment, and global constructs of Jihad, burqas and terror sold as journalism.
Healing the wounds of Partition ..
I read this interesting, albeit a little contentious, piece by Ravinder Kaur  that examined the impact of partition on settling the communal question. The article states:
The sixtieth anniversary of the independence of Pakistan and India on 14-15 August 2007 has prompted official celebration in both countries, as well as an ocean of commemorative coverage in the world's media. The terrible violence that accompanied the birthpangs of the two states from the ashes of empire is an inevitable theme in much commentary. What is being less addressed amid the profusion of human stories - and what this article considers - is whether the problems of communal division in the sub-continent were or are best addressed by the partition of territory.
The recent weeks have seen a splurge of such discussions in the media (including the new media) that attempt to re-examine and explore the partition of India. In particular, the sufferings of millions who crossed the line have yet again come to light.
Another reflective piece that I discovered is "pain of partition" that recounted the sufferings of migrants on both the sides of the divide.
And today, Vidya Rao - a celebrated classical singer from India sent this petition that seeks to heal the wounds that still hurt our collective lives:
Apology Petition
Dear Victims of the Partition-related Violence in South Asia:
The mass murder, rape, pillage and suffering that accompanied the partition of British India in 1947, have left deep scars on the psyche of the people of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the former East Pakistan.
Tens of thousands were murdered, raped, and maimed, and millions were displaced in an immense human tragedy, that continues to poison our discourse, and feed mutual suspicions and hatreds.
Therefore, we, the members of the Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA), and others, who have signed below, believe that the time has come for all of us jointly to condemn, without distinction, the insane orgy of violence and intimidation that accompanied the great human divide of 1947.
On the 60th anniversary of the Independence of India and Pakistan, we recall that dark chapter in our history so as to ensure that these tragedies will not be forgotten, or repeated.
We hope that coming generations will learn from this man-made calamity, and turn away from divisions based on religion, ethnicity, language, national origin, caste, or creed.
Taking lessons from history, we undertake to shun the political use of religion and communalism.
We regret that our forebears, the colonial British administration, and the successor governments did not prevent the tragedy. They also failed to punish the perpetrators, and apologize to you and your families.
In the spirit of harmony and goodwill among the people of South Asia, and to help build a new South Asian present and future, we grieve for and with you. We offer our deepest sympathies and most solemn regrets to you and your families.
We are sorry!
This petition can be accessed here and those interested may like to sign it. I know the prevalent cynicism about such online petitions, but long journeys begin with small steps.
We have a barricaded road ahead - let's aim to tread this difficult path.
Â
Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai
If you are seeking Allah
If you are seeking Allah,
Then keep clear of religious formalities.
Those who have seen Allah
Are away from all religions!
Those who do not see Allah here,
How will they see Him beyond?
Let us go the land of Kak
Where love flows in abundance,
There are no entrances, no exits,
Every one can see the Lord!
There is no light nor day
Every one can see the Lord!
Those who love the Lord
The world cannot hold them.
Palaces do not attract them,
Nor women nor servants
Nothing binds them:
The renouncers leave everything behind.
A message came from the Lord:
A full moon shone
Darkness disappeared
A new message came from the Lord:
It does not matter what caste you are
Whoever come, are accepted.
Where shall I take my camel,
All is Light...
Inside there is Kak, mountain and valley,
The Lord and the Lord: there is nothing but the Lord.
(translated from Sindhi by D. H. Butani)
Legacy of Shah Latif is a recent book on Bhitai's life and works. In a recent book review, Anwar Abro writes:
"Two and a half centuries after his death, the celebrated Sindhi philosopher-poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (1689-1752 AD) continues to inspire and influence the lives and activities of the peace-loving mystic souls of Sindh. Intellectual activities, social, political or ideological discourses are considered meaningless without the recitation of his poetry. Shah Latif has become an essential part of the day-to-day life of the people of Sindh so much so that everyone wants to find out more about his life, his principles and beliefs and discover the true interpretation of his mesmerisingly meaningful poetry..."
read more here
Picture above right is courtesy Himal Magazine
Mohsin Hamid on Indo-Pak perceptions
Hamid thinks that India is more jingoistic than Pakistan. There were some interesting moments in the interview as the quote below indicates. Full entry here >>
Stop the War Petition
Homeyra Ettehadieh from Iran has requested to sign the Stop War on Iran petition, "for whatever its worth"
No it is not worthless and I am sharing this with the visitors of this blog. War is simply unacceptable. It solves nothing..
Visit http://stopwaroniran.org/Â to sign the petition. Also visit this link for more information.
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!
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.
“Seeds of peace on cricket field”
Â
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 >>
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.
Bridging the Divide – “Ham’Asar Urdu” from Denmark
We remember the Danish Cartoons controversy and the reaction it evoked across the Muslim world. I was pleasantly surprised to find out about this amazing treasure of a website that also happens to be perhaps the first on-line Urdu journal of its kind.
