alephcollective-blog

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Nazish and Mehwish, both Indian nationals, sisters and residents of the UAE, sent this in. #BAATKARAIN

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From Sara to 'A' - To my first friend and companion in Dubai - jo sarhad paar se hain - jashn e azadi mubarak ho :) I miss you. Come back soon. I hope someday I can take you to Rajasthan where you can dress up like a 'thakur' with your 'moochein' and someday you can show me Karachi. You call me filmy and you know I love Raj so here are a few lines from Veer Zaara: "Woh Kehtay Hain Yeh Tera Des Nahi Phir Kyun Mere Des Jaisa Lagta Hai Woh Kehta Hai Mai Us Jaisa Nahi Phir Kyun Mujh Jaisa Woh Lagta Hai" You're awesome :)

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46 – A teenaged couple’s fight for freedom

This image http://www.indianmemoryproject.com/46-2/ was photographed in Delhi, shortly after my paternal grandparents Chameli and Phool Chand, got married.

She was 14 and he was 16.

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In 1932, Gandhi called for a major nationwide satyagraha against foreign goods. It was also the year a bomb was thrown at Lord Lothian, an act in which my grandfather played a role. When he told my grandmother that he was going to jail, she said this time she would go to prison first, by taking part in theswadeshi satyagraha. The household was stunned. Ammaji’s life had revolved around ritual, the kitchen and ghoonghat. Her decision led to the following heated exchange; witnessed by my father, age 7:

Babaji: “You don’t know anything about jail.”

Ammaji: “Nor did you when you were first arrested.”

Babaji: “Who will look after the children ?”

Ammaji: “You will.”

  To read the entire story: visit - http://www.indianmemoryproject.com/46-2/

Courtesy: Indian Memory Project website

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So you know about Aleph Collective and its campaign #BAATKARAIN; well All India Bakchod and Khaula Jamil Photography, separately but literally put that concept into use and look what happened.

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via Being Indian.

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Swatantra Divas Mubarak, India! May the next 67 be marked by prosperity, joy and strength for all, and peace reign.

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Danial Shah, a well known Pakistani travel photographer sent in his submission awhile back. According to him, he is an adventure seeker, travel and documentary photographer, and travel writer, moving across Pakistan for positive stories. He blogs at www.iExplorePakistan.com and tweets at @DanialShah_.

"Dear Friends from India,

On 14th of August we celebrate the independence day while you celebrate it on the 15th. The difference is only of the dates while we both got freedom from the British. I have never been to India and it's my wish to travel all across India just like i travel in Pakistan. I want to see how the culture changes across the border, or does it actually change?. I want to have no manmade borders between the two countries. We all should live in harmony. I wish you also get a chance to see Pakistan. For now, you can see it through my lens :)

  Regards,

Your Friend on the other side of the border"

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- Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture rolls out their iconic 80 foot flag at the campus while everyone sings the National Anthem to celebrate 14th August - Humans of Karachi

Courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/humansofkhi

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Coke Studio: Sound of the Nation book

  All Rights Reserved By Markings Publishing markings.com.pk/ Video: The Editor's Cut

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"Hindustaniyo ke dil se Pakistaniyo ko nahin nikal sakte, aur Pakistaniyo ke dil se...kyun ke sab saath rahe huye hai".

Mrs. Kusum Jain is the owner of the “Cottage of Arts & Jewels” in Delhi’, Hauz Khas area. She runs an antique shop that deals in paintings, old books, maps, prints & movie posters, tribal art, antique jewellery and old textiles. According to her, most of it is original.

Here she speaks about how her extended family left Rawalpindi and Gujranwala and the situation during that time. Her childhood memories of playing with Muslims in Bali Maran, Delhi and Pakistanis and Indians love for each other.

All Rights Reserved - #BAATKARAIN Campaign (Aleph Collective)

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Powerful women of the Pakistan Movement

In the shadows of the more prominent figures like Fatima Jinnah, Begum Shahnawaz, Salma Tassaduque Hussain, Begum Liaqat Ali Khan and Fatima Sughra, there were countless women who dedicated their lives to the Pakistan movement. Their's was a parallel story of courage and labour, a voice that invigorated the struggle but was unheard when the deafening roar of 'Pakistan Zindabad' rang out.

Photo Courtesy: The Citizens Archive of Pakistan

Photo Courtesy: The Citizens Archive of Pakistan

Photo Courtesy: The Citizens Archive of Pakistan

Photo Courtesy: Dawn archives

Produced by

Taimur Sikander

Shameen Khan

The images and interviews used in this feature were made possible from the material obtained from The Citizens Archive of Pakistan

             NOTE: Click on the link to hear their sound cloud interviews - http://www.dawn.com/in-depth/powerful-women-of-the-pakistan-movement/

  Courtesy: www.dawn.com

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Video footage of celebrations in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) post independence.

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Pakistan showcased -

Habib Qureshi, submitted these photographs to AlephCollective recently. Lahore, as seen by him.

Habib is a "third culture, cookies-and-cream-loving photographer by profession. I am in love with everything analogous. I’d like to think myself as a “light stealer” (Einstein’s term for photographers), but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.”

Habib Qureshi instagram: habibqureshi

twitter: al_debaran

* Click on the photographs for captions.

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The birth of a nation; When the clock struck Pakistan

                                  Quaid-e-Azam and Fatima Jinnah. PHOTO COURTESY: IBRAHIM ZIA               

PESHAWAR: 

“There was a strange type of joy, when it was announced on the radio that the Pakhtuns had become part of a newly-created country called Pakistan,” said Barrister Zahoorul Haq, who was then in his first year at Islamia College Peshawar.

