Shahbaz Sharif restored as Punjab CM

Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif – AFP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended its earlier ruling barring former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother from holding elected office, and restored their government in key province of Punjab.

‘The operation of the February 25 order has been suspended,’ Judge Tassaquq Hussain Jilani told the court allowing Shahbaz Sharif, who was chief minister of Punjab, to resume office.

Lahore is burning

Raza Rumi

[reportedly] 27 dead and dozens injured – no respite for us.

Once again, in less than a month Lahore has been ravaged by terrorists. Who said that Pakistan was a hub of terrorism – we are now the greatest victim of terror and militancy. The residents of Lahore are scared and the vibrant city seems to be enveloped in a mist of uncertainty and fear.

The Mumbai and later Lahore 3/3 model seems to be in vogue now. Extremely well trained commandos, with sophisticated weapons  and not afraid of death are let loose on the society. The media is hysterical as well and following the Indian media’s cue[s] is now a participant and embedded in the so-called operation.

Madhu Lal – festival of lights

LAHORE: A number of devotees have thronged to the shrine of sufi saint Hazrat Shah Hussain, also known as Shah Hussain Lahori and Madhu Lal Hussain, to mark the three-day urs of the Festival of Lights. courtesy daily times

Kafi Shah Hussain

Below are Part I and Part II of recordings of the Kafi of the Sufi poet Shah Hussain sung by the late Ustad Nazir Butt.

Mela Chiraghan begins with traditional fervour

Shah Hussain (1538-1599) was a Punjabi poet and a saint. He was the pioneer of the Kafi form of Punjabi poetry.

By: Rana Latif | Published in The Nation March 29, 2009

LAHORE – Mela Chiraghan, festival of light marking the 421st annual Urs of Hazrat Shah Hussain (RA), a saint with a different trait and a mystic poet of Punjabi with distinction, commonly known as Madhu Lal Hussain who lived in Lahore in 16th century (1538-1599), began with traditional fervour at Shalimar, Saturday evening.
It is perhaps the biggest festival of Punjab after the Urs of Data Ganj Bakhsh (RA) and Baba Farid (RA) of Pakpattan. Mela Chiraghan has many distinctions particularly the singing of ‘kafi’ of Shah Hussain in Punjab, who was perhaps the pioneer of Kafi that carried rich intellectual and spiritual values.
He himself sang his own kafis before the people bringing big applause. His kafis reflect the defiant attitude and independence of thought, away from the contemporary thoughts of religious and social hierarchy. The whirling dervishes on the tunes of drums sing kafis at the Mela. It is a rare event of whirling and dancing on the beats of drum. Its rhythm is a heart catching as Shah Hussain’s Kafis carry rich musical values and element of entertainment, liked by folk of Punjab.

People’s history of the Punjab: When parrots and peacocks perched on the Peelu

Dr Manzur Ejaz  writes in The Friday Times about the ecology of the province, before and after the canal colonization of the British Raj

Invaders and colonizers can entirely change the landscape and ecological system of an area. Several studies have shown how the European colonizers changed the ecology and natural habitat of the New England area of the US where they landed first. Unfortunately, any such concerted study about the Punjab has not been found, if it exists at all. Nonetheless, for such an important aspect of human development and sustainability collective efforts should be made to gather and consolidate information. Every plant, shrub or tree has a history of nature and human interaction with it.Invaders

To start with my own experience with the landscape of Punjab of 1950-60s, after about 35 years of colonization, there were still patches of land amidst the cultivated area which showed the remnants of the native landscape. Furthermore, the baselines – a no-man’s patch of land to separate the boundaries of villages – had also some of the shrubs and trees of the pre-colonial era. As I would go to our farm land or travel to my school, passing through several villages, I would come across the indigenous plantation contrasting with the alien plantation of colonizers.

Another sensational article on Lahore

I am posting this piece not because it has anything new to offer but as yet another specimen of exaggerated reporting on Pakistan. Comments are welcome. Raza Rumi

With each act of terrorism, cultural life in Pakistan suffers another deadly blow.

By Shahan Mufti – GlobalPost

Published: March 23, 2009 06:57 ET

LAHORE — Pakistan’s second city, widely considered to be the country’s cultural capital, is undergoing gradual but unsettling change.

For hundreds if not thousands of years a bastion of social and cultural life for not only the region but the world, the city has become a soft target for those who disagree with the Pakistani government and its policies, or with society at large.

A down-to-earth explanation of the current financial downturn

Sent by friend Q. Isa Daupota

(Phajja is a famous seller of siri paya and nihari in old, walled city of Lahore.)

Phajja is the proprietor of a Siri-Paya and Nehari Shop in Lahore . Sales are low and, in order to increase them, he comes up with a plan to allow his customers to eat now and pay later. He keeps track of the meals consumed on a ledger.

