Yesterday morning was bright and sunny… someone commented its so sunny.. and yes.. i agreed… and then as if from nowhere, the clouds descended and a few raindrops… enough to set the environment for a sleepy Sunday… and then it rained and rained and rained…. This morning when I looked outside the I saw the…
The international flavour!
There is one genre’ of music that stands out amongst all for its internationality – something that extends beyond national/lingual boundaries… and that is nasheeds or ‘islamic’ songs. A thought… just try listening to any of the well known nasheed singers be it the Malaysian group Raihan, or the young Sami Yusuf, or his father…
Kashmir, 1990: Islamic Revolt or Kashmiri Nationalism
The central question we wish to address is whether the contemporary Kashmiri expression of independence in 1990 is part of a global Islamic pattern or yet another temporary reaction to some local provocation?2 If the former, is it linked to the uprisings in Israel and the Muslim Central Asian Republics of the USSR? We look for a link, not a direct political one but a conceptual one. What are the similarities, what identical patterns, what unifying principle may be identified, common to these movements? Numerous related questions arise. Is this a Kashmiri intifada? If the latter, what are the sources of disaffection, what are the objectives and what affect will they have—and arc having—on the fate of other Muslims in India? Also, how has the Kashmiri uprising fed communal feelings among the majority Hindus and thus reinforced parties like the BJP?
Lines written in early spring
[Wordsworth has been one of my favorite poets… Aren’t his words beautiful?] I heard a thousand blended notes, While in a grove I sate reclined, In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts Bring sad thought to the mind To her fair works did Nature link The human soul that through me ran; And much it…
Who wants Farooq Abdullah’s blood?
Farooq Abdullah — one man who generates lot of emotion by his very name. A man who is so much a part of the [dirty] politics of Kashmir. A man who stands out and has been much talked of…. I am sure everyone has heard some stories… anyways.. He was the son of that great…
ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
I have moved! I have moved from my blog at blogsource to wordpress. I am still the same sakooter… and I shall continue speaking… You can read my previous posts at: www.sakooterspeaks.blogsource.com
Nov Sheen Mubarak!
The chilling cold seeped through the many layers of clothes I was wearing. I rubbed my hands to keep them from freezing… My nose had turned reindeer red, and I snuggled it inside my muffler. It was cold! We all had hoped the snow would fall… the previous year had been a difficult one with…
Childhood Lost
Childhood lost… When Childhood is lost humanity cries for those alive… walking with an arrogant stride with heads up high in gruesome pride Ah! the tear that falls no more from the eye that’s all dry The questioning look and an expression that’s all sour Wretched indeed is life where life’s innocence has been stolen…
The Love Story
Her thoughts seemed to encompass my life – I kept wondering what she looks like, how she thinks, her hair, her smile … A thousand fantasies engulfed me and I could only sing songs of love for the one who is just a fantasy. There was many that I had seen on television. I couldn’t help but think of myself as a hero in a hindi movie who is wondering what his dream girl looks like. I caught myself smiling while alone – I was listening to love songs on my stereo. Everything else lost meaning – there was only her.
Lest we forget…
3rd century BC – Ashoka’s rule. * Kashmiris become famous throughout Asia as learned, cultured an humane and intellectual contribution of writers, poets, musicians, scientists to the rest of India was comparable to that of ancient Greece to European civilization. Spread of Islam * A Buddhist priest Rinchen left his home in Ladakh, after the…