Buthshikan (The Iconoclast) meditates on the role of artists and educators in society. The profound biases and injustice which plague our social worlds are often maintained by uninformed opinions and misguided desires. These, in turn, are rooted in the unconscious submission to false idols of capitalism, patriarchy, and religious bigotry. As seekers of truth artists and teachers access public imagination, they stimulate it with deeper awareness—and thus have been viewed repeatedly as threats to such endemic ideologies.

With his assembly of metaphors the writer, Faraz Ali, seeks the contemporary idiom of a global landscape just as much as he draws on the Urdu literary tradition. The musician Faraz Rizvi has interpreted the poet’s recitation of the verse during a live recording. 

The effort is dedicated to the late Sadaf Chughtai (1979–2021), a designer, educator, and activist.

Written & Performed by Faraz Ali
Music by Faraz Rizvi
Mastered by Atif Ali
Urdu Calligraphy by Usman Malik

Buthshikan

ButhShikan by Faraz Ali

Poet: Mir Taqi Mir
Performer: Sameer Malik
Original Composition by Ramier Shiva-Nandan

https://www.instagram.com/zer_zabar_paesh/
www.zerzabarpaesh.com


Three weeks ago, a few of us were discussing a ghazal by Mir, which led to the appreciation of this beautiful composition by Ramier Shiva-Nandan. We admire the young enthusiasts of literature who are eager to learn and explore, and we try to translate our conversations into small projects.

We requested Sameer Malik to explore this rendition. Show some love to this effort, and feel free to hum along. 
 
ZZP is a small effort built on the love and gratitude of friends like Sameer. He also reviews our textual work and saves us from critical errors.

Sameer Malik recites Mir Taqi Mir: Rahi Nagufta Mere Dil Mein

 This is a Sufi RAAG which is sung by the Fakir's of   SHAH ABDUL LATIF BHITTAI in  10th Konya Mystic Music Festival in Konya Turkey
 the greatest Sufi Saint,Poet of the
 Sindh province of Pakistan.

Faqirs Of Bhit Shah @ 10th Konya Mystic Music Festival

Raag_Jaijawanti

Ft. Aida Shehzad & Niaz Hunzai
Music Production:
DJ Naveed
Abubakr Javed

Allah Hi Dega - Ubaid Ali Rana

Title: Haqiqat-i-Husn
Poet: Muhammad Iqbal
Rendition by Faraz Ali

A Project by Zer Zabar Paesh
instagram.com/zer_zabar_paesh
 
Haqiqat-i-Husn (Beauty’s essence) is a nazm by Muhammad Iqbal.
It was published in a collection of his poetry called Bañg-e-Darā
(The call of the marching bell) in 1924.

خدا‭ ‬سے‭ ‬حُسن‭ ‬نے‭ ‬اك‭ ‬روز‭ ‬يه‭ ‬سوال‭ ‬كيا
جهاں‭ ‬ميں‭ ‬كيوں‭ ‬نه‭ ‬مجھے‭ ‬تو‭ ‬نے‭ ‬لازوال‭ ‬كيا

ملا‭ ‬جواب‭ ‬كه‭ ‬تصوير‭ ‬خانه‭ ‬هے‭ ‬دنيا
شبِ‭ ‬درازِ‭ ‬عدم‭ ‬كا‭ ‬فسانه‭ ‬هے‭ ‬دنيا

هوئي‭ ‬هے‭ ‬رنگِ‭ ‬تغير‭ ‬سے‭ ‬جب‭ ‬نمود‭ ‬اس‭ ‬كي
وهي‭ ‬حسيں‭ ‬هے‭ ‬حقيقت‭ ‬زوال‭ ‬هے‭ ‬جس‭ ‬كي

كهيں‭ ‬قريب‭ ‬تھا‭ ‬،‭ ‬يه‭ ‬گفتگو‭ ‬قمر‭ ‬نے‭ ‬سُني
فلك‭ ‬په‭ ‬عام‭ ‬هوئي،‭ ‬اختر‭ ‬سحر‭ ‬نے‭ ‬سُني

