Not just Poets

By Peerzada Salman, *‘Sufism teaches us to love humanity’* - Dawn.Com - Pakistan; Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Karachi: Sufism is all about loving humanity and discovering one’s own self to reach or understand God.

This was the crux of the arguments presented by speakers on the inaugural day of a two-day national conference on ‘Significance of Sufi poets in modern Pakistan’ organised by the department of Sindhi, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (Fuuast) in the institute’s Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan auditorium on Tuesday.

The introductory session of the moot was presided over by Prof Dr Muhammad Qaiser, former vice-chancellor of Fuuast, now the VC of Karachi University.

Chairman of the Sindhi department Prof Dr Inayat Hussain Laghari informed the audience (who had turned up in a small number because of the transport strike in the city) about the conference’s objectives. He said Sufism taught us to love humanity, something which could help us in difficult, violent times.

The keynote address was delivered by Prof Dr Nawaz Ali Shoq.

He suggested that there should be a Shah Latif chair at Peshawar or Punjab university and a Bulleh Shah chair at Karachi University to promote national integration.

He said Sufis were not just poets; they were scholars too. They preached love of God, of His prophets and of humanity in general. He said according to the Sufis, offering prayers and keeping fast were important aspects of faith, but human beings needed to go beyond that – they should serve and love their fellow creatures.

To illustrate his point, Dr Shoq quoted quite a few incidents from some known Sufis’ lives.

For example, he narrated a story related to Baba Farid Ganj-i-Shakar. Once a man came to Baba Farid and tried to gift him a knife (the village he belonged to was famous for making knives). The Sufi saint refused to accept the gift and said to him that he would rather accept a needle, because he was in the world to bring people closer to each other (sui ki tarha jorney ke liyey dunia mein hoon), not to separate them (chhuri ki tarha kaatne ke liyey nahin).

Dr Shoq rounded off his address by telling the gathering that in Sufis’ eyes it was very important for man to keep his heart pure.

He read out the couplet:

Her tamanna dil se rukhsat ho gaee
Ab to aa ja ab to khalwat ho gaee

A scholar from Balochistan, Prof Dr Abdul Razzaq Sabir, said people thought Sufis led a secluded life; it was not so, they raised their voice against oppressors and tyrants. He said there was a need for revisiting Sufis’ lives and works.

Throwing light on contemporary times, he quoted Prof Karrar Husain who once said that while different languages were getting merged into each other those who spoke those languages were drifting apart. Dr Sabir added we should learn to accept one another and then read a few beautiful lines by Baloch poets, including Jawan Saal Bugti.

Prof Dr Seemi Naghmana went back in time when the British held sway over the subcontinent. She commented that even at that time Sufis had a sense of the political situation and rebelled against the British in their own way.

Prof Dr Ali Akbar and Prof Dr Sulaiman D. Mohammad also spoke. In his presidential address Prof Dr Qamarul Haq lauded the efforts of the Sindhi department in holding the event.

The second and first formal session of the day was presided over by Dr Dur Mohammad Pathan. Allah Bachayo Arisar was the first speaker who shed light on the Sufi element in Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai’s poetry. He also touched on the allegorical (tamseeli) side to stories such as Noori and Jaam Tamachi’s in Bhitai’s poems.

Sumaya Qazi read out a paper on the life and work of Shah Karim. She said he was fond of mehfil-i-sama and often organised such gatherings.

Ramzan Bamari spoke on Mast Tawakkuli.

He said people had confined Sufism to Islam; they were more than that. Sufis were above the concepts of cast, creed or colour, and though Sufis did not care much about themselves, they loved their motherland. He said Mast Tawakkuli was fond of a girl named Sammi. He often used her as bigger metaphors.

He took issue with the title of the conference and remarked that Sufis existed even before Pakistan came into being. He also talked about the tortured bodies found in Balochistan on a regular basis and argued such things made one rebellious.

He iterated the Sufis’ message was to love humanity, particularly the oppressed. He pointed out that every university had a chair, but there were no Baloch poet chair at any university.

Prof Dr Khurshid Abbasi shed light on Faqeer Qadir Bakhsh Bedil and told the audience he penned no fewer than 23 books.

Dr Abdul Aziz Sahir’s topic was Pir Meher Ali Shah Golra Sharif while Prof Nasir Abbas delivered a speech on the importance of studying Sufism so that history could be better understood.

In his presidential address Dr Dur Mohammad Pathan remarked Sufis were normal human beings and should be treated like that.

Dr Kamal Jamro conducted the event.

Picture: Whirling dervishes perform at the Galata Whirling Dervish Hall, founded in 1491 by the Ottomans, in Istanbul, Turkey, on the second day of Muslims' holy month of Ramadan, late Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011. Sufi whirling performance of the Mevlevi order is part of a formal ceremony known as the Sama. The order was founded by the Persian-Turkish poet Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi, one of the greatest mystic poets of Sufism in Islam, born in 1207 in Balkh, then in the Persian province of Khorasan and now in Afghanistan, and died in 1273 in Konya, Turkey. - Photo: AP.

Umm el Fahm

[From the French language press]:

C'est peut-être la première fois qu'un grand musée israélien consacre une exposition (jusqu'au 21 avril) à un grand artiste palestinien: Walid Abu Shakra, graveur et soufi.

By Marc Lenot, *Walid Abu Shakra, graveur et soufi* Le Monde - Paris, France; Tuesday, April 10, 2012

This is perhaps the first time a major Israeli museum devotes an exhibition (until April 21) to a great Palestinian artist, Walid Abu Shakra, Engraver and Sufi.

The exhibition is held in collaboration with a Palestinian Art Gallery located in Umm el Fahm ('the mother of coal' or charcoal), hometown of Walid Abu Shakra (born 1946).

In the 1980s Walid Abu Shakra stopped drawing and painting to devote himself to Sufism.

He resumed his practice at the death of his mother, three years ago: the few recent engravings presented at the exhibition seem finer, softer, more ethereal.

Pictures: Walid Abu Shakra, "View from my Village", Drypoint, 2011 / "Night View", 1975. [Click on the title to the original article with more images and links; Click here to the exhibition at TAM Museum (English) (ed.)]

It Blasts you with Love

By Susheela Raman, *Learning to sing the language of love* - The Guardian - London, UK; Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Learning to sing the language of love: Anglo-Indian musician Susheela Raman is collaborating with Lahore's qawwali singers. She explains how they learned to make music together

"Everybody thinks we are all terrorists," our friend and driver Asif tells us, "that's why there are no tourists here these days. But look around you, nobody is bothering you, people are happy that you are here." We are sitting at a street restaurant in the old city of Lahore, near the astonishing Mughal citadel of the Lahore fort and the Badshahi mosque, ordering bowl after bowl of utterly delicious chickpeas stewed in a chicken and coriander stock, served with nan bread fresh baked in their clay oven. Lahore surely has some of the world's great street food, often served by one-dish restaurants, which its famously epicurean inhabitants will cross the city to sample. The food is not always for the faint-hearted; before we settle on the chickpea joint, we are taken as a treat to a restaurant where we are offered the three bovine options on the menu: brain, hoof or tongue.

Alongside its culinary arts, Lahore's other cultural treasure is its music, which is why we are here. Qawwali is a form of Muslim mystic – Sufi – devotional music. Its roots go back seven centuries, although it was the great qawwal Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan who brought it to international exposure. Nusrat, who died in 1997, was based in Lahore, and today the city is full of musicians of all sorts. Sam, my producer and guitarist and I have come from London to connect with this deeply-rooted and hugely popular form of devotional music. We're part of a British Council/Southbank Centre project called The Language of Love that facilitates collaborations between musicians from India, Pakistan and the west.

Sufism is often celebrated as the softer face of Muslim culture. Celebrating the union of Sufi saints with the divine, qawwali is designed to create an ecstatic trance mood, and is most typically performed at Sufi shrines. Sufi saints are thought to be channels of "baraka" – divine blessing – and to have powers of intercession. Qawwali can be pious but also transgressive in its adoration of the saints and its glorification of states of "intoxication" and loss of self. The performers stand or fall on their ability to deliver a sense of rapture to the audience; the most famous qawwals command huge fees and when shrine performances occur banknotes are showered on performers who make a particular lyric or sentiment hit home.

