I share a poem هر انسان مين دی* by Dr Kabir Stori (ډاکټر کبیر ستوری) Pashto scholar and psychologist, born in Khas Kunar, Afghanistan in 1942. Kabir Stori, a follower of Bacha Khan's non-violent philososphy of national unity spent his adult years teaching in Germany. He died in 2006 and was laid to rest in his native Kunar. His list of writings include research papers on psychology and his Pashto literary works are modern classics, that have inspired many contemporary Pashto artists.هر انسان مين دی* = everyone loves
که زما ستوری په قبر چيرته راغلي
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په پښتو راته دعا کړه پري مين يم
If you come to Stori’s grave sometime,
Pray for me in Pashto, because I am a lover of Pashto
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په پښتو راته دعا کړه پري مين يم
If you come to Stori’s grave sometime,
Pray for me in Pashto, because I am a lover of Pashto
Tor_Khan تور خان
From an Indian:
ReplyDeleteYour blog is remarkable; you sound like a
seriously thinking, alert guy.
I admire the Pashtun people; you should know
that Indians revere the great Sher Shah Suri,
whose tomb is still in Bihar, where there's a
significant Pashtun populace.
And of course we know everyone from Madhubala
to Shahrukh are Pashtuns in Bollywood.
I think Partition was unwise; imagine, we'd all
be one country, from Parachinar to the Andaman
Islands! Honestly, I think Jinnah's ghost owes us an apology of sorts.
I wish you all the best and I'll visit as often
as I can. Thanks for listening!
I'm always happy for people to drop by and leave a note. Thank you. I come from a particular point of view, but this blog is a collection of thoughts, views and reflections - the intention for me at least - is to remain fluid.
ReplyDeletePashtoons really do seem to have made their mark in Bollywood. Perhaps it's time to do some films in the Pashto language! Madhubala remains incredibly beautiful and Shah Rukh Khan is a world-wide phenomena, despite his recent troubles at a New York airport.
I cannot help but feel admiration for ordinary Pashtoons, since whilst they do suffer an 'image' problem, I am more than convinced that on the whole - they have not asked for help, and have long come not to expect much aid and development.
Instinctively, I believe in freedom and self autonomy, but I realise that this comes with responsibility and that there is a greater value of being able to work together - the 'brotherhood of man' you may call it irrespective of background. Jinnah is an interesting topic. He was a complex personality, admired by many. Still I believe that we are entitled to ask serious questions about the Partition of India and whether the price for 'freedom' is sometimes too high and worth it at all costs. I would like the freedom to be pain-free. Unfortunately, we're never as free as we think and hope for sometimes.
From a nostalgic point of view, an undivided India seems great, only I wish it were as simple - the Pashtoons were split in two in 1893 with the drawing up of the Durrand Line. This changed the boundary between Aghanistan and British India, effectively reducing the former and leaving the major Pashtoon terrority 'stranded' in the North-West Frontier Province (of the-then British India, later Pakistan). Sadly, the British Colonial legacy around the globe is to have left many border issues unresolved. Pakistan is a prime example.
Pashtoons have long argued that the various names given to their land - NWFP in English and Sarhad in Urdu (meaning Border) are non-descript. The desire to restore a more meaningful name, realise autonomy, promote language and culture etc., and to realise better educational and life prospects means that whilst many Pashtoons have looked to Loy Afghanistan (Greater Afghanistan), this has continually affected Afghan-Pak relations.
Please feel free to drop by and visit the blog. As a Pashtoon, I am happy to host and extend warm greetings - this is a code from our Pashtunwali that we call Melmastia.