Latest news with #Indo-Persian
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Shahzia Sikander mesmerizes at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Some artists who diversify from their original genre don't do so very well, producing uneven results that feel contrived for the demands of the art market. Shahzia Sikander more than succeeds. The New York-based artist trained in the Indo-Persian miniature painting tradition in her native Pakistan, and much of her early oeuvre put a contemporary spin on that style, often foregrounding female figures; she had a well-received show at the Hirshhorn in 1999 to 2000. The 2006 MacArthur 'genius' grant winner has since branched out into widely varied forms and directions, including video, mosaic and sculpture.
Hans India
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hans India
Meet Dr Shadab Ahmed the surgeon with an extraordinary poetic precision
Dr Shadab Ahmed is a prominent and acclaimed name in the translation and transliteration of 'Indian, Persian and Ottoman antiquarian manuscripts. An author of more than 10 published books on 'Indian & Persian ethnic prose-poetry', his interpretations and paraphrases are widely read and appreciated in the Indo-Persian scholarly community trans-continentally. Several of his translated verses appear in major digital libraries around the globe and are critically analysed by renowned critics and academicians. His translations blend analytical rigor with extraordinary poetic precision, extrapolating and interfacing complex verses into elaborate enthralling wordplays. His works explore the essence and leitmotif of the celebrated literary compositions from the bygone empires as much as they throw an important light on the socio-political, ethnic and cultural analysis of those eras. The themes of his works are varied and idiosyncratic - selectively compiled, curated, structured and standardised. The passages and verses are carefully chosen and researched, intermixing the associated Occidental and Oriental explications. Be it the entranced turmoiled devotion to the beloved or proscribed suppressed literature illustrating the classified carnalization of the monarchs and sovereigns, it is presented in a lavish linguistic rhymeplay which catches both the incurious and inquisitive eyes. A unique feature of his own composed verses and quatrains lies in the reflection of an altered transitional consciousness, in which the author appears to be subtly invoking God and communicating implicitly. The result is often a quatrain with metaphysical interpretation and perspective. The language used in the translations is standardized American and British English, with unusual words assembling together to develop a beautiful narrative. But that won't be all. Apart from being a successful writer and author, Dr Ahmed is also a professional Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon, intrinsically involved in quality assurance programs of several institutions and universities. Based in India, his extra-professional and extra-academic interests goes into real estating, property development and investment management. A bibliophile and passionate reader, he reads whenever his busy schedule permits and is a prudent scholar of Indian & World History, Metaphysical & Aesthetic Philosophy, Abrahamic, Indic & Vedic Religions and Tantric Sciences. Dr Ahmed is also a noted columnist on Indian polity, geopolitics, realpolitik and international affairs. His opinions and editorials appear in various national print media are as well-read and well-liked as his books are. Hailing from North-East India, Dr Ahmed finished his under-graduation from Bihar and post-graduation from Tamil Nadu. He has previously worked in the North East Frontier Railway's, based at NFR Headquarters, Assam. When asked where he sees himself ahead in life, he enigmatically smiles before letting us know that he is looking forward to be an entrepreneur. One challenge at a time, and two ahead for a vision is his mantra to proceed forward in life. He has several academic and non-academic books lined up for publication and release in the coming months. His next book 'The Despicable Musalman' is eagerly awaited, which provides a comprehensive account of the Islamization of India and takes on various egocentric and megalomaniac personalities from the Arabian, Ghurid, Ghaznavid, Turkish, Mongol, Mughal empires and sultanates – whose policies and practices are vital in shaping up Indian polity and administrative structure. We wish him all the best for his academic accomplishments and extra-academic endeavours.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cartier, V&A: A spellbinding, once-in-a-lifetime display of old-world glamour
