Mir Taqi Mir’s discovery of Simurgh
Tha woh to rashke hoor-e-behesti hameen mein Mir!
Samjhe na hum to fahm ka apne qusoor tha
(That hoor from paradise was part of my being.
I blame it on my utter lack of comprehension of the Ultimate Truth).
Mir, like other great Urdu poets, has seen Simurgh.
Fahmida Riaz: A neglected genius
My op-ed for The NEWS
Whilst my earlier piece on the IMF programme and the tremendous discussion it has invoked deserves a rejoinder, I want to write on a completely different subject this week. I am perturbed by the fact that thousands of jobs have been recreated for those who were rightly or wrongly dismissed in the earlier dispensations; there is silence about one luminary, a towering one at that, who lost state employment twice. Fahmida Riaz's name is yet to appear amongst the reinstated ones.
Following the physical departure of the leading Urdu poets – Qasmi, Munir and Faraz – Fahmida Riaz is arguably the greatest living poet of Pakistan. Controversial though this statement might be, her originality and path-breaking poetry has yet to find an equal in the turbulent waters of the Pakistani cultural river. It is hardly surprising that Fahimda Riaz has been targeted all through her otherwise illustrious creative career by state and society alike. She was branded as unpatriotic when she had to run for her life in the Zia-ul-Haq days and live in exile. In India, she was termed as a Pakistani agent since she criticised the communal tensions that the Indian state had encouraged.
Mian Mir’s 384th Urs
Mian Mir's death anniversary celebrations are commencing today.
Mian Mir is regarded as one of the greatest Sufi saints of the Subcontinent. He belonged to the Qadiria order of the Sufis. He was famous for being a spiritual instructor to Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who also held Mian Mir in great esteem.
Dara Shikoh was a devoted disciple of the saint. His father, Shah Jahan, often requested the saint to pray for his empire.
Mian Mir was the earliest Sufi saint who promoted the Qadiria order in Lahore.
He shunned worldly selfish men and proud high-ups of his time. He used to post his mureeds (disciples) at the gate of his house to stop rich people from entering.
Once Emperor Shah Jahan, with his attendants, came to pay homage to the great dervish. Mian Mir's disciples stopped the emperor at the gate and requested him to wait, until permission was given. Shah Jahan felt insulted, but controlled his temper and composed himself.
My blog is a stranger to me & Mir – saare aalam mein bhar raha hai ishq
What dependent creatures we are..
Since last week, there is no power supply at my house. It has been a time of reflection and getting back to books in dim candle lit rooms. Refreshingly quaint but this has meant that my blog is a stranger to me..
I cannot blog duing work-hours. This is against my grain and internet cafes' are noisy, crowded spaces...
I got back to the poetry of Mir Taqi Mir - the finest of Urdu poets. Have been humming this ghazal..
Kya kahun tum se main ke kya hai ishq,
Jaan ka rog hai, bala hai ishq.
Ishq hi ishq hai jahaan dekho,
Saare aalam mein bhar raha hai ishq.
Ishq maashuq ishq aashiq hai,
Yaani apna hi mubtala hai ishq.
Ishq hai tarz-o-taur ishq ke taeen,
Kahin banda kahin Khuda hai ishq.
Kaun maqsad ko ishq bin pohuncha,
Aarzoo ishq wa mudda hai ishq.
Koi khwaahan nahin mahabbat ka,
Tu kahe jins-e-narawa hai ishq.
Mir ji zarad hote jaate hain,
Kya kahin tum ne bhi kiya hai ishq?
Will translate this for the non Urdu readers but I need time and some light I suppose - this time 'within'
I will reappear tomorrow...
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Recent Posts
- The golden voice of Asha Bhosle (2008 concert in LA, USA)
- Emperor Jahangir receiving his two sons, c1605-06
- I am a child of love
- A red card for the Secular Indian Muslim
- Abr mi barad-o man shovm-e az yar-e judaa (The cloud weeps…)
- Karachi Literary Festival
- the two insomnias
- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Man Kunto Maula
- Rumi – Guest House
- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Peter Gabriel- Signal to noise
- Pak Nobel laureate’s Ahmedi status hurdle for documentary
- Old Nusrat recordings dressed up in dub reggae beats
- Allah Hoo by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
- Lovers have nothing to do with existence
- Support the documentary on Dr Abdus Salam
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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
- 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
- DANYAL MUEENUDDIN WINS
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
- 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
- Elis Regina: The Feeling Between The Notes
Tags
- West Bengal in turmoil – end of an era? - 2 emails
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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
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- Go not without me
- Hope – A poem by Ayesha Salman
- How Art made the World
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- I finally moved here – “You lack a foot to travel?”
- Little Flute, Why So Proud?
- Master strokes
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- Murree Ghosts – my recent painting
- Music Master
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- Ominous shadows
- Pakistani media – an alternative view
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- Sufi Zikr – inspiration for a painting
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- Waves of anger and fear…
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- 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
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- Jal gaya tha ik roshniyon ka shaher
- Kafka Country – published in the Friday Times
- Kafka Country published in the Friday Times
- Links
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- 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
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- 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
