Turn your face toward your own face
The medicine of all intellects is just a picture of Love, the faces of all sweethearts are but His veil. You who are devoted…
Amankaar Tehrik (peace movement) in Pakistan challenges the status quo
Courtesy Fouzia Saeed DISSPELLING THE MYTHS ABOUT TALIBAN Myth: The root cause of Terrorism is extreme poverty and lack of education Reality: This is…
Indo-Pak film wars
by Khaled Ahmed (Daily Times) Filming the Line of Control: the Indo-Pak Relationship through the Cinematic Lens; Edited by Meenakshi Bharat & Nirmal Kumar;…
Whatever shrine I go to
Another readable piece by Dr Sher Zaman Taizi This poem in ghazal form is very simple and direct. It starts with a direct address…
Brutalities have swung public opinion in Pakistan
I have been quoted in this brave piece of reporting: Girl’s flogging exposes Pakistani rift Salman Masood (writing for The National) ISLAMABAD // The…
Cascading Chandni
By temporal guess or foreguess she a work in progress they aiming to regress…
Ah, the deal
Much has been made of this NYT article on the class inequalities in NWFP that are fuelling the Taliban movement. However, I would like…
Mysticism has assumed role of popular religion, says Indian scholar Dr Fatima Hussain
Dr Fatima Hussain said the current intellectual propensity was to debunk religion on the pretext that it had been a cause of bloodshed throughout…
Postcard from Agra
Published in The Friday Times As Indian TV channels broadcast stories on Pakistan’s domestic infighting, and rumours of a new coup d’ etat, my…
Shobhaa De notices blogs from across the border
Shobhaa De has noted the ramblings of yours truly on her blog: I came across a Pakistani blog that took him to the cleaners…
This night bitten dawn
By Raza Rumi The triumph of a popular movement on March 16 has marked a new beginning. The retreat of an intransigent government and…
At the red-bricked house
It rained in Lahore the other night. They say rains at this time of the year are terrible for the wheat crop. For us self-satisfied urbanites,…
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…
Build The Peace Consensus
Sadia Dehlvi The trail of terror continues with cricketers as the latest target. The Mumbai and Lahore attacks, public executions and the murder of…
On Krishna and Ranjha – the syncretic Punjab
I am posting an article by Manzur Ejaz that was published by The Friday Times. This is a great piece: Fascination with the naughty butter-thief…
A sufi in Budapest
Cross-posted from here Legend has it that a Bektashi dervish who was also a companion of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent introduced roses…
Behold the faithfulness of spring
The red rose, which tears its cloak to shreds — I for one know its motive. The willow has let down its branches in…
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…
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…
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…