Adil Najam
Anwar Masood is a perennial favorite. His aaj ki pakaiaye, banyain, lassi tay chai, and Jehlum da Pul are all classics of humorous poetry. But if he is to be remembered for anything, it has to be his (very) serious poem Ambri (Mother).
An ode to motherhood like no other. A glimpse into domestic violence that leaves one numb. The poem never fails to move the heart. It has a realistic tone that is the hallmark of all of Anwar Sahib’s poetry. But, despite the fact that I have heard this poem umpteen times – including in sittings with him – I had never realized just how realistic this tale is.
I had never realized that this is not just jagbeeti, this is aapbeeti. Not just social commentary, but autobiography. Here is another visualization (which also includes Urdu subtitled). It is shot at the actual school where this incident happened.
P.S. I dare not do it myself, but I do hope that someone will either translate, or at least explain the premise of this poem in English for those of our readers who do not understand Punjabi.
Get Your Fun on the Run
The Washington Post March 7, 2008 | Chris Barylick Let’s face it: The commute is pretty boring, and staring at the back of someone’s head on the Metro holds its appeal for only so long. Here are five of the best games to play on the run.
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords: Probably the best reason to own a PlayStation Portable, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is a perfect combination of role-playing and puzzle- solving, with beautiful graphics, fast gameplay and outstanding music. Players embark upon quests throughout a kingdom. Characters gradually emerge from meek origins to become powerful warlords. The biggest hazard: You may miss your stop if you’re just a few moves from victory.
Everyone 10+; Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, mobile phones; $29.99. web site pokemon diamond pokedex
Peggle: You can’t go wrong with a $5 game. And you can’t go wrong with Peggle, a 2-D puzzle game in which players must drop a ball to clear all the orange pegs on the screen while avoiding obstacles.
Appealing graphics, fun sound effects and addictive gameplay make Peggle a hit. Unexpected as it may be, Peggle becomes the best reason to look to your fifth-generation or later iPod as a terrific gaming device when you have time to kill.
Everyone; fifth-generation or later iPod; $5 (available on iTunes).
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Trials and Tribulations: One of the best titles to emerge for any platform in recent years, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Trials and Tribulations delivers an unexpectedly addictive combination of legal simulator game and Japanese graphic novel. The end result is an incredibly fun game in which players control assorted characters and argue their case, prying testimony from reluctant witnesses and presenting evidence.
Although the graphics, sound and animations aren’t mind-blowing, it’s the story and characters that make the game engrossing. this web site pokemon diamond pokedex
Teen; Nintendo DS; $19.99.
Pokemon Diamond: Pokemon Diamond follows a Pokemon trainer striving to become the Pokemon league champion. Players upgrade their units, earn helpful items and advance the larger story line by completing missions.
It’s a surprisingly fun mobile game for the Nintendo DS that can be easily picked up, knows almost no age limit and can be played using the DS’s wireless connection.
Everyone; Nintendo DS; $34.99.
Big Brain Academy: In this Nintendo DS game, players can test themselves in five categories: Think (logic questions), Analyze (reasoning questions), Compute (math questions), Identify (visual questions) and Memorize (memory questions). After completing tests, players receive a letter grade, discover the areas in which they could improve and learn which profession they might be appropriate for (museum curator, librarian, astronaut, investor, fashion stylist, diplomat, cave man, Isaac Newton, poet, banker, doctor, musician, etc.) The game has cool graphics, a fun soundtrack and perfect incorporation of the Nintendo DS’s stylus to keep the game quick and lively.
Everyone; Nintendo DS; $19.99.
Chris Barylick
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Touching.
I had wanted to write a post on the poem ‘safar ab jitna baaqi hey’ which is equally powerful and written by a mother. But will share it here. Khushbakht Shujaat is reciting it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG5qkMXl8pQ
Amazing poem. So simply stated and yet so powerful. Great poetry.
yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Bushra is right. The issue to focus on is the treatment of women in the household, even by children, let alone husbands. The tragedy is that this is not a once off story.
Yes, this is about mothers, but as you point out more than that this is about domestic violence. Let us not forget that. That is the real issue here.
Yaar aap nay tou rolla diya.
Fantastic !
The Real Mother Love