Cologne

by

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

IN Köhln, a town of monks and bones,

And pavements fang'd with murderous stones

And rags, and hags, and hideous wenches;

I counted two and seventy stenches,

All well defined, and several stinks!

Ye Nymphs that reign o'er sewers and sinks,

The river Rhine, it is well known,

Doth wash your city of Cologne;

            But tell me, Nymphs, what power divine

            Shall henceforth wash the river Rhine?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan, as well as for his major prose work Biographia Literaria.

http://media.thestar.topscms.com/images/10/b4/1fe977ca4d828d4dabebfa485aeb.jpeg

Chakiwara Main Wisaal

Lamb to the Slaughter

Short Tastes - Your personal guide to the world of short stories

Writer: Roald Dahl

Year of Publication:1953

Genre: Thriller

Plot Summary: 

Mary Maloney, a young woman in 20th century England, expects her husband Patrick to return home from his job as a detective for the local police. When he returns, Mary notices that he is strangely aloof and assumes that he was tired from work. After blatantly ignoring her, Patrick finally reveals (to Mary; the information is kept from the reader, although it is insinuated that he wants to leave her) what it is that is making him act strangely.

Seemingly in a trance, Mary fetches a large leg of lamb from the deep-freeze in the cellar to cook for their dinner, apparently trying to restore a sense of normality. Patrick angrily tells Mary not to make him any dinner, as he is going out. She then strikes Patrick in the back of the head with the frozen lamb leg, killing him. Now she tries to conceal her act.

Comments:
We have been closely acquainted with Roald Dahl's merry and cute children's stories like Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Twits, James & The Giant Peach, etc., but few of us get to know the other side of our favourite author. When it comes to writing on the Dark Side, Dahl is a complete Darth Vader. Who knew?


Excerpt:

He had now become absolutely motionless, and he kept his head down so that the light from the lamp beside him fell across the upper part of his face, leaving the chin and mouth in shadow.  She noticed there was a little muscle moving near the corner of his left eye.

“This is going to be a bit of a shock to you, I’m afraid,” he said.  “But I’ve thought about it a good deal and I’ve decided the only thing to do is tell you right away.  I hope you won’t blame me too much.”

And he told her.  It didn’t take long, four or five minutes at most, and she sat very still through it all, watching him with a kind of dazed horror as he went further and further away from her with each word.      

Click here to read the entire story!

Alfred Hitchcock produced and directed a television version of the story, and though it did not remain exactly true to the original storyline, it still is popular among the classics.

Watch it here

Irtiqaa

by

Meeraji

Film songs of Sahir Ludhianvi

Five Ways To Kill a Man

by

Edwin Brock

There are many cumbersome ways to kill a man.
You can make him carry a plank of wood
to the top of a hill and nail him to it.
To do this properly you require a crowd of people
wearing sandals, a cock that crows, a cloak
to dissect, a sponge, some vinegar and one
man to hammer the nails home.

Or you can take a length of steel,
shaped and chased in a traditional way,
and attempt to pierce the metal cage he wears.
But for this you need white horses,
English trees, men with bows and arrows,
at least two flags, a prince, and a
castle to hold your banquet in.

Dispensing with nobility, you may, if the wind
allows, blow gas at him. But then you need
a mile of mud sliced through with ditches,
not to mention black boots, bomb craters,
more mud, a plague of rats, a dozen songs
and some round hats made of steel.

In an age of aeroplanes, you may fly
miles above your victim and dispose of him by
pressing one small switch. All you then
require is an ocean to separate you, two
systems of government, a nation's scientists,
several factories, a psychopath and
land that no-one needs for several years.

These are, as I began, cumbersome ways to kill a man.
Simpler, direct, and much more neat is to see
that he is living somewhere in the middle
of the twentieth century, and leave him there.

Edwin Brock (19 October 1927 – 7 September 1997) was a British poet. Brock wrote two of the best-known poems of the last century, Five Ways to Kill a Man and Song of the Battery Hen.

Emotions vs. Rationale

The sign of a good persuasive speaker is that s/he can influence the audience- inspire them, and move them to do what s/he wills. Courses in public speaking teach us techniques in body movements, voice control, etc.; but the fact remains that unless we focus on the sentiments of the listeners and appeal to them, we wouldn't be half as successful.

Two great examples of effective persuasive speaking come from the Bard Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The play revolves around the murder of the Roman general Julius Caesar by his most faithful companions, including Brutus, his loyal friend, from the motive that Caesar's death would be good for  Rome. Brutus then faces the Roman public and justifies his cold-blooded action magnificently. Rome is now on Brutus's side. Brutus is now content, and even a little complacent. He leaves the crowd to be addressed by Marc Antony, Caesar's friend, who will definitely try to win the angry crowd over to sympathizing with Caesar. Brutus is confident that Antony will fail, but he under-estimates Antony's shrewdness. Brutus gave the crowd rational reasons for his deed and justifies it with fact. Antony, on the other hand, stirs the public's emotions, and wins.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, here is the scene from the play:

Julius Caesar (1953 movie starring Marlon Brando as Antony and James Mason as Brutus)

ACT III,

SCENE II. The Forum.

