Thirty years ago , when posted at Dakar, capital of Senegal in West Africa, I was going up in the lift to my office when a young lady joined me . After some hesitation she asked if I worked at the Indian Embassy. On my saying yes, she enquired if Mohamed Rafi was dead. I said I had heard so . Her face lost color and she started sobbing .When I enquired if I could do anything, through tears she replied that she had come only to confirm if the tragic news was true. There were many messages of condolences. -- Gajendra Singh

The Turkish public is enthusiastic and ensures that the cost of a film is quickly recouped. Hollywood films are well-known and popular, but the public is so keen on domestic films that the 2009 top ten included six local productions: Levent Sekerci's "Nefes: Vatan Sagolsun" ("The Breath") took third place with 2.4 million ticket sales. That was the very first film to deal directly with the Kurdish conflict in Eastern Anatolia in which 45,000 people died during the nineties. – Amin Farzanefar

Now one and-a-half-century since the first Hindi prose book Prem Sagar (1805) published by Daisy Rockwell & Co. for Fort William College, appeared in order to promote Devanagari or “Hindi” script, it has succeeded in opening a Pandora’s box of controversies, hatred and divide amongst the masses. In this consciously or unconsciously created divide amongst Hindu and Muslims of the Indian Subcontinent I see a ray of hope of peace emanating from this controversy because this language is the strongest, closest and most unbreakable bond amongst the people of the subcontinent.

In this age of information and communication technologies this dream can come true—rather, it is just a click away. Since the phonology of Hindi and Urdu is cent per cent the same, both can be transliterated (not translated) perfectly from one to other. If we are able to develop a free open-source software which can convert by one click all or anything written in Hindi into Urdu, and vice versa, then this simple IT tool or software will magically enhance the words of wisdom and knowledge manifold on either side of the Wagah boarder. -- Dr Syed Mohammed Anwer

The motivating force behind all of this is university principal, Prof. Ahmed Akgündüz. The 55-year-old who has taught in both Turkish and American universities in the field of Islamic law is an influential figure whose views carry considerable weight.

The IUR is intended to be a university that is run by Muslims and for Muslims. It currently has around 200 students. The courses include Islamic Theology, Islamic Arts, Muslim Spiritual Counselling, Arabic, Law, History of Islam and Comparative Religion. Teaching languages are Dutch and Arabic.

In addition to a library, which includes an extensive collection of classical works on Islamic theology and Islamic law, the university also contains a small studio where calligraphy and ebru, the Turkish art of paper marbling, are taught. -- Jan Felix Engelhardt

FOR ANYONE who has grown up in India on a diet comprising regular doses of Hindi films — which is practically the entire population — the term tawaif is almost a taboo, a stigma, denoting a woman who is not in the mainstream of society. Delhi based independent documentary filmmaker Saba Dewan too must have had certain notions about a tawaif. But given her field of work — making films focused on gender, sexuality and culture — these ideas were set to be catalysed with reality sooner than later.

With her two- hour long documentary film, The Other Song , Dewan’s notions about a tawaif not just metamorphosed into a more real entity but were “ jolted,” as says the director. “ All the stereotypes that I may have had in my sub- conscience were broken in the course of making this film,” says the 46- year- old filmmaker.

The Other Song (2009) recreates the enigmatic figure of a tawaif, a courtesan, her lifestyle and culture, and unravels the sociopolitical transformations of the late 19th century- early 20th century that changed the status of a tawaif from a cultured entertainer sought after by the high society to a stigma in present times. “A tawaif has always elicited strong emotions — right from a victim to a demonic housebreaker, almost a non- woman,” says Dewan. -- Archana

Two huge speakers were blaring what sounded like a rap song. But it was all in Bangla. This was something new and original. The artiste happened to be someone called Fokir Lal Miah. He was good. Mushfiq said that Bangla rap/hip hop was an emerging music genre in Bangladesh with a handful of dedicated artistes and admirers. But this wasn’t usual rap/hip hop or the variety that is generally associated with American rap/ hip hop artistes. This was something deeper. For example, the song Beshi Kotha on Lal Miah’s album Chhoy Nong Bipod Shongket (No 6 Danger Warning) is a fantastic social commentary on how flippant and judgemental people can be. Similarly, the track Bichar Chai (Justice Needed), though not part of the album but available on the Internet, is Lal Miah’s brilliant commentary on more than three decades of Bangladeshi politics and the present socio-economic condition of that country. -- Rudroneel Ghosh

In an evening filled with nazms, ghazals, verses in lighter vein and peace as the buzzword, Delhiites were feted with a full range of style and thought by 22 poets -some visiting from Pakistan, Dubai, England, Canada, besides Indian poets like Javed Akhtar, Shahryar, Munnawar Rana, Khushbir Singh Shadd, Shakeel Azmi and others.

