Inspired by the Jaipur Lit Fest, Pakistan’s first literary festival took place in the country’s largest city Karachi in 2010. Subsequently replicated in Lahore and Islamabad, such festivals now take place around the country, from the agricultural and industrial hub of Faisalabad, formerly Lyallpur, to the port city of Gwadar on the Balochistan coast.
While the overall picture is depressing, Ramaswami also describes hopeful strands within the social fabric of workers’ lives such as the mutual support and 'bhaichara' (fellowship) between men across ethnic, religious and caste boundaries that become more fluid within the city. The inter-religious and inter-caste ties forged between workers can be seen as small glimmers of hope in the context of the rising tide of Hindutva politics over the past decades.
Today, as we bid farewell to the Dhaka-born singer once fondly called the “Dhake ki malmal,” one is reminded that the softest fabrics often endure the longest. Her voice was just that. Fine, delicate, yet enduring beyond time. And now, as that voice falls silent, it leaves behind not an emptiness, but an echo. An echo that will continue to drift through radio waves, old recordings and the private corners of memory.
Two girls stood silently holding a placard that read: ‘Forcing your daughter to get married is forcing her to get raped.’ The message speaks to a reality across the South Asian region where the priority for most families is to get their daughters married. On a sheet where attendees were penning messages to their mothers -- words they could not say aloud -- an anonymous note read: “Would you rather see me married or alive?”
During the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) operations in Sri Lanka, 44 Squadron played a crucial role in transporting men and material, including T-72 tanks and artillery guns, in the early hours of 30 July 1987, greatly contributing to the airlift effort.
One of the key learnings for me as a linguist and interpreter at the frontline of the Afghan war and occupation for years, that I cannot forget and forgive, was that the US politicians and policymakers did not support and establish secular institutions in Afghanistan. They deceived both the American and the Afghan people.
Young women in Haryana are proving themselves in male-centric sports like wrestling, winning on national and international platforms. They include Geeta Phogat, Vinesh Phogat, and Sakshi Malik, besides the pilot Priyanka; Miss World Manushi Chillar; gold medalist shooter Mannu Bhakar; and Khap Panchayat participant Ritu. These women, and many more, are defying social norms; and bring laurels to the state and the country.
Anurag believed strongly in the common civilization shared by India and Pakistan. “It seems visible even today looking at the twin sister cities, Delhi - Lahore and Mumbai - Karachi,” he said.
In February 2023, Chitwan National Park hosted the 3rd Asian Rhino Range Countries, which saw the adoption of the Chitwan Declaration for Asian Rhino Conservation, 2023 by delegations from Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nepal.
It is impossible to take in the meticulously and painstakingly curated show, with more than 100 stimulating, multi-media works, spanning more than a century, in a single visit.
Released in the UK on February 24 and in Pakistan on March 3, the film is a refreshing masterclass on how to adhere to the classic romantic-comedy structure, delivering a delightfully fair representation of multi-heritage families in cosmopolitan London and Lahore.
But it was Akhtar’s few brief comments about the Mumbai attacks that spread rapidly on social media, picked up by mainstream media in Pakistan and India. Back home Akhtar had to defend his visit to Pakistan but his hosts. Faiz Festival organisers, have refused to comment on the controversy.
Pakistan’s progressive movement revolved largely around the great poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, whose work Zia Mohyeddin so eloquently recited in his signature style, his distinctive, gravelly voice set him apart from others.
Before moving to Pakistan, Kishwar often accompanied her father to recordings after school hours in Mumbai. After marriage, with relations between the two countries deteriorating, she found herself progressively isolated from her family and the world.
If there ever were a perfect literary candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature, it would be Salman Rushdie this year.
Several folktales from across the Indian sub-continent also speak about respect and honour of one’s elderly parents. The concept is also seen in Theravada Buddhism, often referred as 'the doctrine of the elders' (of the senior Buddhist monks). Thus, reverberations of the concept of filial piety are seen in spiritualism and folklore of South, Southeast and East Asia.
This story is often said to have encouraged the introduction of the word ‘serendip’ into the English dictionary, marking January 28 to be remembered as the day when the word entered the dictionary.
As busy evenings of youngsters flock over to Roopkawthar Kabbo, the narrative of the legend from yesteryears reverberates through each cup served and, for the uninitiated, these cups are the connecting dots of time when an answer comes with the query of “Who is this?”.
And yet, it is perhaps the reminder of these unfulfilled dreams, a never-ending quest, that is most relevant today, as we struggle through challenges that are at once global and personal, intricately and inextricably intertwined.
