What the motion engine can do
Every clip below was rendered by Our video engine at 720p portrait, 24 fps. Where a capability has not been rendered yet, you get an empty slot that says so rather than a stock clip.
The limits, stated
- 3–8 seconds per generated shot, at 720p portrait, 24 fps. A motion shot is one clip; longer scenes are cut from several, or held on a still. Hero quality finishes at 1080p portrait.
- Motion starts from a still we render first. You approve the picture, then it moves — measured keyframe fidelity SSIM 0.912, over six frozen test frames. It is not a text-to-video guess.
- Speech is generated inside the clip in Urdu, Hindi, Arabic and English, checked by transcribing the clips back rather than by ear.
- What stays still: clocks, dials, gauges, charts, dense text, handwriting. The model repaints them wrong, so scenes whose meaning is in an instrument keep their still image.
- Motion is rationed to 3 shots a video outside the motion-native formats: at a measured 10.6 seconds of render time per second of video it is the most expensive thing the pipeline draws.
- Long-form stays on stills. Five to twelve minutes of narration over painted frames, exactly as before — and every board you already own still renders and still opens in the same editor.
- Delivered at 720p or 1080p, 9:16 or 16:9 by format, with the title, description, tags and captions written. There is no 4K path and no publishing integration.
Motion video is licensed for commercial use.
Start here
Plays muted; the toggle turns the generated soundtrack on.
Non-human mini-drama — Egypt · Arabicدراما صغيرة من غير بني آدمين — مصري
Two things on a shelf, one exchange, and the silence that is the punchline.حاجتين على رف، جملة رايحة وجملة جاية، والسكوت اللي بعدها هو الإفيه.
Historical POV — International · English
One person of their own century, present tense, telling you what the day smelled like.
Satisfying (visual) — International · English
One deformation, played out and undone, with the last frame matching the first.
Urdu, spoken in-shotاردو، اسی شاٹ کے اندر بولتی ہوئی
A man on a telephone says, in Urdu, that the river runs backwards twice a day and nobody here is surprised. Picture and voice were generated together in one pass.فون پر ایک آدمی کہہ رہا ہے کہ دریا دن میں دو بار الٹا بہتا ہے، اور یہاں کسی کو حیرت نہیں ہوتی۔ تصویر اور آواز، دونوں ایک ہی بار میں بنیں۔
Hindi, spoken in-shotहिंदी, उसी शॉट के अंदर बोलती हुई
The same shot and the same line in Hindi. Devanagari script in, Hindi speech out — the engine was never handed a romanisation.वही शॉट, वही लाइन — हिंदी में। देवनागरी अंदर गई और हिंदी आवाज़ बाहर आई; रोमन में कुछ भी नहीं दिया गया।
Arabic, spoken in-shotعربي، الصوت من داخل اللقطة
The same shot and the same line in Arabic. Transcribed back, the speech came within one word of what was asked for.نفس اللقطة ونفس الجملة بالعربي. حولنا الكلام إلى نص من جديد، فرجع بفارق كلمة واحدة فقط.
English, spoken in-shot
The same shot and the same line in English. Transcribed back word for word, with no errors.
Historical POV — Pakistan · Urduتاریخی منظر، اپنی آنکھوں سے — اردو
One person of their own century, present tense, telling you what the day smelled like.اپنی ہی صدی کا ایک آدمی، آپ کے سامنے کھڑا، اُس دن کا حال سنا رہا ہے — یہاں تک کہ ہوا میں کیا بو تھی۔
Motion from a still
Every clip starts from one rendered keyframe. Our video engine animates that frame; it does not invent a new picture. Measured keyframe fidelity is SSIM 0.912 over six frozen test frames.
A hook shot, still to motion
The opening shot of a delivered video, rendered from its own keyframe.
Waiting on the demo batch. Publish with scripts/showcase_publish.py once the clip exists.
Hero — cinematic opener
A hook shot finished at hero quality with its generated soundtrack.
Hero-canvas slot. Waiting on the demo batch.
Camera moves
Push in, pull out, pan, tilt, orbit — asked for by name and written into the prompt. The camera vocabulary is a controlled list; an unknown move is refused rather than rendered as something else.
Push in
The camera moves toward the subject over the length of the shot.
Waiting on the demo batch.
Orbit
The camera travels around the subject.
Waiting on the demo batch.
First frame to last frame
Give the shot a start still and an end still and the clip travels between them. This is how one scene hands over to the next without a hard cut.
Scene to scene
One shot's last frame is the next shot's first, so the cut travels instead of jumping.
Waiting on the demo batch.
Sound the engine generates
The clip arrives with its own audio track — room tone, movement, the sound of the thing on screen — rendered with the picture rather than laid under it.
Room and movement
A clip whose whole soundtrack came out of the render.
Waiting on the demo batch.
Speech, in four languages
Generated in-video speech in Urdu, Hindi, Arabic and English. The four clips below are the same still and the same sentence, rendered four times. Word error rate was measured by transcribing each clip back: English 0.0, Arabic 0.083, Urdu and Hindi 0.133.
Urdu, spoken in-shotاردو، اسی شاٹ کے اندر بولتی ہوئی
A man on a telephone says, in Urdu, that the river runs backwards twice a day and nobody here is surprised. Picture and voice were generated together in one pass.فون پر ایک آدمی کہہ رہا ہے کہ دریا دن میں دو بار الٹا بہتا ہے، اور یہاں کسی کو حیرت نہیں ہوتی۔ تصویر اور آواز، دونوں ایک ہی بار میں بنیں۔
Hindi, spoken in-shotहिंदी, उसी शॉट के अंदर बोलती हुई
The same shot and the same line in Hindi. Devanagari script in, Hindi speech out — the engine was never handed a romanisation.वही शॉट, वही लाइन — हिंदी में। देवनागरी अंदर गई और हिंदी आवाज़ बाहर आई; रोमन में कुछ भी नहीं दिया गया।
Arabic, spoken in-shotعربي، الصوت من داخل اللقطة
The same shot and the same line in Arabic. Transcribed back, the speech came within one word of what was asked for.نفس اللقطة ونفس الجملة بالعربي. حولنا الكلام إلى نص من جديد، فرجع بفارق كلمة واحدة فقط.
English, spoken in-shot
The same shot and the same line in English. Transcribed back word for word, with no errors.
Drama and dialogue
Scenes with named characters who speak to each other, written and cast in the language and the culture the video is for — not an English scene translated.
Drama scene — Urduڈرامہ سین — اردو
Two named characters, speaker-tagged dialogue, Pakistani setting and register.دو کردار، نام کے ساتھ، اور وہی لہجہ جو گھر میں بولا جاتا ہے۔
Waiting on the drama clip from the demo batch.
Sketch comedy
A short comic scene with a turn and a payoff.
Waiting on the sketch clip from the demo batch.
Hero — Urdu drama sceneہیرو — اردو ڈرامہ سین
A drama scene finished at hero quality, with in-shot Urdu dialogue.ڈرامے کا ایک سین، پورے ہیرو سائز میں، اور مکالمہ شاٹ کے اندر ہی اردو میں۔
Hero-canvas slot. Waiting on the demo batch.
Non-human mini-drama — Egypt · Arabicدراما صغيرة من غير بني آدمين — مصري
Two things on a shelf, one exchange, and the silence that is the punchline.حاجتين على رف، جملة رايحة وجملة جاية، والسكوت اللي بعدها هو الإفيه.
POV, interview and reconstruction
First-person shots, street interviews and reconstructed events, where the camera is a participant rather than an observer.
POV
Shot as though the viewer is holding the camera.
Waiting on the POV clip from the demo batch.
Street interview
A question asked to camera and answered in the street.
Waiting on the demo batch.
Reconstruction
An event staged and shot as it is described.
Waiting on the reconstruction clip from the demo batch.
Historical POV — Pakistan · Urduتاریخی منظر، اپنی آنکھوں سے — اردو
One person of their own century, present tense, telling you what the day smelled like.اپنی ہی صدی کا ایک آدمی، آپ کے سامنے کھڑا، اُس دن کا حال سنا رہا ہے — یہاں تک کہ ہوا میں کیا بو تھی۔
Historical POV — International · English
One person of their own century, present tense, telling you what the day smelled like.
