tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3308821474915040002024-03-18T00:34:40.997-07:00Hindustani Awaaz: Literature, Culture and SocietyRakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-12328098723167685712014-08-19T00:32:00.001-07:002014-08-19T00:32:22.523-07:00Invitation to book launch, 21 August 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="userContent">Friends, delighted to invite you to the launch and discussion of my new book, The Death of Sheherzad, a collection of 15 stories by Intizar Husain translated from Urdu. On Thursday, 21 August at 7 pm at the Oxford Bookstore. Arunava Sinha and Jawed Naqvi will discuss the book. Please do come.</span> </div>
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<img alt="Photo: Friends, delighted to invite you to the launch and discussion of my new book, The Death of Sheherzad, a collection of 15 stories by Intizar Husain translated from Urdu. On Thursday, 21 August at 7 pm at the Oxford Bookstore. Arunava Sinha and Jawed Naqvi will discuss the book. Please do come." class="scaledImageFitWidth img" height="378" src="https://scontent-a-sin.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/p526x296/10600384_718219464891909_202553904274006187_n.jpg?oh=268835d782bbb685605b3c5d17b3f1f0&oe=5470F08A" style="top: 0px;" width="504" /></div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-23370825581808208512014-04-28T04:00:00.000-07:002014-04-28T04:04:56.197-07:00Invite for the Launch of my new book on Dr Rashid Jahan, 1 May<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Friends, I have written a biography of Comrade Dr Rashid Jahan. It has been published by Women Unlimited and is being launched on 1 May at the IGNCA, New Delhi. I have also curated an exhibition of 30 rare photographs about her life. The exhibition will be inaugurated at 5 pm followed by the launch of the book and a panel discussion on the book. Prof Aijaz Ahmad and Dr Geeta Patel will discuss the book.<br />
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The details are in the card attached. Please do find the time to attend the function.<br />
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Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-34193187985195847682014-04-22T11:07:00.001-07:002014-04-22T11:07:05.353-07:00Hindustani Awaaz Invite: Sohail Hashmi Speaks about Nazir Akbarabadi, 24 April<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Friends, I take great pleasure in inviting you to the next talk in our monthly series 'WHY IT SPEAKS TO ME'. This month we shall hear Sohail Hashmi speak about the remarkable poetry of Nazir Akbarabadi, on Thursday, 24th April at The Attic. Please join us for Tea at 6.00 pm. The Talk will begin at 6.30 sharp. </div>
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<span style="font-size: 18px;"><span style="color: mediumblue;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif;"><strong>THE ATTIC 36 REGAL BUILDINGS, NEW DELHI </strong><strong> TEL: 23746050</strong></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="color: mediumblue;"><a href="http://www.theatticdelhi.org/" target="_blank">www.theatticdelhi.org</a></span></span></span></div>
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<strong>'Monthly Monologue: Why it Speaks to Me?'</strong><br /> Hindustani Awaaz, in collaboration with The Attic, presents a monthly series of monologues: poetry, literature, short stories, plays, essays, nazms, ghazals. On the last Thursday of each month, a series of eclectic speakers present/sing/recite their favourite Urdu text and explain why the text ‘speaks’ to them the way it does. They share their passion for a poet, a text, even a fragment and tell us why, from all they have read, those particular set of words speak to them with a familiarity that is at once unique and insistent.<br /> </div>
<span style="color: navy;"><strong>thursday 24<sup>th</sup> april</strong></span><br /><strong>6.30 pm ‘Why Nazir Akbarabadi Speaks to me' by Sohail Hashmi</strong><br /><img align="left" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhHR03Fv0QtnnVEeZiz9jZ2A-ZTOK6tMpzU1dxheXUgkhxSbz3d9LbTLtrOPygK56CfD4sfXwHeGAOUDhXkIkcDD4E5-I0NTp952YoHvPZoZvMFKE7Njr1P1BDchSb8lSOgNShosHuU-KLMP_AdjlNtrIZvQqnaWZYZKfp_JTVZNQzQavIU94JhFQ=s0-d-e1-ft" style="border-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; line-height: 100%; margin: 10px; min-height: 198px; text-decoration: none; width: 150px;" width="150" />Nazir Akbarabadi (Wali Muhammad) (1735–1830) was the Father of Nazm, (a genre of Urdu poetry). His mother was the daughter of the governor of Agra Fort then known as Akbarabad.<br /> Only 6000 of his roughly 200,000 verses have survived. His poetry conveyed the plight of the common people in their own everyday language and was very popular among the masses. His poetry has been neglected due to the lack of the “elite” element but discerning fans of Urdu poetry will not fail to recognize the greatness of “Banjaranama” (chronicle of a nomad), “Kaljug nahin karjug hai yeh”, “Aadmi Naama” (chronicle of man).<br /> In the early 50’s, one of the greatest theatre personalities of modern India Habib Tanvir, wrote and directed his first significant play Agra Bazar, based on the works and times of Nazir Akbarabadi, using local residents and folk artist from Okhla village in Delhi.<br /> Sohail Hashmi He produces documentary films, is involved in women’s education, is a social activist, writes on the lesser known monuments of Delhi, its water bodies and its landscape. He is deeply interested in the heritage of Delhi, its language, its food and its wonderful eating places makes and loves to showoff his city to anyone who is interested.He studied in Aligarh and Delhi and did his graduation and post graduation from Delhi University. He gave up his PhD in JNU mid way to work full time with the CPI (M).<br /> He is a former Director of Leap Years - a Creative Activity Centre for Children, a founding trustee of SAHMAT. He conceptualised, researched and scripted a 4 part series on the History of Urdu for the MEA that was shown on Discovery for four Years, he conceptualised and scripted 9 part series on Pioneers of Women's Education in India and a 5 part series Shehernama on the history of Shahjahanabad. He has scripted 6 half hour documentaries on the real life stories of 6 rural women and their struggles to become literate and self reliant. Sohail writes a monthly column "Past Present Continuous" for Terrascape on culture, heritage and conservation and blogs irregularly, on issues of culture and communalism at Kafila.org. He conducts heritage walks in Delhi and loves to cook and talk about food.</div>
