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Being Pakistani: Society, Culture and the Arts
How different is Pakistan’s culture from that of India? Exploring various aspects of the arts, literature and heritage of Pakistan, Raza Rumi argues that culture in Pakistan is not particularly unique to the nation, but rather a part of the cultural identities shared by South Asians. From the songs of Kabir and the ballads of Bulleh Shah to the cult of the feminine in the Sindh region, Rumi takes a kaleidoscopic view of the deep-set cultural mores that tie India and Pakistan together. Going further, he examines aspects of the visual arts, poetry, music and literature of Pakistan that impact global cultural narratives. Finally, he introduces readers to contemporary Pakistani writers and artists and the milieu in which they express their creativity, giving us a fascinating glimpse into cultural productions in Pakistan today. Being Pakistani is a riveting account of artistic traditions and their significance in present-day Pakistan, presenting an alternative view of the country, beyond the usual headlines that focus on political instability and terrorism.
312 pages, Hardcover
Published June 25, 2018
31 people are currently reading
259 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 31, 2019
I’ll admit that I really wanted to like this book, primarily because the author has been appreciative of my reviews. It’s obviously not a very valid place from where to judge a piece of text: there’s a reason I don’t like to review stuff by people I’m even casually acquainted with. But a friend had it lying around and I knew I would be reading it eventually, so I figured why not. I figured I’d try to be as impartial as possible.
Still, I hadn’t expected how very bored I would be. I mean, a book about Pakistan’s literature and subcontinental TV shows and South Asian music hypothetically sounded like a good bet. I might not be a fan of non-fiction but when the topic is captivating enough or relevant to things I love talking about, I’ve been known to take an active interest. Case in point, Rumi’s previous book Delhi By Heart, and one of the major reasons I decided to start his second book. Unfortunately, this time it seems all the charm has worn off. Completely.
There’s some major obvious reasons for why it didn’t work. First, given that the book is a collection of previously published articles, it’s highly outdated. Most of the articles in it were printed more than four or five years back, and talk about stuff that’s moved much forward in time and in context. It’s no fun reading a 2010 article about amazing women like Fahmida Riaz without the mention of her death in as recent a time as November of last year (and having worked with her as an editor of the stories she wrote for children, it somehow felt doubly offensive). It’s pointless reading about the pioneers of Pakistani pop like Alamgir without mentioning how musical platforms like Coke Studio are revolutionizing a new generation’s relationship with our country’s older music. And it’s frankly irritating to read articles from as far back as 2010 without the very acute awareness that the world has moved much ahead, and that the text could have done with much updating.
Even besides the fact that most of the content feels horribly obsolete, there’s also a certain lack of connection between the various topics being offered. Even though there’s been a clear effort at trying to arrange them under certain loosely defined categories (devotion, literature, and arts being what the editor and author seem to have wanted to focus on), the fact of the matter is that all these texts were written at different points in time, with the author wanting to focus on very different things in each speech or scholarly article he has chosen to share. What that leads to is a constant repetition of certain themes and sentences, especially in the introduction portion of each text, which quickly got boring. That, coupled with the fact that there seems to be no smooth transaction from one article to the next, and we’re very obviously left reading a bunch of loosely connected pieces of text.
But of course all of these things could have been forgiven if the content itself had been very fascinating. I’ve been known to forgive a multitude of problems in any text when faced with the prospect of a well written, heartfelt piece of non-fiction, but those words unfortunately don’t apply in this case. I mean, there’s some good stuff, and I stayed pretty captivated by certain texts, such as those that talked about Asim Butt’s fascinating activism, the amazing miniature artwork being produced by Shahzia Sikander, or how public architecture in Pakistan is intertwined with the religious and the political. Unfortunately, the good stuff is few and far between, and is the only reason the book managed to creep its way from a one to a two star rating.
There are definitely some people out there who could potentially really like this book, and I do believe there’s a market for titles such as these. Unfortunately, I’m not that reader, even though the blurb convinced me otherwise. While I’m all for encouraging a healthy and vigorous discussion about Pakistan’s culture, whether that be literature or music, music or TV shows, I need something with more nuance for it to captivate my attention. Given that I left this book lying on my side table while I finished two other books, I’m going to give this a very, very hesitant recommendation.
