Cover Story: Mahasin-i-Kalam-i-Ghalib by Abdur Rehman Bijnouri
A review I did for Dawn Such is the majesty of Urdu’s greatest poet Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869) that his works continue to be interpreted…
What do you read, my lord?
My book will be launched this Saturday. I can say that its going to be a big day in my quest to become a…
Heart to Heart: Remembering Naina Devi
My dear friend Vidya Rao’s labour of love is finally out. She has been working on this project for quite a while. Her book…
Chisht? Sufis in the Sultanate of Delhi (book review)
When the shrine of Baba Farid Ganj Shakar in Pakpattan was attacked last year, the real significance of the incident was not fully understood.…
Down melody lane
A book review published in DAWN mentions my piece on Mehdi Hasan: … Raza Rumi’s piece ‘The Melodious Age of Mehdi Hasan’ discusses in…
K K Aziz: Historian Extraordinaire
The state, society and intelligentsia in Pakistan had forgotten about this towering scholar of our times. His books on Chaudhry Rehmat Ali, Sir Agha…
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…
Sufi hearts in Delhi
This was published in The Friday Times in the May 22-29, 2009 issue Getting a visa to India is a nightmare for ordinary mortals.…
Miracle Worker Explores Sufism
By Archana (Mail Today) WHEN it comes to weaving a web of words, no one does it as well as Khushwant Singh. The nonagenarian…
Contemporary Pakistani literature in the age of terror
I am posting the synopsis of my paper entitled Silhouetted Silences – contemporary Pakistani literature in the age of terror, that I presented at…
Guantanamo? The Worst of the Worst?
I was introduced to Mahvish Khan’s daring work by Irfan. Her close work at the infamous Guantanamo Bay is remarkable for the insights and…
Qurratulain Hyder
Sometimes a little discovery can be so delightful. The other day I was shown an old book authored by Qurratulain Hyder. The book called…
60 “Best” Books from India
To celebrate the Indian Independence day, Hindustan Times has published a rather interesting list of 60 best books from India. From the list, my…
Shaming Literature – ‘Sir’ Salman Rushdie
The current controversy on Rushdie’s knighthood has several dimensions. Amid the knee-jerk reactions alluding to the grand-conspiracy-against-Islam, it brings out various layers and levels…
What happened to reading?
Ilona Yusuf, a poet muses about the demise of the reading culture. This narrative echoes my anguish over the loss of heritage and value…
Hanif Kureishi on the room where he writes
Guardian has compiled an interesting list of writers and their rooms here. Here’s a detailed account of Kureishi’s room: “The garden gnome with his…
The China Threat
BOOK REVIEW: Investigating the China threat by Khaled Ahmed The fact that Globalisation has been allowed to sink to the level of a darwinist…
More on Ainee
It was the first beerbahuti of the season that Gautam had seen. The prettiest of rain-insects, clothed in god’s own red velvet, the beerbahuti…