Posts tagged Culture
مہرین کسانه
Some Al Qaeda text up there.
Thought to be ‘Muslim’ by some, but originating in the land of the five rivers — Punjab, east and west — the salwar kameez has nearly completed its conquest of the South Asian clothesline. What politicians, diplomats and activists have not been able to do, this piece of stitched cloth has.
The building of the nation state in South Asia manifested itself, in quite important ways, in the evolution of official cultural codes, including those concerning national attire. So long as such concepts evolved as a mark of political rebellion against the indignity of cultural dictation by the colonial power, there was little to cavil about. But in the post-independence period, the matter of clothing and attire has become enmeshed in competing communal and ethnic politics, majority-minority stresses and competitive nationalism.
[…]
In a whisper then in a rush, as the Subcontinent’s middle and upper class women make their way out of the home and into the marketplace, they will obviously experiment with more than one form of dress. And what they will wear tomorrow is what they would like to be seen in and what is comfortable. The variety of wear is bound to increase. But there is no question that the salwar, while it may have to share cupboard space with an ever-increasing variety of dresses both Oriental and Occidental, will remain a critical aspect of hundreds of millions of South Asian women for a long time to come. Besides, it will always have the pride of place of being the attire that helped in the process of the liberation of the South Asian woman.
It’s not just a piece of cloth, remember. It began as a statement against colonial powers. Which is why I, excuse me, fucking love my shalwar kameez.
Pakistani weddings. For me, they’re the best weddings ever (naturally). I was going through my friend Ali Khurshid’s archives and I found these lovely photos from various Pakistani mehndis and shaadis. Maayoon, mehndi, baraat and walima. Four functions full of warmth, dance, color, laughter, and love. You’ll see reverence for Islamic faith and tradition as well as style and beauty. A few of my friends are getting married soon. It’s time to pull the camera out.
Pakistan - A Place To Be
This was… nice. Foreigners giving their reasons for wanting to visit Pakistan. Looks like the food, culture, Pakistani best friends and bhangra’s luring them in. One says, “First of all I wanna drink lassi again.”
Everyone’s pronouncing Pakistan Zindabad wrong. Cute.
I had no idea Chupke Chupke Raat Din performed by Ghulam Ali was written by the Muslim freedom fighter and poet Hasrat Mohani of Unnao (who later on demanded a separate state for Muslims in the form of Pakistan). Beautiful ghazal. Even if you don’t understand Urdu, try listening to this.
Chupke chupke raat din aansu bahana yaad hai: “I remember shedding tears quietly, all day and night.”
From Pakistan Sunsilk Fashion Week in Lahore, spring/summer 2012.
Thank Lord for no terrorism-Pakistan-progressive-rebel pun in there. Finally, a fashion shoot as just a fashion shoot without unnecessary political humor. Some gorgeous outfits in there.
The act of writing, it seems to me, makes up a shelter, allows space to what would otherwise be hidden, crossed out, mutilated. Sometimes writing can work toward a reparation, making a sheltering space for the mind. Yet it feeds off ruptures, tears in what might otherwise seem a seamless, oppressive fabric.
When a bachelor of philosophy from the Antilles refuses to apply for certification as a teacher on the grounds of his color I say that philosophy has never saved anyone. When someone else strives and strains to prove to me that black men are as intelligent as white men I say that intelligence has never saved anyone: and that is true, for, if philosophy and intelligence are invoked to proclaim the equality of men, they have also been employed to justify the extermination of men.
Meanwhile, models say they are enjoying more freedom than ever to express themselves as the glamour scene grows. The booming media industry has also given fashion a much larger audience in conservative Pakistan, where risque outfits and even moderate displays of bare flesh are often frowned upon.
Rizwan Beyg, a Pakistani fashion icon, believes the country’s designers should stop fixating on the West and turn their attention towards the Middle East and Southeast Asia where there is more business to offer. Fashion design is being taught in almost every large university, and Tariq Amin says the scale is apparent from the fact that every city has its own fashion institute.
“We’re headed in the right direction,” says Fahad Hussayn.
We sure are. Look at those Pakistani models, damn. My friend Nosheen Fatima Abbas (also known as @Goshno on Twitter) works for BBC in (and out of) Islamabad and gave this report on the fashion week held in Islamabad. Bet she had fun talking to all these people.
You’ll often hear Karachiwallas say there’s nowhere else in Pakistan they can happily live. I’ve heard it said more frequently by its women than its men. Karachi is hardly free of patriarchy, but its women are more visible, and more often to be seen in positions of authority, than elsewhere in the country. In February, when the city’s most powerful, and controversial, political party, the MQM, called for a women’s rally, the numbers that gathered were so vast (estimates vary from several hundred thousand to 1 million) that the BBC declared it the largest congregation of women ever organized in the world. In a city where votes are divided primarily along ethnic lines, it was heartening to imagine we were witnessing a new kind of campaigning—one that placed gender in the political arena and gave teeth to the phrase “women’s vote.” It sounds fanciful to me, until I remember that for the right price, Karachi buys and sells everything, even dreams.
Here's an online library of over 400 free courses in the liberal arts and sciences. You can download them to your computer/mp3 player/etc
Always good to explore and learn.
American military leaders are apologizing, again. The world’s most moral and most advanced military has repeatedly shown an alarming lack of discipline—putting American troops and Afghans at risk with another provocative act. In 2005, it was revealed that military members were desecrating the Koran as part of their harsh interrogation tactics at Guantanamo. Earlier this year, we found out that a group of Marines videotaped themselves urinating on corpses of Taliban in Afghanistan. And this week, we learn of the “accidental incineration by U.S. military personnel of copies of the Islamic holy book.” Muslims revere the Koran more than anything else in this world; we do not even touch it without being ritually pure. Destroying the text is the ultimate act of disrespect to the faithful.
How could this sort of callousness happen, again?
If the U.S. military took these incidents seriously they would have had a policy in place to prevent just such an accident, including training on Islamic culture to teach incoming military personnel how to behave decently and respectfully towards people of other faiths. Since acts like the Koran burning, even when unintended, have huge implications for Muslim-American relations around the world, this training should be of the upmost priority.
Concurred.
Cross culture
Caption means to depict Mughal architecture (The Badshahi mosque on the far left), British architecture (in the centre) and Sikh architecture (Gurudwara on the far right)
Lahore. My city.
(via musafeer)
Pakistani Film Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s documentary wins Oscar
Pakistani journalist and documentarian Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s latest venture Saving Face has won an Oscar award under the category ‘Best Documentary, Short Subject’.
In her acceptance speech, Chinoy dedicated the award to “all the heroes working on the ground in Pakistan” including British Pakistani plastic surgeon Dr Mohammad Jawad, main subjects of the documentary and the women of Pakistan.
“All the women in Pakistan working for change, don’t give up on your dreams, this is for you,” she said.
Dedicating the award to main subjects Rukhsana and Zakia, Obaid-Chinoy said that their “resilience and bravery in the face of such adversary is admirable”.
Co-director Daniel Junge said he had the idea for the film after hearing about Jawad, and asked Chinoy to work with him. He has been previously nominated for an both an Oscar and an Emmy.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has also announced a civilian award for Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
HELL YEAH. That was Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy from Pakistan, folks. Status: Legendary.