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Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-82118134397110372922014-04-16T12:04:00.000-07:002014-04-16T12:04:47.429-07:00Reading from my new book on the progressive writers' movement, 22 april, oxford bookstore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I shall be reading from my new book, <strong>Liking Progress, Loving Change: A Literary History of the Progressive Writers' Movement in Urdu </strong>(OUP). The reading will be followed by IPTA songs sung by Parcham. The event is being hosted by the Oxford University Press and the Oxford Bookstore at N-81 Connaught Place, New Delhi on Tuesday, 22 April at 6.00 pm. Please do join us. </div>
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The details are in the link below.</div>
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Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-44448614306263109212014-03-29T00:27:00.001-07:002014-03-29T00:27:29.220-07:00Hindustani Awaaz event: Why the Buddha Speaks to me THrough Ghalib, 31 March, The Attic<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Friends, I take great pleasure in inviting you to our monthly series of talks entitled 'Why It Speaks to Me'. Held in collaboration with the Attic, this monthly series features an eclectic range of speakers. This month we have Ashok Lal telling us why the Buddha speaks to him through Ghalib. <br />
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THE ATTIC 36 REGAL BUILDINGS, NEW DELHI TEL: 23746050<br /><a href="http://www.theatticdelhi.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.theatticdelhi.org</a><br />
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'Monthly Monologue: Why it Speaks to Me?'<br /> Hindustani Awaaz, in collaboration with The Attic, presents a monthly series of monologues: poetry, literature, short stories, plays, essays, nazms, ghazals. On the last Thursday of each month, a series of eclectic speakers present/sing/recite their favourite Urdu text and explain why the text ‘speaks’ to them the way it does. They share their passion for a poet, a text, even a fragment and tell us why, from all they have read, those particular set of words speak to them with a familiarity that is at once unique and insistent.<br /> monday 31st march<br /> 6.30 pm 'Why Buddha Speaks to Me Through Ghalib' by Prof. Ashok Lal<br />
Born in a family of Urdu poets and literateurs (English, Urdu/Hindi) and civil servants, Ashok Lal learnt ‘aadaab’ (appreciation) of ‘Urdu shairee’ (poetry) from childhood, thanks to the frequent exposure to ‘nashists’ (Soiree) and ‘mushairas’ (social gatherings to read Urdu poetry). He started writing poetry, mainly Mazaahiya Kalaam while still a teenager. He pursued his academic studies in Science and Management and later a successful career in international business management for over two decades. After retiring from management he took up writing and teaching. He was Professor of Communication and Strategic Management at leading B-schools<br />
Ashok’s creative urges also found expression in scripting, directing, acting, and voicing over- for stage, cinema, electronic and print media. He has also written some significant plays ‘Ek Mamuli Admi’ ‘Nahar Singh’, Classical Chinese plays- Cheeni Chashni, which have been performed at prestigious platforms nationally and internationally. <br /> His books include publications for Rural, Urban and Continuing Education programmes; translations of Ikeda’s ‘The World is Yours to Change’ and Makiguchi’s ‘Education for Creative Life’<br />
His active interest in poetry endured with a limited audience consisting of his elder brothers (Subodh ‘Saqi’ and Pramod ‘Yakta’), father, Vinod ‘Talib’ and Kaifi Azmi. With their guidance, Ashok had matured into a serious poet. He has written nazms, ghazals and geets for festive occasions like Holi and Mehndi, besides lyrics for his plays, Tazmeens and, lately, Dohas. <br /> In the nineties. Ashok took to Buddhism and his poetry also took a new turn. He found that a Buddhist precept would lead to a couplet by Ghalib and vice-versa. The fascinating and intense connection between the sage and the poet found expression in his tazmeens of a few of Ghalib’s couplets. This led to an essay/book on the subject,- ‘Buddha Ghalib’ and a play ‘The Enemy Within’, based on the Buddhist legend of India’s ancient King, Ajatshatru.<br /> Ashok lives in New Delhi with his wife, Kumkum, a known exponent of Odissi dance.