आज़ादी – آزادی

लब तेरे आज़ाद नहीं अब 
ज़बां  पर पड गये हैं ताले
न अब है ये जिस्म ही तेरा
न होगी अब जान भी तेरी 
देख कि आहन-गर की दुकां अब 
ठंडी राख का ढेर बनेगी 
हाथों में पड़ जायेगी बेड़ी
पाओं में ज़ंजीरें होंगी
जिस्म ओ ज़बां की मौत है अब 
सच का होता क़त्ल है अब  
अब ये बाज़ी फिर ना बिछेगी 
अब तो चुप हर शय चलेगी
– स्वाति सानी “रेशम”

لب تیرے آزاد نہیں اب
زباں پر پڈ گیے ہیں تالے
نہ اب ہے یہ جسم ہی تیرا
نہ ہوگی اب جان بھی تیری
دیکھ کہ آہن گر کی دکاں اب
ٹھندی راکھ کا ڈھیر بنےگی
ہاتھوں میں پڈ جایگی بیڈی
او پاؤں مین زنجیریں ہوں گی
جسم و زباں کی موت ہے اب
سچ کا ہوتا قتل ہے اب
اب یہ باجی پھر نہ بچھے گی
اب تو چپ ہر شے چلے گی

-سواتی ثانی ریشؔم

Papa!

My relationship with my dad went through many phases. As a small child, I was scared of him but not scared enough to not ask questions – as long as they are not “stupid questions” and I did not pester him. As a young girl, I respected his scientific acumen and as an adult, I … Continue reading Papa!

Reciting Allama Iqbal’s Aurat for The Mansarovar Project

وجود زن سے ہے تصویر کائنات میں رنگ اُسی کے ساز سے ہے زندگی کا سوز دروں شرف میں بڑھ کے ثریا سے مشت خاک اس کی کہ ہر شرف ہے ِاسی درج کا درِ مکنوں مکالمات فلاطوں نہ لکھ سکی لیکن اُسی کے شعلے سے ٹوٹا شرار افلاطوں And here’s my translation of the … Continue reading Reciting Allama Iqbal’s Aurat for The Mansarovar Project

Aasim’s startup Orai App gets Media coverage

Aasim’s first startup, Orai App was chosen to be at Comcast’s Lift Lab accelerator program in 2018 batch where they met a lot of people, were given guidance and learnt a lot on how to run a startup. Orai App improves upon a person’s spoken skills by giving feedback and ratings and trains a person, … Continue reading Aasim’s startup Orai App gets Media coverage

The Rock Buddhas of Ladakh: Part 3

13th September Tarique and I woke up early and decided to go and see where the gurgling sound water spring that we heard all night was coming from. Since there was no direct access to the sound we were hearing, we decided to go through the village. It turned out to be a 2 km … Continue reading The Rock Buddhas of Ladakh: Part 3

The Rock Buddhas of Ladakh: Part 2

11th September The day started early as we were driving back from Kargil to Leh and were scheduled to stop in between to see the Lamayuru Monastery and the Moon landscape / Moonscape. We were in high spirits, admiring the shape, textures and lovely pastel colours of the mountains. Shades of brown, gold and at … Continue reading The Rock Buddhas of Ladakh: Part 2

The Rock Buddhas of Ladakh Part 1

Ladakh. The name originates from “La-dvags” meaning the land of high passes. Ladakh connected India with Tibet, China and other central Asian countries via the “silk road” the parts of which still exist. I had so far seen only pictures of this amazing place and was always curious about this enigmatic place tucked away in … Continue reading The Rock Buddhas of Ladakh Part 1

Brij Bano Kanhaiyalal kapoor ka ek inshaiyaa

ये इंशाईया  मैंने उर्दू रसमुलख़त में पढ़ा था और मुझे लगा की इसका देवनागरी में लिप्यंतरण (transliteration)  करूँ तो यह ज़्यादा लोगों तक पहुँच सकेगा। उर्दू में इसे यहाँ पढ़ सका जा सकता है  ब्रिज बानो : कन्हैयालाल कपूर यह ब्रिज बानो की दास्तान है। ब्रिज बानो कौन है? आज कल कहाँ है? उस के इस … Continue reading Brij Bano Kanhaiyalal kapoor ka ek inshaiyaa

Ek Akela sher

تم آؤ خزاں کی سرد ہواؤں کی طرح میں زرد پتوں کی طرح تم سے لپٹتی جاؤں -سواتی ثانی ریشم तुम आओ खिजाँ की सर्द हवाओं की तरह मैं ज़र्द पत्तों की तरह तुम से लिपटती जाऊँ – स्वाति सानी ‘रेशम’  

Chhattisgarh tour – the story in black and white

  When we take active vacations together, we tend to push our limits, and we have more fun. We meet and connect with other adventure seekers, and at times make friends for life. Tarique and I have almost always taken active vacations (Yes, a wildlife  safari counts as an active vacation) It had been long, … Continue reading Chhattisgarh tour – the story in black and white