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janaknandini-singh999 · 9 months ago

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~ What Heeramandi Could Have Been ~

I loved the aesthetics ngl but ig I don't even need to get started on the plotline. By the end it was a rushed chaos of jealousy turned patriotism with the tawaifs going for each other's throats but suddenly coming together and cornering the Britishers. SLB thought he has a series in his hands now so he can mix everything together but what ended up was kinda a mess. I feel like they could've made two seasons instead, focusing s1 on the feud between Mallikajaan and Fareedan with its finale episode of Fareedan realizing what extent she had pushed Mallikajaan over and the grave sin she had made her suffer (the assault by Cartwright and the british police) and then S2 for the nationalist awakening and unity of Heeramandi

Here are some plot changes/additions they could've had according to me:

• Lajjo: Honestly I feel her character was wasted when it was so intriguing. Heeramandi especially Shahi Mahal revolved around matriarchy and how women were not tied down by men but Lajjo's character was an exception where she was controlled by her one sided love for Zorawar. She suffered from erotomania delusional disorder and used alchohol to cope. I found myself calling her female Devdas and felt bad that she didn't have much role in the plot, killing her off too soon without showing much depths and repercussions adding to the story. How her decisions and addiction spiralled her down to her own doom but with a last salute

They could've maybe shown Lajjo being reckless and impulsive without Zorawar so rushing to the frontline during the nationalist movement to sacrifice herself first out of everyone because she had no other hope to look forward for in her life anyway

"Zorawar ne kabhi saath nahi diya iss tawaif ka but iss mitti ne toh hamesha diya"

A queen of darkness and heartbreak in her own right

• Alamzeb & Tajdar: They could've been soo much better. Alam had understood that Tajdar's duties were towards his country as well. She could've teamed up with him in his missions, being a strength not an obstacle in his responsibilities. Alam, Taj and Bibbo working together in the rebellion

And Tajdar didn't deserve to be beaten to death like a dog by the britishers in jail after being sent there by his own father, but an honourable one after accomplishing a mission and being remembered like Shaheed Bhagat Singh

"Inquilaab aur ishq mein koi farq nahi hain"

A pair of patriotic tragic lovers in their own right

• Qudsia: She could've had such a major role to play in the entire series. Being married into the influential nawab lineage of Baloch and being a woman of her own mind, she could've proved to have substantial value too. By her interactions with Mallikajaan, it was evident that they had known each other since long and shared some history, probably going back to the time Mallikajaan had dethroned Rehaana and began her climb on the ladder of power in Heeramandi. They could've shown flashbacks of young Qudsia and Mallikajaan meeting for the first time as well, both women from different backgrounds respecting each other since then and Qudsia reminiscing how things take a full circle now that her own grandson was in love with her friend's daughter.

When the nawabs boycotted the tawaifs of Heeramandi in the end by the orders of the British, Qudsia could've used her son, who was full of guilt and remorse anyway after indirectly killing his own son so would've finally given up and given in, to get his connections and influence to get hold on the other nawabs and then she could've given their crucial information to Mallikajaan and the tawaif freedom fighters. She could've done this to avenge her grandson, as a tribute to his bravery for their country. She could've raised Alamzeb and Tajdar's baby together with Alamzeb in the end

A queen of grief and sacrifice for the country and her grandson in her own right

• Ustaadji: He was such an impressionable character despite being in just a supporting role. The nath scene was especially pivotal where the actor playing Ustaadji reveals that during that part when Fareedan gifts him the nath, he started crying even after the scene was done and SLB was so moved by his performance that he gave him a special token. The nath is a symbol of dignity and Ustaadji being a queer character was touched by the gesture of recieving the nath especially during those times when hijras, eunuchs were prejudiced against by invaders and colonizers but not by tawaifs who knew what it was like to face disgrace in society. Ustaadji had also joked about doing a nath utrayi (official debut of a courtesan) of his own. He could've actually done that and the britishers and nawabs would've been bewildered. Ustaadji being a popular messenger and figure in the series also had had an intimate encounter with Cartwright so had the insider knowledge to breach in so in the end instead of telling Alamzeb to kill him, he could've himself delivered the final blow, as the Indian flag would've swayed in the background through the window of the mahal, asserting that his identity may have been queer but he was a part of this country too

A king of popularity and scheming in his own right

• Bibbojaan: Ik SLB has a knack for tragedy and ik tragedy was written all over Bibbojaan since she was introduced but. she. deserved. sm. more. simply because everyone needed her. And especially when hers was the role that contributed the most in the freedom struggle too. She was there for her mother, her sister, the other tawaifs, and finally her country. In the dazzling, venomous world of Heeramandi, she was a north star for everyone

