Aurangzeb as he was according to Mughal Records
Found these amazing images on a deeply problematic exhibition on the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb here Exhibit No. 2: Prince Dara Shukoh translating the Upanishads. Prince Dara Shukoh, the…
Watering the the Indus Valley
Published in telegraph.co.uk – Last Updated: 12:01am – BST – 17/05/2008 Peter Parker reviews Empires of the Indus: the Story of a River by Alice Albinia The River…
Throw Away the Books – Bulleh Shah
Bulleh Shah (1680-1758) of Kasur in Central Punjab is an extraordinary voice that provided a mystical message beyond caste, institutionalized religion and ideologies of power. Born in 1860…
Love Stories of the Risalo of Shah Latif
Sur Suhni This story dates back to the time when the Moghul Emperor, Shah Jahan ruled over Delhi. There was a wealthy potter named Tala, in Gujarat (a…
Prophet Mohammed And The Mystics
Written by Sadia Dehlvi Prophet Mohammed was born on a Monday, the twelfth night of Rabi ul awwal in Mecca in the year 570 CE. It is a…
Makhdoom a people’s poet – a poem
Found this poem and its translation by Makhdoom Mohiuddin Our city is strange – it whispers in the nights when you walk on roads calls you to show…
The plight of Bahadur Shah Zafar’s descendants
I had earlier posted on the sad state of the heart wrenching denouement to the dazzling Mughal Empire thanks to Indscribe who related the sad story of middle-aged…
Qurratulain Hyder -End of an Era
The death of Qurratulain Hyder marks the end of an era of the finest writing in Urdu. Hyder, also known as Ainee Apa, dominated the world of Urdu…
Feryal Ali Gauhar – femme fatale
Conversations with novelist, filmmaker, feline aficionado, and femme fatale, Feryal Ali Gauhar, as she prepares to launch her second novel Who doesn’t know Feryal Ali Gauhar? A novel…
‘You turned out to be just like us’ –
By Pakistani poet Fahmida Riaz. The inimitable Fahmida Riaz, who is a favourite of mine, was disappointed during her stay in India (during the 1980s) with the growing…
Mughal Princess Zebunnissa – Lady of the age
Mughal history ignores women of the empire, including Emperor Aurangzeb’s daughter Zeb-un-Nissa: patron of the arts, poet, and a keeper of several lovers – according to rumours. The…
Nizamuddin Auliya – for Marta Franceschini
My post on the pictures of Nizamuddin Auliya's dergah (shrine) attracted a visitor whose devotion to the great Nizamuddin is quite touching…
The invisible Princess Zebunnisa
A lesser known character from the Mughal Empire is princess Zebunnisa, the eldest daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb. Unlike her puritanical father, Zebunnisa was a Sufi poet and did…
Ode to Mirza Ghalib’s Haveli
This excellent post brought found here back so many memories – of my two memorable visits to the famed but neglected Haveli From My trip to Balli Maran,…