The Maison Cartier was founded in Paris in 1847, just five years before the Victoria and Albert Museum opened its doors. Nearly two centuries later, the South Kensington jewel box has been transformed into a spellbinding venue for this once-in-a-lifetime retrospective of the House that has become synonymous with unfathomable fortunes and old-world glamour. The exhibition deftly draws the viewer into the spheres of cultural influence that inspired three brothers, Louis, Pierre and Jacques Cartier, to 'fulfill their dream and take their House to all four corners of the globe'. Through sheer ambition and imaginative vision, the siblings catapulted their grandfather's family business into a world-class establishment patronised by royals, film stars and bankers' wives. Cartier's early designs took inspiration from the decorative arts of 18th-century France: festoons, ribbons, tassels and wreathes. The Lily stomacher brooch from 1906 is a beautiful example of the Garland Style's neoclassical inspiration. But the brothers did not limit their visions to the stylistic realms of Louis XVI. With the gluttony of connoisseurs, they voraciously assimilated cultural motifs and iconographies from far beyond the confines of their fatherland; panthers and lobed cartouches from Indo-Persian carpets, Chinese dragons with cabochon emerald eyes and jade medallions carved in imitation of coins from the reign of Emperor Guangxu. The House of Cartier has thrived on elevating the whims of popular taste to an art form. In the midst of the Egyptomania that sprung from the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, it launched a series of ancient Egypt-themed creations. They rolled out scarab belts, Sekhmet broaches, and even an Art Deco mantelpiece clock engraved with hieroglyphs that were in the Egyptian style but not 'linguistically or historically accurate'. Of particular note is a 1925 vanity case in the shape of an Egyptian sarcophagus. Every surface of this miniature tomb is decorated: two carved emerald sphinxes enrobed and encrusted with onyx and diamonds perch on either end; an intricate lotus frieze runs along its length above which rests a lid of carved bone bearing a relief of a lady and lotus. On the base, a gold plaque depicting a female figure and heron. Beyond the Maison's preeminence in the aspirational market of expensive trinket-objets, it is the mesmerising series of unique commissions that have almost single-handedly secured Cartier's legendary status. Among the most iconic of these commissions are the dazzling Cartier tiaras that anchor the well-crafted structure of the show. Upon entering the exhibition, viewers are greeted by the Manchester Tiara, which was ordered in 1903 by the Dowager Duchess of Manchester who supplied 1,513 diamonds for the design. Upon exit, they're ushered through the tiara hall of fame; from an exceptional black opal tiara that converts into a necklace, gifted to Mary Cavendish by her husband in 1937, to kokoshnik-style tiaras, Tutti Frutti tiaras and the olive wreath wedding tiara of Marie Bonaparte, the great-grandniece of Napoleon. However, the most astounding piece in this exhibition by any measure is the centrepiece of the Maharaja of Patiala's 1928 order from Cartier Paris, 'one of the largest commissions ever received by the firm'. The Patiala necklace consists of five rows of 2,930 diamonds and two rubies, and originally centred on the 234.65-carat yellow De Beers diamond. The necklace mysteriously disappeared from the Patiala treasury after Indian Independence in 1947 and was not rediscovered until 1988 when it was found in London with its largest stones missing. There are plenty of gobstopper-sized gems to gawp at in this stellar exhibition and, though viewers may struggle to tear themselves away from these twinkling lumps of pressurised carbon and their more colourful counterparts, they will certainly leave with a greater understanding and appreciation of the pivotal role that Cartier has played in the historical development of high jewellery. Take your wife, who'll dream of leaving you for a maharaja – and take your daughter, in the hope that she might actually marry one. From Sat April 12-Nov 16; Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Cartier, V&A: A spellbinding, once-in-a-lifetime display of old-world glamour
The Maison Cartier was founded in Paris in 1847, just five years before the Victoria and Albert Museum opened its doors. Nearly two centuries later, the South Kensington jewel box has been transformed into a spellbinding venue for this once-in-a-lifetime retrospective of the House that has become synonymous with unfathomable fortunes and old-world glamour. The exhibition deftly draws the viewer into the spheres of cultural influence that inspired three brothers, Louis, Pierre and Jacques Cartier, to 'fulfill their dream and take their House to all four corners of the globe'. Through sheer ambition and imaginative vision, the siblings catapulted their grandfather's family business into a world-class establishment patronised by royals, film stars and bankers' wives. Cartier 's early designs took inspiration from the decorative arts of 18th-century France: