‘Control Room’ — a sensitive portrayal of disturbed mindson November 15, 2018The first thing I noticed while reading Afsanas (short stories) of Irfan Urfi from his book Control Room is his capturing of situational beauty that has profound impact on the characters of his stories. The first story Aik Raat Yun Bhi Hua (it happened one night) is a story of a woman who is growing […]
An ode to motherhoodon October 18, 2018Since our childhood we have heard the phrase ‘Maanwaan Thandian Chaawaan’ (mothers provide shelter in tough times). Poets have come out with many poetry pieces in praise of the institution of motherhood. Recently poet Zahid Fakhri’s Punjabi poem became popular due to its simple expression in emitting love for mothers. He says ‘Jinnah Gharaan Wich […]
Tufail Farooqi —a popular melody maker of the paston April 14, 2018All I remember of Tufail farooqi is having seen him once on Radio Pakistan premises, long time ago. I contacted his brother Akram Farooqi who referred me to his son Imran Farooqi for information on his father’s works and personality. Surfing on the net brought me to some information on Tufail Farooqi’s Punjabi film ‘Choorian’ […]
Of versatility and passion in musicon February 10, 2018It all happened before my own eyes as I used to sing for PTV in those days. Ghulam Abbas sang this national song in such a manner that it became an instant hit and would be telecast many times a day. The video depicting Pakistani urban and rural culture coupled with images of our armed […]
‘Maraahil’ — A critical appraisalon November 28, 2017Dedicated to Malik Maqbool Ahmad whom Amin Rahat Chughtai has never seen in person, the book Maraahil comprises essays on criticism, research and learning. Amin Rahat Chughtai is now 87 years old and is still busy writing research based essays like in the book under review which has 24 essays written by the author. These […]
Naheed Akhtar — ‘Nightingale of Pakistan’on November 27, 2017I remember that two simple looking girls with short shirts and Patiala shalwars with straight hair used to sing folk songs, especially ‘Menu Soda Waater Lei Dei Vei Roj Balma Kehndi’ in Uxi Mufti’s show Lok Tamasha from PTV’s Rawalpindi center. It was the early 1970s and TV transmissions back then were in black and […]
An insight into the folds of ‘Kaghazi Paerahen’on November 15, 2017Printed on fine paper and fully proof-read literary magazine Kaghazi Paerahen is the forte of writer cum critic and Editor Shahid Shaidai. The editorial of the September-October 2017 issue is a bit bitter in terms of its contents and quite different from the personality that Shahid Shaidai carries. He complains that the two groups of […]
‘Manzil Manzil’ — Hafeez Tahir’s Astonishing Tales for Childrenon November 3, 2017The author addresses children aged between 12 to 18 years of age, stating that he travelled back to the days of his childhood while writing this novel. Hafeez Tahir is the most famous and experienced TV Producer & Director, Anchor, Poet, Novelist, Drama Writer, Column Writer, Copy Writer and Still Photographer of his times. Hafeez […]
Remembering a legendon March 14, 2017It has taken me long to write a piece on Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. I decided to separate it in four portions, first one highlighting him as a singer, then as a qawwal, then as a music composer and finally as an international artist. Another discourse is on his international contributions to music. The […]
Mala a voice that shone in films aon October 8, 2016Though we shall continue to mention Mala’s various songs that she rendered for Pakistani films, we must mention “Akaile na jaana” from the movie ‘Armaan’, composed by Sohail Rana. This song was placed during the climax of the film. Waheed Murad and Zeba’s couple became the much-sought after pair after this film, so did […]