The singers draw on a repertoire of hundreds of songs which are sung mainly in Urdu or Punjabi. A main voice is backed by others singing in unison, sometimes in call and response, and sometimes taking the lead and it's impossible not to be swept away on the tide of their emotion. There are moments of improvisation, but these are tunes built around killer hooks. Handclaps, tabla and other hand percussion drive the music forward relentlessly.

The magnificent Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan typified how qawwali is performed with such passion that you sense the singer trying to tear away the veil of separation between himself and the "beloved".

Sufism has many facets and many different styles – it penetrates every level of Pakistani society. Even the qawwals vary. The Mian Mir are a group of working class qawwals who for centuries have performed at an 18th-century shrine in praise of the Sufi saint Mian Mir. Fresh rose petals and green cloths are laid on the tomb around which people sit in states of prayer. Around the shrine however, there is heavy security as Sufi gathering places have been bomb targets (popular Sufism is an anathema for some Salafist Muslims who regard the traditional South Asian reverence for saints and even for the Prophet as a kind of polytheism.) And today, because of government fears for public safety, the qawwalis can only sing at the Mian Mir shrine once a year. This is heartbreaking for them. Lead vocalist Mehboob Khan says he learned to sing alongside his father who performed here every Thursday night for 25 years. It was a family tradition has been passed down for generations.

Sam and I are due to perform with the Mian Mir qawwalis at Lahore's Rafi Peer auditorium. The Rafi Peer has been bombed three times and now has extensive security measures in place, but it is determined to continue supporting traditional music, no matter what. The event is by invitation only and is not publicised in the newspapers.

We start practising together. Because qawwali music has drones, choruses and driving rhythms there is a lot to latch on to. Some previous fusions with qawwali have gone towards the dreamy, but we are aiming to match their energy and their sense of immediacy. Our songs and sounds mix and merge. The Mian Mir qawwals are wonderfully easygoing and relaxed about collaborating. Qawwali is not traditionally sung by women, but they have no hesitation in accepting me as a performer, nor do they have a problem with the fact that I am a western woman of Hindu and Indian origin. When we play one of our songs they try to find one of their own that uses a similar scale and rhythm, and we build from there. We seek ways to play together where they can sing with their full range and feelings. As the hours pass, the boundaries begin to slip away. It is a music of raw and intsense emotion. The crackling electricity and tender openness of qawwali forces its way directly into our heads and hearts – we cannot help but respond to it, and find the musical energy, versatility and sheer invention to match the Lahore group.

Some qawwals are technical maestros but these guys are more about raw feelings. They perform seated, punctuating their performance with hand gestures and head shaking. I stand up and move around and dance as I sing, but, again, this is fine – they are used to members of their audience entering into paroxysms of ecstasy so the sight of my hair flying around is mild by comparision. They drive their voices as high as possible, which reminds me of the Beatles in their early days. But they also have a sense of pacing and of dynamic in orchestrating the flow of the emotions they unleash.

Sam expertly finds chords and guitar riffs to bring the songs into a shared musical space; some of the most touching moments are when he and the Mian Mir's singer Mehboob Khan duet.

These guys have great stamina. Used to performing for several hours at a time, their singing draws in a column of air from their middle to throw their voices out at maximum pitch and volume. In between songs they chain-smoke and drink tea. We join in.

Our performance is to 700 invited guests. The audience give us a standing ovation, loving the fusion and confirming for me and Sam that we are on a path that makes sense both in Pakistan and back in the west. We will do the exact same show in London.

We have discovered a sound that crossses boundaries both in terms of South Asian culture but that also brings qawwali into relation with a kind of post-rock. For years I have performed songs from Hindu devotional traditions because so much of the best music from south Asia has a spiritual component. The crucial point is not to make the music into a walled garden. So much cultural heritage is shared, and who has the right to dictate where the boundaries should be? Communal divisions are both real and absurd, and almost everyone welcomes a chance to forget them. Qawwali reaches across cultural divides. There is no sense of a separation of sacred and profane or Muslim and non-Muslim: everyone is invited. It simply sweeps you up and blasts you with love, like all real "soul" music does.

If political Islam is about the struggle for an imaginary future, this kind of Sufi Islam is about evoking the feeling of the divine in the present.

• Susheela Raman and Pakistan Qawwalis perform at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 16 April as part of Southbank Centre's Alchemy festival.

[Click on the title to the original article with a preview video (ed.)]

Picture: Susheela Raman performing with the Mian Mir Qawwals in Lahore, Pakistan. Photo: The Guardian.

For a Higher Love

By Sher Khan, *Ishq Khuda may bring Lollywood back to life* - The Express Tribune - Karachi, Pakistan; Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Ishq Khuda may bring Lollywood back to life: Written by Saleem Zuberi and Pervaiz Kaleem, the film centres around Sufism and the difference between temporal and eternal love.

Lahore: If there’s one person who can change the positioning of Lollywood and give the industry a new appeal, it has to be film-maker Shehzad Rafique. With hits like Mohabbatan Sachiyan and Salakhain on his directorial resume, Rafique is set to return with his much-awaited comeback film Ishq Khuda, which is scheduled for a global release this Eid.

Star-studded cast

With film stars like Shaan and industry legends like Syed Noor as his biggest supporters, the film-maker’s latest venture has once again roped in a multitude of artists and musical personalities. Ishq Khuda stars actors Ahsan Khan and Meera in the leading roles and features guest appearances from Shaan and Saima.

For Rafique, putting a star-studded cast was easy since actors like Khan, who are well-aware of the film-maker’s talents, needed little persuasion. Khan, who is popular for his acting on television serials, had previously turned his back on the film industry but changed his mind when Rafique offered him this opportunity. “I don’t normally act in films but there are very few people who can match the work done by Rafique,” said Khan.

Intriguing plot and theme

Written by Saleem Zuberi and Pervaiz Kaleem, the film is based on a love triangle between Khan, Meera and another actor yet to be revealed. Centred on the theme of Sufism, Khan explains that the film intends to show that when a person fails in the pursuit of worldly endeavours and passions, they start to question their reason for existence and start to struggle for a higher love.

Regarding the plot and cast, Rafique said, “It is based on the idea of Ishq Majazi (temporal love) and Ishq Haqeeqi (eternal love). I have always chosen the cast according to the requirements of the role. I think the chemistry between Ahsan and Meera will be exceptional.”

Acting debut

Moroccan artist Wiam Dahmani, who is popular in the Middle East, will be marking her acting debut with Ishq Khuda. Talking to the Pakistani media, Dahmani said, “I feel great to be in Pakistan. When the director approached me for the role, I immediately said yes.” Rafique said that the reason for his choice was that the debutant will add freshness to the silver screen and will open the gateway for other international artists to feature in Lollywood films.

Filming in Swat

Ishq Khuda is extensively shot in the war-torn and flood-affected region of Swat. Rafique, who had just returned from a shoot in Swat, also thanked the Pakistan Army and the people of Swat for their support during the filming process.

“As a director, I wanted to capture the beauty of the region through the camera. Pakistan is a unique and beautiful place and its people are tolerant and accepting of different ethnicities and religions,” said Rafique. “I think the education of Sufi concepts is important as it promotes tolerance and inter-faith harmony.”

Soundtrack

Musically, the film will follow the footsteps of Mohabbatan Sachiyan, which featured an array of acclaimed musicians and artists. Leading playback singer Shazia Manzoor, who had officially left the film industry 12 years ago after the decline of Urdu films and the increasingly lyrical vulgarity that accompanied Punjabi films, has agreed to lend her melodic voice to Ishq Khuda’s soundtrack.

Regarding the decline of the film industry and its impact on the music industry, Manzoor said, “While singers can go to India to record albums, the technicians and musicians cannot and those are the people who suffer in the long run. Therefore, quality films with great music are important for their survival.”

The film’s music has been composed by Wajahat Attray and lyrics have been penned by Riazur Rehman Saghar. Besides Manzoor, the soundtrack will also feature Sanam Marvi, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and several other major artists.

Picture: Creative Commons / The Express Tribune.

For Harmonious Relations

By Gaurav Sharma, *Zardari prays at Ajmer Sharif, donates $ 1m* - Two Circles Net / IANS - Cambridge, MA, USA; Sunday, April 8, 2012

Zardari prays at Ajmer Sharif, donates $ 1m

Ajmer: After a gap of eight years, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari offered prayers at the revered shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer and announced a donation of $1 million for the dargah.