Â
The journal is called Ham-Asr (contemporary) Urdu edited by Huma Nasar & Nasar Malik. In its introduction the website states:Â
"URDUHAMASR.DK , is an internet magazine of studies in URDU & DANISH literature, is aimed at URDU-readers who are not familiar with Danish language but would like to read its literature. URDUHAMASR.DK provides them large varieties of Danish literature translated into URDU. "
 "URDUHAMASR.DK is also intended for those who, prefer to retain their link with their heritage language URDU. Urdu is a beautiful language of the Indo-Pakistan Sub-continent, and its literature is rich and vast, comparable to those of the few better known modern languages of the World . On the other hand the study of the Danish literature translated into Urdu can in itself be a rewarding act, regardless of the reader's orientation. Like Urdu, Danish is not only a language, it is a culture."
The website has several Danish short stories and poems translated into Urdu. In particular, the  Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875) famous for children's stories finds a special place here.
This is a remarkable effort and deserves to be commended. This also proves that not all of [Pakistani] Muslim diaspora is an inward looking, gun-friendly community out to 'destroy' the West as Fox news would make us all believe.
Literature, with universal relevance and appeal, has an important role in bridging divides in the fractured world we live in.
Picasso’s Guernica – Timeless relevance
Picasso's Guernica is an immortal mural painting. It shows the horrors of the war in a timeless fashion.
More from David Hart's amazing website on this great mural:
Spanish painter Pablo Picasso painted mural (1937) of bombing of Basque city of Guernica by German airforce during Spanish Civil War. Depicts victims of war, suffering women, children, and horse. Perhaps greatest painting about war ever made. Focuses on victims. Timeless and universal in its themes.
And now further details on the mural, again from David Hart's website:
Scene takes place in darkness in open space, possible town square surrounded by burning buildings.
Figures within the triangle: the central pyramid
- fleeing woman - the fleeing woman
- the wounded horse (suffering humanity, originally had small winged horse/soul leaving gash in side) - the horse's head
- the broken statue of the warrior (classical image perhaps of fallen Spanish republicans) - the fallen warrior (left) - the fallen warrior (right)
Tip of triangle "eye" of electric light globe (image of sun/eye) and woman with the lamp (light holding darkness/bull at bay) - the woman with the lamp
To right burning building with falling woman (perhaps also burning, in stance of suffering Mary Magdelene) - the falling woman
To left wailing woman with dead baby (originally on ladder, like bringing Christ down from the cross) behind which stand bull (threatening or protecting woman and child?) - Far left - bull, woman and dead child
Other figures are bird (rising or falling, originally small winged horse/soul) and flower (symbol of regeneration and hope, like 600 year old tree left standing) - Detail of the Flower
Thank you David Hart for such an amazing website and its contents
My heart is open to all winds..
I am grateful to Zahid Hussein from Islamabad for introducing me to these lines. The Wahdatul Wajood (Unity of Being)school of thought in Sufism is attributed to the musings of Ibn-e-Arabi...
My heart is open to all winds:
It is a pasture for gazelles
And a home for Christian monks,
A temple for idols
The Black Stone of the
Mecca pilgrim,
The table of the Torah
And the book of the Koran.
Wherever God's caravans turn,
The religion of love shall be my religion
And my faith.
Â
(Muhammad Ibn 'Arabi Mystic, philosopher, poet, sage Spain, 1165-1240)
A useful link is http://www.ibnarabisociety.org
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- Uncategorized (83)
- Urdu (103)
- Urdu Literature (78)
- video (25)
- War (37)
- women (2)
- World Artists (54)
- World Literature (127)
- World Writers (131)
- Sufism and Sufi poetry (25)
Posts Archive
Raza Rumi @ flickr
- Asim Butt's mural for T2F, Karachi
- T2F remembers Asim Butt
- Haris Gazdar at the memorial
- Asim's friends will always miss him
- George recites his poem
- Sabeen speaking about Asim Butt
- In attendance -
- The tribute to Asim Butt
- Asim's picture published by GT
- Another mural for The Second Floor-Asim Butt
Pak Tea House
- Our dogmatic liberals
- Lord Chief Justice Of Lahore High Court Is At It Again!
