Adil Najam

Many would consider this person as one of the most important Pakistanis, living or dead. However, he (yes, that is a clue, it is a male) is/was controversial to some, and revered by others. From the quotes I give below, can you guess who he is?

I certainly hope that people – including the silent types who never comment – will give a shot to guess who this person might be. Some may recognize him immediately; others, I am sure, will be surprised. But do, please, give it a try. And do spread the word to others who are not regular ATP readers but may be able to guess.

So, without further ado, here are some quotes… him talking about his life (some words have been removed because they would make it too easy to guess). Can you guess who he is?

My father shaved off my hair every time he returned home and the community awarded me the nickname Roti…

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Adil Najam

Saw this phoptograph in Dawn today and was mesmerised by the interplay of light and shaddow.

My immeidate reaction was to think of this verse from Faiz.

I realize I have already used it before as a title (and am sure will do so again). But it seems to fit, even if the context of the original verse was rather different. Or, was it?

But then, this is what great poetry is all about. It is great not just because of what it says and how its says it, it is great because of all the things that it makes you think of. All the images it evokes. And, in this case, all the images it speaks to.

This photograph, by the way, is famed Kathak maestro Nahid Siddiqui and a fellow artist performing in Islamabad at an event organized by the Pakistan National Council of the Arts.

By Darwaish

Who doesn’t remember Uncle Sargam, Haiga, and Maasi Museebatay? Like so many others, I grew up with all of them. And what wonderful memories they still are.

Last week, I was looking for Angan Tehra, an old PTV drama serial, in one of the famous Hall Road markets when I saw CDs of ‘Kalianâà¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢. Written and directed by Farooq Qaiser, it used to be a very popular puppet show on PTV during 80’s and 90’s.

During 90’s, Rola (as in Uncle Sargam’s words: small crockery chota panda) and another one who used to start every sentence with ‘Mere Piyare Allah Mian’ also became very popular.