Sindhi opera

Sindhi opera Ranni Kot Ja Dharrail enthrals audience

By Sohail Sangi

HYDERABAD: Ranni Kot Ja Dharrail (Dacoits of Ranni Kot), an opera concert at the Mumtaz Mirza Auditorium of Sindh Museum proved to be an event of the season in the cultural capital of Sindh, Hyderabad, as a team of artistes filled the air and many believed that Shaikh Ayaz, the great Sindhi poet and versatile literary figure, was reborn.

This was part of events of festival organised to mark the 88th birth anniversary of Shaikh Ayaz.

A Sindhi private channel and the Sindh culture department organised the concert on Tuesday night. A number of people from various walks of life including writers, intellectuals, activists, women, art lovers and students attended the event. …

Read more : DAWN

Are America’s Best Days Behind Us?

By Fareed Zakaria

I am an American, not by accident of birth but by choice. I voted with my feet and became an American because I love this country and think it is exceptional. But when I look at the world today and the strong winds of technological change and global competition, it makes me nervous. Perhaps most unsettling is the fact that while these forces gather strength, Americans seem unable to grasp the magnitude of the challenges that face us. Despite the hyped talk of China’s rise, most Americans operate on the assumption that the U.S. is still No. 1.

But is it? …

Read more: Time.com

Karachi – Sindh at the End of the British Raj between 1942 and 1947

Sindh: Karachi as seen by a British soldier sometime between 1942 and 1947: lively street scenes, animals, buildings, life in the Karachi Cantonment, followed by the journey back towards Britain on a troop ship through the Suez Canal. A Movie recorded by British solider Stephen in 1942. The author of the film obviously developed a liking of Karachi – Sindh and its people. A few of the shots at the end of the film may be of Bombay/ Mumbai.

via – Globeistan –You Tube

When Gen. Zia imposed Arabic

by Dr. Masood Ashraf

The role of national languages in defining and articulating national identities is a hackneyed subject, but, somehow, the privileging of learning a sacred language has not been explored much in the debates on nationalism. In this brief article, I intend to draw attention to the rise of Arabic studies in Pakistan and its long-term consequences for the Pakistani public sphere.

In his 1983 book Imagined Communities, Benedict Anderson provides three major causes for the waning of the pre-national empires and the rise of modern nation-states. One of the reasons, according to Anderson, was the rise of vernacular languages in place of what were considered the sacred languages, Latin and Arabic included. I have long maintained that Anderson misses the point as he only looks at the official use of these languages and not about the symbolic aspects of their power. In case of Arabic, for example, while it never was the official language of Muslim India, it still remains a language that wields immense symbolic power. …

Read more : ViewPoint

After Salman, Shahbaz silenced in the “sacred” state! Who’s next?

by Waseem Altaf

In less than two months time a sitting Governor of the largest province and the only Christian minister in the federal cabinet, both from the ruling party, have been gunned down in broad daylight, in the most secure city of this country. So who remains safe in the holy land? The simple answer is nobody. …

Read more : ViewPoint

Pakistan or Punjab?

by Dr Ali Akbar Dhakan, Karachi, Sindh

… Pakistan is a country where only one province get 99% bureaucracy and 99% share in all resources of the country?

Where only people of one province out of four provinces employed and settled throughout the world?

Has there any establishment in the world that not learnt lesson from past mistakes? …

Forces of darkness, extremism and intolerance are on the rise in Pakistan. If not curtailed, these forces can soon be threatening the very existence of Pakistan?

Forces of extremism and intolerance are on the rise in Pakistan. If not curtailed, these forces can soon be threatening the very existence of the state. In this episode of Reporter, Arshad Sharif tries to understand if there can be any permanent solution to this problem, and whether the Bangladesh Model could be a possible solution. Guests: Nazar Mohammad Gondal (Former Federal Minister, PPP), Haroon Rasheed (Political Analyst/Columnist), Zafarullah Khan (Executive Director Centre for Civic Education) and Mushahidullah Khan (Senator, PML-N).

Courtesy: DAWN News (Reporter with Arshad Sharif)

via – ZemTV – You Tube

Today’s Pakistan: Don’t give logic & don’t listen any reason!

Today’s Pakistan. Don’t give “DALEEL”, don’t listen to any “DALEEL”. The language of the program is urdu/ Hindi.

Courtesy: ARY News (Off the record with Kashif Abbasi,  guest FAUZIA WAHAB and others)

via – ZemTV – You Tube