No one speaks
Wildlife, pets, satisfying process, nature loops, machinery, sport and visual ASMR: music and ambient sound only, no narration and no dialogue. These travel across every market without a word being translated.
Wildlife moment
An animal doing one thing, held for the length of the shot. Music and ambience only.
Waiting on the demo batch.
Machine at work
Machinery in motion with the sound it makes.
Waiting on the demo batch.
Satisfying (visual) — International · English
One deformation, played out and undone, with the last frame matching the first.
Formats
One clip per format, made through the site's own worker. The flagged one is the format's preview.
9:16 · 492
تین سو کا کہا تھا
a plastic wedding chair was told three hundred guests and asks who the extra one is
سلام کس نے کیا
a water tanker gives its water only to the house that said salaam
تیسری شادی
a sohan halwa tin at its third wedding asks where it was before
وین کس نے بلائی
a winter quilt refuses to release the child for the school van
پانچواں کہاں سے آیا
a family motorcycle counts four riders and asks where the fifth came from
مہمان گیا
a ceiling fan runs at full speed only while the guest is in the room
चौथी मंज़िल
a twenty-litre water can refuses to climb to the fourth floor
ثمانية عشر
a villa air conditioner refuses to go below twenty-four while the father is away
Third one today
a mug of tea takes going cold personally for the third time today
Third floor, then
a delivery parcel decides for itself which neighbour it gets left with
Explain it
a hotel shower demands the guest explain its own control diagram
الرابع عشر فين
a Cairo microbus refuses to move until the fourteenth passenger boards
ٹیپ بال
A tape-ball bowler's arm is cocked at the top of his action under a Karachi streetlight; the ball is never bowled.
چھت کی بلی
A rooftop cat's haunches lower toward a pigeon one metre away on a Lahore parapet; the pounce never comes.
سیٹی
The pressure cooker's weight rocks and chatters toward the whistle in a Karachi kitchen; it never whistles.
پھاٹک
The barrier is a hand's width from down and the headlight is growing on the rails at a Lahore crossing; the train never arrives.
لسی
Froth domes above the rim of a Rawalpindi lassi glass under a pouring jug; it never spills.
چائے
A glass of doodh patti leans over the tray's rim on a Multan charpai's edge; it never tips.
कुंडी
A langur's hand turns a Delhi kitchen latch a quarter from outside the bars; the window never opens.
الصقر
A falcon's wings spread on the gloved fist at a Doha dune crest at evening; it never launches.
The Glass
A wine glass half off the edge of a cleared table leans a degree further; it never falls.
Three Hundred
The first of three hundred dominoes leans a hair from the second; it never falls.
Ten Metres
Toes curl over the edge of the ten metre platform and the heels rise; the dive never comes.
القهوة
Coffee foam domes over the lip of a brass kanaka on the coals at a Sayeda Zeinab cafe; it never boils over.
چوتھی جیپ
a Hunza yak on the Karakoram Highway logs the fourth tourist jeep, the free photos and the finished grass
وہی کارڈ
a Raja Bazaar fortune-telling parrot pulls the same card for the fifth customer and asks who wrote them
گیارہ بجے
an Anarkali counter cat logs that the shop now opens at eleven where it used to open at nine
والتسعة فين
a Shubra rooftop loft pigeon came home early and asks where the other nine are while the keeper waves the flag
ٹینکر صاحب کو سلام
بارہ دن سے سلام نہیں ملا — the water tanker has not been greeted in twelve days and is withholding water
کبوتر صاحب کا کرایہ
کرایہ کہاں ہے؟ پانچ تاریخ ہے — the pigeon landlord wants the rent on the fifth
چیئرمین بکرا صاحب
ایجنڈا نمبر تین: موٹر کون چلائے گا؟ — a goat chairs the lane committee and calls the vote
بڑا بھائی پنکھا
پہلی روٹی میری ہے۔ آج کیوں نہیں؟ — the ceiling fan demands the eldest son's first roti
Forty Pounds, Chai Extra
Forty pounds, or nobody touches this lawn — the mower quotes its rate on a Birmingham front step
इन्वर्टर जी का प्रमोशन
बत्ती गई। प्रमोशन किसका? — the power is out and the inverter decides who gets promoted
کوّا صاحب کا حساب
بل چودہ ہزار۔ کون دے گا؟ — the family crow-accountant demands to know who pays
The Boiler Decides
Nobody showers before Abbu. Zain, last — the boiler runs the Bradford household by seniority
सेक्रेटरी शेरू
राहुल, गलत पार्किंग। पाँच सौ फाइन — the society secretary is a street dog and it has clamped your car
بلّی جی سو رہی ہیں
نمک منڈی بند۔ کوئی نہیں ہلے گا — a cat has lain down at the Namak Mandi junction and Peshawar waits
Question Four
Question four: why do you want this? — the vending machine is conducting the job interview
الميكروباص زهقان
النهارده زمالك. مش شبرا — the microbus has decided it is going to Zamalek today, whatever the passengers need
ایک چراغ، دو عکس
one brass oil lamp and its double on the Indus at Sukkur, the flame bending in the river wind
پہلا شعلہ
the first flame taking in an iron stove in a wooden Skardu room while snow falls outside
سات انگارے
embers breathing in a Peshawar tandoor after the shutter comes down
سو قطرے، ایک ٹین
pine rain drumming a corrugated tin roof in Murree under one swinging bulb
NINE LIGHTS, NO SUN
nine window lights breaking and re-forming in the rain on a dark pane
تین مٹکے
monsoon rain hammering three glazed clay pots in a Lahore courtyard under one tube light
ثلاث شرارات
three sparks lifting off a brass brazier of coals in a Riyadh majlis at night
ONE BAR, NO SUN
rain on a Bradford terrace window with one orange heater bar burning under the sill
पाँच बल्ब
five bare bulbs coming on along a pink Jaipur terrace parapet at dusk
پانچ چکر
a rooftop fan's shadow sweeping a blue parapet in the Karachi dusk
Nineteen Mills, One Wind
nineteen eighteenth-century drainage mills at Kinderdijk turn on one wind and one canvas sail passes the frame every few seconds
فانوس واحد
one hurricane lantern burning through the dust of a Luxor courtyard at dusk
چھ سو پچاس ٹانکے
چھ سو پچاس ٹانکے — the needle is already through the panel and the waxed thread is mid-pull; the last World Cup ball anybody hand-stitched came out of this room
ایک لکیر، سات تہیں
ایک لکیر، سات تہیں — a cobalt-loaded brush is already halfway down an incised groove on a raw Multan jar, and the dry half of the line is still chalk white
ایک مخروط، بارہ گھنٹے
ایک مخروط، بارہ گھنٹے — the cone is already laying an unbroken line across a bride's palm and the line has not closed yet
ایک برف، چار رنگ
ایک برف، چار رنگ — the blade is already inside the ice block and the shaved snow is coming off it before the frame has settled
एक ठप्पा, नौ बार
एक ठप्पा, नौ बार — the block is already coming down on the cotton and the row it has to line up with is one hair away
دو سرے، ایک چوڑی
دو سرے، ایک چوڑی — two cut ends of molten glass are already touching over the flame and the joint has not taken yet
ثلاث قطع عود
ثلاث قطع عود — the oud chip is already on the coal and has not caught yet; the smoke has not started
Nine Coils, One Pour
Nine Coils, One Pour — the batter is already spiralling into the oil and the ninth ring has not closed yet
एक पत्ता, सात चीज़ें
एक पत्ता, सात चीज़ें — the thumb is already smearing chuna across a live green leaf and none of the seven things are on it yet
ایک انچ چمک
ایک انچ چمک — a thumbnail is already halfway through burnishing one inch of mirror foil onto a Rawalpindi truck bumper, and the other half is still dead grey paper
Two Thousandths Thick