</div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-3500426252216065092014-03-07T06:45:00.002-08:002014-03-07T06:45:57.779-08:00My book on the Progressive Writers' Movement in Urdu, pub by OUP<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<img alt="Photo: Here's the cover of Liking Progress, Loving Change, OUP, pp 576, Rs 1495" class="scaledImageFitWidth img" height="450" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/t1/923116_635501189830404_133238899_n.jpg" width="307" /><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Delighted to announce that my ph d on the progressive writers' movement in Urdu has been published by the Oxford University Press. Here's a first look at the cover; some advance copies are available at the Book Fair and at Amazon:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Liking-Progress-Loving-Change-Progressive/dp/0198096739" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.amazon.ca/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>Liking-Progress-Loving-Change-P</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>rogressive/dp/0198096739</a></span></div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-17064559070200303472014-03-07T06:37:00.001-08:002014-03-07T06:37:43.898-08:00My book on Dr Rashid Jahan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<img alt="Photo: Friends, I am delighted to announce my latest book, a literary biography of Dr Rashid Jahan, being published by Women Unlimited in association with IGNCA." class="img" height="504" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1/p350x350/1901148_643294165717773_1995960039_n.jpg" style="left: 0px;" width="336" /><br />
<br />Friends, I am delighted to announce my latest book, a literary biography of Dr Rashid Jahan, being published by Women Unlimited in association with IGNCA. <br />
<br />Despite a brief and slender literary career, Rashid Jahan blazed like a meteor in the progressive firmament of pre-and post-Independence India. Doctor, writer, political activist, crusading member of the Communist Party of India, Rashid Jahan was radical in a way that defied all expectations -- from her social class, her comrades, her peers and colleagues.<br />
In a remarkably perceptive, richly detailed account of this pioneering woman, Rakhshanda Jalil offers readers an unusual document: a warm and informed biography -- based on archival material, extensive interviews and critical commentaries -- together with fine translations of Rashid Jahan's best known stories and plays.<br />
Through a subtle counterpointing of Rashid Jahan's political purpose with her literary and professional skills and sensibility, Jalil paints an arresting portrait of a woman deeply and passionately engaged with the great debates of her time: fascism, imperialism, nationalism, socialism and feminism. This intense engagement is reflected in every facet of her life and literature, as they unfold here in vivid and compelling prose.<br />
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Rakhshanda Jalil is a writer, critic and literary historian. Her published work comprises edited anthologies, among them a selection of Pakistani women writers entitled, Neither Night Nor Day; and a collection of esssays on Delhi, Invisible City: she is co-author of Partners in Freedom: Jamia Millia Islamia and Journey to a Holy Land: A Pilgrim’s Diary. She is also a well-known translator, with eight published translations of Premchand, Asghar Wajahat, Saadat Hasan Manto, Shahryar, Intezar Hussain and Phanishwarnath Renu. <br />
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Demy 8vo ISBN: 978-81-88965-86-1 Rs. 395 Pp 246+xx <br />
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Published in association with <br />
the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts<br />
C.V Mess, Janpath, New Delhi- 110001</div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-37986899588079115772014-01-18T09:32:00.003-08:002014-01-18T09:32:48.733-08:00A curtain-raiser for my new book on Dr Rashid Jahan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Caravan has published this article by Aamer Hussein about my new book on Dr Rashid Jahan. Called <strong>A Rebel and Her Cause: The Life and Work of Dr Rashid Jahan</strong>, it has been published by Women Unlimited and is expected out by mid-February...<br />
<a href="http://caravanmagazine.in/books/good-doctor" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://caravanmagazine.in/books/good-doctor</a><br />
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Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-22400538547874726112014-01-01T09:38:00.001-08:002014-01-01T09:38:20.740-08:00Jashn-e-Urdu, Patna, 4-5 Jan 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Dear Friends and Well-wishers of Urdu,</span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><br /> I take great pleasure in informing you that the Govt of Bihar is organising an Urdu Literary Festival, called Jashn-e-Urdu, on 4-5 January 2014<br /> in Patna. I have conceptualised and coordinated the festival on behalf of Hindustani Awaaz, a small organisation that I have been running since 2002 to position and promote Hindustani zubaan and tehzeeb. Please join us in Patna as we ring in the new year with this Jashn-e-Urdu.<br /><br /> The venue is Premchand Rangshala; the events include panel discussions, film screenings, book mela, ghazal gayaki by Radhika Chopra and a play by Tom Alter. All are welcome. The festivities begin on 4th Jan from 11.00 am onwards. The details are as follows:<br />
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Inauguration of Kitab Mela by the Chief Minister Mr Nitish
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lunch (1.00-2.00 pm)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Session II: Shabab
se Inquilab Tak: Urdu Shayri ke Badalte Andaaz (2.00-3.30 pm)<o:p></o:p></u></i></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Moderator:
Anwar Pasha</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Kaleem Ajis</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 72.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Razi Ahmad</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 72.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Alimullah Hali</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 72.25pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Aslam Azad</div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tea (3.30-4.00 pm)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Session III: Bihar
