Saturday, March 10, 2007

If there is paradise....

Amir Khusrau wrote:
اَگر فِردؤس بر رُو-ائے زمین اَست،
ہمین اَست-او ہمین اَست-او ہمین اَست۔

Agar firdaus bar rooe zameen ast,
Hameen ast o hameen ast o hameen ast.

If there is paradise on earth; it is here, it is here, it is here.

I haven't been home in almost a year. I think home sickness might be setting in. The couplet seems particularly poignant these days.








I don't know Persian. But the script is so beautiful, I had to put it up here. It's one those things I have to do one day - learn Persian.
Also, all the photos have been taken by me. Just clarifying. Lest certain people (you know who you are) insinuate I am scanning postcards. Back handed compliments much.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

:) the photos are beauts. are you from kashmir then? or is home referring to india in general?

and yes, you can pay me a visit once you find where i live. no mean task that haha.

are you on gtalk?

airy voices said...

snide reference in footnote??!?!? I was honest? What about people who were thinking it?!?! I love punctuation!!!!!! (i'm high and this is random) anyway.. the photos are gorgeous. and i want to travel india with you-- someone who KNOWS india. can we plan sth?

TS said...

Awww...

I miss India too, the one in your pictures. And I'm right here in Gurgaon... *sigh*

Alok said...

where is your home btw? i have not travelled much, even in india... but these pictures dont look like from India?

Szerelem said...

TAP: Nop, not from Kashmir….just visited the place. Was referring to India in general.
And finding out where you live.... hmmm, I’m sure we know someone in common considering we both graduated from the same school…it’s a surprisingly small world.
Am not on gtalk (is everyone on gtalk these days?). Am on face book though.

AV: No kidding. You are high. :P
And I don’t know about knowing India. Seriously. But we should plan something. But first can we start planning for Cambodia and Vietnam??!! We don’t even have our visas yet!

TS: :) I know that feeling. Last time I was home I was stuck in Delhi in the heat. Not the best scenario.

Alok: Well home is all over really. Delhi, Ranchi, Kerala – take your pick :) Its been Delhi for the last few years though. And the pictures are of India. (1)Kashmir (2)Corbett (3&4)Ladakh.

twip said...

Right. Make me miss India, now thats it's spring break and I have nowhere to go but my dreary apartment.

Pbffft.

twip said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Karan said...

The pictures are really nice. Are you still using the same camera?

Man, I can't wait to go to Leh this summer.

hedonistic hobo said...

where are the pictures from?

hedonistic hobo said...

kashmir.....sigh. apple orchards hat should have come to me but now lie blossoming blood red apples under the command of terrorists. someday, since is history is cyclic, we'll grab our land back.

:)

add me on facebook. you know who i am.

Renovatio said...

Beautiful pictures... I really really need to see more of my beloved bharat mata...

thalassa_mikra said...

You take lovely photos, I'm jealous but also blown away.

And you should definitely try to learn Persian. The perception of a language's beauty and musicality is subjective, for me personally, it is the most beautiful and elegant language I have heard (Italian is right up there too, right after Persian).

GhostOfTomJoad said...

Nice pix!

Oh, and Persian is lovely, isn't it? Guess what? I've just had a good dose of it in an Iranian film I watched today :-)

Revealed said...

I wanted to learn Persian too! I started learning Arabic. But it's harddd! And I'm no rocket scientist (I say this with the confidence of not being in the comments section of the last post :D).

And I'm going back home in a coupla months and have a Kashmir trip planned. So would you for pity's sake gimme the lowdown on the best places to go?

Alok said...

Hmm. So you have been to these places too. Okay.

Szerelem said...

Punkster: Sorry :( We’re in the same boat so I totally sympathise.

Karan: Thanks. And actually these pictures have been taken with a different camera (in fact two different cameras neither of which is the one I am using right now). So there goes your theory about my photos being good because my camera is good! Hah!
Needless to say you’ll love Ladakh (Leh is so so) – it’s very beautiful.

hobo: Kashmir is SO very pretty. But being there was also really, really sad. Sometimes I think we just don’t deserve that land, but then the terrorists have completely destroyed it….I’m so conflicted.

Renovatio: Thanks :) India is amazing to travel in.

T_M: Aww, thank you! And I agree with you about Persian – it is the most beautiful language I have heard. I do want to learn it one day but I just started with Turkish and that’s hard enough!!

Ghost: Iranian movies are usually really good – especially the ones that make the rounds of the film festivals. Which one did you see?

Revealed: I am finding learning Turkish difficult (and they use the Roman script) not only because the grammar is weird but also because I don’t have enough time to work on it, so I can completely understand when you say Arabic is hard!!
We were in Kashmir for only five days so we just visited Gulmarg and Srinagar which you must do. Couldn’t make it to Pahalgaon because of bad weather and the fact that we couldn’t postpone our return and that’s something I really regret. I’ve heard its perfect in spring/summer so don’t miss going there either. And I had posted up pictures from Kashmir eons ago here

Alok: :-)

30in2005 said...

Beautiful - both the saying and the pictures. Are they of your home or just random pictures from trips you've takes?

30in2005 said...

Ignore me. I've only just read the comments section and seen the answer to my silly silly question!

* said...

i also always wanted tolearn person, for it looks so beautiful. But it is jolly difficult I have heard. Again languages...I really like languages and how the enrich one's mind. Nice photos.

MockTurtle said...

These are the posts that I look forward to on your blog. Lovely lovely pictures as ever.
Kashmir is the only (non-NorthEastern) state in India I have never visited. Perhaps some day when things settle down there...

Anonymous said...

Ooooh! I'll keep all of that in mind. We're going in summer. So yayyyyy.

(I was thinking of getting a tattoo and i figured DNA in arabic would be perfect :P which is why i tried to learn it :D)

-Revealed

Anonymous said...

my god....could never have imagined that the photos arent postcards!!!

Lovely work!

and yeah...I want to learn persian too!

Swathi Sambhani aka Chimera said...

lovely pictures... n herez wishing that u visit India soon...

Tabula Rasa said...

lovely!

Salil said...

Brazil has been shelved for the time being, its Leh ladakh this summer..!!

Whats next on your itinerary? suggestions please, a trip is pending..!!

That Armchair Philosopher said...

on facebook eh. should've known. of course, i wouldn't even begin to know who to look for haha :)