Two Thousandths Thick — the blade is already buried in the grain and the shaving coming off it is thin enough to read through
ألف طرقة نحاس
ألف طرقة نحاس — the punch is already sunk into the copper and the dent has not finished spreading
نوے منٹ
نوے منٹ کی بارش۔ وجہ آسمان نہیں ہے — a Karachi drainage engineer shows what the water is actually hitting
زمین سفید ہو گئی
زمین سفید ہے۔ نمک اوپر سے نہیں، نیچے سے — a Sukkur agriculture officer on where the white crust actually comes from
اڑتالیس ڈگری، اکہتر منٹ
دنیا آم مانگتی ہے، لیکن اسّی فیصد باہر نہیں جاتا — a Multan packhouse manager on the insect that stops the crate at the border
ہر سال پانچ ملی میٹر
پہاڑ بن چکا نہیں۔ ہر سال پانچ ملی میٹر — a Skardu survey technician on the mountain that is still being built
बीस सेकंड
दरवाज़े नहीं हैं। ये भूल नहीं, ये हिसाब है — a Mumbai motorman's guard on the twenty seconds the whole line runs on
دھواں بارہ مہینے، سموگ ایک
دھواں بارہ مہینے، لیکن سموگ صرف نومبر میں — a Lahore air monitoring technician on the lid that closes over the city
مليونا نخلة
مليونا نخلة، والعيون لم تعد — an Al Ahsa irrigation engineer on where the water comes from now
There Is No Gap
They quoted cavity insulation. This wall has no cavity — a Manningham surveyor on the quote that cannot be done
नौ सौ तिरपन
नौ सौ तिरपन खिड़कियाँ। सजावट नहीं, हवा है — a Jaipur conservation architect on what the lattice is actually for
یونٹ کم، بل زیادہ
یونٹ کم، لیکن بل تین سو زیادہ — a Faisalabad meter reader points at the one line on the bill nobody reads
The Floor Nobody Lives On
Eleven thousand ground floors, empty. Not abandoned — surrendered — a Venice building surveyor on the floor the city gave up
The Egg Under the City
Hundred and sixty years old. Nothing has replaced them — a London sewer engineer on the shape that did it
The Desert That Was Sitting on the Fuelوہ ریگِستان جو ایندھَن پَر بَیٹھا تھا
تھَر کے لوگ اِس رَیت پَر صَدیوں سے چَل رَہے تھے، اور نِیچے کیا ہے کِسی کو مَعلوم نَہیں تھا۔
The Tower Multan Buried in Signboardsوہ مِینار جو بورڈوں میں گُم ہو گَیا
مُلتان کے حُسین آگاہی بازار کے بِیچ ایک مِینار ہے جو بَرسوں کِسی کو نَظَر نَہیں آیا۔
The Light That Never Went Outوہ روشنی جو کَبھی نَہیں بُجھی
کَراچی سے بِیس مِنَٹ کی کِشتی، اور ایک جَزیرہ جِس کی روشنی آج تَک نَہیں بُجھی۔
The Forest That Grows in Salt Waterوہ جَنگَل جو کھارے پانی میں اُگتا ہے
ایک ہی دِن میں لاکھوں پَودے، اور کِیچَڑ میں کھَڑے ہاتھ جو گِنتی بھول گَئے۔
One Tower on an Empty Roadبُرجٌ واحِدٌ عَلى طَريقٍ خالٍ
في التِّسعينات لَم يَكُن عَلى هٰذا الطَّريقِ إِلّا بُرجٌ واحِد.
Twenty Years Dark in the Middle of Bradford
It closed in 2000 and stood empty in the middle of Bradford for twenty years. Nobody would take it on.
The Beach That Got Its Turtles Backवो बीच जहाँ कछुए लौट आए
इस रेत पर कोई नंगे पाँव नहीं चलता था। तीन साल बाद यहाँ कछुए के बच्चे निकले।
Seoul Tore Down a Motorway to Find a River
For thirty years a river ran in a pipe under a Seoul motorway. Almost nobody knew it was down there.
The City Under a Century of Sootالمَدينَةُ تَحتَ قَرنٍ مِنَ السُّخام
تَحتَ السُّخامِ في وَسطِ البَلَدِ حَجَرٌ لَم يَرَهُ أَحَدٌ مُنذُ قَرن.
Pachaas Saal Mein Ek Inch
fifty years for one inch of growth, and a felled juniper never comes back
Chhiyasath Darwazay
sixty-six gates on the Indus and not one of them opens by itself
Chaar Bajay Tak
the auction is finished before four in the morning; by six the quay is empty again
Rohi Ka Pani
forty bastions standing in sand where there is no water at all, and only rain to fill the ponds
One Side Wider
a gondola is not symmetrical and never was: the left side is built wider to answer a single oar
Zewar Pehne Qabrein
twenty-nine kilometres from Karachi the graves are wearing jewellery, and not one of them carries a name
La Salalim
eight million palms and no ladders: every one of them is climbed on a single rope
Born in Birmingham
the balti was invented in Birmingham's Sparkbrook in the 1970s, cooked and served in the same pressed-steel bowl; the city still claims it
Saat Sau Patthar
seven hundred stone pens and not one machine; every garment carries a mark, never a name
Pachees Mein Ek
one in twenty-five: a single engine cannot take this grade, and the flood takes the track back every year
Eight Kilometres, No Beach
eight kilometres of sea wall and no beach behind it; in a norte the spray crosses four lanes
Haret El-Nahaseen
six hammers and not one machine in the lane: a copper tray is beaten flat twenty thousand times
Marda Ghari Ka Purza
no new part has come into this stall in sixty years; every repair is another watch's death
Do Saal Ki Kamai
this is not decoration; the rear panel is two years of a driver's pay, cut by hand from mirrored foil
Aag Ka Neela
the famous Multan blue is grey when it goes into the kiln; the fire makes the colour, not the painter
Sau Pachas Kilo
a 150 kilogram block of ice, and none of it is for anybody's drink
No Salt at All
no salt touches this fish for three months; the wind does all of it
Sahil Par Charha Jahaz
the ship did not sink; it was driven onto the beach at ten knots, on purpose, to be taken apart by hand
Bila Mukhattat
sixty ribs and not one drawing: the shape of the hull exists only in the shipwright's hands
Nights Only
twelve hundred spindles that never stopped, and a shift that was only ever offered at night
Teen Akshar
no phones and no paper: two hundred thousand tiffins are routed on three painted characters
Guthli Wali Fasl
the fruit is not the crop on these roofs; twenty kilos of apricots buy one bottle of kernel oil
Green, Then Blue
the cloth leaves the indigo vat green; the blue is made by the air, not by the dye
Shabaka Bila Markib
sixty years on the same quay and nobody has come to learn it; the nets outlast the boats
گمشدہ اشیاء
six hundred things have gone missing from the house and the mynah denies everything
ٹنکی کا چوکیدار
تین چور۔ ٹنکی کوئی نہیں لے گا — a goat on a Nazimabad roof has appointed itself night watchman of the water tank
بتیس پینل
بتیس پینل۔ چھ سو ٹانکے۔ ابھی نہیں — a Sialkot football counts its own stitches on the way to the tournament
شیدا ڈیلیوری
پانچ ڈیلیوریاں، ایک بریک نہیں۔ بھاٹی گیٹ — a donkey delivery rider works the lanes motorbikes cannot enter
Room 412
the peanuts in room 412 are gone and the bill has not been signed
ساٹھ سیلفیاں
آج ساٹھ سیلفیاں۔ ایک بھی مسکراہٹ نہیں — the Sea View camel has posed for sixty selfies and nobody smiled
ثلاثمية ضيف ومكيّف واحد
ثلاثمية ضيف. مكيّف واحد — the majlis air conditioner faces three hundred wedding guests alone
Bin Day Review
twelve bins on the round and number nine is not locked
डब्बा जी की लोकल
अंधेरी से चर्चगेट, अभी भी गरम? — a steel tiffin vlogs its own dabbawala delivery across Mumbai
Forty Cups
forty cups before nine out of one kettle, which the kettle says is not sustainable
الدور السابع
الدور ٧. محدش بيقفل — the 1962 cage lift of a Shubra block on the six families who never close its gate
Urdu Medium Or English Mediumاردو میڈیم یا انگلش میڈیم
بَچّہ اَپنی زَبان میں سوچتا ہے۔ اَنگریزی میں سوچتا نَہیں۔
T20 Ended Pakistani Fast Bowlingتیز بولنگ کہاں گئی
چار اوور کا بولَر پَچّیس اوور نَہیں کَر سَکتا۔
Solar Panels Are Killing The Gridسولر یا گرڈ
مَیں نے اے سی بَند نَہیں کِیا۔ بِل نَو ہَزار سے سَولہ سَو ہو گیا۔
Nihari At Night Is A Karachi Inventionنہاری رات کو؟
نِہاری ناشتَہ ہے۔ کَراچی میں کوئی اِسے صُبح نَہیں کھاتا۔
Is Jahez A Gift Or A Priceجہیز: تحفہ یا قیمت
یہ تَحفَہ نَہیں ہے، اَمّی۔ یہ رَسِید ہے۔
Doctor Lawyer Or Nothing
I did not drop out, Abu. I have been paid for a year.