Mein Afsane ki Rivayat: Fasane se Afsane Tak ka <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Safar (4.00-5.00 pm)<o:p></o:p></u></i></div>
<br />
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Moderator: Khurshid Akram</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 72.25pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Shafi Javed</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 72.25pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Shamoil Ahmad</div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Abdus Samad</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 72.25pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Zakiya Mashhadi</div>
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Cultural programme: Sham-e-Ghazal by Dr Radhika Chopra, at
Premchand Rangshala, Rajendra Nagar, Patna</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">5 January 2014,
Sunday</b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Session IV:
Mussarrat Se Baseerat Tak (9.30 -11.00 am)<o:p></o:p></u></i></div>
<br />
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Moderator: Mosharraf Alam Zauqui</div>
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Fakhruddin Arfi<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 72.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Ashraf <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fareed</div>
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Khursheed Akbar<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 72.25pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Moshtaque A Noorie</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tea: 11.00-11.30</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Session V: Sheri Nashist</u></i></div>
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(Names not in order of sequence) KaleemAjiz, Noman Shauque,
Alam Khurshid, Khalid Ebadi, Khursheed Talab, Rashid Taraz, Razi Ahmad Tanha,
Jowsar Ayagh, Ain Tabish, Shamim Quasmi, Tariq Mateen, Jamal Owaisi,
KehkashanTabassum , Quasim Khursheed, Abhay Kumar Bebak, Sultan Akhtar<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lunch: 1.00-2.00 pm</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Session VI:
Hindi-Urdu-Hindustani: Zubaan ke Buniyadi Masail (2.00-3.30 pm)<o:p></o:p></u></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
Moderator: Khurshid Akram</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 72.25pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Hussainul Haq</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 72.25pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Alok Dhanwa</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 72.25pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Shafi Mashhadi</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 72.25pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Razi Ahmad Tanha<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Cultural Programme: Maulana
Azad: A play by Tom Alter, produced and directed by M Sayeed Alam</b></div>
</div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-26064946368363295042013-11-22T02:30:00.002-08:002014-01-18T09:29:34.926-08:00New Urdu Writings: reviews and newspaper articles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Here are some newspaper reports about New Urdu Writings:<br />
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<a href="http://tntmagazine.in/culture/book-on-contemporary-urdu-writings-from-india-pakistan/">http://tntmagazine.in/culture/book-on-contemporary-urdu-writings-from-india-pakistan/</a><br />
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<a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/633859/book-launch-new-urdu-writings-from-india-and-pakistan/">http://tribune.com.pk/story/633859/book-launch-new-urdu-writings-from-india-and-pakistan/</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/urdu-across-the-border/1196988/">http://www.indianexpress.com/news/urdu-across-the-border/1196988/</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.kashmirtimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=25512#.Uo12-h5vkto.email">http://www.kashmirtimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=25512#.Uo12-h5vkto.email</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.sunday-guardian.com/young-restless/reviving-the-legacy-of-urdu-through-indo-pak-literature">http://www.sunday-guardian.com/young-restless/reviving-the-legacy-of-urdu-through-indo-pak-literature</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-20/books/44283773_1_stories-new-book-language">http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-20/books/44283773_1_stories-new-book-language</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCXKX0-QYOk&feature=youtube_gdata">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCXKX0-QYOk&feature=youtube_gdata</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.themetrognome.in/columns/enough-said/as-the-book-launch-season-approaches">http://www.themetrognome.in/columns/enough-said/as-the-book-launch-season-approaches</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140105/spectrum/book3.htm">http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140105/spectrum/book3.htm</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.asianage.com/books/writing-literary-borders-286">http://www.asianage.com/books/writing-literary-borders-286</a></div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-50124508979739808762013-11-08T09:38:00.002-08:002013-11-08T09:41:23.717-08:00invite to the launch of my new book, 18 nov<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #343434; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><img alt="Photo: Please do come." class="img" height="281" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/p480x480/1463168_590982077615649_1851741421_n.jpg" style="left: -16px;" width="400" /></span></div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-71898208383871045822013-10-31T03:59:00.003-07:002013-10-31T03:59:57.045-07:00Invite for Hindustani Awaaz event<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">All RUMI lovers, listen up...