Four Tragedies Daryabadi Witnessed
Daryabadi’s forte at expressing in a few charming words complex and subtle ideas is second to none in the Urdu literature. He deals with four tragic incidents he witnessed in his Sidk-e-Jadeed (1972). The first tragedy occurred in 1924. The Khilafat Movement was progressing in unitedly against for the freedom of India at a rapid […]
International Coffee & Tea Festival
Having probably originated in China during the Shang dynasty as a medicinal drink, it took tea almost 3000 years to become an everyday drink. An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the 3rd century AD, in a medical text written by Hua Tuo. Tea was first introduced to Portuguese priests and merchants in […]
The Sacred Myth of the Orient
I was watching Francis Ford Cappola’s 2007-fantasy drama Youth without Youth about an old linguistics professor regaining youth after he was struck by lightning. The title says the rest, bringing to light the ambiguities of existence and aging. The film might disappoint you, if you are going to watch it with Cappola’s Godfather and Dracula […]
Not Lost in Memory’s Transition: Biography Revives Proust Translator’s Life
It’s not often that a translator has a story as good as the author himself. But C.K. Scott Moncrieff’s was wild enough to seem like fiction. Moncrieff was the first person to translate Marcel Proust’s seven-volume epic, “Remembrance of Things Past” into English. He was also a poet, a soldier during World War I and a spy in Mussolini’s […]
Who was Ali Shariati to us?
The question put forth by Hamid Dabashi was answered by Iranian filmmaker Mohsin Makmalbhaff. The time and the place which Makmalbhaff points to corresponds to Iran of the early 70s. He was brought up in a religiously charged atmosphere, visiting the scholar at the Masjid every day and coming to know about a new speaker […]
The Meaning of the Caliphate
Dr Salman Sayyid is a post-colonial political scientist and a public intellectual. He focuses on the constructs and ideologies about Islam and the Muslim world in the knowledge traditions of the west. Currently a Reader of Sociology and Social Policy in Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law at the University of Leeds, Dr Salman […]
The Malaysian Delicacy
The street appeared vibrant and colorful, bustling with noises of the passers-by. Small rounded and lighted paper lanterns hung in a row on fine strings tied across the buildings lining either side of the street, lending the ambience an exotic allure. In the crowd consisting mainly of natives there were some tourists too, taking their […]
Cancer Campaign: Stop Shaving this Month
No-Shave November is a web-based, non-profit organization devoted to growing cancer awareness and supportive funds which go towards preventing the disease, saving lives, funding research, educating, and aiding those fighting the battle. In the Fall of 2009, Rebecca Hill and her friend, Bret Ringdahl, brainstormed ways to raise money to fight cancer and have fun […]
Artist, from the Mount
Chafic Abboud’s paintings are a manifesto for freedom, colour, light and joy, as well as being a permanent bridge between the art scenes of France and Lebanon and that of Lebanon and the Middle East. Chafic Abboud was deeply attached to Lebanon, its landscapes, its light and his own childhood memories. Abboud’s grandmother was the […]
The Serious Case of Reyhaneh Jabbari
It’s 11 days since Reyhaneh Jabbari, a Muslim woman from Iran, was executed by hanging for the murder of Morteza Abdolai Sarbandi, also an Iranian Muslim. Owing to Sharia law, Iran and woman as a ‘victim’ (from the perspective of the press), the case aroused much curiosity in the press. But it is not just […]
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