Filter Coffee Against Chaiफ़िल्टर कॉफ़ी बनाम चाय
चाय में पत्ती का स्वाद बचता ही नहीं। दूध जीत जाता है।
She Got The Job In Another Cityنوکری دوسرے شہر میں
آفَر لیٹَر آ گیا ہے، اَبّو۔ کَراچی کا ہے۔
Should AI Video Carry A Label
Nobody labels a lens. You are asking me to label a tool.
Egyptian Cinema Moved To The Phoneالسينما راحت فين
الفِيلم ما ماتش. اِتحَط في جِيب تَلاتِين مِليون واحِد.
चौदह हज़ार
छह महीने से, बेटा। तेरी सैलरी जाती कहाँ है? — a Lucknow father and daughter discover they have both been paying the same coaching fee that stopped in March
تیسری بار
تیسری بار۔ اور آج بھی جھوٹ؟ — a Multan father finds out his son has been at the music shop, not the exam hall, and the son has been paying him back
سیٹ واپس
سیٹ آج واپس مانگا ہے انہوں نے — a Karachi sister has to return the jewellery set her sister lent her, and it has been at the pawnbroker since March
تین مہینے
تین مہینے؟ مجھے آج پتہ چلا — a Rawalpindi husband learns from a neighbour that his wife has been working, and she already knew why she had to
تین مہینے کا کرایہ
تین مہینے۔ آج آخری دن ہے — a Peshawar landlord comes for three months' rent the tenant has already paid, to his son
کنگن
آج کنگن بیچ دیے۔ ویزا ایجنٹ کو — a Lahore mother sold the bangles that were her daughter's fees, and the brother never left
अठारह हज़ार
आज कमरा खाली करना है। चाबी दे — two Delhi flatmates on moving-out day, and one of them already signed the new agreement alone
حاضری
the boy has not been in class for six weeks, and his school fees have never once been late
مجلس أبوي
بعنا البيت. الآن خلاص — two Riyadh brothers in their late father's majlis on the day it is sold, and only one of them knew about the debt
Since Seventy-One
You told the wholesaler on Tuesday. Before me — a Bradford son has given notice on the family shop, and his father remortgaged the house to keep it open
Nine Hours, Paid Six
The inspector came at four today. Before service — a restaurant kitchen at close, and the rota has six names that were never on it
Every Tuesday
Signed the forms Monday. Before you landed — a brother and sister in a night corridor, and only one of them has been visiting
Nine O'Clock, For Whom
Three Months Old
The Flat Opposite Has Waterسامنے والے فلَیٹ میں پانی آ رَہا ہے
تِین دِن سے پانی نَہیں آ رَہا، اور مالِک مَکان آن لائِن ہے۔
She Asked the Question Backاُس نے وَہی سَوال واپَس کَر دِیا
رِشتے کی بات ہو رَہی ہے، اور کوئی سِیدھا سَوال نَہیں کَر رَہا۔
You Sent That Message With What, Exactly?یہ مَیسیج کِس چِیز سے کِیا؟
پَونے بارَہ بَج چُکے ہیں، اور اَسائنمنٹ اَبھی تَک اَپلوڈ نَہیں ہُوا۔
Five Brothers, One Group, and Abba's Billپانچ بھائی، ایک گروپ، اور اَبّا کا بِل
پانچ بھائی، ایک گرُوپ، اور اَبّا کے آپریشَن کا بِل۔
Bradford Says July. Lahore Says December.
One cousin in Bradford, one in Lahore, and a date nobody has agreed to.
That Spot Was Never Yoursवो जगह कभी आपकी थी ही नहीं
सोसाइटी के ग्रुप में रात दस बजे एक फ़ोटो आती है। फिर कोई नहीं सोता।
Someone Found My Wallet. Then This.
A number I did not know messaged me at ten to nine. It had my wallet.
The Suit Will Be Ready Tomorrow. It Has Been Tomorrow for a Week.البَدلَةُ جاهِزَةٌ بُكرَة. مِن أُسبوع
الفَرَحُ يَومَ الخَميس. لٰكِنَّ البَدلَةَ جاهِزَةٌ بُكرَة مِن أُسبوع.
اوپری منزل
اوپری منزل ہمیشہ بند۔ کوئی نہیں جاتا — the story Karachi tells about the top floor of Mohatta Palace
دھند میں کشتی
دھند میں کشتی گھر کیسے پہنچی؟ — the Manchhar boat-people's story about the fish that brought a boat home
سرکتے پتھر
the grave stones at Makli do not sit in a straight row, and Thatta will tell you to count the third row yourself
سفید ناگ
the eleventh level of the Khewra salt mine is shown to nobody, and the tourist route stops at the tenth
लोहे का खंभा
लोहे का खंभा जंग क्यों नहीं खाता? — the Mehrauli story about who is said to have driven the iron pillar in
پنجوں کی لکیر
a hundred slides a winter come down on the Karakoram and the road is never shut; the drivers do not sound the horn on that bend
بو درياه
الغواص ما رجع. ليش؟ — the pearl divers' story of what is said to wait under the boat
One Night a Year
Nobody works there. The looms still run — the story Bradford tells about the mill that closed in 1983
एक रात में
एक रात में तीन हज़ार सीढ़ियाँ? — the Abhaneri story about who is said to have dug Chand Baori
Only One Turns
Only one figurehead turns by itself — the story a ship's crew told about the carved woman on the bow
Before It Floods
Three days before a flood, the lake rings — the story a drowned valley tells about its church bell
The Night Bus Does Not Stop. Ask Any Driver Why.رات کی بَس نَہیں رُکتی۔ ڈرائیوَر سے پُوچھیے کیوں
اِنڈَس ہائی وے پَر رات کی بَس کَبھی نَہیں رُکتی۔ ڈرائیوَر بَتاتے نَہیں کیوں۔
The Building Has Four Floors. The Lift Has Five.عِمارَت چار مَنزِلہ ہے۔ لِفٹ میں پانچ ہیں۔
لِفٹ میں پانچویں مَنزِل کا بَٹَن ہے۔ عِمارَت میں پانچویں مَنزِل نَہیں ہے۔
The Hall Keeps One Chair Emptyہال میں ایک کُرسی ہَمیشہ خالی رَہتی ہے
مُلتان کے اُس ہال میں ہَر شادی پَر ایک کُرسی خالی رَکھی جاتی ہے۔
I Counted Forty-One. In the Morning There Were Forty-Two.شام کو اِکتالِیس تھیں۔ صُبح بیالِیس
شام کو بَکریاں اِکتالِیس تھیں۔ صُبح بیالِیس۔ لیکِن رات کو وَہاں کوئی نَہیں آیا تھا۔
The Boat Came Back. The Crew Did Not.عادَ القارِب. وَلَم يَعُدِ الرِّجال
خَرَجَ القارِبُ بِأَربَعَةِ رِجال. لٰكِنَّهُ عادَ وَحدَهُ عِندَ الفَجر.