Accompanied by his son Bilawal, Zardari who had last visited the shrine in 2003, was presented a ring studded with nine gems.

"President Zardari prayed here...He announced a donation of $1 million for the shrine," Syed Zeeshan Kaptan, the Khadim or caretaker of the dargah, told IANS.

The father-son duo spent around 35 minutes at the shrine, which included a 15-minute prayer at the tomb of Moinuddin Chisti.

Both Zardari and Bilawal offered separate chadars at the shrine which they had brought from Pakistan.

According to Kaptan, the father-son duo spent around 10 minutes at the tomb of the Sufi saint also known as Garib Nawaz, and recited verses from the pocket-sized editions of the holy Quran they were carrying.

Both received gifts from the Khadim.

"Bilwal was very happy when we gifted him the picture of his mother when she had last come here," Kaptan said.

The 24-year-old Bilawal Bhutto drew instant comparisons with Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi.
"Bilawal looks like the Pakistani version of Rahul Gandhi... He is a soft spoken person and a thorough gentleman," Syed Natik Chishti, Khadim at the dargarh who helped Zardari and Bilawal perform their prayers, told IANS.

"We were very impressed by Bilawal...He seems so full of energy and has a kind and clean heart...He is just like Rahul Gandhi," he said.

Chishti said Bilawal held his hand and asked him to pray for harmonious relations between India and Pakistan.

[Picture: Dargah Sharif. Photo: Wiki.]

Tanhai

By Rauf Parekh, *What is the true theme of poetry?* - Dawn.Com - Pakistan; Sunday, April 8, 2012

What is the true theme of poetry? Faiz Ahmed Faiz is reported to have once said that “the true subject of poetry is the loss of the beloved”.

Explaining this statement in the preface to her book The true subject: selected poems of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Naomi Lazard writes that the quotation that says the true subject of poetry is the loss of the beloved is in fact a Sufi tenet, a teaching of Sufism.

Then she says that ‘the beloved’ in the phrase may “refer to a person, a home, a country — anything that is beloved, whose meaning is love”.

It may seem a bit strange to some that despite referring to Sufism she has conveniently forgotten to mention God, the true beloved of a Sufi. The reason perhaps is that it would not have fit in properly, since the philosophy Faiz believed in did not have much room for metaphysical concepts such as God.

But the Sufi tenet may work well both for Sufis and the Marxists — and even for those who believe in other kinds of love — and help understand all kinds of poetry, be it love poetry or metaphysical or progressive, if taken in the broader sense.

But she is right when she says that to Faiz the Sufi teaching came to have many meanings and “loss encompasses many losses — loss of home, family, livelihood, country”, because for Faiz, his country and his people were, of course, among the beloved ones and he suffered a lot while in exile.

Later in the preface, Lazard refers to God as well but in a different perspective. She thinks that Faiz used the classical Urdu, Arabic and Persian metaphorical lyrics and songs of yearning for love and yearning for God with a different connotation and “the time-honoured metaphorical yearning for God becomes something new, a vital living poetry that speaks of the struggle to survive against the crushing weight of colonialism, imperial war, against the injustice that strangles our lives every day”.

The book contains the translations of Faiz’s 45 poems along with the original Urdu text. Naomi Lazard, the translator, is an American poet and playwright and she had met Faiz in 1979 at a writers’ conference in Honolulu. Lazard quoted a line from Robert Graves, which he had received in a letter from the Welsh poet Alun Lewis. And the line was, of course, the one quoted above: the true subject of poetry is the loss of the beloved. Faiz laughed and said that he was the one who had given that Sufi teaching to Lewis, with whom he had worked in the British Indian army in Burma during the Second World War. The next day both Faiz and Lazard began work on the English translation of Faiz’s poem. It went on till Faiz’s death.

Now a word about the translation: as Lazard has described in the intro, the method of translating the text into English was very peculiar: First Faiz dictates the literal meanings to her.

Then she asks questions about the words, metaphors and cultural nuances. And then she works on the poem until, as she puts it, “the English version works in the same way that a poem I have written myself works. It must be faithful to the meaning Faiz has given it. It must move in his [sic] own spirit, with the same feeling and tone. It must have the same music, the same direction, and, above all, it must mean the same thing in English that it means in Urdu.”

Well, sounds interesting, as it gives the impression that she does not know Urdu. It also reminds one of a saying popular among the academics that poetry cannot be translated. But by it they mean it is very difficult to capture the essence of poetry in translation, that is, even if one knows both the languages very well.

She then adds: “I have learned how crucial it is to find the verb, the active verb to its highest degree, to find the most active verb for the occasion”. But then comes the more interesting part when a few pages later she adds: “In the poetry of Faiz this problem is intensified because his language in Urdu is singularly devoid of active verbs. Images and passives constructions abound”. What worries a student like me is that it is evident that Lazard knows very little Urdu, if at all, yet she is so judgmental about Faiz’s diction.

First published by Princeton University in 1987 under the same title, this edition of The true subject is published by Oxford University Press with a new preface.

One feels that the book can serve as an introduction to Faiz’s poetry and might be helpful to the readers who cannot read, for one reason or another, Faiz’s poetry in the original. For westerners it does open up a new world of themes and expressions, faithfully rendered into English by someone who worked closely with Faiz and is a poet herself.

What is important is that Faiz himself dictated the essence of the poems. Some of the shorter poems convey the message emphatically as is evident from the following translation of Faiz’s famous poem Tanhai (solitude):

Someone is coming at last, sad heart! No. I am wrong. / It is a stranger passing on the way to another place. / Night falters; stars are scattered like clouds. / The lamps in the hallway droop; they want to go out./ All roads are asleep after their long work of listening. / Alien dust has come to cover the traces of the footsteps everywhere. / Snuff out the candles, clean away wine, flask, and goblet. / Lock up your sleepless doors, my heart. / No one, no one will ever come here now.

A Sense of Happiness

By Hari Kumar, *Cricket and the Ajmer Sharif Shrine Bolster India Pakistan Relations* - The New York Times - New York, NY, USA; Sunday, April 8, 2012

Cricket and the Ajmer Sharif Shrine Bolster India Pakistan Relations

When Pakistan’s leaders visit India to try to bolster fragile relations between the two countries, both sides can always count on cricket and the famous shrine of Ajmer Sharif to provide the perfect cover for informal talks.

President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan visited the Ajmer Sharif shrine on Sunday afternoon, after having a conversation and a delegation-level lunch with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India in New Delhi.

Ajmer Sharif is a famous shrine to the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, situated in the middle of Ajmer, Rajasthan, 420 kilometers, or 260 miles, southwest of New Delhi. The saint established an order of Sufism known for its generosity and tolerance, and the shrine is considered one of the world’s most revered places for Muslims. At least 10,000 people visit the shrine every day. Visitors include Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs who come to get their wishes fulfilled.

Several leaders of Pakistan have visited Ajmer Sharif in the past. In 1987, General Zia-ul-Haq, then the president of Pakistan, visited Jaipur to watch a cricket match, followed by a visit to Ajmer Sharif. At the time relations between India and Pakistan were passing through a particularly rough phase. He wrote in the visitor’s book, “O Allah, Please accept the services of this servant.”

Benazir Bhutto, the assassinated former prime minister of Pakistan and wife of Mr. Zardari, visited Ajmer Sharif four times but never as a prime minister. During her first visit in 1991 she wrote in the visitor’s book, “I pray for peace, for well being of humanity, for tolerance and understanding.” A decade later she visited again and wrote, “I feel the spirituality of Darbar. I feel a sense of happiness and joy and an uplifting experience.”

On her third visit, in 2003, she wrote, “I feel great support coming to Ajmer Sharif and offering prayers.” She again visited in 2005 and wrote, “I come for thanks giving as relations between India and Pakistan improve and my husband Asif Ali Zardari is freed from the captivity of tyrants.”

In 2005. the then-president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, visited Ajmer Sharif and wrote in the visitor’s book, “I consider it my honor as also of my entire delegation to have prayed of the Shrine of Sufi Saint Hazrat Moinuddin Chishty. Our prayers for peace, harmony and amity between Pakistan and India and prosperity of both the countries be answered.”

In 2007, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali of Pakistan visited the shrine and wrote in visitor’s book, “Allah has been very kind to bring me here. Insha Allah will pray to come back here.”

