Zine
A manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain.
What is a Palimpsest?
This author is known for his post modern short stories, many of which are set in Lucknow. Obssessed with doors and buildings, his writing style is plain and unadorned. He famously almost never left his room and was a scholar of the Persian language, speaking a dialect of Lucknawi Farsi. He translated the works of Kafka into Urdu.
Who is Naiyer Masud?
Hasan: The red romanticism and radical resolve of _____ ______'s shayari made him Urdu’s most infamous rebel poet. Coming from a landed religious family, he was on the path to become a maulvi - until he organized a student’s strike at his madrassah. Soon, he would be a card carrying member of the CPI, work as a trade unionist in textile mills, pen lyrics for famous Bollywood films, and become a key member of the Progressive Writers Movement. On Thursday, we will read two of his nazms, 'Aurat' and 'Makaan', and discuss the long arcs of oppression and resistance depicted in his work
Who is Kaifi Azmi?
The religous reason Sultana in Manto's short story needs a Kaali Shalwaar.
What is Muharram?
Originally from Persian. The word for selling or disposing. Used by Sarah Shagufta to describe what she does with her child's shoes.
What is farokht?
Name one of the ghazals Jasmeet sang at the zine launch
What is Na Man Behuda Girde, Apni Zabaan Gawaan Kar Gira Hun Main, Kabhi Ae Haqiqat E Muntazar
A student of Shams-Ur-Rahman Faruqi, there are few formats this scholar hasn't touched: translations, timelines, archives, maps, the list is endless. Cemented by the projects "A Desert Full Of Roses" and " A Garden Of Kashmir", their legacy lives on through intricate web encyclopedias full of commentaries and translations of Ghalib and Mir, among others. The NYRB published their english translation of Intizaar Hussain's novel Basti. A professor of Emerita of Modern Indic Languages at Columbia University, her book on Urdu Meter is an invaluable resource for budding Urdu poets.
Who is Frances Pritchett?
Shahaan: This Thursday, we will explore the poetry of ______ _____ ________ , the legendary Pashtun warrior-poet and national poet of Afghanistan, and his influence on the thought and poetics of Allama Muhammad Iqbal. A tribal chief, ______ _____ ________'s literary output spans everything from medicine to theology, but he is best remembered for his fierce Pashtun nationalism and his rebellion against Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Who is Khushaal Khan Khattak?
The name of the annoying main character of Basti.
Who is Zakir?
Originally from Sanskrit. The term for "Two of Spades". Used by Ismat Chugtai as metaphor for how Aalima beat Abdul Hai in the game of love, as the two of spades can sometimes trump the ace card.
What is Chiri Ki Duki?
Name one of the two Noon Meem Danish poems included as excerpts in Samee's essay
What is Lyari or Bacche Title Phool?
Harper India published their translation of Mirza Attar Baig's surrealist novel, Hassan Ki Surat E Haal. Appearing in Words Without Borders, The Brooklyn Rail and Lakeer Magazine, this translator initially studied fiction writing at the University of Nevada. Admin of Third World Urdu, translator of works by Anver Sajjid and Khalida Hussain, he is most well known to Rumuuz for flying out to NYC for the Noon Meem Danish event, who's work he has translated and presented.
Who is Haider Shabaz?
Tabraiz: Hi everyone. For our next shayari session this Thursday at 7:30 pm, we’ll be reading a poem that has loomed large over Urdu poetry since it was written: NM Rashid’s “_____ _______ ” It’s a long poem that we cannot cover in one session. So instead, we’ll read a section of the poem and use it as inspiration to write more of our own poetry, exploring related themes of creation, transformation, grief, loss, artistic inspiration, and (self-)sacrifice. All great things to be thinking and writing about on chaand raat.
What is Hasan Kuuzaghar?
The cafe where everyone in Basti hang out at.
What is Shiraz Cafe?
Originally from persian. The word for dove. Used in the first paragraph of Basti, as well as Anver Zahidi's poem Ek Mukalama Yasser Arafat Ke Liye.
What is Faakhta?
Name three of the people Zainab Saadia Saeed mentions in her essay on grief
Who are baba, mama, nani, and chachu?
This poet compiled Mashriq o Maghrib ke Geet, a remarkable translation of global poetry from Walt Whitman, Alexander Pushkin, and even Li Po into Urdu. Known to us for his nazm Yagaangat (a snippet of which is included in our zine, and which we attempted to translate earlier this year), he was known for having a twirly mustache, never working, always wondering, and being hopelessly in love with Meera Sen, from whom he derives his takhallus.
Who is Meeraji?
Samee: On Sunday, we will cover the naat Aj Sik Mitran Di by the Sufi saint ____ ___ _____of the Golra Sharif shrine. This naat is one of the most popular Punjabi naatiya poems in the subcontinent, used variously in qawwalis, naat recitations, and films. _____ ____ _____ famously wrote the verses after waking up from a vision of the Prophet in his dream. The kalaam covers a searing longing for the beloved, something also felt in different poems across the Hindustani tradition, like the bandish Ab moré duaré ayé pritam. We will talking about the naat tradition, longing and the beloved
Who is Pir Mehr Ali Shah?
The 5-daal recipe Hasan made at his house earlier this year
What is panchmel daal?
Originally from Prakrit. The word for mould, matrix, form, figure. Used by Kaifi Azmi in his nazm Makaan
What is Saancha?
The band Asad Ali quotes from as the preface to his poem, "My Coronation"
Who is Poor Rich Boy?
A central figure in bringing English translations of Urdu work to North America, this scholar wrote, compiled and edited The Annual Journal of Urdu Studies from Madison Wisconsin. He's most well known for translating Naiyer Masud's entire work into English.
Who is Muhammed Umar Memon?
Vishal: Hi all, this Thursday, we’ll be reading from this wonderful rendition of _____ __ _____ __ _____ by Manzoor Ahmed Niazi Qavval. The main ghazal is by Khwaja Mir Dard, one of the prominent Sufi poets of the 18th century. Dard, along with Mir Taqi Mir, Mirza Rafi Sauda, and Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Jaanan, is considered one of the four pillars of Urdu poetry. The qavvali features 19 verses — 5 from the main ghazal, and the inserted verses aka giraahs by various poets including Mir Taqi Mir, Arzu Lakhnavi, Aziz Lakhnavi, Ameer Meenai, etc. The central theme — or trope — of the kalaam is that of Shama-Parwana.
What is Kaash Ta Shamma Na Hota?
Sing or name one of the Abrar ul Haq songs we did in Samee's session earlier this year.
What is Kurriyan Di Lahore Diyan, Billo De Ghar?
Originally from Hindi. The word for "small shell", formerly used as a coin. The etyomological origin of the English word of the same meaning. Used in Manto's Kaali Shalwaar, along with athanii
What is Kauri?