"Many say Urdu is a dying language," Kamna Prasad, founder of the Jashn-e-bahar Trust, said. "But this language, such an integral part of Hindustan's Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, is all about soulfulness.

Mushairas come from a time when there was no mass media. This international mushaira presents the latest in contemporary thought to thousands of lovers of Urdu poetry." -- Suanshu Khurana

In her lifetime, Gauhar attained a celebrity status that few women of her era could even dream of. For someone whose photograph appeared on picture postcards and matchboxes during her time, sadly today Gauhar is almost forgotten and largely unacknowledged even by the world of Hindustani music. This is what made researching her life for her biography an immensely challenging, yet enjoyable task. In a culture where the art is always perceived to be bigger than the artiste, and where documenting their personal lives is seldom considered important, it was quite an exercise to exhume this marvellous artiste from her grave and place her in a historical perspective, bringing her memory and contributions to Hindustani music in the public discourse. -- Vikram Sampath

Behind the Dubai palace in Karachi, near the seashore, there lives a merry old man. He holds a treasure which is unparalleled in this world. A treasure which is most likely to be destroyed… The reason being, most of us still questions the validity of the argument that it is indeed a treasure.

In his house, under specially built cabinets are rows and rows of audio tapes. When played they tell you the history of Indo Pakistan music, literature and poetry. You can find Ustad Bundo Khan playing his Sarangi, Pathanay Khan singing his tunes, Chotay Bukhari and Baray Bokhari reciting their essays in the earlier days of Radio Pakistan, Maulana Thanvi and Rasheed Turrabi reciting Quran or giving sermons or Faiz Ahmed recording his entire Nushka Hai Wafa in a span of 20 years in his studio. -- Ayaz Abdal

Photo: Lutfullah Khan

The quality of commercial films in Bangladesh has always been a bone of contention. In 2003, film producers and artists went on strike accusing each other of bringing obscenity to movies. But the last few years have seen a tremendous change, says, Mahbub Hassan Saleh, counselor, Bangladesh High Commission. There has been an improvement in the thematic and technical making of movies, he says. The films being screened in the festival, he says, not only showcase the history of the country but also reflect the contemporary social fabric of Bangladesh. -- Insiya Amir

“What is Sufi music? Singing a prayer to God and making an illclad girl gyrate to the rhythm? Positively not,” says Mohammad Idris Qutubi, the younger of the two Qutubi brothers who have been the traditional Sufi singers attached to the oldest dargah of Delhi, that of Khwaja Syed Muhammad Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki in Mehrauli, popularly known as the Qutub dargah. “As a family, we’ve been singing for the Khwaja Sahab for the past 825 years,” informs the elder brother, Mohammad Ilyas Qutubi...

“Anybody singing a song in praise of God classifies himself as a Sufi singer these days, which is not correct,” implores Mohammed Idris. The indignation of the traditional singers becomes heightened due to the money and fame that the ‘other’ singers end up making, in the name of Sufi singing/ qawwali. “Most of these Bollywood composers visit a dargah, copy our songs and make millions through their albums or films,” adds the elder brother. -- Archana

A new translation introduces the master of Urdu romantic poetry to 21st century readers

… Ghalib’s romantic verses are globetrotting with the subcontinental diaspora. ‘Ghalib nites’ are held from Delhi to Dubai to Detroit. Ghalib is studied in universities around the world. And new translations, new insights into his works continue to emerge.

The latest entrant is ‘Wine of Passion: The Urdu Ghazals of Ghalib’, a compilation of his love poems translated into English by US-based Pakistani professor Sarfaraz K. Niazi. The book seeks to open “a window to the mind and heart of Ghalib for English readers” by making him available in their language. – Saif Shahin

Photo: Mirza Ghalib

For Knight, punk's rebellious ethos echoes the rebellious spirit of Islam, which, when it began in 7th century Arabia, directly challenged everything from the Meccan economic power structures of the day to the prevailing tribal views on women. Knight's novel opens with a poem, which Poursalehi set to music and which has become an anthem of sorts for the scene: "Muhammed was a punk rocker/ You know he tore s___ up/ Muhammed was a punk rocker/ Rancid sticker on his pickup truck." For Knight, now a graduate student in Islamic studies at Harvard University, the richness and elasticity of Islam has allowed a Muslim punk scene to develop and now flourish. "The energy of punk is about tearing down," he says. "But I don't want to just be tearing something down. I want to build, to do something positive."

It is not often that an individual judge in our country wins the plaudits of the artistic and creative community. But that is what Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul of the Delhi High Court has just done. His landmark judgement of May 8, upholding a number of petitions submitted by the great Indian painter Maqbool Fida (M F) Husain, not only ensures that justice has been done to an authentic national icon, but contains observations that are both refreshing and true about the role of art in our society — observations which i hope will guide our national discourse on this vexed subject in the future, writes author and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor in his column in the Sunday Times of India.