powerless is the prayer…
A friend sent me these verses; luckily he translated the first verse of the ghazal Is na’ay daur ki na’i charagari tou deykhi-ye Bay…
What is this?
One day Rumi was sitting in his personal library with a group of his students gathered around him for his lecture. Suddenly, Shems entered…
My soul has come on my lips
Amir Khusrau’s Khabaram Raeeda translated by Annemarie Schimmel Tonight there came a news that you, oh beloved, would come – Be my head sacrificed…
Na mai Sussi
Na mai sussi Na mai sohni Na mai heer sayal phair we sajna dil kyouN mera Ja lagayaa teray naal sussi rayt thhalaaN wich…
Recollections of Annemarie Schimmel
Rehana Hyder writing for the Friday Times My first recollection of Annemarie Schimmel was as a teenager in Delhi in 1969, in the year…
A special message for Jahane Rumi
Sometimes I am most touched by such messages concerning my blog. I am posting this message not because I want to beat my own…
Two poems by Ali Sardar Jafri
Two poems of Ali Sardar Jafri MY JOURNEY Such a day will arrive again [when] the lamps of the eyes will get extinguished; the…
Impressions – White Mughals by William Dalrymple
My bright, young friend Imaduddin has written this excellent, terse review of the engaging book White Mughals. Yesterday when he emailed me this text, I…
Carpet cleaning methods
Discovered that there are multiple methods of carpet cleaning. I thought there was just a single way. Before engaging carpet cleaners, it is important…
Tabish Khair on Cartoon Wars
I am growing fond of Tabish Khair’s poetry. Just read this remarkable poem: Cartoon Wars Let’s spell out this world. Generally speaking, we are…
Rediscovering Jinnah’s Politics: Pakistan and Democratic Nation-Building in South Asia
A special contribution by Dr. TT Sreekumar Jinnah’s image as an adamant fighter for a separate Muslim Homeland and hence as someone responsible for…
The story of an ivory chair – Murshidabad’s gift to Hastings
Dr Amin Jaffer, the expert on Indian arts and furniture, currently working at Christie’s holds forth in a conversation below. The chair above is…
Four poems by Bulleh Shah (new translations)
Who I am I know not who I am, I am neither a believer going to the mosque Nor given to non-believing ways. Neither…
Lu Xun and the birds – Sarvesvar Dayal Saxena
A Poem by Sarvesvar Dayal Saxena Lu Xun and the birds In my childhood I had seen Lu Xun roaming in the mango groves…
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…
A Children’s Poem
– By W. P. Ruwani Wanniarrhchi (Grade 10) Is My Son Also Sleeping under the Mara Tree? My little son, I can wait Till…
Real Naanak/Can prove dangerous to us
My friend Jasdeep Singh has shared his translation of a Punjabi poem Naanak by Jaswant Singh Zafar. I like the way poet brings out…
Khusrau, Meera, Kabir: The Fluid Self
An essay contributed by the celebrated singer, writer and spiritualist Vidya Rao I often ask myself the question why I choose, above all things,…
A poem of love and longing by Parveen Shakir
I rediscovered this exquisite poem by Parveen Shakir after years. This is an intense love poem of rare beauty. It is composite, taut and…