“When there is oppression and dictatorship, by not speaking out, we lose our dignity.” Asma Jahangir (1952 – 2018) Herald Report Ajoka Theatre presented a play “Saira aur Maira” last weekend at Lahore’s Alhamra Art Centre during an international conference as a tribute to Asma Jahangir, an iconic figure,  a defender of human rights and democratic values, champion of the downtrodden, …

Laal Hartal pays tribute to the revolutionary poet at ILF-2019 Farman Ali The discourse generated by a rhythmic circle titled ’22 Crore’ by Laal Hartal has been able to create a ripple effect after receiving huge appreciation by academic and literary circles. The poem was presented at the inaugural session of the sixth edition of the Islamabad Literature Festival during …

Anthropologist Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro takes us to an invaluable site in the Indus-Kohistan region. While traveling along the Karakorum Highway, one comes across many rock art sites that need to be promoted as potential tourist destinations. Sadly, they escape the attention of the authorities. Rock art tourism plays a significant role in the local economy of communities in many of …

  By Kamran Karim  The photographic journey offers a space for observers to create their own world of imagination and fascination. We always tend to subsume or embrace new ideas and intuition to come up with new marvels. Anticipation is a part of the processing vision of abstract. It is not just a visible world; encircling signs and dotes with …

 The winners will share $1 million prizes which recognizes all parties involved in the conception, design, and realization of a project News Desk The six winning projects of the 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) were acclaimed on Friday (Sept 13) at a ceremony held at Kazan’s Musa Jalil State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, Tatarstan. Tatarstan State Counsellor …

https://www.youtube.com/embed/XV_DakljtmQ HAH Report A group of socially-conscious documentary makers has documented the life, social setting, culture and collective struggle of a community in Punjab’s Chiniot District and how they are leading a happy life, making collective efforts to address social and climate change issues through music, art, and sports. Laila and Zarrak are filmmakers and social activists. They are making …

The winners, who will share $1m, are: Bahrain’s Revitalisation of Muharraq, Bangladesh’s Arcadia Education Project, Palestinian Museum; Tataristan’s Public Spaces Development Programme ; Alioune Senegal’s Diop University Teaching and Research Unit, and UAE’s Wasit Wetland Centre   News Desk Six projects have won the 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA). The winners of the 2019 award were announced at Kazan, Tatarstan, Russian …

Young people select their future life partner; tourists complain about dilapidated roads, lack of facilities in Kalash valley   By Karimullah & Gul Hammad Farooqi CHITRAL: The three-day Uchawo festival concluded at Bumburet here on Thursday amid great fanfare, dances, music, prayers and pledges for spending life together by young couples at Bumburet, Kalash valley of Chitral District. The festival …

  By Farman Ali Legendary music composer Muhammad Zahoor Hashmi, ‘Khayyam’, best known for his classic melodies such as ‘Wo subha kabhi tu aayegi’ ‘Kabhi Kabhie mere dil mein khayal aata hey’ and Aey dil-e-nadan’ passed away on Monday (Aug 19, 2019) at the age of 92 due to cardiac arrest. He was suffering from various age-related ailments. On July …

A documentary by an award-winning Pakistani filmmaker shows the lives of traditional musicians, musical instrument makers and the challenges they face by Omair Ahmad Indus Blues is an aural and visual delight, and it is no wonder it is winning, and being nominated for, a slew of awards. A 75 minute documentary on the folk musicians of Pakistan by the young filmmaker …

Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro on the heritage and folklore of the people of Punial in Gilgit-Baltistan by Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro   Punial valley of Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan is known for its oral history, folklore, visual culture, looming Hindu Kush mountains, verdant and sprawling villages, nullahs (side valleys) full of pastures, gushing Gilgit River coursing through Punial valley and, of course, the …

Little is known of the lives of Sogdians in China, even though the Chinese connections of Sogdian elites played an important political, economic, and cultural role in the lives of people in the region at the time, writes Jin Xu. by Jin Xu Before the Arab invasion, Sogdians were known traders who benefitted from bringing Chinese luxury goods to Iran, …

By Aziz Ali Dad Every ideology, religion and worldview contains seeds of discontent within. The Enlightenment brought about a change in every sphere of life. But like any other transformation, it also sowed the seeds of discontent. After disenchanting the world it had, in a manner of speaking, thrown the individual into the world. Bereft of old certainties, human individuals …

Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro on the ornate and unique graves that tell a story of timber, power and upheaval   by Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro   here are many carved wooden grave railings in Tangir and Darel in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan. Such monuments are also located in many areas of Indus-Kohistan, Dir-Kohistan and Swat-Kohistan in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where I am doing research for …

Algerian poet Djamal Amrani was born in 1935 in Sour El Gozlane. Central to his life and work were his involvement in the Algerian liberation movement, and his arrest and torture by the French Army for participating in a 1956 student strike. Amrani was imprisoned for two years for his revolutionary activities, and then expelled to France. From this ordeal …