**
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I did it. I finally did it. It killed me but I finished it.
Now to review it. RTC.
**
I review Pakistani Fiction, and talk about Pakistani fiction, and want to talk to people who like to talk about fiction (Pakistani and otherwise, take your pick.) To read more reviews or just contact me so you can talk about books, check out my Blog or follow me on Twitter!
Still, I hadn’t expected how very bored I would be. I mean, a book about Pakistan’s literature and subcontinental TV shows and South Asian music hypothetically sounded like a good bet. I might not be a fan of non-fiction but when the topic is captivating enough or relevant to things I love talking about, I’ve been known to take an active interest. Case in point, Rumi’s previous book Delhi By Heart, and one of the major reasons I decided to start his second book. Unfortunately, this time it seems all the charm has worn off. Completely.
There’s some major obvious reasons for why it didn’t work. First, given that the book is a collection of previously published articles, it’s highly outdated. Most of the articles in it were printed more than four or five years back, and talk about stuff that’s moved much forward in time and in context. It’s no fun reading a 2010 article about amazing women like Fahmida Riaz without the mention of her death in as recent a time as November of last year (and having worked with her as an editor of the stories she wrote for children, it somehow felt doubly offensive). It’s pointless reading about the pioneers of Pakistani pop like Alamgir without mentioning how musical platforms like Coke Studio are revolutionizing a new generation’s relationship with our country’s older music. And it’s frankly irritating to read articles from as far back as 2010 without the very acute awareness that the world has moved much ahead, and that the text could have done with much updating.
Even besides the fact that most of the content feels horribly obsolete, there’s also a certain lack of connection between the various topics being offered. Even though there’s been a clear effort at trying to arrange them under certain loosely defined categories (devotion, literature, and arts being what the editor and author seem to have wanted to focus on), the fact of the matter is that all these texts were written at different points in time, with the author wanting to focus on very different things in each speech or scholarly article he has chosen to share. What that leads to is a constant repetition of certain themes and sentences, especially in the introduction portion of each text, which quickly got boring. That, coupled with the fact that there seems to be no smooth transaction from one article to the next, and we’re very obviously left reading a bunch of loosely connected pieces of text.
But of course all of these things could have been forgiven if the content itself had been very fascinating. I’ve been known to forgive a multitude of problems in any text when faced with the prospect of a well written, heartfelt piece of non-fiction, but those words unfortunately don’t apply in this case. I mean, there’s some good stuff, and I stayed pretty captivated by certain texts, such as those that talked about Asim Butt’s fascinating activism, the amazing miniature artwork being produced by Shahzia Sikander, or how public architecture in Pakistan is intertwined with the religious and the political. Unfortunately, the good stuff is few and far between, and is the only reason the book managed to creep its way from a one to a two star rating.
There are definitely some people out there who could potentially really like this book, and I do believe there’s a market for titles such as these. Unfortunately, I’m not that reader, even though the blurb convinced me otherwise. While I’m all for encouraging a healthy and vigorous discussion about Pakistan’s culture, whether that be literature or music, music or TV shows, I need something with more nuance for it to captivate my attention. Given that I left this book lying on my side table while I finished two other books, I’m going to give this a very, very hesitant recommendation.
**
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I did it. I finally did it. It killed me but I finished it.
Now to review it. RTC.
**
I review Pakistani Fiction, and talk about Pakistani fiction, and want to talk to people who like to talk about fiction (Pakistani and otherwise, take your pick.) To read more reviews or just contact me so you can talk about books, check out my Blog or follow me on Twitter!
February 26, 2019
This book is a compilation of different articles on culture written by Raza Rumi in recent years. It's interesting to read about things which aren't discussed in our linear version of national history. Two articles were really interesting, one on Quratul Ain and the other on Intizar Hussain. As those articles were written for different newspapers and journals, therefore they discuss things superficially, maybe it's due to spacial constraints or newspaper policy, and sometimes you find only assertions without any reference or detailed discussion. It can be done only when you discuss one theme at length, instead of touching many themes which lack depth. Otherwise, this book is a good effort.
August 22, 2020
I ordered this book just out of curiosity to know how much Pakistanis are different from us (Indians). This book boasts to be on the society, culture and arts of Pakistanis.