Barrister Zahoorul Haq. PHOTO: FILE

Haq was born in 1931 in Prang near Charsadda and the barrister is considered one of the top criminal litigators in the province. Still practicing, Haq is known for his work on several high profile cases, including the Daniel Pearl murder case in which he was one of the senior prosecutors representing the state. He was also part of the prosecution team in the case against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for attempting to divert the plane of General (retd) Pervez Musharraf in 2009.

At birth

On that day [August 14, 1947], the city was lit up,” Haq told The Express Tribune. “Huge gatherings and celebrations could be seen around the city,” but massive riots in Punjab and other parts of the sub-continent marred the jubilant mood.

“But there were hardly any riots in our province; everything was peaceful and smooth, despite the fact that we had a large number of Sikhs and Hindus, especially in Tirah Valley and Peshawar.”

A picture from Life Magazine where Political Agent Nawab Sheikh Mahbub can be seen (at the table) collecting signatures of Swat Ranezai tribesmen for their agreement to be governed by the state of Pakistan. PHOTO COURTESY: FACEBOOK.COM/QISSAKHWANI.

The youth, especially students of Islamia College, had arranged rallies to mark the birth of a new country. The whole day the city resounded with “Pakistan Zindabad”, and the streets of Peshawar felt like a festival, said the barrister.

Marching alongside

A few months before the creation of Pakistan, there were several political rallies which could have been polarising—if not outright violent—but were not, said Haq. “The Sikhs arranged their own rallies in support of the Indian National Congress, as did the Hindus. Meanwhile, the Muslims held their own peaceful gatherings,” said Haq, “but they never infringed on each other’s right of speech.”

“Some people left [for India] of their own will while others stayed behind and lived in peace,” said Haq. Many Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and others chose to live in Peshawar after Partition because, for them, it was the country of their ancestors. Even if they supported the Indian National Congress throughout the Freedom Movement.

There was an excitement in the air and, “it was that excitement and those emotions that led to the birth” of two new countries.

“It was not about religion, [in K-P] it was never about religion; there was a zeal for Pakistan. And we got Pakistan but then we had to face the music,” said the senior barrister. “The anti-Ahmadi riots in Lahore in 1953, the mini martial law…”

Processsion going through Qissa Khwani, April 1947. PHOTO COURTESY: IBRAHIM ZIA.

There wasn’t much unrest in Peshawar around Partition, as there was in other parts of the subcontinent, he reiterated, because people who lived in what was then the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) were more about the politics. After all, people of all religions coexisted there for centuries, he added.

He recounted the excitement was palpable, especially in Kohat, Karak, Abbottabad, Bannu and Peshawar. But, Haq added, in a few areas like Charsadda, there was pent up anger against the British government and the way things were dealt with, said Haq. “But even then, they never regretted the creation of Pakistan.”

The first bullet

Everything was going peacefully, said Haq. “But then news of bloodletting in other parts of divided India slowly started stirring up things in the city.”

Read more: http://tribune.com.pk/story/748386/the-birth-of-a-nation-when-the-clock-struck-pakistan/

Published in The Express Tribune, August 14th,2014.

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  With crime, political violence and creeping Talibanisation, the heritage trail of Karachi is not well-worn. But one man is hoping to change that: Farooq Soomro, the self-styled Karachi Wallah. His tours of the city's hidden architectural gems have built a cult following

Pakistan Showcased

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I stand by you Paratha! I do #Independenceday #BaatKarain

I’ve decided to rewrite about a guilty pleasure of mine for Pakistan and India’s independence day. Contrary to the misconceptions, we’re actually two peas in a pod. Aleph Collective initiative has inspired my blabbing skills to wonder in some fond memories of my Desi origins.

I won’t break any stereo types here, In fact, I’d like to indulge and embrace what makes me truly “Desi”

Desi influence in my life has and still remains in two best forms; music and food. One of my best memory with my Baba is of the time when we reached home in a rain storm and decided to stay in the car listening to Muhammad Rafi, Hemant Kumar and Kishore Kumar songs while sipping Karak Chai, watching the rain hammer the car windows as if envious and seeking attention of some sort. Usually, it frightens and angers people to watch such weather disturb their nights but for us listening to ” woh shaam kuch ajeeb thi” was a memory I call one of the mental Kodak moments of my life.

Where it gets really sensitive for me is Parathas! Ammi always said I was a easy child, apparently Ghee wala paratha rolled in caster sugar made me see unicorns over the rainbow. You can say its played a role in my fluctuating waistline but the heart wants what it wants. If anyone has grown up or even briefly lived in Pakistan or India, I’d speak for them when I say apart from our Ammi ki pampering, Parathay walay uncle on the streets who start prepping the soft doughs before sunrise have been part of at least one memorable moment in their life.

So what are some of the many things that makes us the same? The pleasures of Paratha, Karak Chai and Farida khanum or Muhammad Rafi on repeat.

Happy Pakistan and Indian Independence day to all my friends back home and across the border.

http://anaamsfoodlog.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/i-stand-by-you-paratha-i-do-rewritten-independenceday-baatkarain/

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"I recently came to uae. I feel so much connected to the concept simply because at first sight people consider me to be from Pakistan and many continue to consider the same even after a small talk. Being from the partner country it gives me good feeling . Needed to the convey the same #baatkarain" - Muhammed Athar Firoz, Indian national, currently residing in the UAE.