Lazgi is a must-see of Khorezm. Lazgi is the dance with a feel-good factor, making you feel a joie de vivre or zest for life. There is an opinion that the meaning of the ancient word ‘lazgi’ is ‘tremble,’ which describes a very energetic movement of the body along with the vibrant musical rhythms and expressive facial mimics.

Leila Slimani on sex and ethics of women’s liberation in Morocco   By Leïla Slimani   When, in the summer of 2014, I published my first novel, Adèle, some French journalists expressed surprise that a Moroccan woman could write such a book. What they meant by that was an “unconstrained book,” a “sexy book,” a straight-talking, popular book, the story of a woman …

Faiz’s ‘Hum Dekhenge’ has continued to inspire activists for decades. Why do the leftist poet’s words continue to resonate today? Protesters at an anti-CAA demonstration in India Siasat Daily From Iqbal Bano singing it to a charged crowd in Lahore in 1986 to students reciting its verses on-campus protests across India late last year, Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s ‘Hum Dekhenge’ has …

Ali Shir Navayi a Turkic poet, writer, politician, linguist, and mystic, was the greatest representative of Chagatai literature and left a lasting impact on Central Asian literature, says historian Nicholas Walmsley. In an interview to Zaynab Mukhammad-Dost, published in the Voices on Central Asia, an online research magazine, he says Navayi self-identified as a Turk in Muhakamat al-lughatain, where he argued that Turki was a “superior” language to …

  Most people who know Noam Chomsky know him equally as a giant in academic linguistics and a longtime Leftist dissident and political commentator. Only a committed few, however, read much of his work in either — or both — fields. He is one of those thinkers whose major concepts enter the discourse unmoored from their original context. Phrases like “universal grammar” …

Pashtun classical dancer marries dance forms of the subcontinent to tell a story of peace and positivity By Zulfiqar Baig ISLAMABAD: Be it the ghunghroo on his feet, the nimble movement of his hands or the Anarkali Kurta which flows with him as he pirouettes ever so gracefully; for Islamabad-based folk and fusion dancer Khanzada Asfandyar Khattak, every aspect of his …

Naba Basar discovers the secrets of healthy, organic and innovative mountain cuisine from Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. She shares her experiences of the mountain regions adventure, hospitality, social customs, lifestyle in a series of features for The High Asia Herald readers. Chilpindok – large chapattis spread with pai, homemade yogurt and qurut dried yugart and butter/apricot oil, stacked in piles. It …

Yamga Wakhani Museum is a treasure trove of artefacts, pottery, musical instruments and various objects invented by or remained in use of the Mubarak Wakhani Farman Ali Mubarakkadam Ibn Abdullo, popularly known as Mubarak Wakhani, was a multi-faceted personality — a philosopher, poet, musician, astronomer, art teacher, and Sufi (mystic) scholar — from Badakhshan, Tajikistan. Born in 1839 in a small village …

Naba Basar discovers the secrets of healthy, organic and innovative mountain cuisine from Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. She shares her experiences of the mountain regions adventure, hospitality, social customs, lifestyle in a series of features for The High Asia Herald readers. Food should never be the sole reason to travel. Fortuitously for many, it is a popular trend for both domestic …

by Frud Bezhan & Daud Khattak Pakistan has suffered an identity crisis since it was forged out of the bloody partition of British colonial India in 1947. To fill the void, Pakistan’s political and military elite have promoted an Islamic identity and imported values from other parts of the Muslim world, observers say, while shunning their own Indian subcontinent heritage. Pakistan’s military …