After Hamid Sahab's death, she should've been the leader of the group, devising plans and executing them. And post independence during the chaos of partition, she could've been the one to unite the people of Heeramandi and Lahore, helping them all like she did

A queen of freedom and unity in her own right

• Mallikajaan: The main character of Heeramandi had so many nuances and shades within that it was so engaging to watch her. First of all it was confusing why she'd bridle her own daughter's happiness and passion but then lay her own honour on line to protect her. She knew the pain of being separated from the child when Imaad was taken away from her because of Rehaana so why did she do the same to Rehaana's daughter? Jealousy and revenge have their own ways I guess but by the end of it all Mallikajaan was in shreds and abruptly attempted on taking the side of patriotism to cleanse whatever evil deeds she had done all her life. Even after all this one could feel for her so her ending should've been better served as well

The tawaifs could've trapped the british army in Shahi Mahal after luring them in and then blown the place up. Mallikajaan would've no doubt not leave the Mahal even during the destruction, as a result sacrificing herself too but there's a deeper meaning here. The Shahi Mahal stands for power for which Mallikajaan fought, even killed and did what not, not even sparing her own people throughout the story. She did it to consume others but in the end was consumed by the all consuming power itself.

"Maine Shahi Mahal ke liye sabko tabaah kar diya. Ab yahi mera guroor hain, junoon hain, fitoor hain. Aur main bhi issi ke saath tabah hungi"

But the dignity that was stripped away from her by the british police is back in her eyes now as she stares at them all as she presses down the button of the bomb, whispering "Inquilab zindabaad"

This incident and Shahi Mahal instead would be known as "Mallikajaan's Majestic Massacre Mahal" and the biggest act of rebellion by tawaifs, sending chills down the britishers as she'd have power over them even after her death

A queen of power and twisted fate in her own right

• Waheeda: A fascinating character indeed, someone you'd have a love-hate relationship with. She was an isolated, intimidating tawaif who I can picture siding with the britishers and enemies to take down Mallikajaan, only for them all to realize she was using them for her gain

After Shahi Mahal blown up, she could've gone somewhere else in Heeramandi to establish her own mahal from scratch, finally becoming a huzoor

A queen of scars and quiet rage in her own right

• Shama: Fareedan could've given the keys of Khwabgah to her and made her that place's huzoor. She would've given a tough competition to her mother and fought for herself. Mallikajaan had once pointed out that only she had the deceit and tact rather than all her own daughters to be a true tawaif and yes she had the charm of a tawaif at such a young age so she could've manipulated the nawabs to boycott the britishers instead

A queen of a promising heroine of seduction in her own right

• Fareedan: When she realized what she had done to Mallikajaan, she could've been gradual about it because she was still close to Cartwright at that point. She could've used that advantage to extract more information and get close to other British officials, still pretending she's against Mallikajaan. That would've been a fatal attack planned with the tawaifs and freedom fighters after getting to know their weaknesses.

After the partition and realizing the futility of it all, she could've gone across the borders, already used to travelling the land when she was tricking and running away from husband to husband when she was a child, and could've built an orphanage so the children wouldn't go through what she went through as a child when she was sold off in Heeramandi

A queen of challenges rising above injustice in her own right

• Satto & Phatto: After Mallikajaan who they were loyal to, and after Fareedan, Alamzeb, everyone gone, they could've shifted out and opened a dhaba or something in Heeramandi, with Iqbal working for them now. The dhaba would've become famous and so would they and they'd look back on how every tawaif including them would dream of becoming the queens of Heeramandi and they were actually that now after so much of their trustworthy hard work that was unpaid before but is recognized now

The queens of loyalty and dreams in their own right

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maihonhassan · 9 months ago

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When Bano Qudsia said:

"Mohabbat ka milna ya haasil hojana zaroori nahi, Mohabbat ko zinda rakhna zaroori hai. Agly insaan ki izzat ka khayaal rakhna zaroori hai. Beshuk wo bewafayi kar jaye lekin uski izzat ko uchala na jaye. Isliye zehni toor par kisi ki yaadon ke sahare jeena bhi mohabbat hai."

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uroldhomie · 7 months ago

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When Bano Qudsia said.