After the Mumbai attacks in 2008, in which at least 163 people were killed by Pakistani terrorists, official talks between India and Pakistan were suspended. Cricket diplomacy came in handy here. Prime Minister Yosuf Raza Gilani of Pakistan visited India in 2011 to watch the India-Pakistan World Cup cricket semifinal match in Mohali. Bilateral relations were resumed again soon after.

After the visit of Mr. Zardari on Sunday afternoon, it will be seen whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India will reciprocate with an official visit to Pakistan. May be that would be the best tribute to the Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti.

[Picture: Zardari prays at Ajmer Sharif Dargah. Photo: Ajmer Sharif Dargah (shrine) website.]

‘Mystic of this Era’

By Staff Reporter, *Discussion highlights relation of religion, culture* - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan; Saturday, April 7, 2012

Discussion highlights relation of religion, culture

Sufi Islamic Scholar, Professor Ahmed Rafique Akhtar here on Thursday highlighted the relation of religion and culture in terms of mysticism and spirituality and called the young generation to follow true ethical values of this relation.

Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) in collaboration with Ministry of National Heritage and Integration arranged the lecture and discussion on ‘Deen Aur Saqafat Ka Rishta’.

Professor Rafique explained Islam as a modern and revolutionary religion. “Traditions are outcome of varieties which create new environment. In the beginning traditions oppose these varieties but gradually feel proud of it. The advancement of science and technology considered all religions as unreliable but not Islam,” he added.

“All scientific inventions and discoveries were unable to compete Qura’n. Unfortunately now people have stopped reading Qura’n with complete understanding and they are doing researches on the basis of modern sciences,” he said.

Culture is the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours and traditions of a particular human group, a way of living learned from, and shared by, the members of that group.

Understanding the concept of culture is key to understanding human behaviour.

He said that culture and religion are part of human life to create harmony in different matters. Participants including students and people from different walks of life took part in discussion to explore the subject and understand the concepts in detail.

Ahmad Rafique Akhtar (born April 15, 1941) has been associated with teaching for years and delivers lectures on different Islamic and philosophical topics all over the country and different places in the world. Many of his lectures have been published in books.

Ahmed Rafique is known as ‘Mystic of this Era’ who focuses on topics like mysticism, religion, today’s world, approach to Qura’n, Science and Islam.

[Picture: Professor Ahmad Rafique Akhtar. Photo: Wiki.]

Food to the Deprived

By Anil Sharma, *The journey to Ajmer Sharif - from Akbar to Zardari* - Two Circles Net / IANS; - Cambridge, MA, USA; Thursday, April 5, 2012

The journey to Ajmer Sharif - from Akbar to Zardari

Ajmer: From Mughal emperor Akbar who came praying for a son to a relentless stream of around 12,000 people who throng every day to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari who will visit it Sunday, the pull of the 12th century Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer remains undiminished.

The marble-domed tomb of the Sufi saint, located 145 km from Jaipur, in the middle of Ajmer's walled city area, attracts a huge mass of people from all over the world who come here with an ardent wish and a prayer on their lips.

The tomb is located at the centre of a courtyard and is surrounded by a marble platform. It is believed that the remains of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, also known as Khwaja Garib Nawaz, lie buried at the shrine.

Khadims, or priests at the dargah, claim to be his descendants and are authorised to carry out prayers at the shrine. The premises have eight more tombs, including those of the saint's family members.

S.F. Hussein Chishti, a khadim, told IANS that people come here with the hope to fulfil their wishes and offer 'chadar'. After their wish is fulfilled, they visit again to express their gratitude.

"It used to be Mughal emperor Akbar's favourite destination for many years," said Chishti.

He said the most spectacular thing about the shrine is that it is visited by not only Muslims but equally by those from other religions, including Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.

The shrine is set to complete 800 years in June.

Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti is said to have been born in 1142 A.D. in Iran. "He left the place to spread the teachings of Sufism. He came to India and settled in Ajmer," added a khadim.

"At that time, society had many social evils; so he spread the teachings of equality and brotherhood. Sufism is a moderate philosophy and Mughal kings were impressed and encouraged the spread of its teachings". He is largely famous for the Sufi philosophy that preaches brotherhood, harmony and prosperity, say the khadims.

Julfikar Chishti, another khadim, said: "The deprived and the poor come barefoot, walking hundreds of kilometres. For the past three to four years, people from Europe and America are also coming here to learn the teachings of Sufism."

Mohamed Aajam, a historian, said: "King Akbar came barefoot from Agra to the Ajmer dargah and wished for a son here.

"There is the Akbari mosque and also Shahani mosque constructed by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan," he said.

There are eight gates for entrance to the shrine, but only three are used. "The Nizam gate was constructed by the Nizams of Hyderabad," said Aajam.

A dargah committee takes care of the security and sanitation of the place. The rituals are in the hands of the Anjuman Committee, made up of priests of the place.

"Our duty is to organise rituals and provide food to the deprived coming here," said Waheed Angara, secretary of the Anjuman Committee. There are regular elections to this committee and only khadims can participate in it.

Zardari will be the fourth Pakistani head of state or government to visit the dargah. His late wife Benazir Bhutto and former presidents Zia-ul Haq and Pervez Musharraf also visited the shrine.

"The shrine has always been a great source of communal harmony and national integrity," Mohammad Ahmed, a resident of the dargah area, told IANS.

Every year, on the death anniversary (urs) of the Sufi saint, held on the first six days of Rajab (seventh month of the Islamic calendar), millions pour into the shrine.

[Picture: Ajmer Sharif, Big Degh (cauldron). It was presented by Emperor Akbar, 4800 kgs of food can be cooked in it and the cost comes to about 1,20,000 Indian Rupees (2300.-- USD). Photo: Chishti Ajmer Sharif.]

We Braved It All

By Peerzada Ashiq, *Kashmir first Rock band has Sufi poetry on Blues* - Hindustan Times - Srinagar, India; Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Kashmir first Rock band has Sufi poetry on Blues

Born and brought up in difficult and violent years of the past two decades, four boys have come together in Kashmir for first Rock band to sing philosophical Sufi poetry and hum people's day to day sufferings.

Named ‘Dying Breed’, the valley-based band had people on toes on Sunday evening at Srinagar’s Sangarmaal shopping complex. The band sung from famous poetic verses of Sheikh-ul- Aalam on Blues with on-stage improvisation.

“It was not easy to form a band in place like Kashmir. From social to economic pressures, we braved it all,” said 23-year-old guitarist Muiz.

Though the final shape of the band took place in the middle of 2011, it was during schooldays of 2005-2006 that three friends Muiz, Zohaib and Maajid would hum and jig secretly in their rooms and dreamt of making it big in music.

“I used to play guitar and sing psychedelic music all day long in my room. My parents sent me to an engineering college outside the state,” said Muiz.

The three friends, however, met again in Srinagar after pursuing different courses for three years only to come up with the valley’s first Rock compact disc album with four songs, which was released on Sunday evening. John Khankashi, a drummer, joined the trio last year to complete the band to produce new music.

‘Dying Breed’ is passionate about Psychedelic, Blues and Rock. “The band believes in experimentation which may or may not fall into a specific genre,” said Maajid.

Influenced by bands like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane and Nirvana, Maajid -the lead vocalist- said he wants to sing about everyday life of the valley.

“Our music will have nature and love in it. From traffic jams to day to day issues to Sufi poetry, we will sing for people’s hearts,” said Maajid.

The band is aiming at connecting youth with their roots. “This kind of Sufi music will help new generation to identify with the past and its literature,” said Kashmir’s known playwright Aarshad Mushtaq, who is among rare supporters to the initiative.

All early twenties, the band members are deeply influenced by verses of spirituality-driven poetry of Wahab Khar, Sheikh-ul-Alam and Lal Ded.

Maajid said he will not run away from here just because there is bedlam or the opportunities are fewer. “We may not have had a political stance but we were always clear that our first album will come out from here. We have done our work. Now, we are waiting,” said Maajid.

The band has decided not to preach any ideology. “We are not missionaries. We want to feel normal. We should not be expected to be a political band because we are from Kashmir,” they said.

[Picture: Map of Kashmir showing disputed territory. Photo: Wiki.]

