Light Within

Personal File

Thatta Kedona
Tuesday, 28 July 2026

The cluster of mud and brick houses in the plains of Punjab, Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka (TGD) looks like a typical Pakistani village about 80 kilometres away from Lahore and 40 kilometres from Indus civilization ruins in Harappa. There is no gas or telephone in the village. No asphalt roads lead to it. Yet it is different, the beautiful dolls and other handicrafts made by the village folks are collectors' delight all over the world. Influencers from Indus civilization from nearby Harappa and modern techniques brought by the German volunteers can be seen in the village together.

The dolls made in the village are on display in international doll museum in Iceland, prestigious galleries and showrooms in Pakistan and abroad. TGD village doll project was one of the 767 worldwide projects presented in the "Themepark" at expo 2000 in Hannover (Germany) as an example of thinking of twenty first century. Earlier, the dolls from Pakistan participated in international toy fair in Nuremberg. These dolls show how culture goes beyond simple work of art and becomes collaboration among applied and natural sciences as well as other forces that affect our lives.
Read more »

Labels: , ,

posted by S A J Shirazi @ Tuesday, July 28, 2026, ,

To Carry the Dust to Multan
Tuesday, 21 July 2026

Standing in Qila Kohna Qasim Bagh - accumulated debris of ages - one can think of Alexander the Great, Muhammad Bin Qasim, Saints, Mystics, Sultans, Gardezis, Gilanis, Qureshis, and Khawanis. But what you see is the ageing town hall and Ghanta Ghar, Hussain Agahi Chowk - Hide Park of Multan - with the nerve jarring rattle of auto rickshaws, tangle of tonga and donkey carts vying for space with mechanical transport, vendors and shoppers, blaring music of audio video music centers and second hand cloths (landa) hung on the walls.


A city of monuments, Multan has been around for centuries. History of Multan dates back to ancient times. As per the legend, its origin is assigned to the time of Hazrat Noah (A S). Under the various Hellenic forms of ancient designations (Kasyapapura, Kashtpur, Hanspur, Bagpur and Mulasthan) Multan figures into works of Hecataeus, Herodotus and Ptolemy. It has been an empire, a kingdom, a province, a state, a capital and now a divisional headquarters.
Read more »

Labels: ,

posted by S A J Shirazi @ Tuesday, July 21, 2026, ,

Throne of Origins
Thursday, 16 July 2026

This article appeared in Daily the Nation


The actual “Road to Swat” bifurcates from the great Grand Trunk Road near Nowshera. About a kilometre below the highest point on the Road to Swat, the commuters can see the Takht-e-Bahi Mountains in the middle distance from the road. The ruins of one of the grand monastery of the past are situated on the top of a 152-meter high hill, about 80 kilometres from Peshawar and 16 kilometres northwest of the city of Mardan. While Swat is famous for different reasons now (rise and fall of the Taliban), some interested people still visit Takht-e-Bahi - a Buddhist monastery developed between the 1st and 7th centuries AD.
Read more »

Labels: , , ,

posted by S A J Shirazi @ Thursday, July 16, 2026, ,

In Memory of Sabir Ijaz
Tuesday, 14 July 2026

It is with profound sadness that I learned of the peaceful passing of my dear colleague, Sabir Ijaz, on 14 July 2026.

For almost twenty-four years, we had the privilege of serving together at the same university. In fact, Sabir was already a valued member of the institution when I joined. Our offices were side by side, and over the years, a simple yet meaningful ritual became part of my daily routine. Every morning, before settling into his own office, Sabir would stop by mine, greet me warmly, ask about my well-being, exchange a few words, and only then continue with his day. It was such a consistent and thoughtful habit that I would often find myself waiting for that familiar knock on my door. It is difficult to imagine those mornings without him.

Read more »

Labels:

posted by S A J Shirazi @ Tuesday, July 14, 2026, ,


Popular Posts

How I Work From Home and Make Extra Money?

Why Everyone Blogs and Why You Too Should

Business {Blogging} Proposal

Subscribe by Email

AI