Abdul Ghani Khan – Pashto Artist/Poet
11/28/2009 · Mansi Shah
Translation of When Man Sits Down In Dust:
Manhood stands tall and high, and becomes madness;
The self takes leave of being and becomes ecstasy.
When iron sated with blood embraces love,
It turns into a bewildered sitar string.
When time robs man of love and the loved one,
He sees the beloved’s glory and his own.
How man sprouts when he sits down in dust!
A manjila resting on riches becomes a serpent.
Don’t shower houris and gilman over me. Enough!
God, I swear, I’m not concerned with anyone save you;
Abdul Ghani Khan and his wife, Roshan
Where today, I walk oblivious and proud,
God knows, to this garden, who will be the heir.
I am a Pukthun and am not afraid of death;
I am angered at an empty life and a desolate end.
The river of doubt runs deep through my heart,
Wondering when the brilliant waterfall of hope will flow.
My heart gazes at your indifferent eye and so,
At times the great string breaks into tears.
Is music lament or rapture — I cannot decide;
Every tone now moves us, now becomes shrill.
Khan's sculptures
The self takes leave of being and becomes ecstasy.
When iron sated with blood embraces love,
It turns into a bewildered sitar string.
When time robs man of love and the loved one,
He sees the beloved’s glory and his own.
How man sprouts when he sits down in dust!
A manjila resting on riches becomes a serpent.
Don’t shower houris and gilman over me. Enough!
God, I swear, I’m not concerned with anyone save you;
Princess Durru Shehvar, Khan’s drawing of the Princess
Where today, I walk oblivious and proud,
God knows, to this garden, who will be the heir.
I am a Pukthun and am not afraid of death;
I am angered at an empty life and a desolate end.
The river of doubt runs deep through my heart,
Wondering when the brilliant waterfall of hope will flow.
My heart gazes at your indifferent eye and so,
At times the great string breaks into tears.
Is music lament or rapture — I cannot decide;
Every tone now moves us, now becomes shrill.
_____________________________________________
Read about Khan here/here and the Pashto language here.
Ghani Khan’s poems sung by Sardar Ali Takkar:
Rabindranath Tagore
03/25/2009 · Mansi Shah
Rabindranath Tagore (1961) documentary by Satyajit Ray
Kiran Subbaiah
03/16/2009 · Mansi Shah
Use_Me.exe, 2004
Computer Program (Pseudo-Virus for Windows on CD)
20MB
Crash_Run.exe, 2002
Computer Program (Pseudo-Virus for Windows on CD)
1354KB
“A malicious computer virus is that classic dweller of the liminal space between function and dysfunction: its entire function is geared towards draining out all use-value from a computer, to render it dysfunctional (in various degrees). Also for someone who has been consistently engaging with objects and their (dys)functionality, this intense concentration on the interface is perhaps expected. Today, if we look around our homes, we see an increasing array of objects getting ‘contaminated’ with the digital.
Consequently, the formal attributes of an object are no longer tethered to its putative function. When it’s the same digital chip that controls the clock as well as the microwave, what defines the object formally are not cog-wheels or heating coils but its interface – the functional surface it offers its users for manipulation and control. We could possibly parody McLuhan and say, ’the interface is the object’.”
— From Abhishek Hazra: The Ludic Epiphany of Kiran Subbaiah
Kiran Subbaiah lives and works in Bangalore and Amsterdam.
Satyajit Ray’s Graphic & Typographic Works III
03/03/2009 · Mansi Shah
Covers for literary & cultural journal Ekshan:
Satyajit Ray’s Graphic & Typographic Works II
02/19/2009 · Mansi Shah
Devi (1960) – The Goddess
Aranyer Din Ratri (1970) – Days and Nights in the Forest
Seemabaddha (1971) – Company Limited
Seemabaddha (1971) – Company Limited
“[Satyajit Ray's] contributions to the development of advertising imagery in India was very distinctive, but hard to define. Like all the best graphic designers, he combined visual flair with a feel for the meaning of words and their nuances… He brought to his work a fascination for typography, both Bengali and English…”
– Andrew Robinson
Satyajit Ray’s Graphic & Typographic Works I
02/18/2009 · Mansi Shah
Ray Roman
Daphnis
Sonar Kella (1974) – The Golden Fortress
Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977): The Chess Players
Joi Baba Felunath (1978) – The Elephant God