For Ziyarat and Prayers

By Staff Writer, *Pak President Asif Ali Zardari to meet Manmohan Singh on April 8 before visit to Ajmer shrine* - India Today - India; Monday, April 2, 2012

Pak President Asif Ali Zardari to meet Manmohan Singh on April 8 before visit to Ajmer shrine

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi over lunch on April 8 before making a private visit to the famous 13th century Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer.

This will be the first visit to India by a Pakistani Head of State since 2005, when then President Pervez Musharraf had travelled to New Delhi.

"The President has accepted the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for lunch in New Delhi en route to Ajmer Sharif on April 8," presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said on Sunday night.

Zardari will visit Ajmer in Rajasthan "on a private visit for Ziyarat and prayers at the shrine of Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz", Babar said.

"The President will return to Islamabad the same day," he added.

The visit comes against the backdrop of several steps taken by India and Pakistan in recent months to normalise bilateral relations, especially in trade.

Zardari and Singh had last met on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Russia in 2009.

Earlier in the day, Pakistani officials said that a request for a private visit by President Zardari to Ajmer had been forwarded to the Indian side. The government had kept the visit under wraps as it was originally intended to be a "purely private" matter, officials said.

Though the visit was supposed to be devoid of political or diplomatic content, the officials had not ruled out the possibility of some official meetings as a Pakistani head of state would be visiting India after a long gap.

A presidential aide, who spoke on condition that he would not be named, said Zardari's visit to Ajmer had been in the pipeline for almost a year.

"This visit has been planned since last year as the President wants to make a trip to the dargah in Ajmer," the aide said.

Zardari's India visit is intended to be purely for religious purposes. However, the Indian government is looking at the possibility to add some political discussions during his day-long visit.

"While as of now, the visit is purely for religious purposes, efforts are being made so that some political discussions could also take place during the day-long trip of Zardari," sources in Delhi said earlier in the day.

India and Pakistan resumed their peace process last year after a gap of over two years in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which were blamed on the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Following several rounds of talks, Pakistan recently switched over to a negative list regime for trade, paving the way to giving India Most Favoured Nation-status by the beginning of next year.

Senior officials of the two sides will hold talks in the coming months on key areas like terrorism, the military standoff on the Siachen glacier and the Sir Creek boundary dispute, and this is expected to be followed by the Indian External Affairs Minister?s visit to Islamabad by July.

Zardari is known to be superstitious and his spiritual beliefs have been widely reported in the Pakistani media.

According to media reports, one of his rituals is the sacrifice of a black goat to protect him from evil. Scores of black goats have reportedly been sacrificed since Zardari moved into the presidency.

Picture: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari. Photo: India Today.

Will Visit the Shrine

By Staff Writer, *Pakistan President Zardari to meet India PM for lunch* - BBC India - UK / India;Monday, April 2, 2012

Pakistan President Zardari to meet India PM for lunch

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Indian capital, Delhi, on 8 April, his office has announced.

Mr Zardari will visit, in a private capacity, the shrine of a famous Sufi Muslim saint, in north-west Rajasthan state, his spokesman said.

He will meet Mr Singh for lunch before visiting the shrine in Ajmer city.

This will be the first visit to India by a Pakistani head of state for seven years.

The visit comes as tensions ease between the nuclear-armed neighbours amid efforts to improve mutual trade over the last few months, correspondents say.

Late on Sunday night, Pakistani presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Mr Zardari had accepted Mr Singh's invitation for lunch and would stop by in Delhi on way to Ajmer, the Times of India reports.

Reports from Ajmer said the administration was preparing for Mr Zardari's visit and that the entire shrine area was expected to be closed to other devotees during the Pakistani president's visit.

Earlier on Sunday, the presidential office said that an India visit was on the cards and the date and details of the trip were being worked out.

This would be Mr Zardari's first visit to India since he took over as president in 2008.

The last Pakistani president to visit India was Gen Pervez Musharraf, who came on an official visit in 2005.

Dialogue between India and Pakistan is being strongly encouraged by the United States in particular, as it is keen to promote regional stability ahead of the withdrawal of Nato-led forces in Afghanistan, correspondents say.

The Path to Allah

By Sehrish Ali, *Solo exhibition: Miniatures of rustic life and spirituality* - The Express Tribune - Karachi, Pakistan; Saturday, March 31, 2012

Solo exhibition: Miniatures of rustic life and spirituality

Islamabad: From the gypsies of Rajasthan to whirling sufis, the exhibition of miniature paintings by artist SA Noory, covers both the rustic life and spirituality. His work, that incorporates water colours with intricate finesse of brushwork, was opened for display at Gallery Louvre here on Friday.

Noory has concentrated on the desert plains of Rajasthan where the women wear draping ghaghras with white bangles on both their arms; a common sight in the barren sand dunes. First appearing on the art scene in 1998, Noory’s fascination with Rajasthan began 10 years ago. The fine brushwork being his forte, he paints chiseled features of men and women of the desert along with their young ones.

However, even though the influence comes from Rajasthan, the people in the paintings remain ‘fictional’. “I don’t take pictures, rather paint using my imagination,” he said. The women are slender with delicate hands and feet, often holding earthen pots and waiting in anticipation with their heads bowed down in despair. The hues of light brown, beige and sandy tones not only emanate a desert-feel but add a hint of romanticism to his work.

Noory’s work is nuanced with Sufism- white bearded men in trance, holding the Quran. Perhaps the most intriguing piece is a painting of a tall, bearded man with his hand outstretched upwards holding onto a rope as he looks serenely towards the sand. The rope goes straight into the sky and out of the painting where the viewer is left wondering where the other end of the rope must be.

He is quick to clarify that the rope symbolises the path to Allah. The expression of complete peace on the old man’s face is proof of Noory’s control over the brushwork. Smaller paintings of old men with their large deep red, yellow and white turbans with tanned faces peering in and out of the frame are a refreshing change from the norm.

The exhibition will continue till April 15.

[Visit Gallery Louvre, Islamabad]

Rahman Baba’s Urs

By PPI / Staff Reporter, *Pushto poet Rahman Baba’s Urs on Sunday* - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan; Saturday, March 31, 2012

Islamabad: The Urs of renowned Pashto Sufi Poet Abdul Rahman Baba will be observed on Sunday.

Rahman Baba was a member of the Khalil Muhmand (Bahader Kalay) sub-tribe of Pukhtunsé, a group that originally migrated from Kandahar to the Peshawar valleyé from the 13th to the 16th century.

He grew up in a small pocket of Mohmand settlers on the outskirts of Peshawar.

His poetry expresses a peaceful mystical side of local culture which is becoming increasingly threatened by less tolerant interpretations of Islam. A collection of Rahman’s poetryé called the Diwan (Anthology) of Rahman Babaé contains 343 poemsé most of which are written in his native Pukhtoé which is a dialect of the Pashto language found in Afghanistan and parts of Western Pakistan.

Abdur Rahman Baba died in 1715 AD. Radio Pakistan will broadcast programmes to pay homage to Rahman Baba on his Urs on Sunday.

Ranjhan Mera, Main Ranjhan Di

By Raza Rumi, *And then there was light* - The Friday Times - Lahore, Pakistan; Vol. XXIV, No. 07; March 30 - April 05, 2012

As a young apprentice in medieval India, Shah Hussain was struck by the idea of this life as a 'game and sport'. The poetry he went on to write still holds a light to the darkness we carry within us.

Lahore, the ancient city of Loh, the age-old halt for invaders, is also the home to eclectic Sufis. Men and women who shed conventions and discovered newer planes of spirituality found a home in this city. The merging of centuries' old Indus valley bastion - the Punjab and its primordial language - with core strands of Islamic Sufism was a unique moment in South Asia's cultural evolution. And, no one can better represent the composite soul of Lahore than its poet and Sufi master Shah Hussain, whose identity has forever fused with his Hindu disciple Madhu Lal. Those who seek Lahore's Mela Chiraghaan or Festival of Lights still frequent the 16th century shrine of Madhu Lal Hussain.

Shah Hussain's father, Shaykh Usman, was a loom weaver, and his grandfather Kaljas Rai (Kalsarai) was a convert to Islam who gained the confidence of the state during the reign of Emperor Firoz Shah Tughlaq. Shah Hussain Lahori was born in 1538 AD near Taxali Gate, Lahore. His early religious education was followed by induction into the Qadiriya order by Hazrat Bahlul Daryavi at a very young age. As a devout Muslim in his early years, he gained a formal outward knowledge and imbibed the spiritual moorings of Lahore, including the blessings of Hazrat Usman Ali Hajvery, aka Data Saheb, whose shrine has guided scores of saints, fakirs and yogis for nearly a millennium.

