#pakistani classics

[maihonhassan]

It’s all a transition between;

”جان جاتی ہے جب اٹھ کے جاتے ہو تم“

“Jaan jaati hai jub uth ke jate ho tum.”

[chthonic-empyrean]

إنها تعتقد أنه من الصعب أن أحبها وأنا أحبها كما لو انني أتنفس

She believes it's hard to love her and I love her like it's breathing.

[nmolesofadrenaline]

[booklovingturtle]

Any desi instrumental recommendations? 

[elliepassmore]

For She is Wrath review

4/5 stars Recommended if you like: retellings, female rage, revenge, schemes

Big thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was fairly entertaining and fast-paced. Despite requesting the ARC, I dragged my feet when it came to reading it, but once I started I sped through it and was eager to see what was going to happen next. Was it perfect? No. But it's definitely entertaining and definitely scratches the itch for scheming characters.

I'll preface this review by saying I DNF'd The Count of Monte Cristo about 50% of the way through over a decade ago and haven't touched it since, so I can't really say how well this book does at reinterpreting it.

First, I'll say that I found the concept of zoraat interesting and I definitely wish we learned more about the different blends and effects. Taking too much zoraat, however, can begin turning you 'dark,' and taking the wrong mix can kill you. I like that the zoraat comes in the same general types, but it's the way the different types are mixed together that creates an effect. Noor does a good job explaining it, but getting an entry-level explanation is different than having lots of experience.

Dania is in prison for supposedly murdering a tribal chief from the north. She insists she didn't do it, and since she's an experienced swordswoman and the victim was killed via poison, I'd definitely have believed it in the king's shoes...but what do I know? She's spent her time in prison being tortured and plotting revenge, so when the moment pops up for her to escape, she takes it. While she's definitely rage-filled, Dania also craves human connection, and is unwilling to let fellow prisoner, Noor, continue to rot in jail when the other girl is why she can escape in the first place.

Noor is in prison for her mentor having stolen zoraat from the emperor, which is considered treason. She's been kept alive because the prison warden, and emperor, believe she knows where the stolen zoraat was hidden. Prior to being imprisoned, Noor was an expert at mixing different zoraat blends, and thus is an invaluable ally. I did like Noor, but for someone who says they want revenge, she preaches caution and letting go more than I'd expect.

Most of the book is spent plotting and executing revenge plans. Dania seems to be the mastermind behind the planning, with Noor helping to ensure everything goes off without a hitch. I really liked seeing their plans come to fruition, and I think one of the highlights of this book is that Dania doesn't tell us her plans ahead of time, we simply see them in action.

The two girls have a very specific list of people they're looking to take down: the captain of the guard, Dania's ex-lover, Dania's father's best friend, and the emperor. The first two are actually easy enough to accomplish with some planning, but the latter two prove to be more difficult, not least because Dania seems to still have some lingering feelings.

I have to say, I was disappointed in the direction things took with the ex-lover, Mazin. Obviously you can't just turn your feelings on and off, but man does Dania struggle to keep her head on straight when he's around. She does pretty well for a while, but it's clear pretty soon after their first time seeing each other again that Dania is probably not going to be able to carry through her revenge fantasy. Considering Maz doesn't have a good reason for betraying her (and betray her he did), I would have preferred Dania stick to her guns and get revenge on everyone, not just the people she dislikes. I wanted to see her punish Maz. I wanted to see her be villainous. And we just don't get that.

There was a good twist toward the end that I 100% didn't see coming. I was quite surprised when it happened and enjoyed it. However, the twist really does just serve to push the anti-revenge narrative, and I think it could've been more interesting if it had been used as a mirror to show how revenge can go two different directions: one unjustified and one justified.

Overall this was an entertaining read, though I will say the opening couple of chapters reads as an early-2010s YA book. The later prose is better and by and large I enjoyed the plot.

[cryolyst]

~

[adeerus]

Artist for Art.

[publictaknews]

Pakistani actress Meera ji will be seen in the remake of Bollywood classic Pakeezah. Bollywood

Pakistani actress Meera Ji will star in the remake of Pakeezah (1972). She is all set to play the role played by late actress Meena Kumari in the Pakistani remake of Bollywood classic Pakeezah. The film was written, directed and produced by Meena Kumari’s husband Kamal Amrohi. The film featured late veteran actors Ashok Kumar, Raaj Kumar and Meena Kumari in lead roles. ,Read also: Meena Kumari…

[unamazing-sheep21]

The Daroga is actually an extremely important character to the themes of Phantom of the Opera

Many people might not know this but living as a Muslim/brown person in the west ( especially France… see: burqab ban, burkini ban, hijab ban, etc) is extremely difficult for some. Not to mention in a world post 9/11. Not to mention ( probably) in the 1890’s like in Phantom of the Opera where orientalist art and inaccurate and often dehumanising portrayals of the Middle East and it’s people ( muslims, arabs, Persians etc) were common and were used to justify colonialism.