Let me give a brief detail about the author first. Raza Ahmad Rumi is a Pakistani policy analyst, journalist and author. Currently, he is the editor of Daily Times (Pakistan). He has visited and taught in many seminars and academic institutes of his own country, India and USA. His other books are- “Delhi By Heart-Impression of a Pakistani Traveller”, and “The Fractious Path: Pakistan’s Democratic Transition and Identity and Faith and Conflict.”
By reading this book, you will hardly get the sense that he might be an Islamic bigot or extremist. His writing has liberal and humane touch and he is also not happy with the radical and destructive activities done in Pakistan on the name of religion; and he laments on the death of multicolored culture that Pakistan had once.
Well, almost everyone knows that Pakistan was cut off from India in 1947 on the basis of religion. Muhammad Ali Zinna, the father of Pakistan, thought Muslims will not get the fair share of resources and opportunities, as it will always be dominated by the Hindus. So, they created their own theocratic rule and made an Islamic country – an Islamic country made on the horrifying massacre and migration. Perhaps no other country had to face such situations in the world as India and Pakistan had to.
This book gives you an insight what I am thinking right now, ‘you can kill people, you can draw boundaries, you can impose religion, but you can’t annihilate Culture.’ The culture doesn’t die at once, no matter how brutal the repression is, it goes through slow deaths that takes centuries.
The whole Indian Continent, before partition, as it was, neither Hindu nor Muslim ( though, there were Muslim rulers but majority of the population was Hindu; there were some areas where a Hindu king ruled Muslims citizens, like in Kashmir; Pakistan had some Muslim majority areas, but Hindus, too, were living equally in number; Bhutan followed Buddhism; Nepal was and it’s even today a Hindu state; Sri Lanka had Buddhist Sinhalese and Hinduism mix-up, Bangladesh, at that time, a part of India was the best epitome of Hindustani culture) and then the British occupied and for draining the wealth of an innocent country ( sorry, the idea of country wasn’t in our mind then, but our mind was filled up with Culture – an inclusive and rich culture ). It was the British who forced us to contemplate about Country, Boundary, Religion, Caste, Theocracy, Autocracy, Despotism, Nationalism, Patriotism and other such ideas born from the ideology of Imperialism.
These were the ideas that helped to justify the Imperialism that helped the British to divide the people and make their despotism easy. Though some leaders tried hard to remove this effect, nevertheless, some Muslim leaders and thinkers couldn’t comply with the idea that both Hindu and Muslim can live together peacefully. I have an intuition regarding this: I think people of different religions, ethnicity, castes and creed can live peacefully, unless the politics divides them. It can’t be certainly true, and can’t be certainly wrong also. It’s a debatable notion, however.
Zinna, the chain-smoker, pork-eater and an alcoholic leader was adamant to make a new nation for Muslims and he did so. Of course, the creation was horrifying, but I would abstain myself to go in details as this is not the purpose of this book that I’m reviewing.
What I have to say through this book that Culture is beyond the boundaries; one can’t repress at once; it is the DNA of societies that goes from one generation to other ceaselessly.
Raza Rumi talks about the same above things in his book. A piece of land was separated from India on the name of Islam, but Culture , can anyone instill culture in a society forcefully, rapidly? The rulers tried hard though, but as the book asserts, they failed in doing so at large scale.
As India is a country of mixed cultures, Pakistan was very much same at the beginning. But… because India has travelled long ways in the company of liberal leaders while Pakistan has suffered much from the exact opposite, that’s why, the diversity in Indian culture is still blooming and visible, while the aura of diversity in culture of Pakistan is taking its last breaths.
Though, the author says that geopolitics and the dominant global security discourses have reduced Pakistan to terrorism and military coups, while movies, novels and global media reaffirm such reductionist frames and he hopes that this book will allow the readers to notice the intricate mosaic of Pakistani identity and vibrant cultural expressions. Well, to this, I would like to say that Pakistan has still to go a long way for getting that affirmation of the so called intricate mosaic of Pakistani identity. The blasphemy laws, the anti-ahmadia laws, organized prosecutions of Shias and Hindus, the vandalization of Hindu temples, bombings and terrorism will help continuously in denigrating Pakistan. Here, you can accuse me of being stereotypical, there are certainly some good and some bad things about every country and so is true about India or America, but the things that I counted above have concrete evidences. Besides, the interesting thing about “news” is that the “bad one” circulates easily. So, I would like to say that such books, about positive things, should be written in great numbers.