The historic Lahore murder

Nasim Yousaf (Pakistan Observer)

March 19, 1940, the day of the Khaksar massacre in Lahore, was among the most momentous and horrendous days in the history of British India’s freedom movement. On this tragic day, 313 unwavering and indomitable Khaksars marched in protest in the streets of Lahore against the ban on their legitimate activities. It was a thrilling sight when the robust Khaksars, standing tall in their spotless, starched khaki uniforms with sparkling spades on their shoulders, headed in formation towards their final destination, Badshahi Mosque, to offer prayers. By defying the ban, these followers of Allama Mashriqi had challenged the imperialist power of the time, the British Empire.

Weather, lax vigilance encourage enthusiasts: Mini-Basant celebrations start

By Nauman Tasleem

LAHORE: Pleasant weather and the government’s lenient attitude towards kite flyers have given citizens an opportunity to celebrate Basant again.

Kite enthusiasts started flying kites on Saturday afternoon and indulged themselves in the sport until late at night. Neither the police nor the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) took any action against the kite flyers. However, an official from the Punjab Police Department was of the view that people had been warned and were being nabbed for kite flying, while a CDGL official said the district government was helpless in taking action as no citizen lodged complaints against the people flying kites.

It’s time for Lahore’s 4th Critical Mass cycling event

The Long March Rap

This in from friend Sami Shah who hosts News Weakly on Dawn TV. Absolutely brilliant. He takes “the Long March to 8 Mile.” And nails it!

You can view more of Sami’s News Weakly clips on his Youtube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/newsweakly

Attack of the Clichéd byline

Benjamin Franklin once wrote that were only two universal constants: Death & Taxes. In Pakistan, once can safely add a third: the clichéd byline. Ever summer, for instance, you can bet your last Rupee someone will write an article on mangoes called “King of Fruit” in which Ghalib’s famed love of the tasty produce will be mentioned. Another other clichéd byline also comes every summer as a caption to a photograph showing children/women/men/birds drinking water. The caption will read: “Beating the Heat.” Classic.

I now introduce you to the third cliched byline. This one makes its annual appearance every March and is a reference to the unsolicited advice given to one J. Caesar just before some Roman Senators decided to make Swiss Cheese out of him. The award goes to Ikram Sehgal for, wait for it,

“Beware of the ides of March.”

“A Staggering Multicultural Achievement”

Fawad Zakariya writes here

Lahore, where I grew up, is a city full of shrines and mausoleums of saints with each of these hundreds of sites tended to by dedicated keepers and visited in large numbers by devotees, particularly for the annual urs celebration. Each saint has their own legend and mythology and locals keep these traditions alive primarily through oral story-telling. Even when you move beyond the large and well known destinations, like the tomb (‘mazar’) of Data Ganj Baksh Ali Hajveri (the 11th century sufi who is virtually the patron saint of Lahore) or that of Hazrat Mian Mir (the 16th century saint deeply venerated by Jahangir and Shahjehan and whose tomb was constructed by Shahjehan’s son, the poet-prince Dara Shikoh), there is an endless stream of people who visit lesser known but no less fascinating shrines of saints whose stories read like something out of Arabian nights.

The history of Basant

Manzoor has authored a great post on Basant. We are cross posting it here – given that many Lahore Nama visitors are talking of Basant and expressing their great enthusiasm for the festival.  Raza Rumi (ed)

Basant is a centuries old cultural tradition of Punjab. Over the years, it gained an element of controversy as the fundamentalism wiped the norms of tolerance and co-existence in our society. Disregard of law and for the lives of fellow citizens turned it into a bloody sport.

Recently I came across a book “URS AUR MELAY” by Aman Ullah Khan Arman, published by Kitab Manzil Lahore in 1959. I am reproducing the chapter on Basant (p.276-277) here: “Basant (a Sanskrit word for spring) is a seasonal festival of Indo-Pak sub-continent and it has no religious bearings. Basant is the herald of the spring and celebrated in winter (Magh) on the fourth or fifth day of lunar month. This is the reason why it is called Basant Panchami. Basant season starts on this day, therefore, Basant is regarded the herald of spring, wheat grows, and mustard blossoms in this season. (Old Aryan tradition divides a year into six seasons each having two months. Mustard blossom that is yellow in color is considered the color of spring and accordingly yellow outfits were worn). 

Aunty Vijay’s house

—Ayeda Naqvi

They once lived across the street from each other. Now they belong to two different countries. Often they don’t get visas to visit with each other. But when they do, it is like they are fifteen again, at a time and in a place when they were no divisions, only trees to be climbed and apples to be picked

As a child, I remember her coming to visit my mother at my grandparents’ Tugluk Lane house in Delhi, where we spent most of our holidays. She was my mother’s best friend from her school days in Srinagar, the sari-clad aunty who always brought two brown paper bags — one for my younger brother and one for me — full of Indian candy (there was no imported candy available in India then).

