Growing together (and apart)

 I was traveling through the small towns of the French Riviera last week and saw this simple yet profound artwork at the town's entrance.

Only 3 Lines :)

 

Labor Day

 

Dark side of the Colosseum

People go to Rome to see the Colosseum - very touristy -, but it has nothing but a dark side in its basement - prisoners and women from the streets.

 - From the Old Colosseum, 1888. painting by Danish artist Valdemar Irminger

 

Rekha and her Urdu

 

Theaters

 Netflix didn't kill movie theaters. $25 popcorn did, and $12 soda did. (Read on Facebook)

I used to be a movie junkie. Get tired of their manipulations..

The death of Art!

 

Painting and Poetry

 

Beauties and the Beasts

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Faiz Mixed with Van Gogh

 

One remarkable painting

One remarkable painting.

Note: Gracias to Books and stilettos for providing update in comments: "This is "The Slave Market" by Jean-Léon Gérôme, painted in 1866: It depicts a scene in the Middle East or North Africa, the Barbary slave trade. It is an example of 19th-century Orientalist art. His paintings are located at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. I have seen another one where a guy is checking a nude woman’s teeth like we do for bakras on eid hahaha his work is fascinating!"

 

Empty!!

Last summer, I took a solo train journey across Central Europe. I shut off my work phone and used my personal cell phone just for travel needs. I decided not to communicate with anyone for 10 days and purely indulge in travel. It was a meditation and pilgrimage to my inner. 

 One evening, while roaming Salzburg, Austria, as I came out of Mozart's home, I noticed this marvel at one corner of the city.

 

What a brilliant artist - Safdar Ali Soomro

Like all other people, I was introduced to Safdar Ali Soomro after his stolen paintings were found accidentally in a Pakistani drama. I was absolutely stunned by his talent. He deserves better.

Full story at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2571684/amp
 

 

Absolutely Genius Cartoon

 

A Russian Painting

 One of the best paintings in the world is priceless... Why?!

A painting by the Russian artist Fedor Reshetnikov, which he painted in 1952, entitled “Low Marks Again.”

It is about a boy returning from school who failed the exam, and how the family looks at him with blame, and his brother looks at him with gloating... The artist says to them: “Treat him as a dog treats him, he loves him whether he passes or fails, he loves him for himself.” 

Parizaad

 When Parizaad ran on TV last year, I was not aware of it. I got a text from an old childhood friend from Scotland to watch it. I asked him: "Why?"

He replied: "Hum sab ki kahani parizaad jesi hai." 

(Reminded a lot of episodes from my previous life in Pakistan)

حسن کے جزیروں میں روپ کے کناروں پر
ریشمی اندھیرے ہیں، سُرمئی اُجالے ہیں
ایک ناز آفریں دل پر قبضہ جمائی بیٹھی ہے
جس کی جھیل آنکھوں میں دو نیل بوں سے پیالے ہیں

نا پوچھ پری زادوں سے یہ ہجر کیسے جھیلا ہے
یہ تن بدن تو چھلنی ہے اور روح پر بھی چھالے ہیں
کیسے جان پاؤ گے؟ عشق میں کیا گزری ہے؟
کتنے زخم کھائے ہیں؟ کتنے درد پالے ہیں؟

سائیاں وے
سائیاں وے
سائیاں وے

خواہشوں کے جنگل میں حسرتوں کے بستر پر
جسم تو گلابی ہیں اور دل سے کالے ہیں
میں دھوپ کا پجاری ہوں
میں لفظ کا بھکاری ہوں
لیکن جہاں میں بستا ہوں، وہاں مندروں پہ تالے ہیں

کیا عشق وہ نبھائیں گے؟
کیا حسن کو سراہیں گے؟
تاریک جن کے چہرے ہیں
مقدّروں پہ جالے ہیں

ہیں دشمنوں سے کیا شکوہ؟ کیا گلہ رقیبوں سے؟
یہ سانپ آستینوں میں ہم نے خود ہی پالے ہیں

نا پوچھ پری زادوں سے یہ ہجر کیسے جھیلہ ہے

یہ تن بدن تو چھلنی ہے اور روح پر بھی چھالے ہیں 
کیسے جان پاؤ گے؟ عشق میں کیا گزری ہے؟

Van Gogh’s “Potato Eaters”

 From Van Gogh’s realist work, I love this “Potato Eaters”. One could spend an hour finding the details and reality that they evoke.

One of the finest scene from classic Indian cinema

 

What a painting!

 

Deluge scene

 This painting is called 'Deluge scene.' You see a person trying to save his father and completely ignoring his wife and kid (son), who is closer to him. The wife represents the present life, the son the future, and the grandfather, on the other hand, represents the past, which the man clings to. Thus losing his present life and future. A perfect metaphor for what many go through daily. Scene of the deluge, 1827, by Joseph Désiré (1797-1865)