Owais Mughal

Pakistan post office introduced 5 digit postal codes in 1988.

At that time, I used to feel very proud as among all my friends I seemed to remember the most number of postal codes in Pakistan i.e. at most 10 and those too were mostly confined to Karachi Division. My self-declared reign of postal codes memorization continued from 1988-2001 when I met my match. It was actually a mismatch. This mismatch was as obvious as the difference between night and day. Let us now take you to our main story.

In Boulder, Colorado there is a very famous walking district called the Pearl Street. To walk through five blocks of Pearl Street is an experience of its own kind. Street performers from all over the country come here; they gather people around and show their talents or tricks. They proudly call themselves to be part of an institution called the Street Theatre.

Adil Najam

Readers of this blog know the reverence in which I hold Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The video tribute that I had done based on his hum daikhain gay was not only the very first post on this blog but serves at the ATP Credo – a symbol of our hopes, our aspirations and also our reality. Readers also know of how fond I am of Khansaheb Mehdi Hasan Khan, particularly his ghazals, and of my fascination with old Pakistani movie songs (here and here). This post is a way to pay homage to all three.

Mehdi Hasan, of course, was an icon of Pakistani film music – rivaled, possibly, only by Madam Noor Jahan. But what many people forget is that Faiz Sahib, too, was closely associated with the Pakistan film industry when it was at its zenith. Indeed, some of his most memorable works first became famous as film songs.

Guest Post by Pervaiz Munir Alvi

ATP recently had a post on Fall Foliage in Pakistan’s Northern Areas here. During this time of the year the hills and valleys glisten with nature’s display of colors. Just like Spring, Fall is also an inspiring season for the writers. This little poem captures one of those moods of nature. A perfect Fall Day At The Inn.

The accompanied photo shows Fall Foliage in Hunza valley of Northern Pakistan.

A Perfect Fall Day At The Inn

The Innkeeper by the fireplace looked and said to me
Oh sir, you must once step outside the lodge and see
The brilliant sunlight filtering through the fall trees
Polishing those colorful pebbles of the fallen leaves
Indeed sir, what a perfect fall day in the sun for you.

And I did step outside the inn for myself to see
The filtering sun, the falling leaves and the trees
And I also saw by the sidewalk in front of me
In the burst of cold wind setting from the north
That desperate last dance of those fallen leaves
On a perfect fall day in the courtyard of the inn.