Muna and I always looked for these paper bags and if we didn’t see them in her hands, we thought something was wrong. But that never happened; as certain as the fact that she would appear the afternoon after we landed was the handing over of these bags — often silently. It had become such a ritual and such a part of our trips to Delhi, I wonder now whether we even thanked her.

Laid-back Lahore faces a frightening future

A chilling Guardian report

There are old pistols and bulls’ heads on the walls, live country and western music, waiters dressed as cowboys. The Gun Smoke restaurant could be anywhere in the world – but this is the exclusive Gulberg district in Lahore.

The whisky bottles are filled with tea. In the Islamic republic of Pakistan, there are only “mocktails” to wash the burgers down. Hassan “Jimmy” Khan is singing Johnny Cash. A 22-year-old economics student with a hippy beard and floppy hair, he has always lived in Lahore: “I love it, I wouldn’t live anywhere else.”

Here, amid the drinkers and diners in jeans and shirts, last week’s terrorist attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team, even though it took place less than a mile away, is forgotten.

Appreciation

Rafay Alam sent me this link on the praise for the two blogs.  It is always nice to know that one is heard and understood. (Raza Rumi -editor)

Now the links given below will illustrate properly I hope ,as to why Pak Tea House and Lahore Nama are balanced voices and need to be on your blogroll.
If you want a sane ,balanced view (we have a shortage of it in India as well,never fear) of Pakistan this is it.

Reclaiming melody – Sachal Studios of Lahore

	Labourers of love: Mushtaq Soofi, Izzat Majeed & Christoph Bracher
	Mian Yusaf Salahuddin’s Haveli, where Tarang was launched
	Revival of the orchestra by Sachal Studios is a landmark in Pakistan’s music industry
	Izzat Majeed: patron of music
	Singers and musicians showcasing their skills at Sachal Studios

Raza Rumi (writing for The Friday Times)

It was a mellow, moonlit evening of Lahore’s glorious spring when Sachal Studios released their album ‘Tarang’. It could not have been at a more fitting venue. Amid the decaying environs of Old Lahore stands the Haveli of Mian Yusaf Salahuddin, refurbished into a little planet of conservation as a courageous effort to protect and rejuvenate Lahore’s cultural soul. Mian Yusuf is the one denizen who has done this good deed for posterity, along with Syed Babar Ali who has conserved his ancestral Mubarak Begum Haveli in Bhaati Gate. Of course, the state has been abject in its failure to conserve Lahore’s majestic heritage.Sachal Studios is the brainchild of international businessman Izzat Majeed and man of letters Mushtaq Soofi, an exceptionally motivated duo. Sachal has infused the local music scene with innovation and energy. It is promoting a hybrid orchestra – once an integral part of the subcontinent’s film music tradition. Since 2003, Majeed, an activist and radical intellectual in a previous avatar, has devoted his time and money to this passion – to create Pakistani melodies in sync with the imperatives of contemporary musical sensibilities.

Started as a labour of love, Sachal Studios has released ‘Tarang,’ a collection of music that brings together the best musicians from all over Pakistan, and Humaira Channa’s competent voice. Of late, Channa has been a victim of commercial success and the quality compromises that define Pakistan’s derelict film music. Sachal’s production is a relief; a fresh departure from the usual, and the melodic results are impressive.

At the Old Lahore Haveli, Channa with her family and associates were accorded the respect they deserve. In a similar vein, immensely talented artists, such as the tabla maestro Billoo Khan and Pakistan’s leading sitar player, Ustad Nafees Ahmed Khan also attracted the attention of the star-studded guest list and Lahore’s usual chatterati. It was on a dimly lit terrace of the Haveli that I was introduced to Izzat Majeed, who looked pleased with himself and his Sachal partners as notes from the latest album mixed with the spring air.

Inspired by the Abbey Road Studios in London, Majeed and Soofi have been working for the last six years with Christoph Bracher, a scion of a German musicians’ family, to design and set up Sachal Studios. A state of the art music studio in Lahore is a landmark, for it heralds a new trend of post-production finesse

The effects of Lahore’s urban sprawl

Yesterday, I posted an article about the LDA’s latest schemes in South Lahore.

Today, I’m posting my column as it appeared in The News:

Behind Lahore’s worsening crisis

Since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team at Lahore’s Liberty Market, nothing seems to make sense anymore. The country and its people appear to be drifting to anarchy and chaos. There is deep political crisis. The presidency has stolen the mandate of the people of Punjab and the Swat peace deal is crumbling at its foundations. A Pakistani Taliban is taking over the northern regions. The economy is in deep slide (getting more IFI financing is not the same as a dynamic economy). Poverty is near 40 percent, and violence, intolerance and extremism are on the rise. Government institutions have failed; others are crumbling fast. The integrity of our armed forces is under question. Even cricket is dead.

We can scream blue murder because it’s broken. We can try and blame one another for breaking it. Or we can set about fixing it. You don’t need to be a genius to do this; or be a natural-born leader of men. You just need to participate. This is our mess. We need to clean it up.