a Lovers Quarrel

Never have more vehement emotions been exchanged than during a lovers quarrel. Far too many poems have been written on 'hijr' or separation from your lover and about 'ishq' or romance and its sweet overtures. Witnessing a lovers quarrel earlier this week, led me into an expedition to find Urdu poetry about this very important…

Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh

"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there". First Lines from L. P. Hartley's The Go-Between It is a hot and humid day, when the scorching earth forbids us from exploring rooftops or running wild in the streets below. With the afternoon ritual of cooking and eating complete, all children are cleverly…

Jagaava

In Hindu Mythology, Sagar Manthan refers to the churning of the ocean, an epic battle between devas (gods) and Asuras (demons), a myth from the Hindu epic the Bhagavata-Purana. At the beginning of this episode, the devas and asuras are lined up on opposite sides, trying to use Mount Mandara to churn the ocean in…

Ghamshuda

Dil hee toh hai na sang~o~khishth dard sey. As I write this post from a train in Delhi, I think of my first visit to this mega city a good ten years ago. As it is burgeoning and bursting at its seams, I look around me at the faces on this crowded Metro train ferrying…