"Hum kise ke dil main jhank nahi sakte aur na he jaan sakte hain k kon hamare sath kitna mukhlis hai.Lekin waqat aur rawaiye jald he ehsaas dila dety hain"

#aesthetic #desi tumblr #urdu literature #urdu shayari #desi tag #desiblr #dark acadamia aesthetic #chaotic academic aesthetic #dark academia

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loverandservantoftheahlulbayt · 24 days ago

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🍃🕊🍃 The Birth Of Imam Ali (as)

Ali was born on the 13th of Rajab of the 30th year of the Elephant (A.D. 600). His cousin, Muhammad (S), was now 30 years old. Ali's (as) parents were Abu Talib ibn Abdul Muttalib, and Fatima, the daughter of Asad, both of the clan of Hashim. (pbbut)

Ali (as) was born inside the Kaaba in Makkah. The great historian, Masoodi, the Herodotus of the Arabs, writes on (page 76 of Volume II) of his book, Murooj-udh-Dhahab (The Golden Meadows), that one of the greatest distinctions that Ali (as) enjoyed was that he was born in the House of Allah. Some of the other authorities who have affirmed Ali's (as) birth in the Kaaba, are:

1. Muhammad ibn Talha el-Shafei in Matalib-us-saool,

(page 11)

2. Hakim in Mustadrak,

(page 483, Vol. III)

3. El-Umari in Sharh Ainia,

(page 15)

4. Halabi in Sira,

(page 165, Vol. I£

5. Sibt ibn al-Jauzi in

Tadhkera Khawasil Ummah,

(page 7)

6. Ibn Sabbagh Maleki in

Fusoolul Mohimma,

(page 14)

7. Muhammad bin Yousuf Shafei in Kifayet al-Talib,

(page 261)

8. Shablanji in

Nurul Absar,

(page 76)

9. Ibn Zahra in

Ghiyathul Ikhtisar,

(page 97)

10. Edvi in Nafhatul Qudsia,

(page 41)

Among the modern historians, Abbas Mahmood al-Akkad of Egypt writes in his book Al-'Abqarriyet al-Imam Ali, (Cairo, 1970), that Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) was born inside the Kaaba.

Another contemporary historian, Mahmood Saeed al-Tantawi, of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, Arab Republic of Egypt, writes on (page 186) of his book, Min Fada-il al-‘Ashrat al-Mubashireen bil Janna, published in 1976 by Matab’a al-Ahram at-Tijariyya, Cairo, Egypt:

“May God have mercy upon Ali ibn Abi Talib (as)

He was born in the Kaaba.

He witnessed the rise of Islam;

He witnessed the Da’wa of Muhammad (S) and

He was a witness of the Wahi (Revelation of Al-Qur’an al-Majid).

He immediately accepted Islam even though he was still a child, and

He fought all his life so that the Word of Allah would be supreme.”

An Arab poet composed the following distich on the birth of Ali:

He (Ali) is the one for whom the House of Allah was turned into a maternity home; And he is the one who threw the idols out of that House; Ali (as) was the first and the last child ever to be born in the Kaaba.

It was a custom of the Arabs that when a child was born, he was placed at the feet of the tribal idol or idols, thus symbolically “dedicating” him to the pagan deity. All Arab children were “dedicated” to the idols except Ali ibn Abi Talib (as)

When other Arab children were born, some idolater came to greet them and to take them in his arms.

But when Ali (as) was born, Muhammad (S) the future Messenger of God (S) came into the precincts of the Kaaba to greet him.

He took the infant into his arms, and dedicated him to the service of Allah.

The future Prophet must have known that the infant in his arms was some day going to be the nemesis of all idolaters and polytheists and of their gods and goddesses.

When Ali (as) grew up, he extirpated idolatry and polytheism from Arabia with his sword.

Birth in Kaaba was one out of many distinctions that God bestowed upon Ali (as).

Another distinction that he enjoyed was that he never adored the idols. This again makes him unique since all Arabs worshipped idols for years and years before they abjured idolatry and accepted Islam.

It is for this reason that he is called “He whose face was honored by Allah.” His face was indeed honored by Allah as it was the only face that never bowed before any idol.

Ali (as) was the youngest child in the family. Of the three of his brothers, Talib and Aqeel, were many years older than him; Jaafer was ten years older (pbbut)

The birth of Ali (as) filled the heart of the future Apostle with boundless happiness.

The child was someone “special” for him. After all, Muhammad (S) had many other cousins and they had their own children, and Ali (as) himself had three elder brothers; but he didn't show any interest in any of them. Ali and Ali (as) alone was the focus of his interest and love.

When Ali (as) was five years old, Muhammad (S) adopted him, and from that moment they were never to part with each other.

