Wednesday, November 30, 2011

...An (Updated) Charity Appeal Of Sorts

One of the few things that Lahore used to lag behind Pindi in was that you could find Wodehouses in Pindi. In my half a dozen trips to Lahore during my five years in Med School,I'd searched every bookstore I'd gone to for Plums. They either didn't stock him, or had only his school stories, or rarely, a novel that I already had. Pindi on the other hand, took the cake because every old-book shop had at least one Wodehouse. I'll grant that 98.5% of the time, they were the ones I already have, but still....

On my penultimate Lahore trip however, the pattern changed. Not only did I find two new Wodehouses, but also a book I was looking for for a long while (Is two 'for's correct?), namely Richard Usbourne's "Wodehouse At Work To The End". This temporarily stopped me from losing all faith in humanity. When I finally shifted from Pindi to Lahore, things took a turn for the better and Readings (the greatest bookstore ever) decided to stock a truckload of Plums. Out of that truckload, I managed to find another half-dozen that were missing from my bookshelf.

At last count, I have 56 Wodehouse books, along with 25 more in e-book format, which leaves me (according to David Jasen's brilliant "P.G. Wodehouse,A Portrait of The Master") with 16 more before I break even. Judging from the time it took me to get to 56, factoring in the decreasing odds of finding one I don't already have, I figure it'll take me 15 odd years to get to a complete set. And even if I count the 25 odd ones I can find online,that's too long a wait. Drastic measures are needed if I'm to get anywhere near my goal of reading all of the Master's work, and I've thought of one drastic measure that might go some way in helping me ...
This is a Wodehouse appeal. I'll list all the Wodehouse books that I haven't got or I can't find online, and if anyone has any of these books, printed, as part of an omnibus, in e-book form or otherwise I'd be ultra-indebted if they could share it with me. A photocopy, a scan, an e-book, a book-in-the-mail which I'll solemnly promise to return, or an old fashioned sale (at an extra 10% commission), anywhichway it may be, it'll be immensely appreciated.
  • Bill The Conqueror
  • If I Were You
  • Louder And Funnier
  • Doctor Sally
  • Nothing Serious
  • The Old Reliable
  • Bring On The Girls
  • Performing Flea
  • French Leave
  • America,I Like You
  • Something Fishy
  • A Few Quick Ones
  • Plum Pie
  • Do Butlers Burgle Banks?
  • The Girl In Blue
  • Pearls,Girls And Monty Bodkin
  • Bachelors Anonymous
           
            Here's to a successful experiment...

P.S Thanks to the generosity of friends and readers, I am now in a position to cross a few books off the list. At this rate, I'll be able to cross off quite a few pretty darn soon.
P.P.S I'm down to the final 10, it's the home stretch folks !!
 

...Wean Yourself !!


Little by little, wean yourself.
This is the gist of what I have to say.
From an embryo, whose nourishment comes from blood,
Grow into an infant drinking milk,
To a child who eats solid food,
To a searcher after wisdom,
To a hunter of more invisible game.
Think how it would be to have a conversation with an embryo.
You might say, “The world outside is vast and intricate.
There are wheatfields and mountain passes,
And orchards in bloom.
At night there are millions of galaxies, and in the sunlight,
The beauty of friends dancing at a wedding.”
You might ask the embryo why he, or she, stays cooped up
in the dark with eyes closed.
Listen to the answer.
There is no “other world.”
I only know what I’ve experienced.
You must be hallucinating. 

Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi (RA)


Reproduced from a post on Stray Reflections

Friday, November 18, 2011

...Of A Rather Ambitious Project


Forty Five recordings.

Six Poets.
Maulana Abdur Rehman Jami
Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi
Allama Muhammad Iqbal
Bedam Shah Warsi
Baba Bulleh Shah
Hazrat Amir Khusro

Nineteen Artists.
Ameer Rafeeq Murkianwale Qawwal
Asif Hussain Santoo, Manzoor Hussain Santoo Qawwal
Aziz Ahmed Khan Warsi Qawwal
Bahauddin,Qutbuddin Qawwal
Bakhshi Salamat Qawwal
Farid Ayaz, Abu Muhammad Qawwal
Fateh Ali-Mubarak Ali Qawwal
Ghaws Muhammad Nasir Qawwal
Haji Mahboob Ali Qawwal (RA)
Inayat Hussain Bhatti, Saeen Akhtar And Party
Jafar Husayn Khan Badayuni Qawwal
Manzoor Ahmed Niazi,Abdullah Manzoor Niazi Qawwal
Manzoor Niazi, Bahauddin Khan, Munshi Raziuddin, Iftekhar Ahmed Nizami Qawwals
Meraj Ahmed Nizami Qawwal
Mubarak Ali – Nusrat Fateh Ali Qawwal
Munshi Raziuddin Ahmed Qawwal
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Qawwal
Rasheed Ahmed Fareedi Qawwal
The Sabri Brothers And Ensemble
The Warsi Brothers

Four simple rules.
One post for each poet.
Only Qawwali recordings to be included.
One version per kalam.
One recording per artist.