Loom Nine Runs at Ten Past Three
The mill shut in 1983. But every watchman since has written the same line in the same book.
The Line Was Cut in 1998. It Still Rings.
The line into that box was cut in 1998. But it still rings, and nobody knows who for.
The Lift Man Retired in 1994عامِلُ المِصعَدِ تَقاعَدَ سَنَةَ أَربَعٍ وَتِسعين
عامِلُ المِصعَدِ تَقاعَدَ مُنذُ ثَلاثينَ سَنَة. لٰكِنَّ البابَ ما زالَ يُفتَح.
سگنل ہمیشہ لال
بارہ گھنٹے کھڑا ہوں۔ کوئی نہیں رکتا — a Rawalpindi signal box, a road divider and a median dog explain the red light
پانی کہاں ہے
چار دن سے خالی۔ کوئی نہیں آیا — a Karachi rooftop tank, a dead street tap and a water tanker are asked where the water actually goes
سڑک کس نے ہٹائی
چار ہزار سال اوپر۔ اب یہاں — a boulder, a buried road marker and an apricot tree are asked who moved the Hunza road
گرمی کتنی ہے
میں صبح آیا تھا۔ اب آدھا ہوں — a slab of ice, a ceiling fan and a clay matka are asked how hot Multan actually is
टिफिन किसने खाया
सब दिखता है। कोई नहीं बोलता — the office fridge, the microwave and the pantry cat are asked who ate the tiffin
قصور کس کا
تین گھنٹے روز۔ کوئی نہیں پوچھتا — a candle, an overloaded transformer and a dying UPS battery are asked whose fault the load shedding is
٤٥ دقيقة
٤٥ دقيقة والمكيف شغال. أين صاحبها؟ — a running car, a petrol nozzle and a car-park palm are asked who left the engine on in Riyadh
Whose Turn Is It
Three weeks. Nobody has moved me — a wheelie bin, a doorbell and the car on the drive are asked whose turn it is in Birmingham
देर किसकी है
मैं यहीं रहता हूँ। कोई नहीं रुकता — a station pigeon, a grab handle and a platform bench are asked who is actually late in Mumbai
Where The Spoons Go
Forty cycles. Nobody has loaded me properly — the dishwasher, a mug and the cutlery drawer are asked where the office spoons go
مين بيزمّر
١٢ ساعة وأنا بزمّر. محدش بيتحرك — a taxi horn, a green traffic light and a bridge railing are asked who is really honking in Cairo
Two Hundred and Fifty Metres of Iron and No Pillarدو سَو پَچاس میٹر لوہا، اور بِیچ میں سُتون کوئی نَہیں
دو سَو پَچاس میٹر لوہا، دَریائے سِندھ پَر، اور بِیچ میں کوئی سُتون نَہیں۔
Four Hundred and Ten Fountains and No Pumpچار سَو دَس فَوّارے، اور ایک بھی پَمپ نَہیں
چار سَو دَس فَوّارے، اور ایک بھی پَمپ نَہیں۔
Sixty-Eight Bastions and Not One Attackاَڑسَٹھ بُرج، اور ایک بھی حَملہ نَہیں
چار کِلومِیٹر لَمبی دِیوار، اَڑسَٹھ بُرج، اور ایک بھی حَملہ کَبھی نَہیں ہُوا۔
The City That Had Drains Before Romeروم سے دو ہَزار سال پہلے کی نالیاں
روم سے دو ہَزار سال پہلے، اِس شہر کی ہَر گَلی کے نِیچے نالی تھی۔
Two Kings of Bombay, One Street in Peshawar
Two kings of Bombay cinema were born on one Peshawar street, and nobody ever made the film.
Three Thousand Five Hundred Steps Downतेरह मंज़िल नीचे, साढ़े तीन हज़ार सीढ़ियाँ
तेरह मंज़िल नीचे, साढ़े तीन हज़ार सीढ़ियाँ, और एक भी रेलिंग नहीं।
Sixteen Hundred Years Without Rust
Sixteen hundred years in the open air, and this iron has never rusted.
The Column That Set Egypt's Taxesالعَمُودُ الَّذِي كَانَ يُحَدِّدُ ضَرَائِبَ مِصرَ
عَمُودٌ فِي القَاهِرَةِ كَانَ يُقَرِّرُ: هَل يَجُوعُ النَّاسُ هَذَا العَامَ؟
Forty Is A Number, Not A Doorچالیس ایک ہندسہ ہے، دروازہ نہیں
چالِیس سال کی عُمر میں کوئی شُروع نہیں کَرتا۔
The Call From Dubai Never Comes By Dayدبئی سے فون کبھی دن میں نہیں آتا
دُبئی سے فون کَبھی دِن میں نہیں آتا۔
Her Roti Was Never Roundامی کی روٹی کبھی گول نہیں ہوتی تھی
امّی کی روٹی کَبھی گول نہیں ہوتی تھی۔
Home Is Not A Country. It Is A Route
Here they ask where you are really from.
The Station Is The Same. The One Returning Is Notस्टेशन वही है, लौटने वाला नहीं
स्टेशन पर सब छूटता है, कोई रोकता नहीं।
You Have Not Been Bored Since 2011
You have not been properly bored since 2011.
Cairo Has Two Faces, Not Oneللقاهرة وجهان، لا واحد
القاهِرَةُ لا تَنامُ أَبَدًا.
Five Ways a Pakistani Says No Without Saying Noپانچ طَرِیقے جِن سے پاکِستانی 'نَہیں' کَہے بَغیر نَہیں کَہتے ہیں
پاکِستانی 'نَہیں' نَہیں کَہتے، اور پھِر بھی سَب سَمَجھ جاتے ہیں۔
Five Breakfasts Only Lahore Understandsپانچ ناشتے جو صِرف لاہور سَمَجھتا ہے
پانچ ناشتے جو لاہور سے باہَر کِسی کو نَہیں مِلتے۔
The Five Stages of a Pakistani Guest Leavingپاکِستانی مِہمان کے جانے کے پانچ مَرحَلے
پاکِستانی مِہمان جانے کا کَہتا ہے، پھِر دو گھَنٹے رُکتا ہے۔
Five Things Living in Every Pakistani Fridgeپانچ چِیزیں جو ہَر پاکِستانی فرِج میں رَہتی ہیں
پاکِستانی فرِج کی پانچ چِیزیں، اور کوئی وہ نَہیں جو لَگتی ہے۔
Five Things You Only See in a Majlisخَمسَةُ أَشيَاءَ لا تَرَاهَا إِلَّا فِي المَجلِسِ
خَمسَةُ أَشيَاءَ لا تَرَاهَا إِلَّا فِي المَجلِسِ، وَلا أَحَدَ يَشرَحُهَا لَكَ.
Five Things Every Auntie's House in Bradford Has
Every Bradford auntie's house has five things, and nobody bought them.
Five Things That Only Happen on the Mumbai Localपाँच चीज़ें जो सिर्फ़ मुंबई लोकल में होती हैं
रोज़ पचहत्तर लाख लोग, और पाँच चीज़ें जो कहीं और नहीं होतीं।
Five Capitals Built From Nothing
Five capitals younger than a century, and one that nobody moved to.
