Ibn-e-Insha’s poem, insha jee aab uttho, which saw the three men most closely associated with it (the poet and both Amanat Ali Khan and his son, Asad Amanat Ali Khan, who rendered it widely) die untimely deaths has been placed in a somewhat macabre context and its hard to shake of tang of irony as you read it..
Insha jee utho ab kooch karo, iss shehar maiN jee koe lagaana kya
Vehshee koe sakooN say kya matlab, jogee ka nagar maiN thekaana kya
Pher hijar kee lumbee raat yahaN, sanjoog key toe bus aik ghaRhee
Joe dil maiN hay, lub par Aanay doe, sharmana kya, ghabrana kya
Iss dil kay dareeda daaman maiN, dekho toe sahee, socho toe sahee
Jiss jholee maiN saw chaid hou’ay uss jholee ka phelaana kya
Shub guzree, chaand bhee doob gaya, zanjeer paRee darvaazay par
KyuN dair ga’ay ghar Aa’ay hoe, sajnee say karo gay bahaana kya
Rehtay hoe joe hum say door bohat, majboor hoe tum, majboor bohat
Hum samjhoN ka samjhaana kya, hum behloN ka behlaana kya
Jub shehar kay loag na rasta daiN, kyuN bun maiN na jaa bus raam karaiN
DeevanoN key see na baath karay toe aur karay deevaana kya
Source: http://www.paklinks.com/gs/archive/index.php/t-156651.html
In Urdu: http://www.personal.kent.edu/~rmuhamma/Personal/Urdu-Ghazal/Insha/cooch.gif
The last couplet is particularly good, DeevanoN key see na baath karay toe aur karay deevaana kya…
More on Asad Amanat Ali Khan (including videos) here: pakistaniat.com
music Poetry
Here we go again, the government gives in to foaming-at-the mouth mullahs once again; and sates (temporarily) their hunger for the killing of all forms of (non-violent) joy in Pakistan. I guess we should just learn our lesson and circumscribe entertainment to burning KFCs and roasting motorcycles.
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Kite flyers arrested in Pakistan
Kite flyers arrested in Pakistan
IMPAK this year will be running a volunteer effort in areas affected by the earthquake in Pakistan. The’ve been doing some very interesting work - and if a summer in Pakistan sounds like something you would be interested in, I would check out their website at www.impak.org
Pakistan
Found this intriguing picture of a rather regal looking paanwala in Lahore; a comment below the original picture says:
oh, and this paanwala is a classic! He plays loud qawallis and throws rose petals on his customers.
Now this sounds like my kind of joint! Almost as an aside, i feel almost obligated to share with you the very funny relationship most paanwalas have with their regular customers; you might not know, for example, that amongst this creed its considered bad practise to hand dripping carcinogenic time bombs (the paans that is) into the hands of customers, rather, these must be placed directly into an often already scarlet, saliva filled mouth. Its a sight - a middle aged man, still astride his motorbike being given his quickie fix, a quick exchange of red stained rupee notes, a screeching departure.. and perhaps eventually a not too dissimilar visit to a paanwala further down.
I’ve completely blown the romance, havent i? Next time, i might tell you about the champi wallas…
Found at http://guruworld.blogspot.com/2004/11/paanwala-in-lahore-old-anarkali.html via http://lahore.metblogs.com/
Pakistan people Photographs
