New Ghazals Book "Time is a Collection of Moments - "زندگی ل لمحات کا دریا ہے"  (Urdu Ghazals With Translation in English) Written by Quddus Mohammed  Foreword: Prof. Raza Mir

                                                Light the Diya & Connect with The Inner Voice On this auspicious day of Diwali as the earthen lamps are lit and the fireworks fill the skies, give yourself a gift of looking inwards to cultivate the spiritual wealth of knowledge and truth such as compassion, forgiveness and loving-kindness .   Light the candle to melt the boundaries of the self Reconnect the self and connect the chords Wisdom of unity is in the word of Lord   The central belief of many religions and philosophies is the existence of a cosmic order or spiritual law in the universe and the need for human beings to live a balanced life in accordance with this law. The aim is to teach us to go beyond the light floating on the surface and understand the mysteries that lies within us and embrace the knowledge to awak...

URDU POETRY IN INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY Contributor: Prof. Raza Mir WOH YAAR HAI JO KHUSHBOO KI TARAH, JIS KI ZUBAAN URDU KI TARAH   Dil na-umeed to nahin, nakaam hi to hai Lambi hai gham ki shaam, magar shaam hi to hai Defeated it may be, but the heart is not despaired Sorrow’s evening is long, but after all, it is merely evening.                       Thus begins a song from the 1994 Hindi movie 1942-A Love Story.   The lyrics of the song are credited to Javed Akhtar, but the verse itself comes from a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz.   The contribution of Faiz to this film song is entirely unstated, unobtrusive and seamless.   The presence of these lines in the song is emblematic of a highly symbiotic relationship between Hindi film music and Urdu poetry.   The influence of Urdu poets on Hindi film music not only ensured that the language continued to have a performative presence in the linguistic la...

COOKING IS A WAY OF IMPARTING LOVE     Cooking is a beautiful meditation as it captures the intimacy of the moment, disconnects from pre-occupation, engages all the senses, forges magical relationships and brings people together. When we like someone, we say we should go for dinner. It is self-expression and brings all the emotions, empathy, the goodness that illuminates the inner beauty in us. Food defines our way of life and is an important part of every celebration, feast or tradition in all cultures or religions. A cake marked for a birthday, a meat dish at a wedding feast or sugar skulls and tamales prepared for the day of the dead celebrations, our social happiness is more connected to the traditions and the practices around food than anything else. Every ingredient that goes in the culinary preparations, every recipe, the ritualistic traditions about food, are all connected and defines a culinary culture. Though the style and the structure surrounding the food varies am...