Mythological accounts suggest that at the age of thirty-six, while studying a commentary on the Quran, Shah Hussain was struck by a line which equated the 'life of this world' to 'game and sport.' He asked his instructor to explain the concept but his teacher's response did not satisfy him. He is said to have interpreted this verse as a means to undertake sport and dance. It is said that Shah Hussain pursued dancing, sport and frolicking but his mentor Hazrat Bahlul Shah Daryavi was not alarmed as he thought his student was spiritually intact.

A life of questioning and seeking alternative meanings in conventional beliefs had arrived. This turning point in Shah Hussain's journey proved to be a major milestone. The first step was to question the clergy and the religious establishment that was co-joined with the monarchy in medieval India. Muslim rulers had sought refuge in religious legitimacy to entrench their dynasties, and in divine right to rule a mass of infidels. Sufis such as Shah Hussain were rebels against the established power-cliques and this is why they gained a huge following across religious, sectarian and caste divides.

Shah Hussain's intoxication with love for the Beloved succeeded his admiration for a Hindu boy named Madhu Lal. Madhu was to become a disciple of the Sufi master in due course and join his khanqah. A Brahmin and a convert weaver duo challenged all the established social hierarchies by acknowledging the ascendancy of humanism above everything. The path to God only lay through the realization of love for fellow human beings. In an extraordinary short poem or kaafi, Hussain speaks through the voice of Heer, who rejects her well-to-do in-laws for her cow-herder lover Ranjha, and declares her rebellion against the social order:

Ni Mai menoon Kherian di gal naa aakh
Ranjhan mera, main Ranjhan di, Kherian noon koori jhak
Lok janey Heer kamli hoi, Heeray da wer chak

Do not talk of the Kheras to me,
O mother, do not.
I belong to Ranjha and he belongs to me.
And the Kheras dream idle dreams.
Let the people say, "Heer is crazy; she has given herself to the cowherd." He alone knows what it all means.

Oral histories suggest that Madhu Lal's parents wanted him to accompany them for a ritual bathing ceremony at Hardwar, but Shah Hussain did not allow him to go. When Madhu's parents reached Hardwar, Shah Hussain made Madhu Lal shut his eyes, strike his feet upon the ground, and then open his eyes again. Madhu Lal did as he was told, and to his and his parents' utter amazement, found himself in Hardwar. Madhu Lal along with his parents later converted to Islam following this miracle. And popular belief is that the name "Madhu Lal Hussain" was bestowed on the young Brahmin.

Madhu became the successor of Shah Hussain after the latter's death in 1599. Madhu Lal survived his pir for the next 48 years, and his tomb lies next to Shah Hussain's at the eclectic shrine today in Baghbanpura, Lahore. This shrine is the centerpiece of the annual Mela Chiraghan, or Festival of Lights, celebrated on the Sufi saint's death anniversary (urs). It was previously celebrated on the 22nd day of the Islamic calendar month of Jamadi-at-Thani, but is now celebrated on the 14th of Baisakh or on the last Sunday of March. It is the biggest religious festival in Lahore, and was considered the biggest public festival of the city until Basant occupied the slot.

Shah Hussain's stature as a Sufi equals his literary stature in the world of Punjabi language and literature. Composing in a kaafi style (short rhyming poems), Hussain employed a variety of styles and enriched the genre. His kaafis speak of the yearning, both spiritual and temporal, faced by Sufis in their pursuit of the divine path. Hussain was acquainted with the nuances of music - and this is why his kaafis have an innate musicality and layers of meaning, which surprisingly are similar to the Urdu and Persian ghazal that was soon to flourish in medieval India. In this kaafi the beauty of Punjabi is explored to its limits as Heer, the yearning lover, sings a song of separation:

Sujjen bin raatan hoiyan wadyan
Ranjha jogi, main jogiani, kamli kar kar sadian
Mass jhurey jhur pinjer hoyya, karken lagiyan hadyan
Main ayani niyoonh ki janan, birhoon tannawan gadiyan
Kahe Husain faqeer sain da, larr tairay main lagiyaan

Nights swell and merge into each other as I stand in wait for him.
Since the day Ranjha became jogi, I have scarcely been my old self
and people everywhere call me crazy.
My young flesh crept into creases, leaving my young bones a creaking skeleton.
I was too young to know the ways of love; and now as the nights swell and merge into each other,
I play host to that unkind guest - separation.

(Translation: Najam Hosain Syed)

There is a universe of symbolism within these kaafis: the charkha (spindle) emerges as a metaphor for the wheel of spiritual journey and also as a symbol peaceful coexistence of humanity. More importantly, the weaver is the Divine force of Creation as well as an embodiment of the human desires and vicissitudes of temporal life. The folk tales of the Punjab such as Heer-Ranjha figure prominently in Shah Hussain's poetry. These kaafis also condemn violence as noted by scholars such as Salman Saeed (The South Asian, April 2001), the limits and boundaries of life's journey, and acceptance of mortality. Long before 'symbolism' was noted in literature, this Punjabi Sufi was weaving allegories and complex themes using simple and easily accessible folk symbols. The timelessness of these poetic celebrations have inspired a variety of singers from the maestros Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Abida Parveen to contemporary pop outfits such as Mekaal Hasan Band and Junoon who have rendered Hussain's kaafis with ease.

This one is a particular favourite of mine as it invokes the Heer-Ranjha tale and alludes to the path of Love that entails crossing of a dangerous river that stands between "desire and fulfillment", to quote Najam Hosain Syed, who has rendered a competent translation of this kaafi:

Main wi janan dhok Ranjhan di, naal mare koi challey
Pairan paindi, mintan kardi, janaan tan peya ukkaley
Neen wi dhoonghi, tilla purana, sheehan ney pattan malley
Ranjhan yaar tabeeb sadhendha, main tan dard awalley
Kahe Husain faqeer namana, sain senhurray ghalley

Travelers, I too have to go; I have to go to the solitary hut of Ranjha. Is there anyone who will go with me? I have begged many to accompany me and now I set out alone. Travelers, is there no one who could go with me?

The River is deep and the shaky bridge creaks as people step on it. And the ferry is a known haunt of tigers. Will no one go with me to the lonely hut of Ranjha?

During long nights I have been tortured by my raw wounds. I have heard he in his lonely hut knows the sure remedy. Will no one come with me, travelers?

The lighting of lamps at the start of every spring is a metaphor for killing the inner darkness that we live with. By invoking spiritual light through love and self-knowledge, we can overcome ourselves and reaffirm our need to love and be loved. The urs of Shah Hussain is also an occasion for celebration. It defies convention and the religiosity of the Mullahs and allows for much festivity. Qalandars and mystics from all over the country congregate and indulge in dhamaals (dancing in a trance) which celebrate the love of Sufis for their Divine beloved and masters.

Amid our many clouds of extremism, Madhu Lal's syncretic shrine represents the long-gone era of spirituality rising above religious identities and rituals. Shah Hussain was feared by the Mughal Emperors and unconfirmed accounts relate that Hussain was sympathetic to Dulla Bhatti (the rebel leader of the peasantry) but Hussain's popular status prevented his arrest. Madhu and Shah Hussain represented and continue to represent the unity of people against all divides and labels:

They alone know what is love and longing,
Who have it in their lives.
Like digging a well in dry land,
With no cart to carry away the sand.

(Translated by Sant Singh Sekhon)

A People-friendly Person

By Staff Writer, *Perak prince Raja Ashman Shah dies* - Free Malaysia Today/Bernama - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Friday, March 30, 2012

Perak prince Raja Ashman Shah dies: Raja Ashman, a son of Sultan Azlan Shah, died following an asthma attack.

Kuala Lumpur: Raja Ashman Shah ibni Sultan Azlan Shah, a son of the Sultan of Perak, passed away early today following an asthma attack at his residence in Kuala Lumpur.

The sultan’s private secretary, Col Abdul Rahim Mohamad Nor, when contacted by Bernama, said Raja Ashman died at 1.30 am at his residence in Bukit Damansara.

