Tahir Mehdi

Jun 1, 2024 | dawn.com | Peerzada Salman |Tahir Mehdi |Abbas Nasir |Muhammad Amir Rana

Echoing Silence: Selected PoemsBy Parvin ShereSelected and translated from Urdu by Baidar BakhtSang-e-Meel PublicationsISBN: 978-969-35-3551-8381pp. "Silence is half consent’ is a proverb that’s often used in our part of the globe. Among other meanings, it refers to the helplessness of the oppressed segments of society. What does a book having the title Echoing Silence imply? It implies that the consent can be heard, albeit in murmurs.

Jun 1, 2024 | dawn.com | Mehr Afshan Farooqi |Tahir Mehdi |Abbas Nasir |Muhammad Amir Rana

Seldom has a book of poems in English resonated with me as this slender volume, Yardstick of Life. Perhaps the poet’s visceral connection with ghazal, particularly Ghalib’s ghazal, and a certain artful way with words grabbed my attention. I read and reread the poems; marked my favourites and began to think about their delicate structure and the deep emotions within. The emotions are cocooned in a translucent web that the reader can both see and feel.

Jun 1, 2024 | dawn.com | Hajra Rehan |Tahir Mehdi |Abbas Nasir |Muhammad Amir Rana

The One Who Did Not AskBy Altaf FatimaTranslated by Rukhsana AhmadLightstone PublishersISBN: 978-969-7161-72-0387pp. The One Who Did Not Ask is the English translation by Rukhsana Ahmad of Altaf Fatima’s Urdu novel Dastak Na Do. Rukhsana Ahmad has written and adapted several plays for the stage and BBC, achieving distinction in both. Dastak Na Do was serialised and televised in the early days of PTV and an abridged translation was published monthly in the Herald.

Jun 1, 2024 | dawn.com | Taha Muhammad Ali |Tahir Mehdi |Abbas Nasir |Muhammad Amir Rana

Earthly Order: How Natural Laws Define Human LifeBy Saleem H. AliOxford University PressISBN: 978-969-7343-83-6275pp. There is a big market nowadays for what we might refer to as “big-picture” or “vision” books. They are thick glossy paperbacks which attempt to reframe, reinterpret and re-present a big chunk of our reality. These books are vast in scope. Aimed squarely at the layman, the authors hop multiple disciplines with practised ease. And one can gauge their ambition from the titles.

Jun 1, 2024 | dawn.com | Tahir Mehdi

US-sanctioned former Revolutionary Guards commander Vahid Haghanian was among candidates who registered on Saturday to run for election as Iran’s president after Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash, state media reported. Haghanian, a close aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told reporters after registering that his qualifications were based on “experience from serving 45 years in the presidency and the leader’s office”.