Let’s come to the book –
Read the full review in the given link-
https://www.histolit.com/being-pakist...
Let me give a brief detail about the author first. Raza Ahmad Rumi is a Pakistani policy analyst, journalist and author. Currently, he is the editor of Daily Times (Pakistan). He has visited and taught in many seminars and academic institutes of his own country, India and USA. His other books are- “Delhi By Heart-Impression of a Pakistani Traveller”, and “The Fractious Path: Pakistan’s Democratic Transition and Identity and Faith and Conflict.”
By reading this book, you will hardly get the sense that he might be an Islamic bigot or extremist. His writing has liberal and humane touch and he is also not happy with the radical and destructive activities done in Pakistan on the name of religion; and he laments on the death of multicolored culture that Pakistan had once.
Well, almost everyone knows that Pakistan was cut off from India in 1947 on the basis of religion. Muhammad Ali Zinna, the father of Pakistan, thought Muslims will not get the fair share of resources and opportunities, as it will always be dominated by the Hindus. So, they created their own theocratic rule and made an Islamic country – an Islamic country made on the horrifying massacre and migration. Perhaps no other country had to face such situations in the world as India and Pakistan had to.
This book gives you an insight what I am thinking right now, ‘you can kill people, you can draw boundaries, you can impose religion, but you can’t annihilate Culture.’ The culture doesn’t die at once, no matter how brutal the repression is, it goes through slow deaths that takes centuries.
The whole Indian Continent, before partition, as it was, neither Hindu nor Muslim ( though, there were Muslim rulers but majority of the population was Hindu; there were some areas where a Hindu king ruled Muslims citizens, like in Kashmir; Pakistan had some Muslim majority areas, but Hindus, too, were living equally in number; Bhutan followed Buddhism; Nepal was and it’s even today a Hindu state; Sri Lanka had Buddhist Sinhalese and Hinduism mix-up, Bangladesh, at that time, a part of India was the best epitome of Hindustani culture) and then the British occupied and for draining the wealth of an innocent country ( sorry, the idea of country wasn’t in our mind then, but our mind was filled up with Culture – an inclusive and rich culture ). It was the British who forced us to contemplate about Country, Boundary, Religion, Caste, Theocracy, Autocracy, Despotism, Nationalism, Patriotism and other such ideas born from the ideology of Imperialism.
These were the ideas that helped to justify the Imperialism that helped the British to divide the people and make their despotism easy. Though some leaders tried hard to remove this effect, nevertheless, some Muslim leaders and thinkers couldn’t comply with the idea that both Hindu and Muslim can live together peacefully. I have an intuition regarding this: I think people of different religions, ethnicity, castes and creed can live peacefully, unless the politics divides them. It can’t be certainly true, and can’t be certainly wrong also. It’s a debatable notion, however.
Zinna, the chain-smoker, pork-eater and an alcoholic leader was adamant to make a new nation for Muslims and he did so. Of course, the creation was horrifying, but I would abstain myself to go in details as this is not the purpose of this book that I’m reviewing.
What I have to say through this book that Culture is beyond the boundaries; one can’t repress at once; it is the DNA of societies that goes from one generation to other ceaselessly.
Raza Rumi talks about the same above things in his book. A piece of land was separated from India on the name of Islam, but Culture , can anyone instill culture in a society forcefully, rapidly? The rulers tried hard though, but as the book asserts, they failed in doing so at large scale.
As India is a country of mixed cultures, Pakistan was very much same at the beginning. But… because India has travelled long ways in the company of liberal leaders while Pakistan has suffered much from the exact opposite, that’s why, the diversity in Indian culture is still blooming and visible, while the aura of diversity in culture of Pakistan is taking its last breaths.
