Baithak Desi Jul 04: Slavery's new Mecca, Sahir Documentary, Harris Khalique, Salman Rashid, News & Views, Cartoons

To enter Dubai's most notorious brothel, the Cyclone, I paid $16 for a ticket that the bursar stamped with the official seal of the Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing. Prostitution is illegal in Dubai, whose laws are rooted in Islam, with penalties ranging up to death. But the stamp was only the first of several contradictions in a place of slavery for women that one well-travelled British monger referred to as "Disneyland for men." In the club, no less than 500 prostitutes solicited a couple dozen prospective clients, some Western servicemen among them. An Indian living in London owned the place, and had not updated the decor in a decade, as if taste would reduce the charm and thus deter tourists. I walked over to the bar, and two Korean girls, who looked no older than 15 and claimed to be sisters, approached me. Slavery's new Mecca

This documentary brings out some very interesting facts about the umero uno of Indian lyricists, the great Sahir Ludhianvi. One fact that I was not aware of till this short film was that Sahir was named after one of his father’s bitter rivals- a neighbour named Abdul Hayee with whom he was engaged in a legal wrangle and and used to call him by expletives when Abdul Hayee, the son, was a child. I will write sometime on how Sahir’s lyrics were my inspiration for diving deeper into Urdu poetry and how, much before Ghalib and Faiz, it was Sahir’s lyrics for Hamraaz and Gumrah that seduced me towards Urdu poetry. Much Before Ghalib: A documentary on Sahir


It is terribly condescending to say that if Islamabad reforms itself and apologises to Balochistan, it will succeed in winning over their hearts and minds. Apologies won't be enough. The Baloch are equal citizens and should be treated as such. Industrialisation with full participation of the local population, a larger share for the province in the form of royalty and dividends obtained from mining and excavations, and investment in education, health and fundamental municipal services can transform Balochistan. All should happen on the terms of the local population. If a chance is given to the sons and daughters of Balochistan to lead a modern, civilised life under a functioning democratic political order, the Sardars will quickly become obsolete. Harris khalique

Footloose: The Old Man of Ghund —Salman Rashid

When he was finally himself again, Baba Ghundi told the woman that under no circumstances was she to leave her home because he was bringing down a flood of mud and stones to destroy the evil folk of Chapursan. For her kindness, she alone was to be spared

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