Sufis of Sindh

Whispers of the desert
poem by Fatima Bhutto
Excerpts:

Karachi air
Breathed in through the lungs
Is sickly sweet
Like honeycomb left out to rot
In the warm, unrepentant heat.
Or else,
It is thick, smoky
Like mesquite
The evening scent of garbarge burning
At the first break of dusk’s early light.
Mynah birds and ravens caw
A jealous chord
Singing to the street.
At midnight
I can hear the poor sweeper man
Sweep sweeping
The moonlit littered roads.
I sleep in bed
Covered in a sheet of sweat.
There is no electricity now
In this deadened August night

I trawl
Middle Eastern airlines, terminals and luggage belts
Stuck alongside students,
Honeymooners in black robes and white thobes
And slave labour, working through the night.
Hiding my name on my boarding passes,
A thumb obscuring the sight of letters, destinations and foreign nights
And inventing new fictions,
Identities
And family trees.
My legs are close to clotting
And my bags unnecessarily heavy.
Qatar, Etihad and Emirates
I count them off as lovers
I use in desperate times of need.,
Flying out every month
Pretending that I’m free,
Subsisting on airline meals.
Parting from Karachi
At departure gates
And onwards worldwide.
I wish it well
My love unkind.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

MANGO

Monsoon season is the season of mangoes in the tropics. Mangoes of all sizes and shapes flood into the market. The following is description of mango from the pages of history , extracted from two books I have in my library.

The Voyage of John Huyghen van Linschoten : Containing His Description of The East (from old English translation of 1598)

Mangas (mangoes) groweth upon trees like Chakka(Jack-fruit) trees . They are as big as a great Peach, but some what long, and a little crooked, of colour clear green, some what yellowish, and some times reddish : it hath within it a stone bigger than a Peach stone, but it is not good to be eaten. The Mangoes are inwardly yellowish, but in cutting it is waterish, yet some not so much. They have a very pleasant taste , better than a Peach, and like Annanas(Pineapple?) the most best and the most profitable fruit in all India, for it yeildeth a great quantity for food & sustainance (of the countrie people), as Olives do in Spain and Portingale.

They beare fruit upon trees, from April to November, according to the situation of the place. Those which grow in the West(coast) are smaller but of better taste & flavor; within they have a small Nut, or Kernell. Another sort groweth in Balagatte , and those are the greatest, for there are of them that weigh two pound & a quarter, of a verie pleasant taste. So are those grow in the Kingdome of Nisam Sha (Hyderabad) and like unto them are the Mangas of Bengala, Pegu and Malacca. The shel of them being taken off, is eaten in slices with Wine, and also without Wine, as we eate Peaches, they are also preserved; the better to keep them, either in Sugar, Vinegar, Oyle or Salt, like Olives in Spaine, being a little opened with a knife, they are stuffed with greene Ginger, headed Garlik, Mustard or such like, they are sometimes eaten only with Salt, and sometimes sodden with Rice, as we doe Olives, and being thus conserved and sodden, are bought in the market.

From the autobiography of Zahiruddin Babur (1483-1531) - the founder of Mughal[Mongol] Empire.


Anbah (mango) is one of the fruits peculiar to Hindustan. Hindustanis pronounce the b in its name as though no vowel followed it (anb); this being awkward to utter, some people call the fruit naghzak, as Khwaja Khusrau (Amir Khusru[1253-1325]- poet) does :

Naghzak-i ma naghz-kun-i bustan
Naghztarin mewa-i-Hindustan.

[Our fairling (ie.mango), beauty-maker of the garden
Fairest fruit of Hindustan.]

Mangoes when good(ripe) are very good, but many as are eaten, few are first-rate. They are usually plucked unripe and ripened in the house. Unripe, they make excellent condiments, are good also preserved in syrup. Taking it altogether, the mango is the best fruit of Hindustan. Some so praise it as to give it preference over all fruits except the musk-melon, but such praise outmatches it. It resembles the kardi peach. It ripens in the rains. It is eaten in two ways : one is to squeeze it to a pulp, make a hole in it, and suck out the juice - the other, to peel and eat it like kardi peach. Its tree grows very large and has a leaf somewhat resembles the peach-tree's. The trunk is ill-shaped but in Bengal and Gujrat is heard of as growing handsome.

soccer passion

In her article for Mathrubhumi Sports Brazilian journalist Carina Bini writes about soccer passion in her country which hosts FIFA World Cup - 2014.