There is a story that once there was a famine in Makkah, and the surrounding areas, and Abu Talib, being in dire straits at the time, was finding it difficult to support a large establishment. It occurred to Muhammad (S) that he ought to try to mitigate some of his uncle's burden of responsibilities, and was thus prompted to adopt Ali (as)

It is true that Muhammad (S) adopted Ali (as) but not for the reason stated above. In the first place, Abu Talib was not in such dire straits that he could not feed a child of five; he was a man of rank and substance, and his caravans plied between Hijaz and Syria or between Hijaz and Yemen. In the second place, feeding a child of five years would have hardly made any difference to a man who fed even strangers if they were hungry.

Muhammad and Khadija (pbbut) adopted Ali (as) after the death of their own sons. Ali (as) thus filled a void in their lives. But Muhammad (S) the future Prophet, also had another reason for adopting Ali (as). He picked out Ali (as) to bring him up, to educate him, and to groom him for the great destiny that awaited him in the times to come.

Dr. Taha Hussain of Egypt says that the Messenger of God himself became Ali's guide, teacher and instructor, and this is one more distinction that he enjoys, and which no one else shares with him (Ali).

About Islam it has been said that of all the universal religions, it is the only one which has grown in the full light of history, and there is no part of its story which is in obscurity.

🕋 Bernard Lewis 🕋

In an essay on Muhammad and the origin of Islam, Ernest Renan remarks that, unlike other religions which were cradled in mystery, Islam was born in the full light of history. “Its roots are at surface level, the life of its founder is as well known to us as those of the Reformers of the sixteenth century”. (The Arabs in History, 1960,)

🕋 G. E. Von Grunebaum 🕋

Islam presents the spectacle of the development of a world religion in the full light of history. (Islam, 1969)

Similarly, it may be said that of all the friends and companions of Muhammad (S) the Prophet of Islam, Ali (as) is the only one who grew up in the full light of history. There is no part of his life, whether it is his infancy, childhood, boyhood, youth, manhood, or maturity, that is hidden from the spotlight of history. He was the cynosure of all eyes from his birth to his death.

On the other hand, the rest of the companions of the Prophet come to the attention of the student of history only after they accept Islam, and little, if anything, is known about them until then.

Ali (as) was destined to become the right arm of Islam, and the shield and buckler of Muhammad (S), the Messenger of God. His destiny was inseparably linked with the destiny of Islam, and the life of its Prophet. He was present at every juncture in the history of the new movement, and he played the stellar role in it.

It was, incidentally, a role that he alone could have played. He reflected the “image” of Muhammad. The Book of God itself called him the “soul” or the alter ego (a second self) of Muhammad in (verse 61) of its

(third chapter), and paraded his illustrious name across the horizons of history.

In the years to come, the creative synergy of Muhammad (S) and Ali (as) – the master and the disciple – was going to place the “Kingdom of Heaven” on the map of the world.

🍃🕊🍃 al-Islam.org 🍃🕊🍃

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qalbofnight · 1 year ago

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اِنسان حاصل کی تمنا میں لاحاصل کے پیچھے دوڑتا ہے اُس بچے کی طرح جو تتلیاں پکڑنے کے مشغلے میں گھر سے بہت دور نکل جاتا ہے ، نہ تتلیاں ملتی ہیں نہ واپسی کا راستہ

Insaan haasil ki tamanna mein la- hasil ke pichey daudta hai ,us bacchey ki tarah jo titliyan pakadney ke mashghaley mein ghar se bohot door nikal jaata hai

Na titliyan milti Hain na wapsi ka rasta.,

Bano Qudsia, Hasil Ghat / حاصل گھاٹ

#urdu poetry #urdu stuff #urdu literature

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notwiselybuttoowell · 8 months ago

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Just over three years ago, Asma’s* future contained many possibilities. Aged 15, she was at secondary school. After that lay the prospect of university and then onwards, striding forwards into the rest of her life.

Like many Afghan girls, she understood that education was her route out of the isolation and repression that had constricted the lives of her mother and grandmother under the previous Taliban regime. She was part of a new generation of Afghan women who had the chance to build independent and economically autonomous lives.

In May 2021, a few months before Taliban militants swept to power, Asma was in class when bombs began exploding outside her secondary school. She woke up in hospital to learn that 85 people, mostly other schoolgirls, had been killed. By the time she had started to recover, the Taliban were in charge and her chances of returning to school were over for good.

It is now past 1,000 days since the Taliban declared schools only for boys, and an estimated 1.2 million teenage girls such as Asma were in effect banned from secondary schools in Afghanistan.

