I speak Punjabi (but my kids might not)
‘Ik Sutti Uthi Dooji Akhon Ka’ani ’- Do you understand what this Punjabi idiom means, or do you need a translation in English first? The literal translation may be “one just woke up and the other one is partially sighted!” but that isn’t what it means. This funny phrase refers to a person who has just woken up and then on top of their disheveled appearance is cross-eyed as well. It is used “icing on the cake” in English. Most people wonder why everything in Punjabi sounds so comic? Maybe our ancestors just appreciated humour. If you belong to a Punjabi speaking family and couldn’t ...
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A department in ruin, a history forgotten
Punjab’s department of archaeology, recently devolved from the federation under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, has had no operational legislation since April 8, 2011. As a result, no law to arrest any person caught scribbling, drawing or causing harm to a monument of historical importance exists. Similar is the case with the environment protection department. Field officers and inspectors issuing notices, sealing and fining owners of pollution-causing units, have reverted to Punjab Local Government Ordinance (PLGO) of 2001. The Antiquities Act 1975 and the Environment Pakistan Protection Act 1997 are both redundant. Officers of both departments have drafted legislation to replace ...
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Kalma Chowk, you will be remembered
A lot of criticism is in the air about the “fall of the Kalma chowk” as if it is the fall of the Pakistan economy. Many people, all of a sudden seem to have loads of memories associated with Kalma chowk – which were probably made while staring at it, waiting to get across the signal. Protests, SMS’ and even Facebook pages have been made and dedicated to the discussion over the loss of this beautiful piece of architecture. The government’s personal interest in building the flyover is a by-product of the discussion. This is a perfect example for why I support ...
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Historical mosques of Bhera
“Every mohallah (locality) of Bhera town has a building that can boast of belonging to a historical period; like many Hindu and Sikh monuments, a number of buildings of the Muslim period also grace the landscape of Bhera town,” says Professor Yousuf Chauhan, a teacher of Bhera Town. There are many historical mosques in Bhera town of which the mosques of Tughlaq, Khilji and Suri periods are quite prominent, he said. The list of historical mosques in Bhera is long. Qazianwali mosque, Haafizani mosque, Peeranwali mosque, Gondianwali mosques, Hakimwali mosque, Jamia Masjid Mohajirin in Pakhiwaran Mohallah are some of Bhera town’s ...
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The importance of saving our sufi heritage
The resting place of Baba Farid Ganjshakar at Pakpattan, which was attacked last month, became the fifth sufi shrine to be destroyed in the past few years. Security agencies say after the mass attacks on mosques, sufi shrines are now under threat as well. These assaults on our holy sites are slicing through our social fabric, and here’s why: People of Pakistan, especially in Sindh, have long been known as followers of sufism – the mystical interpretation of Islam – and shrines are symbols of their devotion. Destroying them is an outright attack on a system based on deep introspection, great ...
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Rebuilding the Muslim Empire
An inhabitant of today’s civilized Western democratic state, while alluding to human barbarism and fanaticism, always recalls the medieval ages. For a Muslim, however, the medieval ages are among the gloriously shining eras of history, when Muslim scientists and philosophers made monumental advancements for the benefit of mankind in almost all major fields of knowledge. Today, every thinking mind wonders what made those giants fade into history without being followed by men of similar standing? What caused the severe moral and intellectual downfall of the Muslims? Leaving aside the political turmoil and dictatorships which happen to be an inevitable ...
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Rebuilding an emperor’s dream
I do not feel very proud as I tell you about Akbari gate, it is more of a junkyard than a cultural heritage site. When you walk through this gate it feels like you have descended to some level of hell. The air is filled with dust and the odour of animal waste has permeated to even the edibles sold here. Surprisingly, people manage to live here. They conduct business very proudly, contributing to the increasingly vast garbage heaps in the area. There are no traces of monuments and our old heritage; all that is left is a materialistic mess of the greed of humanity. There is little sign of the gate named after Mughal emperor Jalaludin Muhammad ...
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