views & reviews
My The News columns
Essays
Afzal Saahir: A master of rhyme
From esteemed writers to lay readers, Afzal Saahir’s words captivate everyone
Sejal: Mahmood Awan’s Songs of Exile
In his latest collection of poems Mahmood Awan captures the zeitgeist of present day Punjab
Punjabi Resistance: A response to Mahmood Khan Achakzai
The story of Punjabi resistance, narrated through five legends, in response to Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s diatribe
Baba Nanak: The spiritual poet
Baba Nanak consistently displayed a forceful rejection of unjust authority and a love for the downtrodden through his many renderings
Sejal Book Event Reports-Urdu
Mahmood Awan’s third book of poetry ‘Sejal’ was launched in Lahore where all prominent writers and activists of the Punjab joined.
Khalistan and poetry of 1984
Harbhajan Singh was one of the few Punjabi writers whose work challenged the powers responsible for causing destruction to Punjab and its people
Punjabi is Not welcomed in Punjab?
All over the world, native languages are protected and funded by state universities so they can be kept alive. While here in Punjab, existing working structures of Punjabi are being dismantled
Partition of the Punjab (Part 2)
There are not enough creative writings on partition penned in Punjab, especially poetry, and this may be due to guilt infested post-partition trauma that triggered collective amnesia and conscious forgetfulness
Mushtaq Soofi reviews Sejal: Mahmood Awan’s poems
Mahmood Awan’s 3rd book of Punjabi Poetry was launched in Lahore in 2017 and Mushtaq Soofi reviews it for the Dawn where he writes that Mahmood is a dynamic poet who has a voice which is distinctly his own. Nimiety of passion running through his poems makes them full of aesthetic and cultural joy.
Sejal Book Launch Report
A Punjabi poetry collection titled ‘Saijal’ by Mehmood Awan was launched at the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture on Wednesday.
Reclaiming Punjabi
As the world celebrates the Mother Tongue day, let’s admit that we have failed to make Punjabi language an issue for the common people of the Punjab or its political parties
Melodies of Punjab
Mahmood Awan writes about Film music and songs composed between 1947 and 2006.
Waris Shah:The Fearless Poet (Part 2)
Mahmood Awan continues his exploration of Heer Waris Shah and delves into the verses which were considered too erotic and were not published by some editors. Part 2 of the 250th Year of Heer Waris Shah.
250 Years of Heer Waris Shah (Part 1)
Mahmood Awan explains the magic of the epic of Heer Waris Shah as written and rewritten for over two centuries and how some poets manufactured and added in their verses to make it an Asli tay Waddi Heer
Lal Singh Dil: The Tragic Poet
Lal Singh Dil’s poetry has the power to connect both the Punjabs, and all Punjabis to their shared grievous land
Poetry from Soon Sakesar
Ayub Awan made a conscious decision to write in his mother tongue and KeeDi da Aata was his first collection of Punjabi verse
Poetry of rural Punjab
A critical overview of the captivating, romantic and inimitable poetic genres especially from Lahnda Punjab
Partition of the Punjab (Part 1)
Muslims and Hindus-Sikhs were never fully integrated as one Punjabi nation but they had found a way to co-exist peacefully. Then what really happened?
A case of Punjabi nationalism
Whenever we raise the issue of Punjabi language, Seraiki separatism jumps in to dilute the whole struggle of mother tongue rights. Our friends from South are free to name the language of entire Punjab as Seraiki and help us get it implemented in the province
The feminine metaphor
Recounting the women poets of the undivided Punjab, a poetic history that lies buried under male monopoly
WW1: Not their War (Part 2)
As WW1 centenary commemorations end, here’s the second and last part about the unique insight this war provided into colonial duplicity and local suffering, and the Punjabi folk lore it generated
Mushtaq Soofi Reviews Veeni Likhia Din
Mushtaq Soofi reviews Mahmood Awan’s 2nd book of Punjabi ‘Veeni Likhia Din” for the Dawn, Pakistan
Best Books of 2024
Mahmood Awan reviews his most cherished reads of the year 2024 for The News on Sunday Roundup, 24
Najm Hosain Syed’s Kaafian
Mahmood Awan reviews Najm Hosain Syed’s’ Kaafian retitled ‘Aao Raat Jagaa’o’; Translated into English by Naveed Alam and Dr Asma Qadri) in today’s The News on Sunday.
Literary soul of the Punjab: Baramah (2023)
Mahmood Awan reviews Punjabi magazine ‘BaraMah’ for The News on Sunday
The best-loved books of 2023
Mahmood Awan (The News on Sunday, 31st December 2023) Anup...
A Year in Reading: 2022
As we bid adieu to 2022, TNS turns to South Asian writers and authors to ask them about the titles they read this year that have stayed with them. Here, in alphabetical order, is what they say – TNS
Zubair’s Grieving for Pigeons
The first book-length translation of Zubair Ahmad’s Punjabi short stories
A Year in Reading: 2021
As we approach the end of 2021, we ask some of our favourite writers to share what they enjoyed reading all of last year. Here, in alphabetical order, is what they say – TNS
Royals and Rebels of the Punjab
Priya Atwal’s book retells the Punjab story with new insights, focusing on the rise of Ranjit Singh and the fall of Punjab’s empire