What has happened to them since has been catastrophic: forced and early marriage, domestic violence, suicide, drug addiction and an eradication from all aspects of public life, with no end in sight.

“We’ve now reached 1,000 days, but there is no end date to the horror of what is happening to teenage girls in Afghanistan,” says Heather Barr from Human Rights Watch. “What the Taliban have done is not put the dreams of all these girls on hold, they have obliterated them.”

Without being able to go to school, Asma’s fate has been predictable. She has been forced into an early marriage to a man she didn’t know, exchanging the four walls of her father’s house for those of her new husband’s family.

She says she begged her parents not to force her into marriage. “When I told them about my studies and dreams, they laughed and said: ‘Since the Taliban has come, girls will never be allowed to study. It’s better to get on with your life and get married,’” says Asma. “[After the wedding], my husband’s family told me, ‘We bought you and paid for you, we didn’t get you for free. So you should be at home and working for us.’”

Now 18, Asma is pregnant. “When I discovered my baby is going to be a girl, the world became dark before my eyes because being a girl here in Afghanistan is not worth it,” she says. “She will never achieve any of her dreams. I wish I was having a boy.”

With diminishing status in society and no protection from the authorities, teenage girls, especially those forced into early marriage, are facing domestic violence inside the home and violence from the authorities outside, say human rights groups.

Benafasha* was 13 years old when the Taliban took power and her family decided that if she couldn’t go to school she had to get married. Her sister Qudsia* says that Benafasha was sent to live with her fiance who was instantly violent, brutally beating and abusing the now 16-year-old.

Qudsia says that Benafasha, desperate and afraid, went to the Taliban courts to ask to be allowed to separate. Instead, they sent her to prison.

“We had pictures demonstrating how he had beaten my sister, and text messages and voice recordings showing how he would insult and beat her,” says Qudsia.

“The judge took her husband’s side, saying women are always looking for a small excuse to separate. She was told that as long as she refuses to live with her fiance, she will remain in prison.”

The prospect of a life of social and intellectual isolation and domestic servitude is pushing many teenage girls to deep despair.

A United Nations survey last December found that 76% of women and girls who responded classed their mental health as “bad” or “very bad”, reporting insomnia, depression, anxiety, loss of appetite and headaches as a result of their trauma.

Almost one-fifth of girls and women also said they hadn’t met another woman outside their immediate family in the three preceding months. Another survey from the Afghan digital platform Bishnaw found that 8% of those who took part knew at least one woman or girl who had attempted to kill themselves since August 2021.

Marzia*, the mother of 15-year-old Arzo*, says her daughter has become increasingly withdrawn and depressed since she has been unable to go back to school. “She talks less and sleeps most of the time,” she says.

“I know the reason is the school closure, but there’s nothing we can do,” she says. “I always dreamed that my daughter would study and become a doctor so she could stand on her own feet.”

Barr says the Taliban have taken away “girl’s social networks, their friends, the outside world”. “They can’t go to school, or to national parks, or beauty salons or the gym or, increasingly, outside the house at all without fear of intimidation. They’re taking away everything that makes them human,” she says.

She says the international community cannot continue to ignore what is happening to teenage girls in Afghanistan.

Last month, a report by the UN special rapporteur for Afghanistan assessed the dire situation facing girls and women in Afghanistan. “Many [girls now denied a secondary education] are driven to psychological distress, including suicidal thoughts and actions. Denial of access to equal education is causing transgenerational disempowerment that will increasingly ingrain the debased socioeconomic status of Afghan women and girls and their state-enforced dependence on men,” it said.

Fariah*, a mother of a 16-year-old in Kabul says that her daughter is refusing to give up hope that her life is not always going to be the way it has been for the last three years but that she is close to despair. “It is a tragedy beyond I can express in words, not just for her, but for Afghanistan and for the world,” she says. “My daughter is among the smartest of her generation, and I am not just saying this as her mother. I have seen first-hand her strong leadership skills, her ambitions and her determination to achieve them. Sometimes, my daughter tells me that she thinks that, by some miracle, school will be back on. I don’t want to crush her optimistic spirit and I tell her, ‘yes, that’s possible’, but deep down, I know it is a lie. I experienced this regime 25 years ago, and they haven’t changed. I don’t have any hope for our future. Nobody is coming to help us.”

#long post #this is almost the whole article but not quite #afghanistan #taliban #women's rights #education #middle east #western asia #suicide mention #tw domestic violence #I mean it runs the whole gamut really

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