festoons, ribbons, tassels and wreathes. The Lily stomacher brooch from 1906 is a beautiful example of the Garland Style's neoclassical inspiration. But the brothers did not limit their visions to the stylistic realms of Louis XVI. With the gluttony of connoisseurs, they voraciously assimilated cultural motifs and iconographies from far beyond the confines of their fatherland; panthers and lobed cartouches from Indo-Persian carpets, Chinese dragons with cabochon emerald eyes and jade medallions carved in imitation of coins from the reign of Emperor Guangxu. The House of Cartier has thrived on elevating the whims of popular taste to an art form. In the midst of the Egyptomania that sprung from the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, it launched a series of ancient Egypt-themed creations. They rolled out scarab belts, Sekhmet broaches, and even an Art Deco mantelpiece clock engraved with hieroglyphs that were in the Egyptian style but not 'linguistically or historically accurate'. Of particular note is a 1925 vanity case in the shape of an Egyptian sarcophagus. Every surface of this miniature tomb is decorated: two carved emerald sphinxes enrobed and encrusted with onyx and diamonds perch on either end; an intricate lotus frieze runs along its length above which rests a lid of carved bone bearing a relief of a lady and lotus. On the base, a gold plaque depicting a female figure and heron. Beyond the Maison's preeminence in the aspirational market of expensive trinket-objets, it is the mesmerising series of unique commissions that have almost single-handedly secured Cartier's legendary status. Among the most iconic of these commissions are the dazzling Cartier tiaras that anchor the well-crafted structure of the show. Upon entering the exhibition, viewers are greeted by the Manchester Tiara, which was ordered in 1903 by the Dowager Duchess of Manchester who supplied 1,513 diamonds for the design. Upon exit, they're ushered through the tiara hall of fame; from an exceptional black opal tiara that converts into a necklace, gifted to Mary Cavendish by her husband in 1937, to kokoshnik-style tiaras, Tutti Frutti tiaras and the olive wreath wedding tiara of Marie Bonaparte, the great-grandniece of Napoleon. However, the most astounding piece in this exhibition by any measure is the centerpiece of the Maharaja of Patiala's 1928 order from Cartier Paris, 'one of the largest commissions ever received by the firm'. The Patiala necklace consists of five rows of 2,930 diamonds and two rubies, and originally centred on the 234.65-carat yellow De Beers diamond. The necklace mysteriously disappeared from the Patiala treasury after Indian Independence in 1947 and was not rediscovered until 1988 when it was found in London with its largest stones missing. There are plenty of gobstopper-sized gems to gawp at in this stellar exhibition and, though viewers may struggle to tear themselves away from these twinkling lumps of pressurised carbon and their more colorful counterparts, they will certainly leave with a greater understanding and appreciation of the pivotal role that Cartier has played in the historical development of high jewellery. Take your wife, who'll dream of leaving you for a maharaja – and take your daughter, in the hope that she might actually marry one. From Sat April 12-Nov 16;
Express Tribune
14-02-2025
- General
- Express Tribune
If love hurts, the Sufis say you're doing it right
From oral folktales to contemporary novels, from the narratives we inherit to the ones we craft anew, across cultures and beyond borders, we are all haunted by an eager desire to love and be loved. The question of our being - why and how we exist – can only be contemplated in light of the question of desire, and by extension, love. In Sufi thought, desire animates and shapes the soul. Interrogating what we desire, and how we desire it, is vital to transforming our relationship with ourselves, others in this world, and ultimately to the transcendent reality itself, that is, God. In Plato's seminal text on love, The Symposium , Socrates proposes that all humans love because love is the desire to live a happy life, and that beauty is the means to this happiness since 'what is good is the same as what is beautiful'. According to this logic, all human beings, animated by a desire to live well, are drawn to love what is 'Good' and 'Beautiful'. But abstractions aside, what is love? More importantly, what does love entail ? Love in the Sufi tradition, is not just a feeling or emotion, it is expansive, ecstatic, it pervades all beings and is the root of all creation; love is the primordial cosmic force that creates and sustains life. There is no single authority on the subject, but this is not for a lack of resources. In the Indo-Persian tradition alone – one luminous corner of a vast literary world – there are infinite, archival sources from which we draw our ideas about love. There is a lot to learn from the stories