Pakistan’s Changing Popular Culture: Discussion With Mohsin Saeed, Fauzia Yazdani, Sabahat Zakariya and Ahmer Naqvi

A riveting discussion on the (d)evolution of popular culture in Pakistan, and its relation with media. We as humans and communities are constantly involved…

10th Tehzeeb Festival celebrates rare talent, revives classical music in Pakistan

Classical music has been deeply bound to religion, mystical traditions, royalty and it’s core culture in the Subcontinent. India has carried forward this legacy…

Lifting ban on Basant a good move, says Raza Rumi

Raza Rumi appreciates governments recent move to uplift ban on basant that will restore thousands of years old festival. The basant festival is surrounded…

Writing from the Heart

What a Lovely Review on my book “Delhi by Heart” published  in South Asia Magazine! By Tariq Bashir Delhi by Heart is a passionate…

Enduring Threads

Raza Rumi was fascinated by artist Aasim Akhtar’s unique curation of Pakistani textile heritage at the Rawalpindi NCA – Click here to see more:…

Books, bombs & mangroves (on the fourth Karachi Literature Festival)

In its fourth year, the Karachi literature festival (KLF) has become a public event that brings together the cosmopolitanism and the fissiparous identities of…

Hyderabad – Past And Present

The Untold Charminar -Reviewed By Asif Noorani Way back in 1954 when I greeted a grand old lady, who had migrated to Karachi from…

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…

Oh, Lucknow!

By Intizar Husain ONE fine morning under the programme of Sahitya Academy I found myself in Lucknow, and wondered if it was the Lucknow…

The distasteful side of fedual shrine culture

In a story entitled Punjab grants divine man obscene rights, Hamid Asghar of DAWN had written this report about the way the Sufi descendants…

Dalrymple on gods and monsters

In an era when most British officials were interested only in exploiting India, a few remarkable men celebrated Hindu art and culture. William Dalrymple…

What happened to reading?

Ilona Yusuf, a poet muses about the demise of the reading culture. This narrative echoes my anguish over the loss of heritage and value…

Blue Kashi Work of Multan

The history of Multani arts and crafts also goes back to medieval period. Kashi work the glazing and hand painting of ceramic products is…

Our endangered heritage

Delhi’s Red Fort was once a symbol of Mughal power and the myriad India was ruled for centuries from this fort. It has continued…

Architectural Neglect – Lahore again..

Random musings in continuation of the discussions on the construction of the 7 (or is it 5?) -star hotel in Islamabad on Adil Najam’s…

Dispatches: Lahore

A friend of mine sent me this piece on Lahore from S. Abbas Raza’s blog. I absolutely love it. Source -> Dispatches: Lahore Lahore…