Jahane Rumi In search of the unsearchable: O, my soul! where would you find your house?

22Jan/104

Folklore sans frontiers

There is no alternative to peaceful coexistence within South Asia, says Raza Rumi

As we crossed the blood lined Waagah, after three hours of soul-destroying bureaucratic tangles and multiple forms filled in by the guardians of our borders, nothing changed. It was an eerie reminder of how the two Punjabs are but one. The roads were dusty and rural life remains as time-warped as ever. The street vendors were selling dirty, unhygienic food items wrapped in a thick cover of flies; and the money changers and CD-sellers attacked you with a frenzy that one is used to back home.

I was part of a delegation from Pakistan that was driving to Chandigarh to attend the SAARC folklore festival organized by Punjab’s legendary writer Ajeet Caur. This was a motley crew: ten Punjabis of various stripes, and five Sindhis who have travelled all the way from Bhit Shah to Lahore. We were greeted with garlands and the usual Punjabi warmth by our hosts at the border. This was my first trip to India via land or, as they say on visa forms, “on foot”. One could not escape the strange sensation of striding across a “hostile” frontier.

Tagged as: , , , , , , , , Continue reading
22Nov/090

Sub-Continent’s Berlin Wall

I am posting Shivani Mohan's article where I have been quoted with reference to the recent folklore festival held under the aegis of SAARC. Another piece on the folk performances can be accessed here.

This fortnight saw the 20th anniversary celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall. So liberating and decisive, when a vast multitude of people chose to see sense and forget trifles that generally incense mankind, when the similarities between two peoples became more important than the differences; when cultural affinity conquered meaningless rivalry.

So it was at the recently concluded SAARC Folklore Festival. Writers, scholars and folklore artistes from eight SAARC countries — Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan- converged to Chandigarh for four days full of rapturous singing and dancing and ?discussing folklore.

Tagged as: , , , , , , , , , , Continue reading
16Nov/090

Borderless world: Musing on South Asian folklore

Jaskiran Kapoor's report on the recent folklore festival that I attended in Chandigarh

It’s a borderless world, veins and arteries connected to one heart, one soul; scholars at the Saarc Folklore Festival seminars bring down the walls & spearhead a cellular movement

Nepal's struggling with a change in power. Bangladesh is coming to terms with hunger and poverty while Pakistan is still grappling with the Taliban attack. If Raza Rumi finds the Vande Mataram fatwa ‘nonsense’, then Prof Abhi N Subedi is not kicked by Monisha Koirala joining Nepal’s political wing. On the other hand, writers Selina Hossain, Rakshanda Jalil and Sayman Zakaria are trying to bring in change with the power of the written word. It’s a confluence of culture, of tradition,

Tagged as: , , , , , , , , , Continue reading
25Sep/090

The romance of Raja Rasalu

Book: The Romance of Raja Rasalu and Other Tales
Story telling has been a primordial urge, never quite expressed in its fullest measure, but always lingering and floating like life. There was a sub-continent before the colonial interaction that brought in its wake an aesthetic hardened by the industrial revolution and its uniformity of life and space. This was a world rich with myriad identities, of whispers and tales all interlaced in a peculiarly complex kaleidoscope. Since the 19th century that particular aspect of folk story telling and transfer of generational accounts gave way to what is now known as education and knowledge - instruments and reflections of power and a linear world view set elsewhere but adapted awkwardly to the local context.
This is why Simorgh Women’s Resource and Publication Centre in Lahore, under the leadership of Neelum Hussain, have undertaken the challenging task of reclaiming the rich heritage that lies in our folklore especially that of the Punjab. “The Romance of Raja Rasalu and Other Tales” is a stunning compilation of the romance of Punjab’s legendary hero, Raja Rasalu and, while it draws heavily on the colonial storytellers, the book twists the narrative in a manner that brings us closer to the origins of our cultural sensibilities. The tales are sheer magic. The romance, the intrigue, the bravery and the integrated nature of human existence where it finds communication even with birds and trees comes to a full life throughout the narrative.
It is one thing to produce an admirable compendium but it is another matter to ensure that the purpose and spirit of the tales are adequately reflected in the illustrations. This particular touch of originality is provided by the eminent artist Laila Rehman whose breathtakingly attractive illustrations add a new layer of meaning and sensibility to the folk stories. It is, therefore, as has been rightly stated in the introduction, a book for pleasure: a pleasure that moves beyond the immediate and the momentary and merges into the real or imagined pleasure of living. Laila’s paintings and sketches are evocative enough to generate a parallel story within the larger narrative. It is as if the reader is traversing into several worlds. One minute
Tagged as: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Continue reading
   

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Categories at Jahane Rumi

Posts Archive

Raza Rumi @ flickr

RSS Pak Tea House

RSS Development Industry

RSS World music on NPR

Tags

art book Delhi Divine Extremism film ghazal God History India Islam Lahore literature Love Mughal Music Muslim Muslims mystic mystical NWFP painting Pakistan Partition poem poet Poetry Punjab Punjabi Religion Rumi Shah Sindh South Asia SouthAsia state sufi Sufism Taliban terror terrorism translation Urdu violence War

EMail

Pages

Meta