Neelma Nahid Durrani is known as a police officer and a popular poet. She has 16 books on poetry, short stories and travelogues to her credit. The titles of her books are ‘Jab Neher Kinare Shaam Dhali’ (sunset near a canal), ‘Jab Tak Ankhain Zinda Hain’ (till eyes are alive), ‘Tumhara Sheher Kaisa Hei’ (how […]
Remembering Sardar Malik
Sardar Malik was a popular music composer of Bollywood in 1950s and 1960s. He was born on 13th of January 1925 in Kapurthala. He came to Bollywood in the 1940s and gave music for over six hundred songs till his demise on January 28, 2006 at the age of 81. As a young lover of […]
Remembering the services of Mustansar Hussain Tarar — an author and travel enthusiast
Mustansar Hussain Tarar is a popular name in literary and television circles of Pakistan. He was born in Ghakhar Mandi on March 1, 1939 at his maternal grandparents’ house but he was raised in Lahore with his other family members. His parents hailed from Mandi Bahauddin. Rehmat Tarar, his father operated a small agricultural seed […]
Bayaan and Hamza Bin Tahir, a music video renaissance
My generation has seen music in the form of 78 speed records with a song each on its either side, then EPs, LPs and then cassettes followed by CDs. The facility provided by internet and computers gradually saw these forms getting into background. Audio listening was necessitated to be complimented by videos to popularize a […]
Remembering the contributions of Zahid Hassan — a Punjabi novelist, short story writer and researcher
I have known Zahid Hassan for almost three decades and have seen him growing in stature as a novelist and a short story writer. Initially he was a poet also. He is also a researcher. Presently in his employment with Lahore University of Management sciences (LUMS) where he conducts research. His designation is Research Associate, […]
The story of writer, editor and publisher Maqsood Saqib’s struggle
This story has been developed on the basis of interview with Maqsood Saqib, writer, editor and publisher of Punjabi language. Maqsood Saqib published the Punjabi magazine named “Maan Boli” from 1986 till 1997 and now he has been publishing the monthly magazine under the name “Pancham” from 1998 onwards. He was born in a Jutt […]
Kalyan Singh Kalyan – the first Sikh Punjabi Professor in Pakistan
Sardar Kalyan Singh Kalyan is the first professor belonging to Sikh religion in Pakistan. He is Assistant Professor in Punjabi Department at Government College University, Lahore. His research on Punjabi script is a part of Syllabus. He produced a booklet in which he made Punjabi Gurmukhi script easier for students to study and learn from. […]
Punjabi poetry that is a blend of old and new diction
Poetry book Asaan Dil Nu Murshad Jaan Laya in Punjabi by Abrar Nadeem starts with his couplet “Warehan Da Jagrata Ki Aei, Sahnu Puch Aklaapa Ki Aei” (Ask me about lying awake for years with accompanied loneliness). From this couplet one can infer that new poetry has found its way out from within traditional poetry. […]
‘Sirf Tumhare Liye’ — poetry subservient to the dream world
Equating poetry with love with some conditions is the thesis forwarded by Dr Hassan Farooqi in his poetry book ‘Sirf Tumhare Liye’ (just for you).He contends that both love and poetry are not done by design. They just happen. This is one of the similarities between the two. One cannot put a stop to either […]
Mujeeb Alam — a singer with a soft voice
In the embryonic days (mid 1960s to end 1960s) of Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), its Lahore Center was located at the hinder side of Radio Pakistan Building where presently Sales Section of Radio Pakistan is housed. There was not enough space for administration after making a recording hall and engineering panel. There was need to […]