we inherit. Looking to the popular romances of Heer & Ranjha, Sassui & Punnu, Layla & Majnu, as well as all other folk tales like them, one thing is for certain: no love story is without its tragedies, and fulfillment of our desire to be with our beloved is not a promise true love keeps. Love is scarcely about fulfilling one's desires. When we commit to loving someone, we are pierced by a double edged sword, one that promises pleasure and suffering in one fell swoop. For Farid ud-Din Attar (1145–1221), risk is an unalterable part of the path toward true love, that is, toward union with the divine beloved - the ultimate source of all that is 'Good' and 'Beautiful'. In praise of the Persian Sufi poet, mystic, and philosopher, known for his epic poem The Conference of the Birds (Mantiq al-Tayr), Rumi writes: Attar has roamed through the seven cities of love while we have barely turned down the first street. When it comes to the question of love, who better to turn to than the poet who endlessly roams love's cities and valleys? The Conference of the Birds is an allegorical tale in which a group of birds, guided by their leader the hoopoe, embark on a journey to find their king, the Simurgh, who symbolises God. Along the way, they must cross seven valleys: the Valley of Quest, the Valley of Love, the Valley of Knowledge, the Valley of Detachment, the Valley of Unity, the Valley of Bewilderment, and the Valley of Annihilation. Many birds abandon the journey due to fear or attachment to their earthly stations, but those who persevere are rewarded with mystical union. Risk is a vital step to take in order to test the true nature of one's love. Attar writes: True lovers give up everything they own To steal one moment with the Friend alone – They make no vague, procrastinating vow, But risk their livelihood and risk it now. There are a variety of experiences of love, some of which may not involve the risks that he is talking about, but when it comes to true love, we must risk everything we own. The risk that comes with this journey is both physical and metaphysical. On one level, the risk is a material risk. The birds in Attar's tale are compelled to give up their material comforts which includes their natural habitats, their material possessions and their worldly stations or responsibilities. On a deeper level, this idea of dispossessions entails a renunciation of one's selfhood, that is, a perceived ownership over one's 'self'. True love blurs the boundaries between the self and the other. It tests everything one appears to own, even in the metaphysical terrain. Importantly, there is no promised reward at the end of this renunciation; the thought of a single moment with the beloved is enough cause to risk one's entire life. This is because the risk involved does not entail that something is gained or reimbursed in return but is instead a proclamation of one's devotion – love is an act of wilful submission. The lover's task is to submit, beyond reason and without hesitation. The birds in Attar's story are not afforded the time to make a vague promise or procrastinate on their decision; they must devote themselves to the path of love in one all-encompassing gesture: But you, unwilling both to love and tread The pilgrim's path, you might as well be dead! The lover chafes, impatient to depart, And longs to sacrifice his life and heart. The true lover is devoted with such intensity and vigor that it chafes the soles of their feet, even before they have set out on their journey. Anyone who is unwilling to express their devotion in this way may as well be dead. Attar makes it clear that suffering and misery are part and parcel of the path toward this genuine experience of love: Until their hearts are burnt, how can they flee From their desire's incessant misery? One must risk their livelihood and renounce everything they seem to have ownership over till their very hearts are burnt. And until this happens they have not known the true misery that is integral to desire. Suffering itself is a revelatory experience! To love in this sense is to experience a radical transformation, where the lover's will merges with the divine will, and the boundaries between the self and the divine dissolve. Any kind of love, whether that is between humans or of God, is marked by some form of misery because it is this misery that allows the full experience of its pair: ecstasy and joy. True life, living well, begins after this risk has been taken, and anything before is simply a half-life. Both God and the world are disclosed through our capacity to love. Without it, how meaningful is our time on this earth? In the Valley of Love, logic and reason become useless; the lover must willingly burn in love's fire. To live with this fire, to live in it, is undeniably demanding and requires total surrender. But it is this very fire that also illuminates our existence. As far as our mortal bodies allow it, aren't we all seeking illumination?