Enter BRUTUS and CASSIUS, and a throng of Citizens

Citizens

We will be satisfied; let us be satisfied.

BRUTUS

Then follow me, and give me audience, friends.
Cassius, go you into the other street,
And part the numbers.
Those that will hear me speak, let 'em stay here;
Those that will follow Cassius, go with him;
And public reasons shall be rendered
Of Caesar's death.

First Citizen

I will hear Brutus speak.

Second Citizen

I will hear Cassius; and compare their reasons,
When severally we hear them rendered.
Exit CASSIUS, with some of the Citizens. BRUTUS goes into the pulpit

Third Citizen

The noble Brutus is ascended: silence!

BRUTUS

Be patient till the last.
Romans, countrymen, and lovers! hear me for my
cause, and be silent, that you may hear: believe me
for mine honour, and have respect to mine honour, that
you may believe: censure me in your wisdom, and
awake your senses, that you may the better judge.
If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of
Caesar's, to him I say, that Brutus' love to Caesar
was no less than his. If then that friend demand
why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer:
--Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved
Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living and
die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live
all free men? As Caesar loved me, I weep for him;
as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was
valiant, I honour him: but, as he was ambitious, I
slew him. There is tears for his love; joy for his
fortune; honour for his valour; and death for his
ambition. Who is here so base that would be a
bondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended.
Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If
any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so
vile that will not love his country? If any, speak;
for him have I offended. I pause for a reply.

All

None, Brutus, none.

BRUTUS

Then none have I offended. I have done no more to
Caesar than you shall do to Brutus. The question of
his death is enrolled in the Capitol; his glory not
extenuated, wherein he was worthy, nor his offences
enforced, for which he suffered death.
Enter ANTONY and others, with CAESAR's body
Here comes his body, mourned by Mark Antony: who,
though he had no hand in his death, shall receive
the benefit of his dying, a place in the
commonwealth; as which of you shall not? With this
I depart,--that, as I slew my best lover for the
good of Rome, I have the same dagger for myself,
when it shall please my country to need my death.

All

Live, Brutus! live, live!

First Citizen

Bring him with triumph home unto his house.

Second Citizen

Give him a statue with his ancestors.

Third Citizen

Let him be Caesar.

Fourth Citizen

Caesar's better parts
Shall be crown'd in Brutus.

First Citizen

We'll bring him to his house
With shouts and clamours.

BRUTUS

My countrymen,--

Second Citizen

Peace, silence! Brutus speaks.

First Citizen

Peace, ho!

BRUTUS

Good countrymen, let me depart alone,
And, for my sake, stay here with Antony:
Do grace to Caesar's corpse, and grace his speech
Tending to Caesar's glories; which Mark Antony,
By our permission, is allow'd to make.
I do entreat you, not a man depart,
Save I alone, till Antony have spoke.
Exit

First Citizen

Stay, ho! and let us hear Mark Antony.

Third Citizen

Let him go up into the public chair;
We'll hear him. Noble Antony, go up.

ANTONY

For Brutus' sake, I am beholding to you.
Goes into the pulpit

Fourth Citizen

What does he say of Brutus?

Third Citizen

He says, for Brutus' sake,
He finds himself beholding to us all.

Fourth Citizen

'Twere best he speak no harm of Brutus here.

First Citizen

This Caesar was a tyrant.

Third Citizen

Nay, that's certain:
We are blest that Rome is rid of him.

Second Citizen

Peace! let us hear what Antony can say.

Gaye Dinon ke Sooraj

I am the only being whose doom...

by

Emily Bronte

I am the only being whose doom

No tongue would ask, no eye would mourn;

I never caused a thought of gloom,

A smile of joy, since I was born.

In secret pleasure, secret tears,

This changeful life has slipped away,

As friendless after eighteen years,

As lone as on my natal day.

There have been times I cannot hide,

There have been times when this was drear,

When my sad soul forgot its pride

And longed for one to love me here.

But those were in the early glow

Of feelings since subdued by care;

And they have died so long ago,

I hardly now believe they were.

First melted off the hope of youth,

Then fancy’s rainbow fast withdrew;

And then experience told me truth

In mortal bosoms never grew.

