peace @metmuseum.org

The Neem ki Haveli was in a terrible condition like many other havelis in Old Delhi. Atul Khanna restored it & now along with Kathika has become a beautiful destination for cultural activities. I had a book discussion there with Aishwarya Jha a few months ago & today a presentation on Ghalib

Crouching tiger, running camel. Wall painting in the 18th century Bagore Ki Haveli, Udaipur.

on Valentine's Day here are 21 Urdu words for love, noted by Prof Shamsur Rahman Faruqi. These convey different shades and stages of (sexual/sacred) love. They are in no particular order. And words for lust, etc. are not listed youtu.be/z82ySUzJQZo?...

what is ishq-e haqeeqi : and it doesn't have anything to do with Valentine's Day ( a simple beginner's explanation-. For more details read my book In Search of the Divine) youtu.be/I7CfzX7TcEA?...

‎Shab-e Barat ‎“Verily, My Mercy prevails over My Wrath.”~ Hadith e Qudsi ‎Shab e Baraat – This blessed night starts at sunset on the 14th of Shaban and ends at dawn on the 15th of Shaban. . ‎ ‎image: courtesy Pergamon museum – Princess Zebunnisa celebrating Shab e Barat

my version of nihari

the awadh version of rohu, with methi and dahi

Hakim Ajmal Khan’s Last Resting Place: in a forgotten corner of Delhi ranasafvi.com/hakim-ajmal-...

Death is a great leveler 157th birth anniversary of Hakim Ajmal Khan, a philanthropist, freedom fighter, famous hakeem and nationalist is a well known personality. He sleeps forgotten in one of Delhi's bastis, his grave in a 2 gaz space in what was once his family qabristan.

Maula ki zamanat mein diya ranasafvi.com/what-is-imam...

one of the oft overlooked gem of the Jama Masjid, Delhi is the makabbar. ‎This is the station for the Mukabbir, he who asists the Imam by giving the time by which the various motions in the prayer are regulated., repeating the formula, Allahu Akbar (اللہ اکبر) in prayers.

apne armonon ke bojh tale daba huwa #wanderingsindelhi

Will be signing my book in Penguin India stall at the World Book Fair 4 Feb, 25 1 pm Please come

At the dargah of Hazrat Inayat Shah (1882–1927 CE), a Chisti Sufi he travelled west in 1910. & established the Sufi order in 1914 & taught ‘universal Sufism’, which became International Sufi Movement in 1923. Sufism, acc to him, is based on ‘Tauheed’ & unity of religious ideals, love and harmony

The eve of 27th Rajab is Shab e Meraj the night journey of the Holy Prophet (s) from Mecca to al-Aqsa Mosque and from there to the heavens. It's divided in two parts. Isra and Meraj Image by Mahmud Farshchian

Buraq painted on the arches of Sibtainabad Imambara in Lucknow #Shab e Meraj

in #ranthambhorfort today

In the Indian Express The History Keeper interviewed by Devyani Onial

Prof Irfan Habib on The Extraordinary Legacy of the INA " it is doubly important that we continue to pay tribute to the INA, and also to hold high the banners that Azad Hind Fauj had raised, the banners of national dignity, unity, communal brotherhood, & also secularism." thewire.in/history/full...

‪Bae gaye baalam, bae gaye nadia kinaar, ‬ ‪Aapay paar utar gaye, hum to rahay ehi paar ‬ He has crossed, the beloved has crossed, Has reached the other side, on his own. With me, left here alone. Translation from: www.angelfire.com/sd/urdumedia...

visited the Jahannuma masjid aka Jama Masjid , Delhi yesterday

A very happy new year 💕

This lithographed line drawing accompanied the 'Kulliyat-e Ghalib' published in 1863 by Naval Kishor Press. #BirthAnniversary #ghalib

M F Hussain 's Ghalib

The only known photograph of Ghalib The photo belonged to Mrs. Santosh Mathur, great-granddaughter of Babu Shiv Narain, who was a friend of Ghalib's; it is now in a private collection in Allahabad. #Ghalib #BirthAnniversary

"you'll be visited by three spirits" The three spirits

Nativity paintings (1954) by the Indian artist Angelo Da Fonseca (1902-1967). His work has many famous examples of modern Indian Christian Iconography.

