Du’aa (Prayer) on the Independence Day
This moving poem by Faiz was written forty years ago and still sounds so fresh and relevant… Du’aa (Prayer) — A nazm for Pakistan’s…
Becoming Pakistani
A fine piece of writing at Opendemocracy: As a small child, Maruf Khwajas life was transformed by the carving of his mother country into…
‘Gandhi, My Father’ – humanising heroes
It is an interesting coincidence that the new Bollywood film, Gandhi – My Father has been released days before the subcontinent celebrates sixty years…
Disaster (once again) – an appeal for help
Life must be a living hell for the millions made homeless by the recent cyclone and floods in Pakistan. It reminds one of the…
When sorrows come…
Thought of Shakespeare while being depressed with events in Pakistan. When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions!…
A painting on Pakistan
I have been working on this painting albeit intermittently since May 14 – when the shocking events in Pakistan stirred me to paint these…
Karachi – some lines from Ibne Insha
I am grateful to my long lost friend Zaman for sharing these remorseful lines from Ibn-e-Insha, the great Urdu poet and writer. I am…
The Hala Potter
During my recent visit to Hala in Sindh, we stole a few moments of that sunny afternoon to spend time with a traditional potter.…
Law, like love and Stop all the clocks – W H Auden
Taking a cue from the recent events in Pakistan, Ammar Qureshi has contributed a beautiful poem by Auden in a newspaper. I love the…
Visiting a Primary School in Sindh
I was in rural Sindh (in Pakistan) after many years. Met interesting people and many members of the ever expanding middle class. We also…
India-Pakistan Peace Train (the journey must continue)
One day after the tragic bomb blast on the peace train, life goes on. The resilience of people in our part of the world…
Thoughts on Basant from a reader
Zia from Islamabad writes: Read it here >>…
Dating in Pakistan (rambling on the Valentine’s Day)
Mayank Austen Soofi in Delhi is an interesting character. A good writer and a prolific blogger, he is also fascinated by Pakistan. One of…
Why I love Pakistan? Top 5 reasons
The Civilization Pakistan is not a recent figment but a continuation of 5000 years of history: quite sheepishly, I admit, that I am an…
Remembering the evening glow in Murree
Yasir’s beautiful image of the typical evening glow in Murree brought back all the memories of my life there. I lived in this hill station…
Indus Valley Civilisation – another discovery
There is more to the Indus valley civilization than we think. “The discovery of rare objects during an excavation expedition in Cholistan desert by…
Pakistani Civil Society Confronts Extremism
Thousands marched in the blistering heat on the streets of Lahore; and similar demonstrations were held in Islamabad, Karachi and Peshawar. Full entry here…
Blue Kashi Work of Multan
The history of Multani arts and crafts also goes back to medieval period. Kashi work the glazing and hand painting of ceramic products is…
Two pictures – many stories
Nearly eight years ago, this image of General Musharraf made headlines.. And today I saw the following image here where Ms Bhutto is pampering her dog..…
Threatened Ancient Buddhist Stone Carvings
A friend sent this disturbing news-item today. Disturbing that it took a German archaeologist to alert us of this and sad that no one really…