Though, the author says that geopolitics and the dominant global security discourses have reduced Pakistan to terrorism and military coups, while movies, novels and global media reaffirm such reductionist frames and he hopes that this book will allow the readers to notice the intricate mosaic of Pakistani identity and vibrant cultural expressions. Well, to this, I would like to say that Pakistan has still to go a long way for getting that affirmation of the so called intricate mosaic of Pakistani identity. The blasphemy laws, the anti-ahmadia laws, organized prosecutions of Shias and Hindus, the vandalization of Hindu temples, bombings and terrorism will help continuously in denigrating Pakistan. Here, you can accuse me of being stereotypical, there are certainly some good and some bad things about every country and so is true about India or America, but the things that I counted above have concrete evidences. Besides, the interesting thing about “news” is that the “bad one” circulates easily. So, I would like to say that such books, about positive things, should be written in great numbers.
Let’s come to the book –
Read the full review in the given link-
https://www.histolit.com/being-pakist...
April 18, 2020
Do not be misled. This is not a book but a compilation of the authors published essays. Even though I did enjoy reading about the origins of celebrated poets and authors but the chapter about star plus dramas annoyed me because they are no longer relevant. Given that the book was published in 2016, the author could at least have written a few new pages on Pakistani television and edited some of his other essays on the political landscape of Pakistan which is not what it used to be in 2010.
October 1, 2018
Beautifully written. Wish I had been more exposed to the writers/poets discussed. Loved the last section about Lahore.
Lahore, Lahore aye 💕
Lahore, Lahore aye 💕
April 7, 2022
Book: Being Pakistani.
Author: Raza Rumi.
Review:
"Pakistan's cultural landscape is a fascinating kaleidoscope that endures in stark contrast to the singular notion of one-religion, one-nation, one-culture that we learnt at school and heard on radio and TV".
Pakistan is a land of cultural and religious diversity. It inhabits people of various colour, culture and creed. Raza Rumi has made a wonderfull effort through this book to present the cultural aspects of Pakistan to all readers. This book also includes factors which connect the Pakistani culture with South Asian one.
From saintly Bulleh and Kabir, to revolutionary Faiz and Jalib, Raza Rumi has left no stone unturned to write about every famous artist, poet, painter and singer.
💡KEY FACTS FROM THE BOOK.
1.General Ayub Khan decided to build a national emblem in 1950 to commemorate the anniversary of Lahore Resolution. Naseer-ud-din Murat Khan, a Pakistani of Russian origin was entrusted to design and oversee the developement of the project. The building was then named as Minar-e- Pakistan.
2. Yahya C. Merchant, an Indian architect was assigned the task of designing and overseeing the work of Quaid's mausoleum. Construction began in 1960.
3. Islamabad is the first planned city of Pakistan. A greek architect and urban city planner, named Constinos Doxiadis was hired to design the city which was destined to become the second most beutifull capital city of the world.
QOTD: Did you already know any of the above-mentioned information?
Author: Raza Rumi.
Review:
"Pakistan's cultural landscape is a fascinating kaleidoscope that endures in stark contrast to the singular notion of one-religion, one-nation, one-culture that we learnt at school and heard on radio and TV".
Pakistan is a land of cultural and religious diversity. It inhabits people of various colour, culture and creed. Raza Rumi has made a wonderfull effort through this book to present the cultural aspects of Pakistan to all readers. This book also includes factors which connect the Pakistani culture with South Asian one.
From saintly Bulleh and Kabir, to revolutionary Faiz and Jalib, Raza Rumi has left no stone unturned to write about every famous artist, poet, painter and singer.
💡KEY FACTS FROM THE BOOK.
1.General Ayub Khan decided to build a national emblem in 1950 to commemorate the anniversary of Lahore Resolution. Naseer-ud-din Murat Khan, a Pakistani of Russian origin was entrusted to design and oversee the developement of the project. The building was then named as Minar-e- Pakistan.
2. Yahya C. Merchant, an Indian architect was assigned the task of designing and overseeing the work of Quaid's mausoleum. Construction began in 1960.
3. Islamabad is the first planned city of Pakistan. A greek architect and urban city planner, named Constinos Doxiadis was hired to design the city which was destined to become the second most beutifull capital city of the world.
QOTD: Did you already know any of the above-mentioned information?
January 19, 2019
The title and back note promises alot but the content was not so great.
It was OK . So I'll give it 2 stars .
It was OK . So I'll give it 2 stars .
May 15, 2025
I've often been frustrated with the way many Pakistani authors portray the country I’ve lived in all my life. Too often, their writing fall into extremes—either painting an unrealistically rosy picture or depicting everything as irredeemably bleak. What’s usually missing is nuance and that’s precisely why I appreciated this book so much.