<br /><br /> Fahmida Riaz, feminist, poet and writer, will speak about Rumi in our monthly series 'Why It Speaks to Me'.<br /><br /> Her talk will be followed by a Q&A session moderated by Subodh Lal.<br /><br /> Organised by Hindustani Awaaz in collaboration with the Attic.<br /> Date: Thursday, 31 Oct<br /> Time: 6.30 pm sharp<br /> Venue: The Attic, Regal Building, Connaught Place, New Delhi<br /><br /> Please join us for Tea at 6.00 pm.</span></div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-23231222272785024742013-10-21T10:56:00.001-07:002013-10-21T10:56:49.011-07:00My New Book, NEW URDU WRITINGS: FROM INDIA & PAKISTAN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Another new book, a collection of Urdu short stories, edited by me. Called NEW URDU WRITINGS: FROM INDIA AND PAKISTAN, it has 30 stories reflecting the best of contemporary Urdu fiction. Published by Westland, it will be formally launched in November. Meanwhile, it is available on Flipkart and other online stores as well as major bookstores in India. Here is a link:<br />
<a href="http://www.flipkart.com/new-urdu-writings-india-pakistan/p/itmdp45w4fk9trfy?pid=9789383260379&otracker=from-search&srno=t_6&query=rakshanda+jalil&ref=cf7e648a-8a7d-4036-9a4f-20cf09be56a6">http://www.flipkart.com/new-urdu-writings-india-pakistan/p/itmdp45w4fk9trfy?pid=9789383260379&otracker=from-search&srno=t_6&query=rakshanda+jalil&ref=cf7e648a-8a7d-4036-9a4f-20cf09be56a6</a><br />
<br />
<br />
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<img border="0" id="back_cover" src="http://www.westlandbooks.in/book_image/th3_front_9789383260379.JPG" style="border: 0px currentColor;" /><br />
<h3 class="item_desc_title fk-uppercase">
New Urdu Writings from India & Pakistan (Paperback) Price: Rs.328</h3>
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This could easily be for audiences who read in both languages: Hindi and English. Further with Sufism coming up on the charts in music and films, this anthology could well become a favorite with those who are passionate about the sensibilities in the subcontinent: India, Pakistan and even Bangladesh. The sense of a great literary tradition and emotions which are similar. As the editor of this collection, Rakhshanda Jalil makes it amply clear in the Introduction It will make very little difference if you read this book from back to front or the other, more conventional way, around and puts the 30 stories from India and Pakistan in the context of a shared language involving similar emotions. If in the Mourner of the Feet, an itinerant shoe witnesses an adulterous wife with merciless hips conducting her marital life, in Revulsion a young boy chances upon the sexual escapades of an ageing maid with young servant boys, almost mirroring the desperation of the household ; in Joginder Pauls story, the futility of war between countries throws up a tragic-comic situation involving the picture of a girl child, even as a father awaiting his sons arrival on an airplane fervently prays for his co-travellers in Mansha Yads story; Laila in Jeelani Banos Empty Bottles is urban affluent and decidedly rejects her poetic lover for the comforts in her parents home and Sonu in Tarannum Riyazs City struggles to care for his infant sister and a dead mother in their fortified and spacious flat; Farzana blames her burqa for her transgression involving the murder of her children while Noor Bano is forcibly married to the Holy Quran and defiantly. </div>
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Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-86816784917772014992013-10-21T10:29:00.003-07:002013-10-21T10:29:59.297-07:00My new book, Excelsior: The Story of Wynberg-Allen School<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here is the cover of my new book, Excelsior: the Story of Wynberg-Allen School, published by Niyogi Books. The book celebrates the history of this 125-year old institution and revisits the legacy of Anglo-Indian schools to the Indian school system:<br />
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<img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" class="spotlight" height="960" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1379732_572919659421891_480314197_n.jpg" style="height: 578px; width: 524px;" width="872" /></div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-46752852263701206402013-09-23T04:09:00.002-07:002013-09-23T04:09:44.675-07:00Mera Paigham Mohabbat Hai, 26 Sept: Invite<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hindustani Awaaz, in collaboration with the Attic and SAHMAT, takes great pleasure in inviting you to an evening of poetry recitations.<br />
<br />