In classic literature there’s only like, ONE character who is brown and is treated like an actual human being by the narrative and is presented as a central cast member to boot: and that’s the Daroga/ The Persian in Phantom of the Opera. And even then, every adaptation after either replaces him with a white person or has an incredibly disingenuous and inaccurate portrayal of him and his ethnicity/religion. Heck, in the Phantom Susan Kay book he’s given the surname “Khan” which isn’t even Persian it’s a PAKISTANI name.

Every other presumably brown/POC character are written animalistically and antagonistically. E.g Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights and Bertha from Jane Eyre. Bertha especially who is just used as an obstical/metaphor instead of an actual genuine character who deserves her own nuance and voice.

Now, back to the tittle, why do I think The Persian’s mere existence and especially with him being Persian/Muslim is inexplicably tied to the themes of POTO? Because he’s just like Erik and completely unlike Erik at the same time. In the book he’s constantly described as wearing as astrakhan cap/ a fez. Something quintessentially Middle Eastern and exposes him as ethnic right away to the eyes of the then European public. Both Erik and The Persian have sides of them that the society they live in at large shuns/dehumanises/condemns. For Erik it’s his face, and for The Persian it’s his culture/ religion/ race. But unlike Erik, The Persian has the choice to “ take it off” or assimilate more into society. He can, and it was better for him if he wore, a top hat but he CHOOSES to wear a fez. And he never takes it off. While he CAN and he has the chance to be more accepted in society than he already is.

But Erik can’t “take it off”, he can’t take off his face.

Though we don’t know much about the Persians’ beliefs, it’s safe to assume he was probably Muslim since Persia has been a Muslim country for a long time ( ignore the one we have now lmao). And I like to think that even in France he doesn’t give up this one part of him. He could just convert to whatever the majority religion in France was at the time and he would be more assimilated into French society, but he doesn’t . He actively chooses to keep parts of who he is even though they put him at a disadvantage. In contrast, Erik would give anything and does try everything ( even to phycotic lengths ) to be considered “ Normal” in society.

And throughout all of Erik’s efforts the only one who was ever really there for him was The Persian. But Erik dismisses him constantly.

I like to think that The Persian stayed because he understands Erik to a certain degree, and I like to think that Erik resents him because he doesn’t use every chance he gets to assimilate into society. To be considered normal. Sometimes Erik quite literally would kill for. Instead hanging onto every part that makes him who he is even when it only isolates him further.

[us-the-voices-and-more-voices-2]

My headcannons for what type of music the Batfam likes lol

Bruce: 40s love songs, mostly because Thomas and Martha are lovers of old music and art it’s a call back to Batman being such an old.. old character.

He also loves really, REALLY sad songs. Just straight depressing songs, like he knows all the lyrics to like the most downright suicidal songs ever.

Dick: he listens to very upbeat music, but like EDM and rap, he also loves circus music and really ridiculously old songs he knows all the words to “the flying trapeze” by heart ❤️

Jason: unironically his favourite album is Neil Cicirega's "mouth sounds" series of albums, he also would never admit it but he listens to Kikuo constantly. he's not a "fan" of vocaloid he just likes some songs. he also constantly listens to 80s and 70s hits as a call back to his character being popular in the 80s.

Tim: worst taste in music ever, he does NOT get the aux. it's all the most popular hits of the last 4 decades, for better or worse.

he also gets all the WE jingles stuck in his head, it's so bad.

it's mostly now video game OST's he got into FNAF lore at one point and actually solved it, and then got super into the music. he relates a bit too much, he calls Jason sometimes mike because they are both undead guys hellbent on keeping kids safe from the evils of this world, and Ra's afton because the bastard always comes back. he will BLARE "I hope you die in a fire" when working a Ra's case.

