meethapani

  Women at War The website of peacewomen.org states “ when women are at the negotiating table, peace is more likely”. Women face the loss of home, rearing children in war torn surroundings, and far too often face war-rape , so they have a great stake in ensuring peace. Yet, ironically, in Urdu, the words for war and army are feminine, and the word for peace is masculine. While war has been predominantly the domain of men, throughout history there are examples of women who took to the battlefield. Some disguised as men, some as groups of women fighters, and a few led forces into battle. Many are familiar with Boudicca who led a rebellion in 60 AD against the Romans in Britain, and the 17 year old Joan of Arc who fought with French troops to defeat the English   in 1429. Lady Fu Hao was considered the most powerful military leader of China in 1200 BC. Alexander the Great’s half-sister, Cynane fought alongside her brother. The Vietnamese venerate   Lady Triệu who fought ...

  Living Life in Layers A walk through a forest may be simply to get through to the other side, or to study the foraging patterns of ants. Religious devotion can be going to the mosque to pray on the clock, or to spend hours contemplating the hidden meanings of Quranic verses. Most people take the much travelled route to work with bumper to bumper traffic, a few look for alternate routes and in the process discover new neighbourhoods of the city.   Similar choices apply to our perception of different countries, class, race, communities and individuals.   Broad sweeping statements about the West or the East, or Africa, or first world versus developing countries, may be supported by facts, but overlook the nuances and subtleties that reveal the true picture.     Whenever we read a biography or an obituary of a person we thought we knew so well, it takes us by surprise to learn about aspects of their lives we were unaware of. People wear many hats –simultane...

  Influencers A successful businessman   once told me he made a decision early on in his career, to choose between having power or having influence. He chose the latter, as it had a longer shelf life. Influence is not as overt as control, it is not as detached as inspiring others. Influence works subconsciously.   It can be the result of a deliberate policy to direct people to make certain choices or buy particular products, or it can be unintentional, influencing others by one’s own lifestyle, such as parents or a role model may do. Influencers have the power to create change without necessarily taking direct action. As soon as humans settled into larger social groups, there must have been individuals who could sway the community to, for instance, go to war or migrate. As civilizations and nations grew, it became even more important to create consensus and obedience through formulating laws or religious doctrine. Where there is a system, there are inevitably those ...

  What is Peace? After eleven days of heartbreaking images of destruction and death in Gaza, there was some respite as a ceasefire was announced. But is this peace?   The Caledonian chieftain, Calgacus speaking of the Roman invasion of Scotland, in 84 AD said “To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace.” Most western definitions of peace have been the cessation of war, derived from the Roman word pax which meant a call for truce.   As capitalism and colonialism offered new opportunities for economic   prosperity and international markets, it was believed war could be avoided by a balance of power.   However as modern history has shown us, maintaining balance of power itself becomes a cause for war. Nuclear deterrence, the rise of democracy, and economic interdependence are cited as reasons for why there have been no wars in Europe since World War II, a period called “The Long P...

  From Lullaby to Elegy Our first encounter with music is the lullaby sung by a parent, a grandparent, an elder sibling or a nanny. Lullabies across the world and across the ages, regardless of the words, use the same singing tone, accompanied by a rocking motion, in time with the rhythm of the heartbeat and breathing. Perhaps the comforting effect of music throughout life is a memory of that first lullaby.   Brahms composed a lullaby that quickly became popular with mothers putting their babies to sleep. Lullabies follow a 6/8 time which many musicians used   like Woodie Guthrie’s ”Hobo’s Lullaby” and Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry”, Queen’s “We are the Champions”, Beatles’   “Norwegian Woods” and Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence”.   While lullabies have a soothing melody, very often the lyrics are quite dark and even frightening. They become an outlet for the mother to voice her own fears and concerns.   In Iraqi musical tradition, lullabies are...

  Things We Forgot We Could make Most markets in Pakistan are filled with imported products, or local imitations of international brands as we play catch up with global marketing trends.   Even the majority of local crafts are made with little love and care. New buildings or extensions spread their ugly disproportions across graceful old architecture, as clients want the most sellable space within the least budget. It is as if we have forgotten how to make things beautiful. The crafts of Medieval South Asia were mainly produced in an agricultural economy. The establishment of Muslim rule in the subcontinent led to the rise of urbanism, creating a demand for luxury goods and attracting artisans to urban centres. State sponsored Karakhanas or workshops, were established to cater to the needs of the royal households and their armies. The first documented karkhanas were established by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, The Mughals developed   them into meticulously organized instituti...