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<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_1858" style="color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_1857" style="font-size: 18px;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_1856" style="color: mediumblue;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_1855" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;"><strong id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_1854">THE ATTIC 36 REGAL BUILDINGS, NEW DELHI </strong><strong> TEL: 23746050</strong></span></span></span><br /><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_1910" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_1909" style="font-size: 12px;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_1908" style="color: mediumblue;"><a href="http://www.theatticdelhi.org/" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_1907" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_1906" style="color: #2862c5;">www.theatticdelhi.org</span></a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;"> </span><br /><br /><br /><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_1914" style="font-size: 18px;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_1913" style="font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;"><span style="color: mediumblue;"><strong>thursday 26<sup>th</sup> september</strong></span><br /><strong id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_1912">6.30 pm “Mera paighaam mohabbat hai” organized by </strong><strong>Hindustani Awaaz & SAHMAT</strong><br /> <br /> An evening with SAHMAT – to coincide with the three-day seminar on Secularism and the Arts -- where Saif Mahmood, Panini Anand and Kanishka Prasad take you through a journey of the pluralistic landscape and secular ethos of Urdu and Hindi poetry.<br /> <br /><strong>Saif Mahmood</strong><br /> Saif Mahmood is a New Delhi-based litigating and corporate lawyer, holding a doctorate in Comparative Constitutional Laws in South Asia. He speaks and writes on diverse issues ranging from law to literature. Founder of the online group, South Asian Alliance for Literature, Art & Culture (SAALARC), he remembers most of his Ghalib, Iqbal and Faiz by heart, recites them effortlessly and translates them into English cautiously. Saif has been associated with both Hindustani Awaaz and SAHMAT. He blogs on <a href="http://theatticdelhi.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3bb1e65099516e717c4420d8f&id=cb96dc4cc4&e=62404a8a8f" rel="nofollow" style="color: #336699; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><em>besabab.wordpress.com</em></a> and is currently writing a series on Urdu poets of Delhi titled <em>“Dilli jo ek sheher tha”</em>.<br /> <br /> <br /><strong>Panini Anand</strong><br /> A fearless journalist and courageous writer, Panini Anand, has been involved in theatre, documentaries, puppet shows, songs and poetry for mass movements and people’s struggles for more than a decade. He has frequently aroused audiences with his heart-warming recitation of prominent as well as lesser-known Hindi poets alike.<br /> <br /><strong>Kanishka Prasad</strong><br /> Architect by profession, photographer by passion, peoples’ rights activist in practice and romantic at heart, Kanishka Prasad is almost omnipresent when it comes to literature, art and culture. His mobile handset is a repository of Hindustani poetry and his calendar reads like a <em id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379934131997_2023">Delhi Diary</em>. Having inherited a rich cultural, literary and academic milieu, Kanishka has been involved with SAHMAT since childhood.</span></span></div>
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Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-40192432190770971212013-09-23T04:06:00.001-07:002013-09-23T04:06:08.043-07:00A Seminar on Secularism, followed by poetry readings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="userContent" id="yui_3_7_2_58_1379932729076_66">Friends, I have helped put together a seminar on Secularism with SAHMAT. The seminar will be from 26-28 Sept at the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi. The details are given below. Do try and come for some of the sessions. </span></div>
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<span class="userContent" id="yui_3_7_2_58_1379932729076_71">Also, join us on the evening of 26th September at the Attic, Regal Building to hear Saif Mahmood, Panini Anand and Kanishka Prasad recite poetry in a programme entitled 'Mera Paigham Mohabbat Hai'.</span> This part of the programme is in collaboration with Hindustani Awaaz and the Attic.</div>
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All are welcome.</div>
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Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-30494829417683630602013-09-21T13:43:00.004-07:002013-09-21T13:43:58.516-07:00On Faiz and the vexing issue of copyright, in The Hindu, 22 September<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here is my article on Faiz and the issues concerning his copyright...<br />
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<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/being-fair-to-faiz/article5149505.ece?homepage=true">http://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/being-fair-to-faiz/article5149505.ece?homepage=true</a></div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-22347822634337726742013-09-03T00:21:00.002-07:002013-09-03T00:21:19.689-07:00Pages from Mamu's Autograph Book, circa 1947<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Flipping through the pages of my Mamu's ancient, somewhat battered Autograph Book (Mamu is Masha Allah close to 75 years of age), I came across this little nugget by Sahir Ludhianvi, written in his own hand:<br /><br /> <em>Hameen se rang-e-gulistan, hameen se rang-e-bahar<br /> Hameen ko nazm-e-gulistan pe ikhtiyar nahiin</em><br /><br /> </span><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Btw, Mamu's Autograph Book contains gems from some of the greatest writers, thinkers, poets, teachers of his times including the one much-quoted one by Zakir sahib,<em> 'Jo kaam karo dil laga kar karo; agar woh iss qabil hai ke kiya jaye to iss qabil bhi hai ke dil laga ke kiya jaye.'</em></span><br />