Excertps:

And I'm sure the Brazilian team is beloved in many parts of the world. My biggest surprise when I first visited Kerala, was to hear everyone talking about 'Ronaldo', knowing that I was Brazilian. I felt at home with the warmth of Malayalis for Brazil in football. At another time, when I and my husband Malayali, Ananda Jyothi, natural Thevara - Cochin, we were producing our documentary on Kerala, for a moment I thought I was here in Brazil. Suddenly through the car window, I saw some boys playing football and a large outdoor in Malayalam with a picture of Ronaldo, on the highway going to Calicut, full of coconut trees same as some regions of north Brazil! If it was not written in Malayalam, anyone could swear that scene was happening here, and it is recorded in our documentary! And in last February , when we were in Kerala, I had the joy of knowing Bashir, a friend of my husband, who was a soccer player from Ernakulam and a great fan of Brazilian football. Until today we have treasures stored some coconut sweets from Lakshadweep he presented us. I was also delighted to see Rufas de Souza training many kids in Fort Cochin, and came to knew that he discovered some talented known players in Cochin.

Football is the main play of the children here! All houses have a ball and even the girls love to play with their brothers. I played football in my childhood. We were the team of girls against boys. We girls had little disadvantaged, of course. It is very common to see children playing soccer in the streets. And the interesting thing is that this occurs mainly in the poorest regions of the country. Being famous footballer is a dream for many boys here. I see the eyes of so many of our players that childhood dream realized. Many of our most famous players come from very poor family. We been also world champions of Volleyball too, but we love more football.

Too bad that our neighbor Argentineans have no sympathy for our team. We are so close but so far when it comes to football! Here we cheer for Mexico, indeed! Recently even schools in Argentina changed the story of their school books, and declared Maradona as the King of football. But I think they forgot about the man of a thousand goals, our King Pele, respected throughout the world and the eternal king of football. Maradona was a great player, but his story did not leave good memories is not a good role model for children in Argentina.
source : sports.mathrubhumi.com

BAPPI LAHIRI

Presents : 'Football Fever'

Apart from Vuvuzela, one of the highlights of WorldCup-2010, has been the official FIFA theme song Shakira's 'Waka Waka'. The song and the video has been an instant-hit all over the world. Also popular is another theme-song 'Waving Flag' by K'naan. Inspired by the soccer-craze, the King of Indian Disco -Bappi Lahiri - popularly known as 'Bappi-da' (ie. Brother-Bappi) came up with his own take on the beautiful game. The single is titled 'Football Fever' sung by Bappi Lahiri himself.
Being a Bengali, there is no doubting Bappi-da's credentials as a passionate soccer-fan. After all, the pioneer football-clubs like East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are in his home-land. So football fever must be always in his vains. Hasn't Salil Chowdhury, the Bengali music-legend once said (in a lighter vain) ' I'm the Pele of music' ? Another great Bengali-composer - S.D Burman too was an ardent soccer fan.

And when it comes to getting inspired, there's no match for Bappi-da either. His 'inspired' works of world-famous disco-hits has earned him the nick-name 'Copy-Lahiri'. Some would also call him the Kitsch-King of Disco. But unlike some of his counterparts, Bappi-da readily admits that he has lifted tunes from others. He adds that even in his lifted-tunes, he gives a unique Bappi-da touch. Nowadays Bappi-da is more prolific as a music reality-show judge than as a musician. But advancing years have not dimished his love for good food or his trademark of flashy clothes, expensive jewellary, and designer sun-glasses that hide his Mongolian eyes.

Bappi-da's 'Football Fever' video is available on YouTube. It hasn't caused any ripple in the market (unlike his hit-numbers of the 80's).The comments that posted below the video speaks for itself. It's not that Bappi-da is unused to such heavy shower of brick-bats. I am giving here a link to the video - (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMR7zl-xuAI) out of deep respect for a musician -whom I'd call - the pioneer figure of Indian pop-music scene. Like him or poke fun of him : one cannot simply ignore this large, flamboyant man. We love you Bappi-da !