Damian: despite what he holds himself to he really likes the same fandom sorta music, video game lore was the only thing that Damien and Tim talk about, they have usually ZERO free time to watch or play games they just extrapolate wtf the game is about from their friends WITH free time. that being wally and bart.

so damien has a bunch of the living tombstones, classic Chinese and arabic music but mainly Pakistani, some 80s hits. 40s love songs because bruce is right they are really good, and some mislabeled cassette tapes\CD's Damien picks up on patrol that he likes.

Steph: she didn't really get a chance to listen to much music, since Cluemaster was a dick. but she did bond and learn to love Ballet music ever since Cassandra introduced it to her, she gets whole records and albums and buys one time releases on Ebay for herself and Cassandra. otherwise she just listens to audiobooks or podcasts when working.

Cassandra: TONS of ballet music along with classic Oprah music and theatre music, she goes to plays and pirates them, she listens to every single play or theatre music she can get her hands on. she listens to "rocky horror picture show" "the guy who didn't like musicals" "Coppélia" "Jesus Christ superstar" "The Mousetrap" any and everything. she adores it all, she and Steph are constantly looking for more records and plays to watch and pirate.

Barbara: weirdly enough 60s music, Jim rubbed off on her and she honestly just listens to all sorts of 60s sounding music, she had a Elvis phase where she just was constantly listening to Elvis, eventually she found out there was a TON of other 60s and 70s black artists who were ripped off by Elvis and started listening to them, she then eventually got into punk rock and rock and roll.

Harper: she is fully into the Gotham punk music scene, she literally is one of the biggest supporters of the Gotham punk scene. only random punk song CD's, videos she converted into CD's, old gothamite punk songs on vinyl, digital releases, she just has so much merch half she made herself and half she bought, she is the epitome of Gotham punk fan. she actually has a whole ass internet archive account dedicated to JUST Gotham punk.

Duke: weirdly he loves very ethereal and bright peppy music, only instrumentals though, listens to the weirdcore playlists on YouTube listens to corecore, he just has very strange music tastes.

sometimes he forgets his entire playlist is filled with weirdly ethereal music and the rest of the batfam get so confused, and think Jean-paul is blaring church music again.

Jean-Paul: only church music, he has the most bland music tastes, he sometimes listens to catholic metal or something when he's working but other than that he just blares organ music and mass and church music, everyone tries to tell him that he CAN LISTEN TO ANYTHING ELSE. PLEASE. but he just doesn't lol.

Thomas: he listens to 40s love songs and old Sicilian and Italian songs, he's a old fart, he loves old movie soundtracks.

William Cobb: circus music only circus music, late 1880s and 1950s circus music. it sounds like a clown house and it triggers the shit out of bruce.

Jarro: he's a baby, he has no actual opinions the batfam put on nursery rhymes andcoco melon

and the rest (carrie, Bernard, huntress and the other ones)

I have 0 idea I have not read enough comics to figure it out lol

[maihonhassan]

Hairan hoon mere dil mein samaaye ho kis tarha I am surprised how you managed to enter and accommodate in my heart

Halanke do jahan mein samaatay nahin ho tum When two worlds cannot accommodate you

[chthonic-empyrean]

"لا أريد شخصًا غيرك..."

"I don't want someone who isn't you..."

[sivavakkiyar]

The link to this live album by Asad Qizilbash on the sarod is still available here: it’s extremely beautiful stuff

also noticing the site has one of my favorite classic veena recordings: Magic Music From South India, by S Balachander (it’s an old album okay ignore the title). I think if you even just like hearing guitar these two will obv be different but are must hears, really worth it

[mole-nend]

Hesper foreign kids masterlist, closeups under cut. I'm hoping to get to draw these guys more often.

Gregory Snow- British/Russian. Catholic. Bisexual, GNC- he/him or she/her. Epileptic and autistic.. He likes fencing and considers himself and independent personality. He's the most likely to take a stand against bullies when it comes to others, but seems to fall short when it comes to defending his own honor.

Alejandro- Mexican. Catholic. Bisexual, Sometimes trans (either direction)- usually he/him. Chronic pain in his (camera) right shoulder after being shot as a child, C-PTSD. Alejandro likes boxing and metal music. He's more likely to defend the entire group, including himself. Prefers to follow and gently steer rather than take charge

Baahir Hakeem- Pakistani. Muslim. No labels, he/him. PTSD. He's a slight musical talent, he likes to discuss this with Alejandro and Gregory alike for their juxtaposing interests in the topic. He's a supportive individual and tends to get involved in trouble on accident rather than spearheading it like some of the others. He technically doesn't live in America anymore, but keeps in contact with the club and Butters.