O Come let us adore him Christ the Lord Adoration of the Christ Child 1630 from (Golconda) Merry Christmas friends

Not just India’s. History is being retold in ways that appease the ruling class that benefited from colonialism and/or slavery past and present everywhere.

Ufffff f the beauty! Two ladies sit talking and taking refreshments on a terrace laid with a fine carpet. Attributed to Rai Anup Chattar, gouache with gold, c.1710. #Mughal British Library Johnson 21,6

Indian historian’s biggest battle lies in weeding out colonial hangover in the country’s popular history by Ruchika Sharma indianexpress.com/article/opin...

A great lesson in how skillful cleaning, conservation, & restoration can completely change how we see an artwork - and in the process even change our understanding of who created it

San Francisco's Asian Art Museum has an exhibition on its decision to repatriate looted antiquities that should be a model for all other museums

Sikandar Adil Shah was the last Sultan of Bijapur, who reigned between 1672 and 1686. He lies buried in a simple grave in the middle of a Bijapur market. His ancestors sleep in Gol Gumbad & Ibrahim Rauza. A lesson that nothing remains, least of all power.

Today I learnt that the jars for storing pickles etc derive their name from large glazed ceramic storage jars made in a port city in Burma called Martaban & exported from there Martaban jars find mention in Ibn Batuta 's Rehla #martaban is now a generic name for large storage ceramic glazed jars.

Mandeep Raikhy's touring work, inspired by the prehistoric statue Dancing Girl, considers how the past is wielded in the present by Vivek Gupta www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/12/16/d...

@ranasafvi.bsky.social Dear Ranaji, thoroughly enjoying Mehdi Hassan’s gazal and your invaluable translation, especially into English transliteration, for this soul detached from home for generations. 🙏🏾 thank you Thank you.

Chokha, Maharana Bhim Singh returns from the hunt. Mewar 1803. Decked in the first royal green hunting clothes, jewelry. Two hunting dogs, Salukis Persian greyhounds. @sharadmohan.bsky.social @willdalrymple.bsky.social @cherishdcherry.bsky.social @punjabirooh.bsky.social @ranasafvi.bsky.social

The other pillar in Kausambi youtube.com/watch?v=0aXD...

Calligraphy on Gravestones/cenotaphs are an art in itself. Here we have ayat 26-27 of Surah Rahman with a message for humans about their mortality and transitory nature of material possessions. Only Almighty God will endure. "Kullu man 'alaihaa faan Wa yabqaa wajhu rabbika zul jalaali wal ikraam"

The Taragarh dargah in Ajmer and its syncretic traditions as revealed by the structures in its compound. youtube.com/watch?v=XvZa...

winters are here in our local haat Anyone needs recipes for greens do ask

#shair pays tribute to Josh Malihabadi on his birth anniversary Behoshiyon Ne aur khabardar kar diya Soi jo aql rooh ne bedar kar diya

The sermon of Lord Buddha to King Udayan “अना इंसान का सबसे बड़ा दुश्मन है। तुम्हारी तलवार तुम्हारी समझदारी हो, तुम्हारा क़िला ईमान, सख़ावत और अख़लाक़ हो, तुम्हारी फ़ौज नेकी हो और तुम्हारी ज़िरह सब्र हो। तुम्हारा नेज़ा मेहनत हो, तुम्हारी कमान ग़ौर-ओ-फ़िक्र हो और तुम्हारा तीर लाताल्लुक़ी हो।” youtube.com/watch?v=lRBh...

in Kausambi, near Allahabad yesterday It was in Kausambi that Lord Buddha gave a sermon which resulted in the conversion of King Udayan to Buddhism 1/

my one hour interview/podcast on communal harmony, Awadh cuisine, Ganga Jamuni tdhzeeb & so much more shayad itna khulkar pahli baar main boli youtu.be/7r3-A7VBDqw

sair kar duniya ki ghafil zindagani phir kahan zindagi gar kuchh rahi to ye jawani phir kahan Khwaja Mir Dars yesterday in kosambi on the yamuna river

Sadly, nothing came of it. Our founding fathers were weird about equality--in spite of their insistence that all men were "created equal"

“He was very well connected through friendships and business success but while he was engaged with building up wealthy clientele, he had radical ideas and his family were very involved with issues and campaigning.” #Abolitionism #Wedgwood #DecorativeArts #Ceramics #V&A #IndustrialRevolution