For the very best of Bappi Da's video see : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTMu1c2xaLA&feature=related (Chalo Chale : Bappi Lahiri & Runa laila)

Breaking News : A Goal !

Soccer-craze : Real or artificial ?
I reside in a place where football is the No.1 sport - not cricket. In the whole of Indian sub-continent, cricket is the favourite sport. But in certain pockets like Bengal,Kerala, Goa and the North-east, it is football that reigns supreme. Assemble any Indian football XI and players from these region will dominate the team. The soccer-clubs of these region are as old as any other part of the world. The advent of FIFA Worldcup is like a festive season here. Some of the most fanatic fans of Brazil can also be found here. Even the fury of monsoon-rains have not dimished their enthusiasm for the game.

But what about the 'soccer-mania' in the rest of the country ?
If the vast media-coverage of on-going Worldcup-2010 is an indication, it seems like soccer-craze is catching up with the rest of India as well. The TV-channels have devoted their time exclusively for Worldcup with 'breaking-news' every time a goal is scored. Going with the trend, TV-anchors and VJs appear on the screen carrying football as a prop. The sudden shift of media-focus towards soccer even prompted the publicity-obsessed Bollywood stars to turn soccer-fans overnight ! So is soccer the next big thing in the country ?

Let's not be too optimistic. It's naive to reach a conclusion based on the hype or hysteria generated by the media. To 'follow the herd' is after all a characteristic trait in this part of the world. And the latest football-fever can't come at a better time. The national pastime cricket is already in doldrums due to the corruptible influence of Big Business and Bollywood. There was a time when India dominated the world hockey and it was the popular sport for decades. Then India won the cricket worldcup and world-champioships in the 80s, and everyone jumped into the cricket bandwagon.
Similarly if Indian soccer needs to go places, its national-team must achieve great results - atleast at Asian level if not world-level. But then comes the real challenge : that is - to meet the high expectations and high demands of millions.

SOCCER MANIA !

DVD : Shaolin Soccer

movie : Shaolin Soccer(2001)
Directed by : Stephen Chow
Written by :Stephen Chow Tsang Kan-Cheung
Starring : Stephen Chow Zhao Wei Danny Chan Kwok Kwan

World Cup Soccer - preview

World Cup Football - 2010

South Africa

Which are the teams I'm gonna support in this Worldscup ?
Apart from Brazil - of course. I've been long time fan of Brazilian football and my full fledged support naturally goes to the men-in-yellow-and-green. They are the masters of total-football and there's nothing like watching a Brazilian team at its full flow. So I want to see Brazil regain the Worldcup which they won 8-years ago in Japan. I am sure they will have a lot of local support in South Africa. Argentina is also starts as the favourites but they always starts as favourites and ends up in disappointment. There's already a lot of hype surrounding their team and its coach, and let's see how they will do differently this time. This is not the case with Brazil - they have already won the cup many times and there's no shame if they miss a few times.

Apart from Brazil, I'm a big fan of African football. When it comes to sheer footballing skills, none can match them. They move as if the ball is attached to their foot like a magnet. This is the first World Cup to be held in Africa so it's the ripe time for Africa to sieze the moment. There'll be no surprise if an African team or two will feature in the semis. So all the best Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, Ivory Coast and hosts South Africa.

Never in recent times did World Cup fixture look so odd. Where are some of the largest and prominent nations - such as Russia ,Sweden, Belguim, Turkey,Romania ,China ,Iran or Saudi Arabia. In their place came some obscure teams such as Newzealand, North Korea, Honduras and Serbia. It seems like the qualifying round didn't do full justice to teams from Asia and Europe. Even France managed to scrape-through over Ireland by a whisker. As it often happens, the top players of the top teams are lured by lucrative contracts with top clubs so that when it comes to playing for the country, they will have little steam left. Either they will be too jaded or injured.

Like previous Worldcups, many new names will emerge out of this Worldcup while some big names may fade into obscurity. The previous Worldcup in Germany is mostly remembered for the infamous 'head-butt' by Zenadine Zidane. Let's hope this time the tournament will be remembered at best for some positive and attractive display of soccer.