meethapani

  When a society experiences rapid political, technological, or social change, historians need time to develop a language to describe the change. The Arts can immediately respond with poetry, music and visual images. Music is the most easily shared of the arts across a society. It becomes a historical record of its times from classical compositions to modern genres like punk, blues, and rap. Arnold Schoenberg's atonal music compositions reflect the intense anxiety and uncertainty of the pre WWI Europe. Songs, like "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child", perfectly embody the collective trauma experienced by enslaved African Americans.   The singer songwriter, Prince, expresses existential dread with his edgy music, ending one of his songs with a child asking, "Mommy, why does everybody have a bomb?" Lyari’s female rapper, Eva B, sings Gir Kay He Uthna Seekha Maine (only after falling did I learn to rise). The Last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, fac...

    While most of the world has been riveted to the latest war bulletins, rising costs of living, or planning protests, a few young men and women have been training all year for horseback archery, building up their body strength for tug of war, training falcons and producing beautiful crafts, to participate in the World Nomad Games in the rugged mountain valleys of Kyrgyzstan.    Although this is the 6 th World Nomad Games, the earlier games have not been on the sports radar the way the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, World Cup Football or Wimbledon are. This year thanks to the expanding reach of social media, “the spirit of people echoing across time” reached out to us from the scenic shores of Lake Issyk Kul. There are sports we never knew the names of like Tenge Ilu, Asyk Atu, Zhamby atu, with thrilling horseback archery by both male and female contestants, or Kushbegilik eagle hunting and some familiar games from bygone days like Kok Boru known to us as Bu...

  “Uncertain times” is a refrain that fills UNDP reports, discussions by climatologists, economists, political scientists and filters down to individuals anxious about the future of their children.   It is seen as a sign of our times – an anomaly of our making, of our neglect, suggesting urgent attention will redress and restore all to an even keel.    However, increasingly scientists propose that uncertainty is a fundamental feature of the universe. American mathematician John Allen Paulos concluded “Uncertainty is the only certainty there is", echoing the 1 st century Roman thinker, Pliny the Elder’s statement, "The only certainty is that nothing is certain." Seeking certainty is a modern construct whose roots can be traced to the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment.   It separated state and religion, promoted reason and scientific inquiry over ‘blind faith’. The truth was what could be experienced by the five senses, be scientifically examined and...

  Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, told Jawahar Lal Nehru that Pakistan was not economically viable and would come begging to rejoin India within six months. "Administratively it was the difference between putting up a permanent building, a Nissen hut or a tent. As far as Pakistan is concerned we are putting a tent.” There is a compelling logic to that conclusion. Pakistan was not an existing political entity, but a conceptually new country, an idea, two territories on either side of a hostile country, with extraordinary cultural diversity. It had a handful of industrial units, no military equipment, and no government structure. From a security perspective, as the British Commander in Chief, Claude Auchinleck noted, Pakistan lacked strategic depth, with no natural barriers with India. A skill vacuum was created by the exodus of Hindu and Sikh professionals after the partition. The coffers were empty. India did not release its portion of funds until Gandhi went on...

  “If architecture is how we move through space, furniture is how we pause inside it”. Furniture can be viewed as a cultural narrative – a mirror of personal identities, social interaction and the diverse societies and strata within them. The layout of interiors determines how we walk, gather and transition through a space. Furniture is said to be where architecture meets the body. Furniture can hold memories: a parent’s or grandparent’s favourite chair, an heirloom, a childhood memory. Rooms are spaces to welcome others and create new stories. The way furniture is arranged, and how comfortable it is, can determines how people interact. Japanese minimalist interiors are intentionally designed as quiet sanctuaries that reduce sensory noise reflecting the Samurai code and controlled elegance.   The Arab majlis rooms and the more elaborate Persian diwans traditionally feature wall-aligned floor or low seating around an open centre. Hand-woven carpets and cushions create a...

  In Search of Family There has been a surge in the number of people searching for their family ancestry, enabled by access to digitized records, DNA testing and genome mapping. While ancestry platforms are currently focused on Western societies, where migration data, birth and death registers have been maintained for centuries, other societies have long established written or oral traditions to honour family ancestry. Why does family history matter to so many?   A Canadian university asked the question ‘Why do we derive satisfaction from knowing who our ancestors were?’   The responses mostly focused on a search for identity and being part of larger histories. ‘We can find things down to the nano level, but we can't find ourselves today’. Some just want to make connections with someone famous, others want to recognise the sacrifices and struggles of ancestors.   Heritage tourism is a new phenomenon with visits to towns and villages of ancestors. The present 79...