An absolute necessity in every Pakistanis bag when going to Delhi.
According to Raza, denial of shared history and excessive vendetta are the two fundamental behaviours which are a constant threat to the relationship between both India and Pakistan. Raza has approached this exact relationship by focusing on shared history, common culture, and similar religion, in this brilliant travelogue, which should accompany every Pakistani travelling to Delhi. The book is replete with often subtle and direct to shared tastes in music, food, flora and fauna, and most of all religious flavour. Raza has tried to emphasise the importance of syncretistic based Sufi form of Islam as the the dominant and once all prevailing variant in India before the huge influx of petro dollars arrived from a Wahabi Saudi Arabia, especially in Pakistan.
The intention is great but entirely romantic in my opinion as money is an all powerful agent especially in plutocratic based nations of India and Pakistan. If Sufism has receded against the rise of Wahhabism then some fault must lie in its form as well. Otherwise why would any Sufi be attracted by a dry and tasteless Wahabi doctrine? The truth of the matter is that since a long time, we have hardly had any great Sufi masters anywhere near the likes of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia in either India or Pakistan, thus leaving a huge vacuum for Wahabi Islam as the vanguard of Indo-Pakistani Islam. Also Sufism is gravitating towards the West as well where the focus tends to be on the individual rather than any living master. This makes perfect sense to me as the cornerstone of Sufism is deep knowledge, which is a lot more prevalent in the rich and diverse West. Thus the real bemoaning factor in the demise of Sufic Islam in Indo-Pakistan is lack of proper knowledge, for while knowledge cannot compete with money directly it can definitely better it in contentment and fulfilment, something money left on its own, can never hope to achieve.
Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the once rich depiction of political and spiritual in Delhi. Both are symbiotic aren't they? Isn't it why Islam always seemed to follow in the wake of its conquests? Whatever the case maybe, this great era of Islamic power in Delhi must be celebrated in Pakistan. The mighty Muslim heroes have to be rekindled and illuminated for the Pakistanis have to learn a great deal from them. After All how do you explain a Muslim minority ruling a Hindu majority for so long in India if it was not due to the idealistic characters of these heroes? Raza touches on the two versions of history being taught in India and Pakistan which are more designed to appease the nation states rather than being objective in nature. For instance in Pakistan, Ghaznavi is feated for attacking Somnath for 17 times. The fact that he goes back to his home in Ghazni every time is hardly talked about. Should not the focus be more on icons like Babur who actually committed to India thus leaving a lasting legacy?
Delhi belongs to Nizam Aulia for sure, especially for every Sufi like me therefore I loved the mystical sound bites of Nizam's era, especially his relationship with the Turk of India, Amir Khusraw. Raza has to be credited for presenting this relationship similar to the famous Rumi Tabrez friendship. The major difference is that Tabrez disappeared from Rumi's life while Khusraw and Nizam remained inseparable all of their lives.
Raza also touches on the pretty dismal state of Muslims in India who have yet to develop any political affiliation in the secularist parties in India. Their numbers in all fields makes pretty poor statistics, barring only of Indian prisons, where they are over represented and constitute nearly 35 percent!
When it comes to food, perhaps the best placed person to analyse and criticise the rich flavours of Delhi has to be an authentic Lahori like Raza Rumi. His one chapter on Delhi street food was a mouth watering and tummy rumbling experience for a poor starved Pakistani expat like me living in a thoroughly bland UK. It made me want to jump on a plane and get to old Delhi's famous Karim restaurant immediately. Unfortunately most Lahoris have a huge weakness for sumptuous food, which I share proudly with author.
All in all this book is an essential item of every Pakistani visiting Delhi.
According to Raza, denial of shared history and excessive vendetta are the two fundamental behaviours which are a constant threat to the relationship between both India and Pakistan. Raza has approached this exact relationship by focusing on shared history, common culture, and similar religion, in this brilliant travelogue, which should accompany every Pakistani travelling to Delhi. The book is replete with often subtle and direct to shared tastes in music, food, flora and fauna, and most of all religious flavour. Raza has tried to emphasise the importance of syncretistic based Sufi form of Islam as the the dominant and once all prevailing variant in India before the huge influx of petro dollars arrived from a Wahabi Saudi Arabia, especially in Pakistan.
The intention is great but entirely romantic in my opinion as money is an all powerful agent especially in plutocratic based nations of India and Pakistan. If Sufism has receded against the rise of Wahhabism then some fault must lie in its form as well. Otherwise why would any Sufi be attracted by a dry and tasteless Wahabi doctrine? The truth of the matter is that since a long time, we have hardly had any great Sufi masters anywhere near the likes of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia in either India or Pakistan, thus leaving a huge vacuum for Wahabi Islam as the vanguard of Indo-Pakistani Islam. Also Sufism is gravitating towards the West as well where the focus tends to be on the individual rather than any living master. This makes perfect sense to me as the cornerstone of Sufism is deep knowledge, which is a lot more prevalent in the rich and diverse West. Thus the real bemoaning factor in the demise of Sufic Islam in Indo-Pakistan is lack of proper knowledge, for while knowledge cannot compete with money directly it can definitely better it in contentment and fulfilment, something money left on its own, can never hope to achieve.
Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the once rich depiction of political and spiritual in Delhi. Both are symbiotic aren't they? Isn't it why Islam always seemed to follow in the wake of its conquests? Whatever the case maybe, this great era of Islamic power in Delhi must be celebrated in Pakistan. The mighty Muslim heroes have to be rekindled and illuminated for the Pakistanis have to learn a great deal from them. After All how do you explain a Muslim minority ruling a Hindu majority for so long in India if it was not due to the idealistic characters of these heroes? Raza touches on the two versions of history being taught in India and Pakistan which are more designed to appease the nation states rather than being objective in nature. For instance in Pakistan, Ghaznavi is feated for attacking Somnath for 17 times. The fact that he goes back to his home in Ghazni every time is hardly talked about. Should not the focus be more on icons like Babur who actually committed to India thus leaving a lasting legacy?
Delhi belongs to Nizam Aulia for sure, especially for every Sufi like me therefore I loved the mystical sound bites of Nizam's era, especially his relationship with the Turk of India, Amir Khusraw. Raza has to be credited for presenting this relationship similar to the famous Rumi Tabrez friendship. The major difference is that Tabrez disappeared from Rumi's life while Khusraw and Nizam remained inseparable all of their lives.
Raza also touches on the pretty dismal state of Muslims in India who have yet to develop any political affiliation in the secularist parties in India. Their numbers in all fields makes pretty poor statistics, barring only of Indian prisons, where they are over represented and constitute nearly 35 percent!
When it comes to food, perhaps the best placed person to analyse and criticise the rich flavours of Delhi has to be an authentic Lahori like Raza Rumi. His one chapter on Delhi street food was a mouth watering and tummy rumbling experience for a poor starved Pakistani expat like me living in a thoroughly bland UK. It made me want to jump on a plane and get to old Delhi's famous Karim restaurant immediately. Unfortunately most Lahoris have a huge weakness for sumptuous food, which I share proudly with author.
All in all this book is an essential item of every Pakistani visiting Delhi.
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