- An Article On Tahira Mazhar Ali
- Precautionary Blood Measures
- Be Part of the Change
- Samina Khawar Hayat: 200 kilos of Reason Why The Pakistani Reservation System Is Flawed
- Let Pakistan Make Its Own Progress
- Roving Report – Ayub Khan Era
- Total National Backlash Against Shahbaz Sharif
- Understanding Islamic Revival In Its Proper Context
Development Industry
- Pakistan: 92 per cent of USAID projects go to US NGOs
- Learn from the UK. Open up data sources in South Asia
- Kiran Bir Sethi teaches kids to take charge
- State of research in Pakistan…
- Reforming Pakistan Civil Service
- Pakistan – Restructuring of PSEs
- Newinpk
- PAKISTAN: Reinventing microfinance
- Dissent as Democracy
- Pakistan 4th on regional list of adult illiterates
World music on NPR
- Talking With Jimmy Cliff, Shepherd Of Reggae Music
- Solas: America's Wild Irish Rose
- The Thistle And Shamrock: Fiddle Styles
- Umm Kulthum: 'The Lady' Of Cairo
- Los Amigos Invisibles: A 'Commercial' Breakthrough
- The Thistle And Shamrock: Welsh Roots
- SXSW 2010 Preview
Tags
- West Bengal in turmoil – end of an era? - 2 emails
- Imam Hussain: The Beloved of the Beloved - 1 email
- Shah Ast Hussain - 1 email
- Holi has a Muslim History too - 1 email
- On Bhagat Singh, his vision and Jinnah’s support for his struggle - 1 email
- Voices of the oppressed – Dalit literature - 1 email
Pages
- “Man-Bitten” Ghalib: introducing himself
- “Seeds of peace on cricket field”
- ‘Author’s Plea’- Foreword of Aag ka Dariya by Qurutul-ain-Haider
- ‘O City of Lights’ by Khalid Hasan – A book review
- About Thumri
- Adieu Naguib Mahfouz
- adsense sample
- Amrita Pritam is no more 2/6
- Amrita Sher Gil’s Lahore
- An Essay on Nizamuddin by Marta Franceschini
- Basant Moods – Lahore and Beyond
- Beautiful Bird
- Bulleh Shah and Rumi 2/5
- Contact
- Dhaka by degrees
- Dhaka by Degrees – TFT
- Documents Archive
- “Iraq’s four-year looting frenzy, the allies have become the vandals”
- “step into the tavern of ruins..”
- A little more recogniton..
- A Little poem
- A recent Book on Faiz Ahmed Faiz
- Against Forgetting and No Poem is Mine
- Another accidental painting
- Fresh translations of Faiz
- Glimpses of nineteenth century Iran
- Go not without me
- Hope – A poem by Ayesha Salman
- How Art made the World
- How the British Raj took roots in India
- I finally moved here – “You lack a foot to travel?”
- Little Flute, Why So Proud?
- Master strokes
- Mother Goddess – Indus Valley
- Murree Ghosts – my recent painting
- Music Master
- My Journey (Mera Safar): Ali Sardar Jafri
- New paintings inspired by the golden Bengal
- New translations of Parveen Shakir
- No Tolerance for Richistans – Obscene Wealth is not victimless!
- Ominous shadows
- Pakistani media – an alternative view
- Qurratulain Hyder
- Sonargaon – A poem by HUR
- Story of a Painting – Mehrgarh, Indus and Ghalib
- Sufi Zikr – inspiration for a painting
- The rescued letter of Mahatama Gandhi
- Waves of anger and fear…
- Welcome Hatshepsut
- What is arrogance?
- Faiz translated by Vikram Seth
- Faiz translations (by Rehan)
- Femme Feryal
- Halaku, when you will come to Baghdad this time…
- I found Roses in Konya… 2/3
- I found Roses in Konya… 3/3
- I will meet you yet again – Amrita Pritam
- Ideology of intolerance
- Images from Data Saheb’s Shrine
- Images from Mahboob Ali
- Jal gaya tha ik roshniyon ka shaher
- Kafka Country – published in the Friday Times
- Kafka Country published in the Friday Times
- Links
- More of Bulleh Shah – keep swooning
- Mughal Princess Zebunnissa
- Muhammad’s Sword
- Muslim Bloggers from India
- On ‘The Great War for Civilisation’
- On Qurratulain Hyder –
- On Vidya Rao
- Open the Door
- Peace to Beirut with all my heart… 2/3
- Petal to Petal …..More of Parveen Shakir
- Qasmi – Urdu literature mourns a giant 2/4
- Qasmi, Literary Fueds and National Neglect
- Rare objects discovery points to ruins treasure
- Raza Rumi
- Revisiting Kabir – the Weaver, the Myth, the Master
- Sadequain 20 years later
- Shared visions: Khushwant Singh and Fahmida Riaz 2/2
- Standing Alone in Mecca (book review)
- Surveys show that Pakistanis (and Muslims) reject “terrorism”
- Teray Ishq Nachaya – Bulleh Shah – full text
- The Lost Jewel – Rediscovering Hazrat Ali’s Letter
- The roar of Rumi – 800 years on
- The Sultan of Hearts – Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya
- This world without Dr. Schimmel… 2/3
- Tum bilkul hum jaisey nikley
- Ustad Bismillah Khan is no more
- Web resources on Qurrutalain Hyder
- Why I love Pakistan? Top 5 reasons
- Darwin and the grand unity of life
- Khusrau: The shadow of power