سحر‭ ‬نے‭ ‬تارے‭ ‬سے‭ ‬سُن‭ ‬كر‭ ‬سنائي‭ ‬شبنم‭ ‬كو
فلك‭ ‬كي‭ ‬بات‭ ‬بتادي‭ ‬زميں‭ ‬كے‭ ‬محرم‭ ‬كو

بھر‭ ‬آئے‭ ‬پھول‭ ‬كے‭ ‬آنسو‭ ‬پيامِ‭ ‬شبنم‭ ‬سے
كلي‭ ‬كا‭ ‬ننھا‭ ‬سا‭ ‬دل‭ ‬خون‭ ‬هو‭ ‬گيا‭ ‬غم‭ ‬سے

چمن‭ ‬سے‭ ‬روتا‭ ‬هوا‭ ‬موسمِ‭ ‬بهار‭ ‬گيا
‭!‬شباب‭ ‬سير‭ ‬كو‭ ‬آيا‭ ‬تھا‭ ‬،‭ ‬سوگوار‭ ‬گيا

Beauty’s Essence 
To the creator did beauty one day complain 
Why did you make me of that which wanes 
The world is like a hall of mirrors answered He
 A tale told to pass the long night of eternity
 With the clay and hues of change was it made 
And it is the essence of beauty that it must decay
 The moon overheard for she was not far 
The news spread in the skies to the morning star 
The star said it to the dawn, dawn to the dew extended
 The secret of the heavens thus to the earth descended 
The flower was heavy with tears at what the dew had said 
The buds little heart burst with grief and bled 
Spring fled the garden in loud lament
 Youth that had come to sport in sorrow went.
- Translation by Khushwant Singh

Haqiqat-i-Husn (Beauty's Essence) by Allama Iqbal

Concept developed by Arsalan Pervaiz
Produced by Lee Redfield 
Recorded by Dane Foltin (tallsky studios)

The song begins in with an alap in raag Jaijaiwanti. This pitch-set continues over 12-bar blues form.

Guitar - Arsalan Pervaiz
Tabla - Waqas Gulab
Drums - Roberto Morales
Bass - Momin Ahmad
Saxophone - Lee Redfield

Lee James Redfield's Album

Jaijaiwanti Blues

Dil Jalanay Ki Baat - ABID ALI

Aijaz Ahmed’s impression of Miraji 

“Lean body, coarse complexion, long filthy strands of black and white hair so matted together that his head looked like a mound of ashes, a vibrant face, sunken eyes but sharp and twinkling, an expansive voice, a commanding presence. A taste for lying in conversation, a deadly intellect choked with violent thoughts of self-destruction, his imagination replete with the ghosts of obscure physical activities. By the final few years of his life he had crafted himself with such cunning that anyone who looked at him could see anything: an ascetic, a weasely criminal, the poorest factory worker, a walking, wandering corpse.”

Portrait Of Miraji by Hussam Badi

S. Faraz Ali is an award-winning, interdisciplinary designer. He presently works as Senior Experiential Graphic Designer (XGD) for the global design firm CallisonRTKL in Dubai. His design expertise ranges from comprehensive brand identity to integrated wayfinding systems. Over a span of 8 years in the field, he has dealt with virtually every major stage of contemporary design practice.

Zer Zabar Paesh is a platform that caters to the artistic, literary, and other intellectual dimensions of Pakistan. Given the country’s incredibly eclectic culture, this platform understands the creative thought and practices of Pakistan by situating it in the domain that receptive to the influence of not only the Indian subcontinent but also the Islamicate and Western societies at large. Likewise, this complex focus on Pakistani creative consciousness will be receptive to content from both the modern and pre-modern times.
In discussing the creative output of the said cultural complex, ZZP’s more general aim is three-pronged:

Exhibition and Celebration;
Commentary and Criticism;
Exploration and Experimentation

Sameer Malik recites Mir Taqi Mir: Rahi Nagufta Mere Dil Mein

Faraz Ali

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