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<br />
<br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Here's another gem from Mamu's Autograph Book; this one is by his own father, Ale Ahmad Suroor and is dated October 1947:<br /><br /> <em>Kaash tumhe hum se achcha zamana mile aur uss zamane ke badalne mein tumhara bhi hissa ho. Mulk aur qaum se mutalba kum karo; usse do bahut kuchch. Yeh baat mushkil hai magar badi baat hai.</em><br /></span><br />
And another treasure, a sher by his father Ale Ahmad Suroor:<br />
<br /><em>Har ek jannat ke raste ho ke dozakh se nikalte hain<br />Unnhi ka haq hai phoolon pe jo angaron pe chalte hain</em><br />
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<em>Haqayaq unn se takra kar naye pahloo badalte hain<br />Bade hii sakht jaan hote hain jo khwaabon pe palte hain</em></div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-74125898724789726412013-09-03T00:00:00.002-07:002013-09-03T00:00:07.931-07:00On Bhimbhetka, in The Hindu, 1 September 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My article on Bhimbhetka, near Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in The Hindu, 1 September 2013. It begins with these lines by Ijlal Majeed, the Urdu poet from Bhopal:<br />
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<em>Jangal jangal phire darinda</em><br />
<em>Gharon mein but garhe darinda</em><br />
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<a href="http://m.thehindu.com/features/magazine/rocks-of-ages/article5075148.ece/">http://m.thehindu.com/features/magazine/rocks-of-ages/article5075148.ece/</a></div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-51915469531680515032013-08-25T01:04:00.002-07:002013-08-25T01:04:13.031-07:00Invite for 29 Aug: Why Sahir Ludhianvi Speaks to Me<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Dear Friends, I am delighted to announce the next event in the Hindustani Awaaz series 'Why it Speaks to me'.</span><br /><br /><span> Pervaiz Alam, broadcaster-journalist-academi</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>c, will tell us why Sahir Ludhianvi 'speaks' to him on Thursday, 29 August 2013.<br /><br /> Venue: The Attic, Regal Building, Connaught place, New Delhi<br /> Time: 6.30 pm sharp<br /><br /> Please join us for Tea at 6.00 pm.<br /><br /> All are invited.</div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-90928307563599612012013-08-16T01:15:00.002-07:002013-08-16T01:15:43.391-07:00On Intizar Husain -- in the Crest, Times of India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On Intizar sahib, one of the greatest chroniclers of our time, in the Crest, Times of India:<br />
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<a href="http://www.timescrest.com/culture/when-shoelaces-speak-10738">http://www.timescrest.com/culture/when-shoelaces-speak-10738</a></div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-17609449861781896422013-08-16T01:13:00.002-07:002013-08-16T01:13:21.712-07:00About Iftaar in my mother's house -- in the DNA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Posting a few weeks' old article about iftaar in my mother's house -- shared by a reporter from the DNA<br />
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<a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1866563/report-delhi-no-meat-yet-a-feast">http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1866563/report-delhi-no-meat-yet-a-feast</a></div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-32678605729114645672013-08-16T00:57:00.001-07:002013-08-16T00:57:01.841-07:00How It Happened -- review of new book by Shazaf Fatima<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On arranged marriages and Shia-Sunni rifts in Pakistan...<br />
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<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-literaryreview/living-life-the-arranged-way/article4986492.ece">http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-literaryreview/living-life-the-arranged-way/article4986492.ece</a></div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-77755819339573944872013-06-04T04:14:00.004-07:002013-06-04T04:14:57.851-07:00Syed Rafiq Hussain's The Mirror of Wonders: A review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Mirror of Wonders and other tales</span></i><span style="color: #00b050; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> by Syed Rafiq Hussain, Translated by Saleem Kidwai, Yoda Press,
New Delhi, 2013, Rs 250, pp. 165.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Syed Rafiq Hussain’s
literary career was as remarkable as it was brief. A challenge issued by his
younger sister and daughter spurred him to write in Urdu, a language he could
barely read. Claiming that the ‘difference between English and Urdu literature
was like that between a spinning wheel and a cotton mill or a bullock cart and
a train’, he felt no need to read Urdu fiction. Yet, he chose to pick up the
gauntlet thrown by his sister and daughter and write something to improve the
prevailing standard! Replete with spelling mistakes, Hussain wrote the outlines
of his stories in a mixture of Urdu and English. He would bring the drafts,
written in his unformed Urdu handwriting, to the two ladies who would go over
it painstakingly and insert Urdu phrases for the English ones. His niece
recalls those frenetic sessions: ‘Between him, his sister and daughter there
was a special bond; they also played an intellectual game between themselves
where each had to tell a tale which made an assigned impossible situation
probable.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hussain’s first short
story, ‘Kalua’, was about a dog. In a short autobiographical sketch, he reveals
the method behind his seeming madness: ‘Before I wrote [‘Kalua’] I walked all