  What are Children Learning ? Sufi Tabassum’s Tot Batoat, Sheikh Chilli stories, Ali Baba chalees chor, Naunehal Digest, Syed Tajammul Husain Khan’s Adabi Reader and counting games like akkar bakkar seem to belong to a bygone age.   Today children capture moments of childhood activities against the back drop of political turmoil, war and now Covid. Many village children grow up with absent fathers, earning a living elsewhere. Urban children live in mohallas, apartments or houses, surrounded by strangers.   So what do Pakistani children learn? And who or what do they learn from? There are more than 2.2 billion children in the world. Nearly two billion of these live in a developing country. Pakistan has over 80 million children. The vast majority of children live in rural Pakistan.   Officially, 23 million are out of school. Many who do go to school are ‘taught’ by underqualified teachers and children may leave school without knowing how to read or write. Ye...

  Patterns of Infinity If we probe deeper into any phenomena – astronomy, the cycle of life, mathematics, we arrive at the concept of infinity. It is the most abstract of abstractions, although mathematicians have tried to devise ways to measure and rationalize infinity. Trying to make sense of the infinite is a bit like trying to contain the uncontainable. Contemplating infinity inevitably led all civilizations and all religions to the concept of God.   The art of most religions express God as an image or a symbol, perhaps to make it more accessible to devotees, leaving it to the philosophers to come to terms with the nature of infinity. The exception is Islamic Art, which from its earliest expressions of Quranic calligraphy, to the architectural design   of mosques,   made infinity the cornerstone of its expression. While most art continued on a human centric pathway, culminating in the cult of the individual, Islamic art remained rooted to an interconnecte...

  The Culture of Corruption Jinnah in his inaugural address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947 warned the nation of the plague of corruption. Today it is the hottest topic in Pakistan from drawing room to parliament. Corruption has been a concern in all civilizations , from ancient India, Egypt, Mesopotamia China, Greece, Rome, through to our times . All religions warn against corruption and endorse honesty. Artists, songwriters, film makers and conscientious journalists have exposed corruption. Bob Dylan Habib Jalib, George Grosz, A.R.Nagori have given us unforgettable words and images, inspiring to the honest, and ignored by the corrupt.   Corruption tours are offered in  Chicago , Prague and Mexico City There are museums of corruption in Paraguay, Ukraine and the United States. Yet the tenacity of corruption remains unshaken. While corruption in developing countries is well known, it is more disguised in developed countries, where “ki...

  Do We Need to Explain Art?   Love, Faith and Art are enigmas that have occupied philosophers, psychologists and ordinary people   from the earliest civilizations, and continue to fill pages with inconclusive speculation. Those who are in love, who have strong faith or who create art know what they feel , but words seem to sidestep the essence of their emotions.   The artist Georges Braque said “There is only one valuable thing in art: the thing you cannot explain.” Yet humans are restless for certainty, always looking for the meaning of everything experienced or encountered.   Any explanation, simple or complex, keeps a sense of chaos at bay. Picasso wrote in some frustration: “Everyone wants to understand art. Why not try to understand the song of a bird? Why does one love the night, flowers, everything around one, without trying to understand them? But in the case of a painting people have to understand.” The Modern movement in art generated an ever-...

  Overturning Dominant Cultures Dominant cultures are defined either as the majority culture, or that imposed by a powerful minority such as in South Africa during the apartheid. The most successful instrument of domination has been the use of language. The Romans used Latin, the Muslim Empire, Arabic. French was imposed in much of Africa, Spanish and Portugese in South America. By far, the most widespread language used is English. England, an area of a little over 130,000 square kilometers on an island, had a population of about 5 million in 1700 when modern English emerged, growing to about 15 million at the height of colonial power. Remarkably, today English is the most widely spoken language in the world, making some term the phenomenon Angloimperialism.   There are roughly 7000 languages worldwide. It is estimated that the world loses a language every two weeks.   The Malian historian and novelist Amadou Hampâté Bâ said that in Africa, when an elder dies, a l...

The Value of Hand Crafted Products How did we get from producing the world’s first seamless metal globe in Kashmir and Lahore in the 16 th C,  to an inability to make plugs fit sockets ? Silver workers feel disheartened that clients cannot differentiate between hand-made and machine-made products. Jewelers bemoan the lack of appreciation of jarao or stone setting , as not enough gold is visible.  A craftsman needs the incentive of appreciation. One can say it’s the result of mass production, cost effectiveness, lack of training, but at the end its because its accepted by the buyer. Nifasat or finesse has been willingly replaced by the  chalay ga  ( it will do ) philosophy. The product may work well enough as anticipated, but psychologists note that being surrounded by ugliness leads to despondency, while  beautiful objects generate a sense of calm and wellbeing.  Designer Ravi Sawhney says a product must not be only functional, but create an emotional ...