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Articles / مضامین


Architectural Motifs of the Urdu World
see the full post on @koshlughat Introducing some of the most influential architectural motifs of the Urdu-speaking world! References: Asher, Catherine B. Architecture of Mughal India. The New Cambridge History of India I.4. Cambridge University Press, 1992. Alam, Humayra, and Syeda Tahmina Tasnim. “Jaali in Islamic Architecture: An Integration of Geometry into Ornamentation.” International Conference on Engineering Research, Innovation and Education (ICERIE), Shahjalal Unive

Hamdan Tariq
Apr 271 min read


Iqbal’s Most Daring Line?
Why does Iqbal give the sharpest line in Bāl-E-Jibrīl to Iblees? Jibreel-o Iblees, from Bal-e Jibreel, is built as a dialogue between two opposites: Jibreel (archangel Gabriel) stands for obedience, revelation, and celestial order. Iblees (Satan) stands for refusal, disruption, temptation, and conflict. But Iqbal does something startling. He does not let the angel explain the human condition. He provocatively lets Iblees do it, asking who understands what gives history its mo

Hamdan Tariq
Apr 263 min read


The Beauties of Lucknow
“Lucknow’s performers were made to stand for an entire culture” In 1874, a photographer named ʿAbbās ʿAlī published The Beauties of Lucknow: an album of female performers, singers, dancers, and theatrical figures tied to the culture of Lucknow. But this was never just about beauty. It was also about memory, performance, and the survival of a courtly world after its political destruction at the hands of the British. “Wazeer Dancinggirl” / No. 5 in The Beauties of Lucknow The a

Hamdan Tariq
Apr 213 min read
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