Romancing the city of Lahore
I first came upon Pran Nevile when Saeed Ahmed Khan, a gentleman from Lahore, whom I unfortunately never met but with whom I used to correspond, told me about him. He said the two of them were classmates... People Like Us Across The Border
Perhaps it is the fate of great men to become the subject of unsubstantiated stories which, more often than not, emanate from those who, in the words of Dr M.D. Taseer, are more keen “to gain immortality” ... Sultan Rahi lives
One can’t say about others, but the Referendum has been great news for lovers of the Punjabi cinema. The gap created by the sad and sudden departure of Sultan Rahi a few years ago, a gap that nobody thought,...Memories of Manto
Whenever there is a change of government in Pakistan, I ask myself if this time around the State of Pakistan will finally confer the recognition that it has denied for over half a century to its greatest writer. And every time ....Memories of pre-1947 Lahore
Pran Nevile says though he left Lahore fifty-five years ago, that’s where his heart has always remained. “In a way, you can say, I never left Lahore because it is always with me. I have carried it with me wherever I have gone ...Those Lahore radio days
The other day I asked an old friend how life was treating him. “I am doing fine, thanks to my three Ms,” he replied. “Three Ms?” I asked. “Yes, memories, music and martinis.” I consider that an answer equivalent of game,...A Manto remembrance
In my reform house,” Saadat Hasan Manto wrote in his later years, “I keep no combs, curlers or shampoos because I do not know how to apply make-up on human beings. If Agha Hashr was cross-eyed, ...A Hamid’s Lahore
After reading A Hamid’s first story, Saadat Hasan Manto said in his sharpshooter style, “What rubbish! One look at an electricity pylon, and A Hamid goes all romantic.” The year was 1948. A Hamid has since written..... Naseer Anwar’s Lahore
In 1960, the legendary literary magazine Naqoosh produced a special issue on Lahore. It is a pity that no longer do we see such effort go into publications today though their number is now large though two-thirds . ...Saigal, one in a million
The year 2004 was the hundredth anniversary of KL Saigal’s birth, but it went unmarked in Pakistan. Some time earlier I had asked music aficionado Saeed Malik in Lahore if he could perhaps get a group together to. ...