Five Things on Every Cairo Balconyخَمس حَاجَات فِي كُلِّ بَلَكُونَة مَصرِيَّة
خَمس حَاجَات فِي كُلِّ بَلَكُونَة مَصرِيَّة، وَمَفِيش حَد اشتَرَاهَا.
ag_nonhuman_minidrama_in_fan
ag_nonhuman_minidrama_pk_cat
ag_nonhuman_minidrama_ur_ups
ag_nonhuman_minidrama_in_meter
ag_nonhuman_minidrama_eg_lift
दो मिनट
a Lajpat Nagar goat tied to a scooter was told two minutes and it is now three hours
Three bays
a business-park goose holds three parking bays and states that nobody parks there before it does
لوہے کا پنجرہ
the story says six brothers went and only the seventh went down in a spiked iron cage: from inside it as the Karachi sea monster's jaw closes on the bars
बत्तीस पुतलियाँ
the story says thirty-two stone statues spoke and Bhoj stopped on the first step: from inside the Bhopal throne hall as the heads turn
بيضة الرخّ
the story says an egg, but where is the Roc: a pearl diver already walking across a white dome that fills the frame before it resolves into an egg wider than a dhow off Sharjah
Nani's Heer
Nani's story says the Chenab reaches Bradford now: from inside a terraced kitchen as river water climbs the table legs and Ranjha's buffalo pushes through the door
Seven Winters
the story says seven winters on land, only seven: from inside a wet stone boathouse as the sealskin slides off her shoulders and the fisherman folds it away
The Boot He Left
forty thousand basalt columns on the Antrim coast and one giant's boot still standing among them
النداهة
the story says the Naddaha called and nobody came back: from inside the black Nile below a Cairo bridge as her face rises out of the water mid-breath
آج مٹ گیا
a thirty-year-old truck-art eye on a Karachi Bedford is painted over in one white stroke
پہلی بوند
the first rain in three years hits Thar desert dust in front of a mud house
شادی نہیں رکی
a Karachi wedding marquee's thousand fairy lights die in load-shedding and a hundred phone torches come up
بجلی صرف چار گھنٹے
four hundred Faisalabad power looms stop mid-weave at the load-shedding hour
Nobody told the gull
a wave freezes mid-break into green glass and one gull is still flying through it
نیچے صرف سندھ
a schoolchild crosses a swaying suspension footbridge over the Indus at Skardu every day
قبل دقيقة، طريق
a shamal sandstorm wall swallows a Riyadh highway a minute after it was a road
Now forty flats
a Bradford mill that held two hundred looms lights up floor by floor as forty flats
कोई नहीं खोया
a Mumbai dabbawala's tower of tiffins tilts in monsoon rain and not one is lost
Five Kilometres, Whole
a whole red wooden church rolls down a Kiruna street at walking pace because the mine took the ground under it
قبل الترام
a winter wave bursts over the Alexandria corniche wall onto a tram stop before the tram arrives
چھت پر بارہ
the Karachi W-11 bus is asked about the passengers on its roof and counts them out loud
طارق روڈ تین گھنٹے
a Karachi rickshaw is asked about the traffic and answers like a poet on its own back panel
دھکے مفت
the Lahore Metro bus is asked about the queue and gives the honest fare breakdown
نام حمزہ ہے
a courtyard goat is asked its price before Eid and answers with its name
Slot B4 only
a vending machine is asked about the stuck crisps and names the one slot nobody reads
ایک چھکا نہیں
a National Stadium crow is asked about the match and files a six-year complaint
ليش الباب مفتوح
a Dubai air-conditioned bus shelter is asked about the heat and asks why its door is open
Actually Thursday
a Bradford wheelie bin is asked about the bin rota and corrects the whole street
लेकिन मैं खड़ा
a Karol Bagh traffic cone is asked about the U-turn and reports its own daily casualty count
I Know Which Bridges
the grab crane that fishes twelve thousand bicycles a year out of the Amsterdam canals says it knows which bridges they come off
الدور ٣
a Shubra stairwell cat is asked about the neighbours and names the only floor that counts
پہلی چھیلن
one gouge lifts a curl off Peshawar walnut and the grain closes over it
ایک لکیر
one spoon cuts a furrow through Karachi rabri and the cream closes it
تین دھاگے
three warp threads cross on a Faisalabad loom and open back to where they began
نیلا قطرہ
one cobalt bead spreads across a Multan kashi tile and draws itself back
The Leopard's Head
a hand punch bites a leopard's head into a silver spoon at Goldsmiths' Hall and the silver closes back over it
پہلا پانی
the first meltwater runs a stone channel above Hunza and sinks back into the stone
ثلاث ضربات
three chisel grooves open an abstract relief in Riyadh gypsum and level smooth again
One Silver Sheet
one sheet of silver leaf settles onto Bradford barfi and lifts back off
पहली परत
one thumb raises the first wall of a Kolkata clay cup and lets it sink back
One Wire, One Block
one wire passes through a honey-amber block and the block heals behind it
ثلاث غرزات
three stitches pull a red patch flat onto Cairo tentmakers' canvas and let it lift
آج تازہ ہو گیا
a Multan customer asks where yesterday's watermelon went and the vendor says this one became fresh today
پی ایچ ڈی، اردو میں
a Rawalpindi rishta aunty asks what kind of doctor the son is and the mother says a PhD in Urdu
مہمان بیٹھے ہیں
a Peshawar wife asks when the electricity will return and her husband says the guests came to ask the same thing
پیچھے سے ٹھیک ہے
the barber holds the back mirror up and the customer says it is perfect without once taking his eyes off the front mirror
Third floor. She's furious.
an office worker asks who wrote the kitchen sign about your mother not working here and a colleague says she does
کھانا کتنوں کا ہے
a Lahore mother counts three hundred wedding guests and her son has ordered food for a hundred and fifty
أنا ضيف اليوم
a Riyadh father finds his grown son in the guest's place in the majlis and the son says he is a guest today
Nobody bins a pass
a Bradford father asks who binned the MOT letter and his son says nobody bins a pass
लिफ़ाफ़े में कितना
a Delhi uncle asks how much went into the wedding shagun envelope and his wife answers exactly as much as they gave at ours
Behind the plant
an office worker asks who cropped him from the group photo and a colleague says nobody, he was behind the plant
اللي كسب الطاولة
two regulars at a Cairo ahwa argue over who pays and the rule is whoever won the backgammon
Third mehndi this week
a nine-month-old in a sherwani at his third Luton mehndi this week says nobody asked him
Who added me
a nine-month-old in a Bradford front room asks who added him to the shaadi group chat
Which nursery interviews a baby
a nine-month-old in a Leeds nursery office asks which nursery interviews a nine-month-old
टिफ़िन में लौकी
a nine-month-old in a Lucknow kitchen asks why the tiffin has lauki again today
Who parks like this
a nine-month-old in a car seat judges the double parking in a Manchester mosque car park
सोसाइटी ग्रुप
a nine-month-old on a Noida balcony asks who added him to the society WhatsApp group
قهوتي آخر واحد
a nine-month-old in a thobe in a Riyadh majlis asks why his coffee is served last
The boiler timer
a nine-month-old at a Birmingham kitchen table complains nobody explained the boiler timer
Fourth subscription
a nine-month-old with a remote asks who is watching the fourth streaming subscription
यही डिब्बा
the baby recognises the Diwali sweet box coming back through the front door for the third time, ribbon and all
باقي الكشري
a nine-month-old in a Zamalek kitchen asks where the rest of the koshary went
الساعة حداشر
a nine-month-old on a Shubra balcony at night asks who telephones at eleven
The MSG Headache Was Never the MSG
Myth: the headache after a Friday takeaway is the MSG. Every kitchen on Oak Lane believes it.
The Peahen Does Not Drink Tearsमोरनी आँसू नहीं पीती
मिथक: मोरनी कभी मिलन नहीं करती। वह मोर के आँसू पीकर माँ बनती है।
The Great Wall Is Not Visible From Space
Myth: from orbit, the only human thing you can see is the Great Wall.
The Pyramids Were Not Built by Slavesالأَهرامُ لَم يَبنِها العَبيد
خُرافَة: لَم يَبنِ الأَهرامَ إِلّا مِئَةُ أَلفِ عَبدٍ تَحتَ السِّياط.
