Beware splashy corporate gestures when they leave existing power structures intact. by Helen Lewis Tumbrels are rattling through the streets of the internet. Over the past few years, online-led social movements have deposed gropers, exposed bullies—and, sometimes, ruined the lives of the innocent. Commentators warn of “mob justice,” while activists exult in their newfound power to change the world. Both groups …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Pushed to the periphery, Sino-Indian war theatre Ladakh was once a gateway of South and Central Asia as well as a melting pot of ties between Turkestan, China, and South Asia, writes Iftikhar Gilani on the web page of Anadolu Agency, a Turkish online news portal. ANKARA: Not many people know that the landlocked Ladakh region, perched in high mountains and …

As the global Covid-19 pandemic continues, Central Asian artists are coming up with new digital opportunities.  Askhat Akhmediyarov’s sketchbook for the “Ayan” exhibition (TSE art gallery, Astana), sold at the Art Bazaar. Photo from the Art Bazaar. Central Asian artists have joined forces to create an online marketplace for art. The Facebook group “Art Bazaar” now has more than 700 …

Lawmakers in a move to revive traditional names approve a bill banning identification documents containing Russified surname News Desk DUSHANBE: Tajik lawmakers have approved a bill banning the issuance of new identification documents and birth certificates for ethnic Tajiks containing Russified surnames, the latest attempt to revive traditional names. Justice Minister Muzaffar Ashuryon said after the bill was approved by …

Five-wives-of-Khodja-Nasreddin_-dir.-Olim-Salimov-Mayakovskiy-theater-photo-Ulugova Lolisanam Ulugova traces the roots, evolution and contemporary theatre in Tajikistan which goes back to ancient centuries. In her essay in the online magazine Voices on Central Asia, she discusses in detail how do theaters in Tajikistan thrive and act at times when politics in the arts is too dangerous? My recent visit to Tashkent (the capital of Uzbekistan) …

Could this be the long-awaited breakthrough sought by Tajik artists that have been trying to send a message to the world about the clothes and style of the small mountainous republic lost in Central Asia?, writes Lolisanam Ugulva in the Voices on Central Asia, an online research journal.   Just recently, Tajikistan, with its rich aesthetic traditions, has seemingly made …