He said the remains of Raja Ashman were brought to the Ubudiah Mosque in Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar, for prayers before the burial at the royal mausoleum adjacent to the mosque after the ‘Asar’ prayers.

Raja Ashman, who was known to be a people-friendly person, leaves a wife, Noraini Jane Kamarul Ariffin, a son, Ahmad Nazim Azlan Shah and two daughters, Raja Eminah Alliyah and Raja Bainunisa Safia.

He was the third of five children of the Sultan of Perak, the others being the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah; Raja Azureen; Raja Eleena and Yong Sofia.

Raja Ashman was appointed the Raja Kechil Sulong of Perak on March 16, 2010.

A Pious Prince

By Roshidi Abu Samah, *Raja Ashman laid to rest after succumbing to asthma attack* - The Star - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Saturday, March 31, 2012

Raja Ashman laid to rest after succumbing to asthma attack

Kuala Kangsar: The Raja Kecil Sulong of Perak, Datuk Seri Raja Ashman Shah Sultan Azlan Shah, who passed away after an asthma attack, was laid to rest at the Bukit Chandan Royal Mausoleum here.

The 54-year-old prince, the second son of Sultan of Perak Sultan Azlan Shah, died at his home in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, at 1.30am yesterday.

His remains were brought to the Ubudiah Mosque in Bukit Chandan, Kuala Kangsar for prayers before the burial at the Royal Mausoleum located next to the mosque.

Earlier, at about 6.15pm, his remains were transported on a royal dais by Armed Forces personnel from the Istana Iskandariah grounds to the Royal Mausoleum about 1km away.

Members of the Kedah and Johor royal families were among those who paid their last respects.

National leaders in attendance included Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

Raja Ashman was known to commoners as a pious prince who kept a low profile.

A businessman, he had a degree in economics from the University of Nottingham and a Masters of Law from Cambridge University.

He also held the ijazah or permission of investure in the Naqshbandiya Haqqaniya Order of Sufism from Shaykh as-Sayyid Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, the Grand Mufti of Cyprus and Imam of the Naqshbandiya Haqqani Order of Sufism.

Raja Ashman was a hockey fan and often accompanied Sultan Azlan Shah, the Asian Hockey Federation president, to various matches.

He was appointed as Raja Kecil Sulong on March 16, 2010.

He leaves behind wife Datin Seri Noraini Jane Kamarul Ariffin, 53, son Datuk Raja Ahmad Nazim Azlan Shah, 20, and daughters Raja Emina Aliyyah, 18, and Raja Bainunnisa Safia, 17.

Picture: Final farewell: Raja Muda of Perak Raja Nazrin Shah paying last respects to his late brother Raja Ashman (inset) at Balairong Seri Istana Iskandariah. Photo: The Star.

In Honor of HRH Raja Ashman

By Staff Reporter, *Watch now: Suhbat in memoriam of the late HRH Raja Ashman Shah and his legacy* Sufi Live - Burton, MI, USA; Friday, March 30, 2012

Suhbat in memoriam of the late HRH Raja Ashman Shah and his legacy

A`udhu billah mina 'sh-shaytani 'r-rajeem
Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Raheem

Shaykh Hisham Kabbani lead Khatm ul-Khawajagan [weekly congregational dhikr] in honor of His Royal Highness Raja Ashman ibn Sultan Azlan Shah and donated its rewards to his soul, followed by a Suhbat in memoriam of HRH Raja Ashman and his legacy.

Watch them now:

Main Suhbat
Khatm ul-Khawajagan
The Spiritual Dressings of HRH the Late Raja Ashman Shah

Reborn in Translation

By Aarefa Johari, *Shakespeare of Sindh, reborn in translation* - Hindustan Times - India; Monday, March 26, 2012

Shakespeare of Sindh, reborn in translation

When Anju Makhija was growing up in Mumbai, no Sindhi community gathering she attended was complete without some elder quoting or referring to 16th century Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif.

Years later, after building a career as a playwright, poet and freelance writer, and living abroad for nearly a decade, she decided to seek her cultural roots, and found herself returning to Latif, known as the ‘Shakespeare of Sindh’.

In Adipur, a town in Kutchh, she met 80-year-old Sindhi poet Hari Dilgir, and the two spent five years translating selected works from Shah Jo Risalo, Latif’s most famous collection of poems.

Their book, *Seeking the Beloved*, won the Sahitya Akademi’s 2011 prize for English Translation last month.

“Sindhi literature has not been translated enough. Even Latif, who is revered as a Sufi saint in Sindh, has been translated mainly by Pakistanis and Germans,” says Makhija, who believes that she is one of many post-Partition Sindhis who lost touch with their language after their families migrated to India.

Makhija’s book is now one of the first comprehensive translations of Latif coming from an Indian author.

In the Sufi tradition, Latif was known as the people’s poet for being able to draw from both Islamic and Vedantic traditions. Poems in the Shah Jo Risalo are divided into 30 surs based on Indian classical ragas, and were originally meant to be sung.

“Latif’s verse has complex symbolism and he often transformed folk tales of his time into spirited allegories to explain divine love,” says Makhija. “Our challenge as translators was to take that oral tradition and make it contemporary.”

Makhija now wants to translate 17th century Sindhi Sufi poets Sami and Sacchal and is looking for co-translators. “Most experts in old Sindhi — the language that Latif wrote in — are now very old and dying,” she says.

(Anju Makhija will read from her book, Seeking the Beloved, at Kitab Khana, Fountain, on March 28 at 6 pm. The event will include singing of Sufi songs by Asiya Hamdulay.)

[Visit the Sahitya Akademy of India.

Book cover from Amazon.]

Delhi Sufis

By Staff Writer, *Chillah courtyard plays host to launch of book on dargahs* - The Indian Express - India; Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Chillah courtyard plays host to launch of book on dargahs

New Delhi: That Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya (Delhi’s iconic 14th century Sufi saint) was against any kind of state powers and preached the message of Sufism — which is that of peace, love and harmony... That he was anti-establishment and was never himself the head of a state, but still a government unto himself...

This is how Sadia Dehlvi justified the absence of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for the launch of her second book The Sufi Courtyard: Dargahs of Delhi on Monday. “No doubt, politicians are never to be trusted. The Chief Minister told me she was caught up with work as it was the last day for filing of nominations for the MCD polls,” Dehlvi said.

Beyond the initial hiccup, however, the book launch was a success for several reasons. One being the venue itself — the lesser-known courtyard of the Chillah and Khanqah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya — a place, Dehlvi says, from where she began writing her book. “ It is also the place where Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya lived and began his mission of Sufism from,” she said.

“I feel very lucky that I got permission to launch my book on the dargahs of Delhi from this place where Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya lived. I started writing my book from this very courtyard — with the most beautiful and peaceful neighbourhood — the lesser-known, but most important, centre in Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya life, where he lived, meditated and died,” Dehlvi said.

In the absence of the Chief Minister, the book was launched by Syed Altamash Nizami and Farid Ahmed Nizami from the Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya Dargah. The launch was followed by a Sufiana Kalam — a qawwali rendition by Dhruv Sangari and his group.

Like Chillah and Khanqah of Nizamuddin, The Sufi Courtyard journeys through the famous and lesser-known dargahs of Delhi.

From the first Sufi centre established in Mehrauli by Khwaja Qutub Bakhtiar Kaki — during the early days of the Delhi Sultanate — to the late 19th century Sufi retreats, the book explores the spiritual, cultural and historical legacy of Delhi Sufis.

Dehlvi has attempted to recreate the ethos of Delhi to give an unusual perspective on the multiple influences which went into shaping the country’s Sufi traditions.

[Picture: Book cover from HarperCollins Publishers India.]

Mela Charaghan

By TET Correspondent, *Mela Charagan: Urs of Madhu Lal Hussain begins at Baghbanpura* - The Express Tribune - Karachi, Pakistan; Sunday, March 25, 2012

Mela Charaghan: Urs of Madhu Lal Hussain begins at Baghbanpura

Lahore: The three-day 424th urs of Madhu Lal Hussain started here on Saturday as devotees from all over the province began pouring in to pay their respects to the Sufi poet.

The urs, also known as Mela Charaghan (Festival of Lights), started at 11am with chadar poshi, a ritual changing of the sheet covering the tomb.

