Farewell, Asim

Dear Asim: you left us in such a hurry – you will be missed, always..RIP Asim Butt: A rebel from his conventional background, Butt…

A Beautiful Veil

I am grateful to Ahmer for sending me the link to “The Art of Integration Exhibition: Islam in Britain’s Green and Pleasant Lands“. The…

The vanity of being quoted

A friend sent me these links and I am shamelessly posting them here: My views on the IMF programme for Pakistan – Also here…

The priest thrives on self promotion

A Bait from Sultan Bahu “Haafiz parh parh karan takabbur, mullaan karan vadaaee hoo Saavan maah de badalaan vaangoon phiran kitaabaan chaaee hoo Jithe…

Singing of youth and beauty, life and death

by Vidya Rao I was fortunate to be one of the women invited to the first meeting of the Grandmothers’ University at Bija Vidyapeeth…

To undo the vicious past

 Published in the News on Sunday It’s about time a civilian Pakistan functions as a peaceful country with fair share of resources put into…

In Memory Of The Inimitable Madam Nur Jehan

A common Punjabi aphorism, loosely translated, states that there never was and never will be anyone like Nur Jehan. With her incredible talent, fiercely…

The tender tea house

I was quite pleased to read this piece. Aside from fact that it talks about me, the constant rememberance of Pak Tea House is…

“I have never become less from dying”

Rumi departed earthly life on 5 Jumadi II, 672 A.H (according to the Islamic lunar calendar; Dec 17, 1273 A.D., according to the Christian…

What is the threat? What is the way out?

In these times, when the country is burning and militancy is at its peak, the priorities of the unelected institutions are curiously different. Peshawar…

How rarely these few years (Seth)

How rarely these few years, as work keeps us aloof, Or fares, or one thing or another, Have we had days to spend under…

Let the cynics froth and fume

This is the magic of Lahore and its deep-rooted cultural mores. No other city can boast of such individuals, movements and trends. Hopefully, the…

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.…

From “Listening to Grass Hoppers” by Arundhati Roy

We too will learn, like the ordinary citizen’s of Hitler’s Germany, to recognize revulsion in the gaze of our fellow human beings. We too…

Reclaiming Pakistan’s soul

By Rizwan Qureshi The Sufi Council was formed in October 2006 with the aim of popularizing pristine Sufi music and disseminating Sufi thought among…

Coffee, tea and revolution

Before his death in July 2009, KK Aziz had accomplished one mission that he had set for himself, i.e. to write about the Lahore…

Folklore sans frontiers

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…

Crimson Gharara – tragedy in Rawalpindi

I am posting a lovely poem by Foqia composed after the horrible tragedy in Rawalpindi. Crimson Gharara I queuing at the Bank, for my…

Rumi – Guest House

This being human is a guest house Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an…

Anchorless rambling

We did it again. A hallmark of Hillary Clinton’s visit to Pakistan was her meeting with the stars of the Pakistani media – the…
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