Christophe (The Mole) Fontaine- Mexican/French. Misotheist. Gay Trans male, he/him. C-PTSD and autistic. Enjoys gardening and sewing. Mole is very grounded but has a major paranoia problem, which makes him a surefire director for smaller schemes and tends to be Gregory's right hand. Relatedly, he is a foster sibling to him, as well as Cosette.

Estella Havisham- Doesn't Exist.

Herbert Pocket- Doesn't Exist.

Philip Pirrup- British, Dead. He started the club, and they tend to honor him both on his birthday and the anniversary of his death. He'll always hold a place in their hearts.

Luigi Puzo(Loogie)- Italian(Sicilian). Cishet, he/him. Autistic. He likes geography and classical literature. Weirdly obsessed with teeth, having returned to the mafia business as an older kid but not continuing the teeth racket. He's the most likely to encite the group into trouble and to stir things within the group. He's sort of like their Cartman.

Cosette [ValJean]- French/British. Lesbian, she/them. She likes painting and acting, and is looking into a career in modeling. Like Baahir, she's a very supportive individual. Sometimes the boys are less likely to listen to her, but all around she's respected and treated kindly by them. She and Baahir are close.

Nadia- Romanian. she/her. She's interested in contortion and acrobatics still, but also is a well-spoken figure who likes to give speeches. She doesn't visit America often at all, but is close with Cosette and is on good terms with most of the others.

Charlotte [Maple]- Canadian. Pansexual, she/her. Likely autistic. She's also interested in acting, but is better off managing careers and events. Expert party planner and organizer. She has the sharpest personality out of the girls, demanding change often and being solid enough to sometimes divide the group- though, they often stand together as she can easily replace Gregory's assertive demeanor if she should choose. She finds these kids to be the only ones to take her seriously. Lives in Canada, but visits often.

[thebellekeys]

My Year of (Educational) Podcasts

I spent 12,000 minutes this year listening to podcasts according to Spotify. No, I do not listen to alphamale or girlboss or true crime podcasts– I mostly listen to history, philosophy, and literature podcasts i.e. educational podcasts. Here are 12 fun, well-executed podcasts I’d recommend if you’d like to learn more about your favourite (Humanities and Social Sciences) topics.

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. This is a podcast about the history of sex and sexuality. The podcast pays special attention to overlooked aspects of queer history, pop culture, and cultural superstitions. The love life and sex life of historical and artistic figures are also discussed with historians.

Dan Snow's History Hit. This podcasts discusses the most exciting and culturally relevant historical events and figures with expert panel guests. Clears up historical misconceptions and deals with the most interesting topics in an engaging way.

Occult Confessions. This podcast is about the history of the occult, witches, folklore, magicians, and conspiracies. There are discussions of folklore, religious history, and cults. The themes are dark but quite fascinating.

Intelligence Squared. This podcast is centered on cultural and academic debates and deep-dives into polemical topics among top UK experts. I really enjoy their episodes about writers, art, and artists.

The History of Literature. This is about, well, the history of literature i.e. the contexts that created impressive writers, literary movements, and literary works. It also debates and critically discusses classic works.

The Korea File. Y'all know I love kpop and kdramas and by extension, am quite fascinated by Korean culture and society given how much I interact with Korean media. This podcast, produced by a couple of Korean guys, critically explores Korean media, culture, society, and history.

Not Just the Tudors. A fun history podcast that doesn't only cover English Tudor history, but definitely covers a whole damn lot of English Tudor history. Mainly focuses on 13th-17th century global history.

Classical Stuff You Should Know. A podcast about the classical world, the Western Canon, and world philosophy. Discussions of the classics are in conversational layman terms. Topics not restricted to the Graeco-Roman world.

Why Theory. A podcast that uses philosophy and psychological theory to examine culture, history, art and human behavior. Lots of pertinent contemporary social topics are discussed.

Brown History. A podcast about South Asia and "brown" Asian demographics. A wide range of topics, from Pakistani history to the Indian diaspora to Afghan migration to the colonization of India by Great Britain.

Philosophize This!. This podcast covers philosophy, philosophies, and philosophers. I highly recommend listening to the episodes in order as much as possible. Breaks down the complex philosophical ideas using simple terms.

The Thing About Austen. This is a podcast about the world of Jane Austen from the time period to the people to the culture which influenced her big literary hits. Hits that sweet spot between literature and history in a creative way. Recommend for all the Pride and Prejudice (2005) fanatics.

