Literature - 5

Urdu spoken in British, German, Japanese, Mauritius, Pakistani and Indian accents by the delegates echoed the catchphrase that Urdu has no boundary and has its roots all over the world. A wonderful blend of dialectic diversity of Urdu was witnessed on Wednesday when linguists and scholars from different parts of the world assembled at the [...]

The audience, majority of whom was the teenaged students of the Madressah, visibly felt the force in the message of mystic poets. Over a century-old building of the madressah presented an ideal location for conveying their message of love, brotherhood, tolerance and peace. The poetry of Shah Abdul Lateef Bhittai, Sachal Sarmast and Bhai Chainrai [...]

The first ever international book fair in Pakistan opens today at the Expo Centre, Fortress Stadium, Lahore Cantonment. Over a hundred foreign publishers and over a hundred domestic publishers will participate in the fair. Hundreds of thousands of books on every topic under the sun will be on sale at discounted prices, say the organisers, [...]

The French literary event of the spring promises to be not the tortured musings of some silk-shirted philosopher but the memoirs of this 52-year-old Pakistani who came to France as an illegal immigrant and is now a hero of the Latin Quarter. Akbar travelled through Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Romania and Sweden before disembarking [...]

Rahman Baba is the Pashtuns’ most revered poet. Pashtun culture has suffered over the past few years with its link to the Taleban and Osama bin Laden. But that image may soon be revised with the efforts of two English teachers, Robert Sampson and Momin Khan Jaja, based in Pakistan’s North-Western Frontier Province. Working tirelessly [...]

A new three part mini-series to hit British newsagents last Tuesday, features Ali as a trendy teenager with Sofia, his bride-to-be, as a partner in crime. As a British Asian, Ali finds in difficult to relate to his families traditions and customs. However he feels much better when he finds that Sofia, who he is [...]

Toni Usman, a Norwegian actor of Pakistani descent working in Pakistan for a month to produce a special edition of the left-wing newspaper Mazdoor Jeddojuhd (Workers’ Struggle). Manto wrote about anti-imperialism, religious oppression and social misery. The horrific madness caused by India’s partition and the creation of Pakistan inspired many celebrated works such as Toba [...]

Bishop Chane has expressed praise for Dr Ahmed’s work and contribution towards creating greater interfaith understanding and harmony in the present environment of distrust. The Pakistani academic and author holds the American University’s Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies. He is also professor of international relations. The former High Commissioner of Pakistan to UK and [...]

The book, edited by James Spain, is packed with some interesting historical facts and the authors struggle to help his countrymen attain a respectable position among the comity of free nations by dispelling their conviction that their “fate on earth is predestined to commonplace existence”. He writes: “Nowadays, the Quaid-i-Azam has been raised to the [...]

The first ever gender sensitive code of ethics for the print media was launched here on Friday, calling upon media persons to ensure a positive and fair portrayal of gender issues. A group of two to three individuals in each province will regularly monitor news items on gender and women development issues. To publicize the [...]