The Ship Sunk in Love
My evening glows with Rumi’s presence. I am posting poems that I have been reading today. Contrary to several purists, I enjoy all the…
Put thy eyes into mine…..Shah Hussain
My wrist in the beloved’s grip, I cannot ask Him to leave hold. Dark is the night, the cloud is dripping, I suffer it…
Buddha at Borobodur
The photo below was taken by me some time ago at the Borobodur temple in Indonesia. The Borobodur temple complex is a world renowned…
Ustad Daman on partition – again
Here is the roman Punjabi version of Ustad Daaman‘s poem that appeared in my earlier post. Punjabi readers will appreciate it. Bha’n-wain Moo-hoon Na…
Bhuj Rahen Hain Chiragh Dair-o-Haram
Thoughtful Shaista has shared this couplet from the Urdu poet Sahab Qizilbash (1930-2004): Bhuj Rahen Hain Chiragh Dair-o-Haram Dil Jalao Ke Roshni Kam Hai.…
Water weight of this growing abyss
A new poem by Ayesha Salman. The images are stark and the colours surreal. Please do comment so AS gets some feedback from the…
Peace to Beirut with all my heart…
Thanks to Aman Azhar for contributing this post and introducing Robert Fisk’s recent piece on the misery of Lebanon – “Fairouz, the most popular…
The Universalism of Kabir
Troubled by the ongoing middle east crisis, the destruction of Lebanon and the acrimony generated by the tragic Mumbai blasts, I am reminded of…
A Tribute: Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi (1916-2006)
Ab aik baar to qudrat javaabdeh thehre hazaar baar ham insaan aazmaaye gaye Now Nature must be held accountable at least once; We humans…
that overgrown suitcase of memories
This poem (or an excuse of a poem) was written in a flash for a friend who asked for advice whether to meet an…
Girija Devi’s rendition of a timeless thumri
A friend sent me this beautiful piece rendered by Girija Devi of the Benaras school of music. She has been described as the last…
MEDITATIONS AND MERCHANDISE
A Poem by M.I. Kuruwilla Carry a message to your own people, my friend, Which will be well understood by your people, Not ours-…
The sea was calm behind your house
A POEM By Basil Fernando ( dedicated to M. I. Kuruvilla) In a day in July 1983 When our nation had gone mad I…
A poem by Harris Khalique
She and I She and I would talk of wonder and dread, of desires and disasters, boys and girls pacing up and down the…
On Pakistani Women Poets (and my friend’s predicament)
An email from a Pakistan based writer friend made me recall Parveen Shakir. The poem, Tomato Ketchup, written most probably in the memory of…
Fariduddin Attar’s Conference of the Birds
The legendary Sufi poet, Farid al-Din ‘Attar was born in Nishapur, in northeastern Iran, in 1142. He was beheaded by the invading Mongol army…
A poem by Eunice de Souza
Through a Twitter discussion with Rohit Chopra (an Indian academic based in the US), Eunice deSouza re-emerged in my cluttered mind. DeSouza taught a…
All friendships you transcend…
I need a lover and a friend All friendships you transcend And impotent I remain You are Noah and the Ark You are the…
I want to be enveloped
“I want to be surrounded by you. I want to be enclosed. I want to be enveloped. I don’t have the words for it.…