Vidya Rao on Vrindavan
India’s eminent singer Vidya Rao has contributed this piece for Jahane Rumi. In this personal account she writes about her recent visit to Vrindavan,…
Waves of anger and fear…
W.H. Auden’s “September 1, 1939,” is on my mind.. September 1, 1939 W. H. Auden [1907 – 1973] I sit in one of the…
Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai
If you are seeking Allah If you are seeking Allah, Then keep clear of religious formalities. Those who have seen Allah Are away from…
The inequitable world that we live in (on the “filthy rich”)
Negotiating with my middle class guilt, I have been pondering over this article. I had posted on Richistans earlier – somehow the obscenity of…
On the eve of Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary
Centuries ago, Guru Nanak composed these lines: Within every body Is the Lord hidden; Within every body Is His light. Searching his body, his…
Yeh jungle hamare basaey huyae hain
Woh Gor-i-Ghariban par Aur hanse kar bole Yeh jungle hamare basaey huyae hain (Walking past the graveyard of paupers His Majesty conferred / This…
Missing Things
by Vernon Scannell I’m very old and breathless, tired and lame, and soon I’ll be no more to anyone than the slowly fading trochee…
Of Autumn and Roses
I sent this poem to Fahmida Riaz a few days ago to comfort her. Little did I know that there would be another death…
Ali Kazim – ‘our very own success story’
“To look at one of Ali Kazim’s paintings is not only to look at something wonderful, something remarkable. It is also to look at…
Indo-Pak film wars
Filming the Line of Control: the Indo-Pak Relationship through the Cinematic Lens; Edited by Meenakshi Bharat & Nirmal Kumar; Routledge 2008; Pp239; Price Rs…
Endowed with Love
Truly, those who are faithful and do righteous deeds, the Compassionate One will endow with Love. – The Quran, (19:96)…
Ayeda Naqvi on Sufism
Ayeda Naqvi makes some insightful remarks on Sufism in this article: So if Nafs al Amarra is our bossy, controlling self and Nafs al…
Ominous shadows
Raunaqe bazaar-o- mehfil kam nahin hai aj bhee Saneha is sheher mein koi magar honay ko hai Read here >>…
Iqbal on Mullahism
qoum kia cheez hay qoumo ke immammath kia hay is ko kia janay ye bechara do rakaath ka immam bayan may nukta tawheed aa…
The almost forgotten radical message of Iqbal
Yesterday was the Iqbal day- year after year it has become just another empty ritual. High sounding speeches and statements, visits to Iqbal’s tomb…
Pearapong – when art deals with conflict
BC (Blog Critics) is carrying the captioned post of mine today. I am posting some excerpts here: “The artist grew up and worked in…
Nothing but a figure of clay
Wealth has no permanence: it comes in the morning, and at night it is scattered to the winds. Physical beauty too has no importance,…
Fahmida Riaz on the Wall
My young friend has translated Fahmida Riaz‘s words, and how inspiring these are.. “There is a wall in front of us, we have a…
Lahore – that was
Intizar Hussain, the eminent writer of Urdu, recently mused on the Lahore of yesteryears and the literary and intellectual atmosphere. I am posting a…
By: Shaheen Sultan Dhanji