Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.
By Jalal-Uddin Rumi Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form. Friends are enemies sometimes, and enemies friends. I was a tiny…
Shola tha jal bujha hoon
To make a living he became a motor mechanic… He opened his own garage, which kept him so busy that he just couldn’t sing…
A constructed enemy?
By Raza Rumi Multiple subjectivities plague any ‘objective’ measurement of anti-American sentiments in Pakistan Since the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, Pakistani…
Zeal gives religious right in Pakistan the upper hand
By Salman Masood “Then right after prayers end, the Jamaat cadres start organising and leading people out. Even apolitical people then become part and parcel…
The lost diary of Queen Victoria’s final companion
By Ben Leach Abdul Karim’s writings, hidden by his family until now, throw new light on a close and controversial relationship, says Ben Leach. Her…
Bulleh for our times
By Ali Abbas First published in Islamabad Dateline Mystifying is the turn of time, indeed. Refuted by clerics of his time, the same Bulleh Shah who…
Andrew Buncombe: Those who dare to speak out become a shooting target
By Andrew Buncombe Rarely have Pakistan’s religious minorities and liberals felt more beleaguered. Less than two months after the killing of Salmaan Taseer, a government…
Celebrating the Word
By Nadir Hassan At first glance, the second iteration of the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) was a rerun of the first, with the same venue…
Rumi Poetry – Na Man Behooda Girde Koocha-e-Bazar
By Tasawwuf…
At this one point, all talk ends – Bulleh Shah
Bulleh Shah Pakar saaf dile diyaan khavaabaan nu. Gal aise ghar vich dhukkdi eh, ik nuqte vich gal mukdi eh. Hold tight…
Life’s Too Short Short Story Prize 2010/11
By Aysha Raja The Life’s Too Short Literary Review could never have been possible were it not for the Life’s Too Short Short Story…
Tahrir square eastward?
February 2011 saw the iron fist of Hosni Mubarak being wrenched open after three decades of repressive rule. During this period, the Egyptian secret…
KLF: a mixed bag
By Huma Imtiaz When a literary festival’s headliner is author and religious thinker Karen Armstrong, one wonders whether to be amused, or descend into…
Ba bà zì’-i ishq mì bà zam…
Ba bà zì’-i ishq mì bà zam, sar-i bà zà r sar bà zam rah-i mardà n-i safa sazam, sar-i bà zà r sar bà zamBa-maìdà n asp mì tà zam, tú’ì-i wà qif az ìn…
Jinnah’s Pakistan is not dead
In recent weeks, several commentators have dwelt upon the amorphous notion of Jinnah’s Pakistan, challenging its notional contours and exposing its overt ideological underpinnings.…
Pakistan radicals rule the streets
TENS of thousands of people crowded the streets of Lahore late on Sunday demanding freedom for the assassin of Punjab governor Salman Taseer. The…
Could there be a liberal resurgence in Pakistan? Lawmaker Sherry Rehman says she’s working on it.
By Issam Ahmed – Fri Jan 28, 6:39 am ET Karachi, Pakistan – Liberal Pakistani lawmaker Sherry Rehman left a comfortable life researching a book in London to fight for…
Karachi Literature Festival 2011 Programme
Karachi Literature Festival – full programme FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE All set for the 2nd Karachi Literature Festival Karachi (31 January 2011): The 2nd…
Karachi Literature Festival: Too many divides to bridge
By Ali Syed ‘Bridging divides’, as the name suggests, was about a certain disparity within the Pakistani society. KARACHI: ‘Bridging divides’, as the name suggests,…
Literature Festival ends with homage to Faiz
By Peerzada Salman A befitting and heartfelt tribute to Faiz Ahmed Faiz ended the 2nd Karachi Literature Festival at a local hotel on Sunday.…