’Twas grief enough to think mankind

All hollow, servile, insincere;

But worse to trust to my own mind

And find the same corruption there

Ghazal (Kuch to Hawa Bhi Sard Thi)

by

Parveen Shakir

Listen to Parveen Shakir reciting some of the verses of this ghazal in a Mushairah:

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has sung this ghazal in his own style. Listen to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan performing this ghazal in the video given below:

Reading novels during exams

Don't ever start a John Grisham. It keeps you hooked till the last page meaning you can kiss good results bye-bye. And this happens even if the story isn't good. You throw the book down in the end and curse yourself for ever picking up such a time-waster. But reality remains. You have only two hours left to study for that certain Dr. Mahnaz Fatima exam and you know that things aren't going to be pretty for you now. "Why didn't I pick up a classic?", you ask yourself. Even though they're a thousand times better than the sleazy fiction nowadays, they don't leave you hanging at every chapter forcing you to go on. Your results are safe.

I made the mistake of starting Grisham's The Rainmaker just two days before the mid-terms. The reviews I got about it from my friends were, in one word, extreme. People either hate it or love it. Within the space of half-an-hour one person told me that 'it was one of his favourite books' and another said that 'it's one of the worst books Grisham has ever written'. Who do I believe? I can't blame myself for beginning to read it the same day. Hey, I was curious.

My diagnosis after finishing it? Not so extreme. The book was a huge waste of time, and Grisham has written better, in fact much better. But he's written much worse as well (The Client a case in point *gag*).The story was going good at the beginning, a young lawyer trying to find a job two months before graduation. These parts hit home, mostly because I'm two months away from graduation and without a job too! I could definitely relate to the ways that he employs in getting employment. I just hope I'm not as unsuccessful as he was.

By the middle of the story you're hooked. The lawyer finds a client who is suing a huge firm which has similarly proportioned lawyers (i.e. equally as huge). Now the rookie has to fight the big guys. David versus Goliath. Interesting?

Not really. You keep waiting for the action to start, and realize at the end that what you were flipping over was the action. The novel ends with the classic Grisham twist-attempt. Something absolutely unpredictable happens in the last few pages, but it's too late for the story and seems forced. Not even close to the shocks produced by The Partner or The Testament. All in all The Rainmaker lives up to the reviews I received of it, an average between Awesome and Junk. After the last page, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth, and mountains of Managerial Policy chapters to read. Yikes!

Azma Humayun

Invictus (Unconquered)

by

William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul. 

This poem was recommended by Waqas Ahmed Siddiqui as Poem of the Week and can also be found on his blog: Confessions of A Complicated Mind

The Poem that inspires millions

At the age of 12, Henley fell victim to tuberculosis of the bone. A few years later, the disease progressed to his foot, and physicians announced that the only way to save his life was to amputate directly below the knee. It was amputated when he was 17. Victorian text-books professing stoicism were popular in English public schools, and in 1875, the Stoic ideal of indifference in the face of suffering inspired Henley to write his poem from a hospital bed. Despite his disability, he survived with one foot intact and led an active life until his death at the age of 53.

While incarcerated on Robben Island prison, Nelson Mandela recited the poem to other prisoners and was empowered by its message of self mastery.

(Wikipedia)

The 2009 movie Invictus starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon features this poem and takes its title from it. The movie is an inspiring tale of how the new apartheid-free state of South Africa manages to win the Rugby World Cup of 1995 amidst racial hatred and disunity. Freeman plays Nelson Mandela, the country's President while Damon plays Francois Pienaar, the captain of the Rugby team.

Click here to watch a moving scene from the movie Invictus, where Mandela (Freeman) recites the poem.

Literary Society presents its Annual Play 2011

Literary Society of IBA is presenting its annual play which is this time one of the classics of English literature "The Importance of Being Earnest" by the master of satire and comedy Oscar Wilde.

Plot:

"The Importance of Being Earnest" is a comedy play pertaining to the English society of Victorian era whose plot revolves around two men who are living a double life with different names in order to escape from their responsibilities. They show their true immature and deceitful nature when they are living under false name "Ernest" while appearing to be very mature and responsible when they are with their relatives and countrymen. Unfortunately both men fall in love with such ladies who are more interested in their name rather their characters and personalities - the name "Ernest" which is not their name altogether.

Finally the truth gets uncovered and both cheaters find out that their beloveds have discovered their true identity. Now the question is whether their beloveds will still continue to love them or their dreams of marriage will shatter forever.

To find out the answer, please rush to buy the tickets which will be available very soon.

Date: 14th May 2011

Venue: Main Campus Auditorium IBA

Starting Time: 5:00 PM

Cast

Ahsan Zafar

Zoraiz Ahmed

Mahvish Azad

Bareerah Hoorani

Hira Anis

Anam Manzar

Saqib Furqan

Director

Kehkeshan Khalid

Producer

Azma Humayun

For more please visit our Facebook pages:

The Importance of Being Earnest - (IBA)

IBA Liteary Society