The ritual was performed by Auqaf Minister Haji Ehsanuddin Qureshi, MNA Rohail Asghar Sheikh and MNA Pervez Malik, while MPA Chaudhry Shehbaz and MPA Waseem Qadir were also present at the occasion.

A number of food stalls were set up on GT Road and close to Madhu Lal Hussain’s shrine. Swings, a merry-go-round, a Ferris wheel, a swing boat ride and a trampoline were installed around the shrine for children.

Mela Charaghan got its name from the large fire, Alao, at the shrine where people throw candles, oils and mud lamps (charagh) after making wishes. The fire remains lit till the conclusion of the ceremony.

The urs continues around the clock, with women mostly there during the day and the men at night.

Auqaf Minister Qureshi, inaugurating the urs, said that the government was paying special attention to the protection and renovation of Sufi shrines.

He said that Mela Charaghan was a cherished folk tradition in Punjab, especially Lahore.

Sheikh Muhammad Younis, the manager of the shrine, told The Express Tribune that tight security had been arranged for the urs.

He said that men and women had separate entrances.

He said that the concluding prayer would be led by Ghulam Mustafa Rizwan.

He said that the Auqaf Department roughly broke even or made a small loss at the festival.

The department allocated Rs345,000 for the urs this year, while last year Rs300,000 was collected from charity during the urs.

A side of the shrine was occupied by malangs wearing traditional black dhotis and anklets and dancing the dhamal to drum beats. People gathered in groups to discuss the contribution of the Sufis in spreading Islam and for naat khawani. The Auqaf Department distributed a langar (free food) to the devotees.

People travelled great distances to get to the festival, some waving red flags bearing Quranic verses.

Saleem Baba, a malang from Sialkot, said that he came to the urs every year. “We get blessings from the saint and then distribute them amongst the people in our areas,” he said. “We try to bring people enlightenment, so they can understand the vital contribution made by malangs.”

Pictures: Devotees arrive from far and wide for three-day urs. Photo: Ijaz Mahmood and Waseem Niaz / Express.

A Household Name

By Gözde Nur Donat, *Turkey, Bangladesh should forge further ties, Bangladeshi ambassador says* - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey; Sunday, March 25, 2012

Ankara: With flourishing trade relations, cultural ties and governments with a similar understanding of democracy, Turkey and Bangladesh are very close countries, Bangladesh Ambassador to Turkey Zulfiqur Rahman has said.

He added that relations between the two countries should be further developed in order to match their true potential.

Speaking to Today's Zaman on the occasion of the national day of Bangladesh, Rahman noted that Turkey and Bangladesh have a common past and have gone through the same political phases, leading to recent, successful democratization. Cooperation between the two countries is going very well in terms of trade, education and defense; however, it should be boosted further, he emphasized.

Trade volume between the two countries reached $1 billion in 2011. The leading sector in which Turkey imports from Bangladesh is ready-made-garments, of which Bangladesh is the fourth-largest exporter in the world. Rahman appreciates the Turkish government's efforts to increase investment and trade relations with his country, noting that while the trade volume between the countries was only $47 million in 2002, it had reached $658 million by 2009 and last year it hit $1 billion.

“The trade between Bangladesh and Turkey right now is satisfactory, but it is not up to the potential … for the two countries,” said Rahman, recalling Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's proposal to increase bilateral trade volume to $3 billion by 2015 during his visit to Bangladesh in November 2010. Rahman expressed the pleasure of the Bangladeshi government with this proposal and the strong efforts to realize it.

Rahman noted that Turkey and Bangladesh need better links in some sectors in order to achieve this target. The ambassador asserted that Turkey is a very promising market for Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals, which have significant access to EU and the US markets, being exported to a total of 80 countries worldwide. “The Turkish government is now paying a huge amount to the social security sector because of drug prices. If the Turkish government purchases our pharmaceuticals, the amount will be reduced by at least half,” he said. He noted that delegations from the two countries are working towards the application of Turkish rules and regulations to Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals.

Located in a cyclone region, Bangladesh also has a very quick disaster response mechanism. Their successes in disaster management have reduced cyclone deaths from 20,000 in 1970 to fewer than 200 by the 1990s. Rahman stated that his country is ready to share its experience in this regard with Turkey and that a process for cooperation is already being worked out.

Turkey and Bangladesh already work together well in defense, with cooperation dating back to 1978, when the two countries signed their first defense cooperation agreement. A bilateral military training agreement in 2004 carried defense cooperation to a higher level. So far, approximately 3,000 Bangladeshi military officers have been trained in Turkey. In order to finance the education of Turkish soldiers in Bangladesh, Turkey has provided an annual grant of TL 500 million to Bangladesh since 2008.

Having been busy making arrangements for a visit by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Turkey next month, Rahman also expressed satisfaction with the increasing diplomatic contact between the South Asian country and Turkey. Hasina, who will visit Turkey in April, will also deliver a speech at Ankara University on the political and economic empowerment of woman. Erdoğan's visit in November 2010 marked the first prime ministerial visit by Turkey to the country in 21 years. In February of the same year, Turkish President Abdullah Gül also visited Bangladesh.

With a population that practices a Sufi understanding of Islam -- which is in harmony with their Bengali culture and rules out any divisions between the people -- as well as a government that stands an equal distance from all religions, the country draws a very democratic image. Having a predominantly Muslim population (88 percent), the country embraces all other religions, including Hindu, Buddhism and Christianity. “The Constitution of Bangladesh allows all citizens the freedom to practice their religion, based on the idea that the state does not interfere in their religious practices,” stated Rahman.

Bangladesh seceded from Pakistan, acquiring independence for its Bengali-speaking nation in 1971. Rahman claimed that the Turkish struggle for independence inspired Bengalis deeply during their own fight for independence.

Bangladesh has experienced two military coups since it first gained independence. The first coup was staged by Gen. Ziaur Rahman in 1975, who was interestingly elected president in the national elections of 1977. Another military coup came in 1981 and continued until 1991. With a political movement for civilian politics in 1991, the military government stepped aside, and from then on the country has practiced full democracy.

Asserting that the political experiences of Bangladesh and Turkey are also similar in terms of sidelining the military from politics in recent times, Rahman feels that Turkey and Bangladesh could share their democratic experiences with “their brothers” in the Middle Eastern states and assist them during their transitional period following the Arab Spring.

Rahman also mentioned that the message of Sufism can be applied as an antidote to the present conflicts in the Middle East, not only down religious but also sectarian lines. “The governments in the Muslim world have the responsibility to preach tolerance; this is the main message. … Muslims are divided down many lines, and these lines are artificial lines, created by the people who do not want Muslims to be united,” the ambassador remarked, claiming that the picture in the Middle East of chaos and conflict would be very different if the main spirit of Sufism had been practiced.

Rahman acknowledged that the Sufi version of Islam, which is practiced in Bangladesh, came to the country from Konya. He claimed that Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi is a household name in Bangladesh and everybody knows about him.

However, Rahman lamented that Bangladesh is not very known in Turkey, despite the cultural and religious affinity and the common past between the nations dating back to 1920. “When Turkey was struggling for its independence in the 1920s, Bengali people sent military and financial assistance to Turkey,” he stated.

Picture: Bangladeshi Ambassador to Turkey Zulfiqur Rahman spoke on bilateral relations in an exclusive interview with Today’s Zaman. Photo: Today's Zaman, Mevlüt Karabulut.

Surely we belong to Allah

By Staff Reporter, *Sufi singer Bahu dies* The Nation - Lahore, Pakistan; Sunday, March 25, 2012

Lahore: Renowned Sufi singer Iqbal Bahu passed away after protracted illness here on Saturday. He was 60.

Bahu, known for his ‘Sufiana’ and Arifana Kalam (poetry of saints) was shifted to a local hospital where he died of cardiac arrest. His funeral was offered in Iqbal Town near his residence in Satluj Block.

Mohammad Iqbal Bahu began his career from Radio Pakistan and later performed for Pakistan Television. He was famous for singing Heer (poetry of Waris Shah).

Born in Gurdaspur, Indian Punjab, his family migrated to Pakistan after independence and settled in Lahore.

He mastered the Sufi tradition of well-known Sufi saint Hazrat Sultan Bahu and was awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtaiz in 2008. Literary Originations expressed grief over the demise of famous Sufi singer.

إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji`un; Qur'an 2:156
'Surely we belong to Allah and to Him shall we return'