views & reviews
My The News columns
Essays
Punjabi: Politics of Division
Punjabi language and literature continued to thrive in spite of all the communal differences and colonial onslaught
Punjab’s lost generation
A recollection of Anwar Chaudhary brings all those wanderers and post-partition Punjabis to mind who grew up with high hopes of a just society
In the name of Punjabiyyat
Every year’s Mother Language Day reminds us of the linguistic brutality and suppression of the state against Punjabi
The feminine metaphor
Recounting the women poets of the undivided Punjab, a poetic history that lies buried under male monopoly
Afzal Tauseef: Daughter of the Punjab
Afzal Tauseef, a progressive writer and columnist, fought too many battles, faced so many betrayals but never surrendered
APS Peshawar: The Blood of Children Flowed
Mahmood Awan writes about the tragedy of the 2014 Peshawar school massacre and how poetry can play its role in addressing the grief
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
Irfan Malik: A Unique Voice
Irfan Malik’s diction and thematic experimentation may be western but his poetic sensibility is rooted in Punjab and he still belongs to his native land Lahore
Translations: Connecting with the world
Looking back at the history of translation of classical, religious and modern Punjabi literature, as the world celebrates International Translation Day
Amarjit Chandan’s World (Part: 1)
Amarjit Chandan’s poetry enriches and elevates; it’s a timeless travel not to be engaged in haste
Mazhar Tirmazi: Poet of Umraan Langhiaan Pabban Bhaar
Mahmood Awan reviews poetry of Punjabi Poet Mazhar Tirmazi who wrote the famous poem ‘Umraan Langhiaan Pabbaan Bhaa”
WW1: From the War Front (Part1)
An account of the Punjabi soldiers who became the cannon fodder of the colonising power in World War I, and the mournful songs and literature this episode in history generated in its wake