Raza Rumi strikes a rare balance. His writing feels grounded and fair, even when he addresses deeply sensitive topics like religious extremism or the persecution of minorities. He reports facts without resorting to sensationalism, and that adds to his credibility.
Another aspect I really valued was learning about numerous grassroots activists I hadn't heard of before. Rumi's appreciation for marginalized voices and literature comes through, even if some articles only touch the surface of these subjects. He also gives thoughtful attention to the shared history and cultural links between India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh—while still acknowledging what sets them apart. Throughout these discussions, the underlying message is always one of peace and a celebration of diversity, rather than division.
While I agree with some Goodreads reviews pointing out that certain articles feel dated or don’t reflect recent developments, I still found them engaging. That said, I think the author could have included brief updates—especially noting the passing of any central figures discussed in the essays (e.g. Fahmida Riaz).
My exposure to Pakistani non-fiction has been somewhat limited (something I'm actively trying to change). I once liked Nadeem Farooq Paracha, but I’ve grown disillusioned with some of his more recent views. Raza Rumi, on the other hand, has somewhat restored my faith in the ability of Pakistani writers to remain as unbiased and thoughtful in their analysis, as much as realistically possible.
I am ending this review with a stanza written by Habib Jalib (one of my favourite Urdu poets), mentioned in the book.
The plight of the poor remains unchanged
Only the days of the ministers have changed
Each Bilawal of the country is indebted
And the Benazirs of the country walk without shoes
حال اب تک وہی ہیں فقیروں کے
دن پھرے ہیں فقط وزیروں کے
ہر بلاول ہے دیس کا مقروض
پاؤں ننگے ہیں بے نظیروں کے
Raza Rumi strikes a rare balance. His writing feels grounded and fair, even when he addresses deeply sensitive topics like religious extremism or the persecution of minorities. He reports facts without resorting to sensationalism, and that adds to his credibility.
Another aspect I really valued was learning about numerous grassroots activists I hadn't heard of before. Rumi's appreciation for marginalized voices and literature comes through, even if some articles only touch the surface of these subjects. He also gives thoughtful attention to the shared history and cultural links between India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh—while still acknowledging what sets them apart. Throughout these discussions, the underlying message is always one of peace and a celebration of diversity, rather than division.
While I agree with some Goodreads reviews pointing out that certain articles feel dated or don’t reflect recent developments, I still found them engaging. That said, I think the author could have included brief updates—especially noting the passing of any central figures discussed in the essays (e.g. Fahmida Riaz).
My exposure to Pakistani non-fiction has been somewhat limited (something I'm actively trying to change). I once liked Nadeem Farooq Paracha, but I’ve grown disillusioned with some of his more recent views. Raza Rumi, on the other hand, has somewhat restored my faith in the ability of Pakistani writers to remain as unbiased and thoughtful in their analysis, as much as realistically possible.
I am ending this review with a stanza written by Habib Jalib (one of my favourite Urdu poets), mentioned in the book.
The plight of the poor remains unchanged
Only the days of the ministers have changed
Each Bilawal of the country is indebted
And the Benazirs of the country walk without shoes
حال اب تک وہی ہیں فقیروں کے
دن پھرے ہیں فقط وزیروں کے
ہر بلاول ہے دیس کا مقروض
پاؤں ننگے ہیں بے نظیروں کے
September 6, 2020
After ages I came across a book that I could not put down till I finished it. This is the first time that I read Raza Rumi and his perception and manner of weaving varied aspects of our culture in a single structure has left me enthralled. He writes about diverse strands of art, literature and heritage of Pakistan and its comparative analyses leads to so many commonalities shared by South Asians. Starting with the songs of Bulleh Shah, the arias of Kabeer and Lalon Shah, the author entwines their messages, no wonder, they are ingrained in our psyche and soul. Hence, validating that people of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh relate to them in the same way. In literature, he narrates the famous names that we grew up with such as Manto, Qurat ul Ain Hyder, Intizar Hussain and Ghulam Abbas along with a number of poets and how their writing and poetry impacted us as a nation. From the cult of feminism in Sindh to the stark and heart warming poetry of Faiz Ahmad Faiz awakening our long dead souls, our rebel poetess, Fehmida Riaz to the unsung poet Mustafa Zaidi, it is a delightful read. In the section of art, the author has written about Pakistani art going global. It is the chronicle of the terrible period we have lived under. The book is full of pathos and sentiments that leave one nostalgic for the times that have faded but on a particular event or or instance they are present in the in the corners of our subconscious mind giving us comfort and a yearning for the past. The wistfulness and homesickness and for the absence of all that was beautiful, tender and gentle in our past makes it an exemplary book.This longing for the long gone moments is what adds value to the whole reading experience.
