Syed Nomanul Haq

COLUMN: ON “UNREAD LEAVES”

COLUMN: ON “UNREAD LEAVES”

It is often forgotten that, in a social setting, we generally live under the tall shadows of constructed realities. But to say... Published 11 Feb, 2024 09:22am
Column: WANDERING WITH THE QALANDAR

Column: WANDERING WITH THE QALANDAR

We don’t have a decent edition of this glowing text — and this despite the fact that we have the observation of the famous Updated 10 Dec, 2023 10:04pm
COLUMN: THE COSMOLOGY OF KARBALA

COLUMN: THE COSMOLOGY OF KARBALA

One of the towering giants in the rich domain of the Karbala elegiac art of marsiya, Mirza Salamat Ali Dabir, had at one place... Published 06 Aug, 2023 08:54am
COLUMN: SHEHERZAD IN PARIS

COLUMN: SHEHERZAD IN PARIS

While we find a colossus of contra-Muslim literature in the mediaeval Latin West on the one hand, there is also to be found pro... Updated 04 Jun, 2023 02:24pm
COLUMN: COMPLEXITY OF CULTURAL LINKAGES

COLUMN: COMPLEXITY OF CULTURAL LINKAGES

Experts tell us there are at least 200 versions of the text in more than 50 languages. However, standard accounts of the fable’... Updated 30 Jan, 2023 10:03am
COLUMN: THE FLIGHT OF THE MOTH

COLUMN: THE FLIGHT OF THE MOTH

This is Mir Taqi Mir, invoking the candle and moth symbolism — something ubiquitous in classical Urdu poetry. Indeed, it is found Published 27 Nov, 2022 06:23am
COLUMN: LET REALITY ABIDE

COLUMN: LET REALITY ABIDE

I have written more than once about a fascinating, deeply meaningful and yet, at first glance, somewhat odd beseeching of a very Published 01 May, 2022 10:01am
COLUMN: DOOMED IN THE DIVINE COURT

COLUMN: DOOMED IN THE DIVINE COURT

The 11th-12th century polymath, Abu Hamid Ghazali (known in the mediaeval Latin West as Algazel, and sometimes as... Published 20 Mar, 2022 07:17am
COLUMN: THE SAQI PHENOMENON

COLUMN: THE SAQI PHENOMENON

Despite his belligerence, his frequent quarrels and abruptness, and his preoccupation with the weird, frightening... Updated 12 Dec, 2021 02:59pm
COLUMN: CONTRARIES IN FAIZ'S FORGE

COLUMN: CONTRARIES IN FAIZ'S FORGE

This is how Faiz softens human suffering, turning chains into silk threads. It is supremely remarkable that here is an acti... Updated 24 Oct, 2021 11:45am
COLUMN: ON BROKEN CRUTCHES

COLUMN: ON BROKEN CRUTCHES

Classical textual sources report an intriguing anecdote in the generally adventurous life of the philosophical giant... Published 30 May, 2021 07:05am
COLUMN: FARUQI SAHIB'S GHALIB

COLUMN: FARUQI SAHIB'S GHALIB

As far as I am concerned, I know Western literature, but I do not feel belittled by it.”... Updated 03 Jan, 2021 03:50pm
COLUMN: IMAGE, TEXT AND FIRDOWSI

COLUMN: IMAGE, TEXT AND FIRDOWSI

How interesting, it is a text that begets aesthetic expressions in the sphere of visual creativity. Today, the several hundred... Updated 09 Aug, 2020 07:29am