I Do Not Sell Water. I Sell Waiting.میں پانی نَہیں بیچتا، اِنتِظار بیچتا ہوں
میں چار بَجے گاڑی سٹارٹ کَرتا ہوں۔ جِس گَلی میں پانی نَہیں، وہ مُجھے نام سے جانتی ہے۔
I Am the Sound Lahore Stopped Hearingمیں وہ آواز ہوں جو لاہور نے سُننا چھوڑ دی
میں لاہور کی سَڑک پَر وہ آواز ہوں جو اَب کوئی نَہیں سُنتا۔
They Say the Tandoor Is Hotلوگ کَہتے ہیں تَندُور گَرم ہے
میں پانچ بَجے جاگتا ہوں، اور مُجھے کوئی جَگاتا نَہیں۔
Every Tent Up There Arrived on My Shoulderاُوپَر ہَر خیمہ میرے کَندھے سے پَہُنچا ہے
میری پِیٹھ پَر پَچِّیس کِلو ہے، اور یہ سامان میرا نَہیں۔
I Have My Own Seat on This Aircraftلي مَقعَدٌ في هٰذِهِ الطّائِرَة
لا أَحَدَ في هٰذا الصَّفِّ إِنسان. سِتَّةُ صُقورٍ فَقَط.
Everyone Else Is Shut. We Are Not.
Every shop on this road is shut today. Ours has been open since six, because it always is.
I Drive the Slowest Thing in the Cityमैं इस शहर की सबसे धीमी चीज़ चलाता हूँ
मैं इस शहर की सबसे धीमी चीज़ चलाता हूँ। और मुझे इसकी कोई शर्म नहीं।
I Am the Only One Here Who Needs the Lights On
The robots do not need light. I am the only reason a third of this building is lit at all.
I Count Change and Nobody Ever Waitsأَعُدُّ الفَكَّةَ وَلا أَحَدَ يَنتَظِر
لا أَحَدَ يَنتَظِرُ الفَكَّة. البابُ مَفتوح، وَالسَّيّارَةُ تَسير.
گیارہ سال، ہر ٹرک
گیارہ سال، ہر ٹرک۔ آج آخری — a Multan truck painter has signed his ustad's name four hundred times, and today he signs his own
چالیس نام
چالیس نام دیوار پر۔ کوئی نہیں آیا — a Peshawar tandoor keeps its credit in chalk, and the oldest name belongs to a man who died
اس سال دو سو بارہ
اس سال دو سو بارہ۔ آج تیرہواں — the jeep driver who counts every landslide on the Skardu road, and today's is on top of his own village track
تین سال، ہر صبح
تین سال، ہر صبح۔ آج ٹھنڈا نہیں — the man who has filled a Karachi street sabeel every dawn since his father died finds it gone
Three Years of Peanuts
Three years of peanuts. Today it paid — the crow on his fire escape left a small brass key on the rail
तीन साल से रोज़
तीन साल से रोज़। कल आखिरी दिन — he has fed the office gate's stray every evening for three years, and tomorrow he is transferred
چودہ میٹر
چودہ میٹر، تین مہینے۔ کوئی نہیں مانتا — a Lahore woman has photographed her building's meters every night, and meter seven is wired to the shop
Two Years
Two years. Nobody knows I pay it — a Bradford son has covered his father's shop rent in secret, and the landlord already told him
नौ साल से खड़ी हूँ
नौ साल से खड़ी हूँ। आज नहीं — nine years on the 6:40 Blue Line without once sitting down, and this morning a schoolgirl stood up
چھ مہینے سے
چھ مہینے سے چھپاتی ہوں۔ کوئی نہیں جانتا — she has hidden one book at the bottom of her father's Saddar stall since March, and today it was on top
Eleven Months
Eleven months. Nobody has opened that window — she has watered a stranger's balcony from her own for a year, and the flat was empty all along
٤٠٠ وش
٤٠٠ وش. فين واحد؟ — the Ramses-to-Shubra conductor knows four hundred faces by sight, and this morning seat four is a boy
Column C
سات رنگ، ایک لکیر
a truck-art painter lays one unbroken enamel stroke on a sky-blue panel in Rawalpindi
دو ہزار ضربیں
a Peshawar coppersmith planishes a tray into a spiral of dimples
بارہ لکیریں
a Multan painter draws the cobalt outline on a white bowl and floods it turquoise
ایک پتہ، چار تہیں
a Karachi paan-wallah spreads, fills and folds one betel leaf into a triangle
ONE TUBE, THREE BENDS
one clear glass tube takes three bends over a ribbon burner and comes back lit in Rotterdam
ایک ہزار چکر
a Lahore halwai folds grated carrot down to halwa in a copper karahi
ثلاثة صفوف
a Dammam packing house pits, stuffs and rows a tray of dates
SIX HUNDRED STITCHES
a Manchester tailor pad-stitches a lapel until it rolls on its own
बारह ठप्पे, एक बूटी
a Jaipur printer walks a carved teak block down a length of cotton
پانچ کٹ، ایک ٹونٹی
a Gujranwala lathe turns a brass bar down to a tap body in five cuts
FIVE SIGNATURES, ONE SPINE
five folded signatures become one sewn spine on a bookbinder's frame in Ghent
أربعون رغيفاً
a Shubra bakery flattens, slides and balloons a round of aish baladi
Your UPS Battery Should Last Three Years, Not Oneبَیٹری تِین سال چَلنی چاہیے، ایک نَہیں
یُو پی ایس ایک سال میں مَر جائے تو قُصُور بَیٹری کا نَہیں ہوتا۔ تِین باتیں یاد رَکھیے۔
Three Things That Halve a Winter Gas Billتِین کام جو گَیس کا بِل آدھا کَرتے ہیں
گیزَر بَند کَرنے سے بِل کَم نَہیں ہوتا۔ لیکِن تِین چھوٹی چِیزیں اُسے آدھا کَر دیتی ہیں۔
Never Buy a Mango by Its Colourآم کَبھی رَنگ سے مَت خَرِیدیے
آم کا رَنگ کُچھ نَہیں بَتاتا۔ لیکِن ڈَنٹھَل تِین سیکَنڈ میں سَب بَتا دیتا ہے۔
At The Butcher, Look At The Fat, Not The Meatقصاب کی دکان پر گوشت نہیں، چربی دیکھیں
قَصاب کی دُکان پر سَب گوشت کا رَنگ دیکھتے ہیں، مَگر اَصل بات چَربی کی ہے۔
Your Battery Is Not Old. Three Settings Are Eating It.
A two-year-old battery is not why your phone dies at three. But three settings are.
The First Rule of Anarkali Is Not to Ask the Priceاَنارکَلی کا پَہلا اُصُول: قِیمَت مَت پُوچھیے
اَنارکَلی میں مول تول کا پَہلا اُصُول: قِیمَت مَت پُوچھیے۔ پَہلے چِیز رَکھ دِیجِیے۔
Three Ways to Cool a Car Left in Gulf Sunثَلاثُ طُرُقٍ لِتَبريدِ سَيّارَةٍ تَحتَ الشَّمس
المُكَيِّفُ لَيسَ أَوَّلَ خُطوَة. ثَلاثُ حَرَكاتٍ قَبلَهُ أَهَمّ.
Why Frozen Curry Always Tastes Flat
Frozen curry tastes flat, and nobody tells you the damage happens before it reaches the freezer.
A Pressure Cooker Always Warns You Firstप्रेशर कुकर हमेशा एक चेतावनी देकर जाता है
प्रेशर कुकर अचानक नहीं फटता, वह हमेशा एक चेतावनी देकर जाता है।
Four Habits That Beat The Cabin Bag Scales
Nobody weighs your coat, and that is the whole trick to travelling with hand luggage only.
Three Ways to Keep Vegetables a Week Without a Big Fridgeثَلاثُ طُرُقٍ لِحِفظِ الخُضارِ أُسبوعاً بِلا ثَلّاجَةٍ كَبيرَة
الخُضارُ لا يَفسُدُ مِنَ الحَرارَةِ وَحدَها. الرُّطوبَةُ هِيَ السَّبَب.