I strongly urge all the bookworms in the age bracket of 40 and above to head out and purchase this book at the earliest opportunity.Trust me you won't be disappointed!
I strongly urge all the bookworms in the age bracket of 40 and above to head out and purchase this book at the earliest opportunity.Trust me you won't be disappointed!
August 8, 2019
I love Lahore and would pick up any book that talks about the city. I started reading Raza Rumi when I came across the book Dehli by heart. In a quest to explore different types of books I picked this book despite my not so enthusiastic attitude about travel related books. I feel in love with the writer an his writing style he weaves magic with his words and touches so many different aspects it is a treat for my mind to read his books. I picked up Being Pakistani in the hope that I will find a similar treat in this but I was so disappointed when I read more than half way through the book that Pakistan came into being on 15 August which is the independence date for India. I did not expect this from Raza Rumi who is a bureaucrat himself. This made me question everything he had written in the book and broke my heart. This is why I have given it a 2 star rating.
For people who still want to read the book, if your ignore this one error , as the title says it covers many different aspect of our society. I still love how much I learned from this one book that I would not have learned from anywhere else. The book is a collection of essays but the ideas seem to be connected and the reader would enjoy the book if the can see past this mistake which is mentioned above that I couldn't.
I love the raw take on history in Dehli by heart and in Being Pakistani but it also makes me question the authenticity of everything I have read in these books. *Sigh*
For people who still want to read the book, if your ignore this one error , as the title says it covers many different aspect of our society. I still love how much I learned from this one book that I would not have learned from anywhere else. The book is a collection of essays but the ideas seem to be connected and the reader would enjoy the book if the can see past this mistake which is mentioned above that I couldn't.
I love the raw take on history in Dehli by heart and in Being Pakistani but it also makes me question the authenticity of everything I have read in these books. *Sigh*
January 29, 2023
One thing that has stood common between the two arch rivals in India and Pakistan, is their shared rich history of culture, folk and the folklore. Whether it is the Indus or the Goddess Kali, the language or the literature. Pakistan is no different from it’s Indian neighbor, only to be differentiated on the factors of religious extremism or the territorial terrorism.
‘Being Pakistani’ is one of my favourite author Raza Rumi’s writing, who tries to highlight the who’s who of Pakistan. He has penned down pages on the likes of Kabir and Bulleh Shah, Manto and Mehdi Hassan, to name a few.
Unfortunately this isn’t his best work but shows his forte towards the end of the book, sharing snippets of his visit to Bangladesh and the vibrancy of Lahore. You may feel the writing is a little random and fails to connect the dots, of what would have been a better insight into the world of Pakistan through an eye of a Pakistani.
📚
‘Being Pakistani’ is one of my favourite author Raza Rumi’s writing, who tries to highlight the who’s who of Pakistan. He has penned down pages on the likes of Kabir and Bulleh Shah, Manto and Mehdi Hassan, to name a few.
Unfortunately this isn’t his best work but shows his forte towards the end of the book, sharing snippets of his visit to Bangladesh and the vibrancy of Lahore. You may feel the writing is a little random and fails to connect the dots, of what would have been a better insight into the world of Pakistan through an eye of a Pakistani.
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March 5, 2019
A thought provoking read..A gift from an eminent person..This book provides a look into the culture of pakistan and exceeded expectations by introducing poets,authors ,monuments.The shared history of India and Pakistan is discussed and the diversity of the culture explained.It doesnt shy away from mentioning the militant politics and islamisation and the authors unhappiness in the present state of events is evident.
Overall an informative and readable book
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Overall an informative and readable book
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October 17, 2020
To me it was one of the great read i had in this year, Author raza rumi had perfectly balanced the positive and negative aspects of Pakistan with realistic reasoning.