[cere-mon-ials]

2024 in what made me happy: a misc list

the broadcast schedules of cdrama. this year, for the first time, i finished a cdrama because i saw one gif set of wu jinyang telling wang xingyue that he was handsome in the pouring rain. after the double, i watched and loved love like the galaxy, watched and loved amidst a snowstorm of love. then, i began watching and loving blossom as it aired new episodes every single day. i love what this has done to my drama-watching routines because it's not as fickle as a binge drop and it's not as sedate as weekly drops.

no, but weekly drops too. especially, only murders in the building and running to reddit to see what all the hot new theories are. and, culinary class wars — that was a good month.

i refused to listen to podcasts, and it made some small room to listen to other, more useful, voices. i didn’t finish books i cared little for. i closed tabs and deleted bookmarks more often. i didn't attend any weddings, in an attempt to recover from the weddings i did attend in 2023 and the 2025 invitations currently dinging on my whatsapp.

got a job, hated it, found some courage to turn back on the excellent pay, and left it. got another job soon enough, one that now keeps me on my toes but isn't painful on my heels.

my mother's saree collection, and to the first year of my life when i got to wear them on the reg.

learning chinese and refining my urdu. i can now recall maybe 15 chinese characters without fumbling and read a faiz poem slowly, with a pencil and in a quiet room. it's great because it's so difficult.

saife hassan, whose direction of zard patton ka bunn has (a) seized me back into pakistani drama (b) given me meenu and nofil's tender, sweet romance (c) brought back feelings that i thought dead and wouldn't want to articulate in this space.

the ambition in as byatt's possession, which crept into my dreams to remind me that i am slacking and in cixin liu's three-body problem, which crept into my nightmares to remind me that the grand architecture held in the entirety of my imagination is a speck in the universe. i can't tell you if i loved or even enjoyed either book but i don't think it matters. i have reserved the remaining two books of liu's trilogy for 2025.

steaming white rice with a spoonful of ghee and a smattering of salt, the most delicious appetizer to any meal.

last year, after avoiding them because they were always priced higher, i began buying poetry books. this growing bedside stack has been my solace and i love reaching for a random page to find something i needed to read in that moment. i began this year with my dearest heaney and i intend to end it with cavafy.

the discipline of a simple skincare routine, which i am not always good at keeping up with and my skin isn't all that better either but i am trying.

syd & carmy & richie & tina & marcus & chef terry & everyone else in the bear.

the soundtrack of lovely runner kept me company on some of the longest commutes and shut out loud arguments in the ladies compartment. the soundtrack of love like the galaxy felt like the soundtrack of my life for about three months this year. the soundtrack of the last samurai came out of nowhere to aid me during difficult work sessions. i am always in search of appropriate times to blast the soundtrack of gully boy, the weeknd's my dear melancholy, and frou frou's details. there's no lack of appropriate times to blast a rahman album.

driving, i guess. i resisted for as long as i could because i am a public transportation person but i do not live in a city that is conducive for it. i do feel a strange sense of accomplishment at learning this skill.

the classics that i missed when they were being defined as such: i loved moonstruck's ridiculous commitment to being perfect because of its loudness and not despite it. sandra and keanu really did something special with speed (i know!!!) and i was beyond thrilled to experience that kind of textured action filmmaking. michael clayton and the pelican brief were wonderful watches as smaller, quieter, revelatory films where stars get to be actors. lee mi-sook in an affair changed me at a molecular level.

i fell in love all over again with short films and documentaries: loved sean wang's silly and heartfelt nǎi nai & wài pó, loved maryam takafory's touching irani bag. i rewatched amit dutta's nainsukh a full decade after i first watched it in college and i am yet to figure out how he did it.

monsoons, which i didn't get to experience this year but about which i read a miscellaneous ton in search of a doctoral thesis topic for whenever i choose the take the plunge. i am never not thinking about those winds and those rains from my childhood and the limited future i can imagine for myself.

my k-pop listening has suffered because my favourites are serving in the military but i held on thanks to the loving embrace of enhypen. i watched their online concerts with utmost pleasure. best performances: enhypen. best album: ateez's golden hour, part 2. best music video: stray kids' chk chk boom.

hozier singing i think i'll take my whiskey neat / my coffee black and my bed at three / you're too sweet for me.

so much hozier, london grammar, rahman, the hindi cinema by the decade playlists on spotify, and terrible tiktok music that unfortunately sound fab in the car music system.

my loved ones and all of you, who are better than me in every way that counts.