Saluting Rehman Baba who braved bigots through the ages
Pakistani women hold flower arrive at the shrine of 17th century sufi saint Rehman Baba in Peshawar on March 7, 2009. Multiple bomb explosions…
Nightingale of Peshawar falls silent
My piece published in The Friday Times The bombing of Rehman Baba’s shrine is more proof that we are slipping, inch by inch, into…
Desecration of Rahman Baba’s tomb is desecration of humanity
The SCN press release echoes my sentiments at the disgusting act of vandalism in Peshawar. It is a befitting metaphor for the barbaric bigotry…
Reclaiming melody
Izzat Majeed was raised in a household where good music was an object of reverence. His late father, Mian Abdul Majeed was an avid…
Suicide Democrats
I am appalled by the recent events that have yet again stirred instability and uncertainty into Pakistani politics. Those of us who voted in…
Sad times in Lahore
What a sad day it was – a city that usually glows with spring colours and crisp air was a death-zone. Everyone was afraid…
You have escaped from the city
From these depths depart towards heaven; may your soul be happy, journey joyfully. You have escaped from the city full of fear and trembling;…
Shahid Jalal’s new paintings
Jugnu Mohsin writing for The Friday Times says that Lahore’s most celebrated oasis is now the subject of enchanting paintings You are truly amongst…
Chronicles foretold
A piece that I wrote with Asad Sayeed for The Friday Times. This piece was written before the long March and the subsequent developments…
Capitulating Rajas: why Taliban might not be resisted
My new piece for The Friday Times South Asian history is a tale of capitulation of local elites before external invaders. Be it the…
Flames from that wine
I saw my Beloved wandering about the house: He had taken up a rebeck and was playing a tune. With a touch like fire…
Sufi Art Festival in Ajmer
My friend Syed Salman Chishty, from Dargah Ajmer Sharif sent me this message. I would have loved to be there but such are the…
Noor Jehan & Khurshid Anwar
I loved Fawad’s post A Divine Musical Collaboration – Noor Jehan & Khurshid Anwar and here it is: In the wake of Khalid Hasan’s…
“animal rights” for alleged terrorists!!
How horrific to read this news-analysis with this grim end-note: “while the bourgeoisie likes to proclaim India the ‘world’s largest democracy,’ it is increasingly…
Casteism is alive and well in Pakistan
What do you expect of a country where the aboriginals are known as janglis, asks Raza Rumi It is a cliche now to say…
Swat, Now
Cross posted from CM Yesterday’s announcement that Zardari has made a deal with the TNSM and installed “Islamic government” in Swat is all over…
A call from the unseen
A baby pigeon on the edge of the nest hears the call and begins his flight. How can the soul of the seeker not…
Patriarchy and Caste System
Found this excellent piece at Virodhi’s blog on caste, casteism and love authored by Taimur Rahman As I have elaborated before, the Asiatic Mode of…
I am that
The marvelous sound That comes from the sky – I am That. The sweet fragrance That comes from the garden – I am That.…
Lost Imaginations
Sixty one years have gone by but the creation of Pakistan is still a heated debate: contested, fractured and bitter. That history has been…