His beauty of words is too powerful and intense that reader can't get over the feeling of being in pre-partition of 1947 + 1971 .
He lighten the real heros of Pakistan who are removed from our history and gave them credit for their work.
This book is a perfect pathway to understand some of the basic pillars of Pakistani culture and people.
His beauty of words is too powerful and intense that reader can't get over the feeling of being in pre-partition of 1947 + 1971 .
He lighten the real heros of Pakistan who are removed from our history and gave them credit for their work.
This book is a perfect pathway to understand some of the basic pillars of Pakistani culture and people.
November 17, 2023
It is rather one way, only discussing about Pakistan's society, culture and The Arts. Not matching with the theme which was how Pakistan is different from India in these three aspects.
No info about India's society, culture and The Arts and no comparison with Pakistan
No info about India's society, culture and The Arts and no comparison with Pakistan
January 27, 2024
It’s more of a book comparison of Indian and Pakistani culture. The author thinks he is an authority on Pakistan but sadly he doesn’t even know the cultural makeup of up of Pakistan and factors i influencing it.
January 28, 2021
I never knew about the poets of Pakistan until I pick this book. It's a good read.
December 27, 2021
Not much inspiring except a few articles Mustafa Zaidi and Qurratulain Hyder
August 25, 2022
Normally history books are kinda dry to read but this one was so smooth and enriched in jewels of history. I learned so much.
December 2, 2023
A collection of articles about society, culture and arts of Pakistan.
December 24, 2018
The way Raza Rumi educates us on society, culture and the Arts that has evolved through ages in subcontinent is very imaginative. His grip on the subject from mysticisim to current politics and linking the bad dreams with the results is well expressed. Loved it
March 30, 2024
This book is collection of many essays written by Raza Rumi on different magazines and news platforms. These essays explore Pakistani society, culture and arts. He talked about history and development of our society and culture, distinctions and similarities of Pakistani society and culture with other cultures in the region, especially Indian. How Zia's Policy of Islamization affected Pakistani society and culture. He mentioned brief overview of mamy writers like Manto, Parveen Shakir, Fahmida Riaz... and provided breifl summaries of their work. Described importance and history of some famous places and cities like Lahore, Faisal Mosque, Minar e Pakistan etc ... He also shared his travel experience of Bangladesh- as a Pakistani he was ashamed of what happened to Bengali People in 1971..
The Book is worth giving a try.. Although, it doesn't explain everything about Pakistan in detail but it explains a lot of things breifly, that every Pakistan would want to know. That's all a 270 Pages book can do.. Thanks
The Book is worth giving a try.. Although, it doesn't explain everything about Pakistan in detail but it explains a lot of things breifly, that every Pakistan would want to know. That's all a 270 Pages book can do.. Thanks
January 28, 2020
Redundant, Outdated and Irrelevant.
I am a fan of Delhi by heart, so I chose to pick Being Pakistani as my summer read. Not an overstatement to say that it literally took me all of summer to finish the book, despite me skipping several pages at a time.
The book is a collection of articles as old as 2010. Reading those 9 years later certainly made them doubly boring and irrelevant to the recent times. It seems as if the author just wanted to get a second book out in the market regardless how redundant the content gets.
It misses out on a lot of recent developments on the cultural front in the country. It seems more like a lesson on history than a review and analysis of evolution of art and culture in the society.
It's a book that doesn't spark interest. It's almost everything I read in my Pakistan Studies or South Asian history courses.
If i could give it 0 stars, I wouldn't hold back!
I am a fan of Delhi by heart, so I chose to pick Being Pakistani as my summer read. Not an overstatement to say that it literally took me all of summer to finish the book, despite me skipping several pages at a time.
The book is a collection of articles as old as 2010. Reading those 9 years later certainly made them doubly boring and irrelevant to the recent times. It seems as if the author just wanted to get a second book out in the market regardless how redundant the content gets.
It misses out on a lot of recent developments on the cultural front in the country. It seems more like a lesson on history than a review and analysis of evolution of art and culture in the society.
It's a book that doesn't spark interest. It's almost everything I read in my Pakistan Studies or South Asian history courses.
If i could give it 0 stars, I wouldn't hold back!
Want to read
October 15, 2018For future reference: Dawn’s review of the book https://www.dawn.com/news/1438837/non...
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