‘Tall Tales by a Small Dog’: A mongrel’s observations on small-town India are funny, witty, visceral

Omair Ahmad derives his sense of comic timing, droll characterisation, and the force of his satire, from the Urdu literary tradition of tanz-o-mazah, or satire.

Maaz Bin Bilal

· Sep 17, 2023 · 08:30 am

‘Spring settles here on the horizon of the heart’: Banaras through the eyes of Mirza Ghalib

Excerpts from ‘Temple Lamp: Verses on Banaras’, by Mirza Ghalib, translated from the Persian by Maaz Bin Bilal.

Mirza Ghalib

 & 

Maaz Bin Bilal

· Aug 25, 2022 · 05:30 pm

‘The Muslim Vanishes’: A play imagines the implications of a social and economic boycott of Muslims

Saeed Naqvi’s play takes a look at the implosive nature of the Hindu socialist utopia and how it undermines the very idea of India.

Maaz Bin Bilal

· Apr 16, 2022 · 12:30 pm

Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (1935-2020): Why this death leaves a permanent patch of darkness in literature

The scholar, poet, novelist and translator, who wrote in Urdu and English, died on December 25, 2020 at the age of 85.

Maaz Bin Bilal

· Dec 26, 2020 · 08:30 am

Writing in the times of Covid-19: Can guilt and confessions really atone for not acting when needed?

‘Does the writer who feels bad for his inaction also feel shame or guilt?’

Maaz Bin Bilal

· May 23, 2020 · 07:00 am

Remembering beloved movie stars: Be kind and rewind, but be open-eyed too

Perhaps one should be able to speak of the ills or even just the shortcomings along with the good and the superlatives.

Maaz Bin Bilal

· May 09, 2020 · 10:00 am

The Art of Resistance: In a new poem, Maaz Bin Bilal declares his refusal to accept unjust laws

‘The mighty and many rule the weak and few.’

Maaz Bin Bilal

· Jan 01, 2020 · 02:30 pm

I’m an Indian Muslim and refuse to be certified as a citizen by this RSS-backed government

Like my forefathers protested against the British, this is my act of civil disobedience against a draconian law.

Maaz Bin Bilal

· Dec 22, 2019 · 06:30 am

Annie Zaidi’s novel paints a searing picture of how communal disharmony affects each of us

‘Prelude to a Riot’ graphically describes a situation where communal mobilisation in full swing in a south Indian town.

Maaz Bin Bilal

· Dec 21, 2019 · 07:30 am

History, myth, scholarship: This qissa-as-novel by Musharraf Ali Farooqi looks power in the eye

Farooqi’s qissa in English gives us the rich tapestry of a West Asian world with its flourishing knowledge systems that are often forgotten today.

Maaz Bin Bilal

· Nov 17, 2019 · 05:30 pm

The ghazal meets politics and contemporary India in Maaz Bin Bilal’s new book of poetry

Four poems of love, law, and racism, and one poem in translation.

Maaz Bin Bilal

· Jul 30, 2019 · 05:30 pm

How do you select and translate Urdu ghazals by 65 poets written over 500 years? Ask Anisur Rahman

The writer and translator explains how he selected the ghazals for his comprehensive collection, ‘Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi’ and how the form has evolved.

Maaz Bin Bilal

· Mar 31, 2019 · 12:30 pm