views & reviews

My The News columns

Essays

Punjab’s lost generation

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

read more
WW1: Not their War (Part 2)

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

read more
Irfan Malik: A Unique Voice

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

read more
WW1: From the War Front (Part1)

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

read more

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.

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

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

Nasreen Bhatti: Note of refusal (Part:2)

Shamlaat, Nasreen Anjum Bhatti’s poetry collection published posthumously, has unique tone, texture and trance

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.

Contact Me

Get In Touch

You can contact me via email: sejal@mahmoodawan.com or mahmoodah@gmail.com

Voice of the Salt Range

Mahmood Awan

Punjabi Poet & Author