those streets and lanes of Lucknow where Kalua had wandered. The details of the
railway crossing at Aish Bagh, where Kalua sniffs at the corpse of his mentor
Bucha are still etched in my mind.’ Hussain wrote over a span of less than a
decade, crafting his stories during his spells of unemployment and never
accepted remuneration for any of his stories. He died of cancer in 1944; his
first collection, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Aina-e-Hairat</i> (‘The
Mirror of Wonders’) was published a fortnight after his death. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Hussain’s personal life
was unconventional, to say the least. Born in 1895, he lost his mother at the
age of seven; after some haphazard home tutoring and erratic schooling, he ran
away from home. He reached Bombay with a bundle of books on mathematics and two
sets of clothes, worked as a coolie in a foundry, carried iron for 12 hours a
day, ate at roadside eateries and studied. Eventually, he took admission in an
Engineering College in Bombay, was reunited with his family and after quitting
several jobs found himself working on the Sharada canal in the Terai region. The
Terai exercised a spell over him and appeared in his writings in all its
vastness and mystery. Its densely forested tracts, its ravines and gullies, its
valleys crisscrossed by many rivulets and the animals, especially the tigers,
that had made it their home for centuries appear in this collection in a manner
that is startlingly new even for English readers; when they first appeared in
Urdu they must have charted unknown territory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For someone who claimed
to hate animals and never kept pets, Hussain showed a keen eye for detail in
describing the behaviour of animals. Also, for someone who claimed to have read
‘four or five’ Urdu books, his stories established his reputation as a prose
stylist and master story teller; the fact that this reputation rested on the
eight stories included in the collection that, incidentally, comprised his entire
ouvre, is no small feat. Combining the lyricism of William Wordsworth’s nature
poetry with the exactitude of Jim Corbett’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">shikar</i>
stories,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> The Mirror of Wonder and Other
Tales </i>is quite unlike anything in the repository of modern Urdu literature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">‘Unfortunately, my
intelligence and the fickleness of my temperament had ruined me,’ Hussain writes
with no trace of false modesty. And elsewhere, he admits: ‘I am a small man, I
am true, I am mad, I am crazy. Whatever I am, here I am.’ Arrogant and
enigmatic, yes, but also immensely talented and profoundly philosophical as is
borne out by these stories that deserve to be read at leisure rather than
described in a few short sentences for the purpose of this review. Yoda Press
is to be congratulated for re-discovering these hidden gems, immaculately
translated by Saleem Kidwai.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330882147491504000.post-49154803479781184442013-05-29T00:18:00.003-07:002013-05-29T00:18:53.722-07:00Invite for Hindustani Awaaz programme, 30 May, at the Attic<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
All are welcome. Please see details below...<br />
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thursday 30th may<br /> 6.30 pm Tarannum Riyaz will speak on 'Why Qurratulain Hyder and her epic novel, Aag ka Darya, speaks to me'.<br /><br /> 'Monthly Monologue: Why it Speaks to Me?' <br /><span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show"> <br /> Hindustani Awaaz, in collaboration with The Attic, presents a monthly series of monologues: Poetry, literature, short stories, plays, essays, nazms, ghazals. A series of eclectic speakers will present/sing/recite their favourite Urdu text and explain why the text ‘speaks’ to them the way it does. We hope this series will highlight a neglected aspect of the Delhi cultural scene.<br /><br /> Qurratulain Hyder was an influential Urdu novelist, short story writer, academic and a journalist. One of the most outstanding literary names in Urdu literature, she began writing at a time when the novel was yet to take deep roots as a serious genre in the poetry-oriented world of Urdu literature. She instilled in it a new sensibility and brought into its fold strands of thought and imagination hitherto unexplored.<br /><br /> She graduated from IT College, Lucknow and moved to Pakistan in 1947, then lived in England before finally returning to India in 1960.<br /><br /> She is best known for her magnum opus, Aag Ka Darya (River of Fire), a novel first published in Urdu in 1959, from Lahore, Pakistan, that stretches from the 4th century BC to post partition of India.<br /><br /> She received the 1967 Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for Patjhar Ki Awaz (Short stories), 1989 Jnanpith Award for Akhire Shab Ke Humsafar. She also received the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India in 2005. <br /><br /><br /> Tarannum Riyaz is a Kashmiri novelist, poet, critic, columnist, short story writer and essayist; she writes in Urdu and Punjabi. Her works include Barf Aashna Parindey (novel, 2009); Mera Rakhte Safar (short stories, 2008); Fareb-e-Khitta-e-Gul (four novellas, 2008); Purani Kitaabon ki Khusbhu (poetry, 2005); Chashme Naqshe Kadam (critical essays, 2005); Beeswi Sadi Mein Khawateen Ka Urdu Adab (anthology, 2005); Moorti (novel, 2002); Yimberzal (short stories; 2002); Ababeelain Laut Aaengi (short stories, 2000); and Yeh Tang Zameen (short stories,1998). Tarranum Riyaz is the recepient of several awards.</span></div>
Rakhshanda Jalilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05168860271295508065noreply@blogger.com0