Multan was a city two thousand years before Romeمُلتان یا روم، پُرانا کون؟
روم سے دو ہَزار سال پَہلے، مُلتان آباد تھا۔
Karachi is named after a fisherwoman: Mai Kolachi's villageکراچی کِس عورت کے نام پر ہے؟
دو کَروڑ کا شَہر، ایک عَورت کا نام۔ کوئی نَہیں جانتا۔
What the K in K2 stands for, and where K1 wentکے ٹو کا 'کے' کِس چیز کا ہے؟
دُنیا کا دوسرا بُلند پَہاڑ، اور نام صِرف ایک حَرف۔
Empress Market Karachi stands on the 1857 execution groundایمپریس مارکیٹ کے نیچے کیا دَفن ہے؟
پَہلے قَتل گاہ، آج کَراچی کا مَشہور بازار۔
Dirham, dinar, riyal, fils: none of the names are Arabicالدرهم اسمه يوناني، لا عربي
الدِّرهَم اسمُه مِن أَثِينا، لا عَرَبِي.
Karachi ran trams for ninety years, and nobody kept one
Karachi ran trams ninety years. Nobody kept one.
India Gate: thirteen thousand names and an empty canopyइंडिया गेट पर तेरह हज़ार नाम, और छतरी खाली
तेरह हज़ार नाम, लेकिन छतरी खाली थी।
The country with the most pyramids is not Egypt
The country with the most pyramids is not Egypt.
The Sphinx is younger than Stonehenge, and Napoleon never touched its noseأبو الهول مش الأقدم
أَبُو الهَول مِش الأَقدَم.
چار سو دس فوارے
«پمپ نہیں تھا۔» — 1642: four hundred and ten fountains ran in the Shalimar Gardens with no pump anywhere, on a canal cut from a river a hundred miles away
تین بج کر تین منٹ
«چھت پہلے گری، دیوار بعد میں۔» — 3:03 a.m., 31 May 1935: the mud-brick roofs of Quetta came down before the walls did, which is why so few got out
اکتالیس گھنٹے
«رسی نہیں تھی۔ ساتھی نہیں تھا۔» — 3 July 1953: Buhl walked the last 1,300 metres of Nanga Parbat alone and stood through the night on a ledge the width of a shelf
بدھ اسٹوپا کے نیچے
«اینٹ پرانی تھی۔ اسٹوپا نہیں۔» — 1922: Banerji is digging for a Buddhist stupa and the bricks under it are two thousand years older than the thing he came for
The Handle Came Off
"Five hundred dead in ten days on one street." — 1854: Snow could not prove the water theory, so he did the one thing that would test it — he had the pump handle removed
एक रुपया, छह फ़िल्में
«परदा हिला नहीं। लोग हिल गए।» — 7 July 1896: six Lumière films ran in the dining room of Watson's Hotel in Bombay and the audience stood up to look behind the screen
گھوڑوں نے پہلے چاٹا
«آدمی نہیں، گھوڑے۔» — 326 BC: it was not a surveyor who found the Khewra salt, it was cavalry horses licking the rock while the army rested
البئر السابعة
«ستّ آبار فشلت.» — six dry holes and an order to pack up; Well Number 7 at Dammam was drilled past 1,440 metres and on 3 March 1938 it came in
The Night Shift Nobody Wanted
"Nobody local would work nights." — Bradford's wool mills ran twenty-four hours from 1956 and the shift that filled them came from Mirpur, on a boarding house bed shared three men to a mattress
इक्कीस तोपें
«पटरी चौंतीस किलोमीटर की थी। रास्ता उससे लंबा निकला।» — 16 April 1853, 3.35 p.m.: three engines, fourteen carriages, four hundred passengers and a twenty-one gun salute for a line that went thirty-fou
آخری ٹرام
«ٹکٹ بکا نہیں۔ ٹرام چلی گئی۔» — 30 April 1975: the last Karachi tram left Soldier Bazaar with the conductor's ticket rack still full, and the rails were tarmacked over within the year
Twelve Oh Two
"Six minutes down and the computer says it cannot finish." — 20 July 1969: a 1202 alarm on the lunar descent, and a twenty-six-year-old in a back room had four seconds to say go
أشياء عجيبة
«ثقب صغير. شمعة واحدة.» — 26 November 1922: Carter cut a hole the width of a hand into a sealed door at Luxor and put a candle through it before anything else
Hegra AlUla Nabataean tombs and their water engineering
تین لکیریں
a mehndi cone laying its first three green ridges across a Lahore palm
تین چکر
wood ash taking a dull brass lota back to a mirror in a Gujranwala workshop
پہلی قلفی
a dense pistachio kulfi rising out of a frosted steel mould at a Karachi cart
پہلی پرت
cobalt glaze sheeting over a raw clay bowl on a Multan wheel head
SIX CUTS, NO CRUMBS
a kinetic sand slab cut into six cubes and pressed whole again
بارہ ٹانکے
a football panel seam closing stitch by stitch in a Sialkot workshop
ثلاثة خيوط
a sadu band growing three threads at a time on a Riyadh ground loom
TWELVE DIAMONDS, ONE CUT
a pistachio barfi slab cut into twelve diamonds in a Manchester kitchen
तीन तह
a betel leaf folded in three and pinned shut in a Lucknow paan shop
پہلا قطرہ
apricot kernels going under a wooden screw press in Hunza until the first oil falls
Forty Cubes, One Wave
a Lisbon calceteiro taps forty hand-split limestone cubes into sand one at a time and the wave of the Rossio pavement closes
أربع قصبات
four cane stalks going through the rollers of a Cairo street press
ایک ٹیلہ
a dune crest about to slide as the dust wall arrives beyond Hyderabad
دو منٹ
hail already driving across a plateau above Skardu
پہلی برف
cloud already pouring over a pine ridge above Murree in the first snow
سات لہریں
from inside a wave already breaking on a headland south of Karachi
ONE TIDE
surf already breaking across cooling black lava south of Reykjavik
تین پرنالے
monsoon rain already sheeting over a brick parapet in Lahore
ثلاث كثبان
a shamal already combing sand off three dune crests outside Doha
ONE SQUALL
a rain squall already crossing a gritstone moor above Manchester
पहली बारिश
monsoon rain already crossing a backwater channel north of Kochi
تین دراڑیں
grey meltwater already pouring out of a blue ice wall above Hunza
ONE RIDGE
fog already pouring over a ridge into an inlet north of Bergen
تلات موجات
a squall already crossing the shallows south of Sharm el-Sheikh
ایک پیالی چینی
ایک پیالی چینی؟ کوئی نہیں مانگتا — the Karachi neighbour borrows a cup of sugar and ends up running the kitchen
صرف قریبی خاندان
صرف قریبی خاندان۔ چالیس بندے — the Peshawar guest list goes from forty to closing the street
دال آج نہ ہی لیں
everything is on the dhaba's menu and nothing at all is available
کل شام تک
ماسٹر جی، شادی کل ہے۔ سوٹ؟ — the Lahore tailor's deadline shrinks from tomorrow evening to ten minutes, and the cloth has not arrived
Turned It Off
It only crashes when I save — the helpdesk escalates from the laptop to the national grid
सिर्फ दो गोली
he wants two tablets and the chemist will not break the strip
کاؤنٹر نمبر چار
صرف دستخط کی تصدیق۔ کوئی نہیں کرتا — a Rawalpindi bank sends one man round every window and back to the first
Just a Bit
he had one plate and cannot carry the box, and the auntie has not finished loading him
पाँच सौ का चालान
दस मिनट, और कोई नहीं था — a Delhi society secretary fines a resident and then offers him a way out
بس ایک تار
three days with the cable off and the match is today; the cable man says it is only one wire
Continental
there was cheese on the buffet yesterday and none of it this morning
شاي بالنعناع فقط
شاي بالنعناع فقط — the Cairo ahwa waiter brings everything except the tea
Take a Number
Two Hundred Metres Shorter, And Far More Deadlyایورسٹ سے چھوٹا، مگر کہیں زیادہ خطرناک
ایورسٹ سَب سے اُونچا ہے، مَگر سَب سے خَطرناک نہیں۔
More Glaciers Than Anywhere Outside The Polesقطبین کے باہر سب سے زیادہ گلیشیئر یہیں ہیں
پاکِستان پہاڑوں کا مُلک ہے، مَگر یہاں 7000 سے زیادہ گلیشیئر ہیں۔
Britain's Youngest City Is Not London
Britain's youngest city is not London. It is Bradford, and it is not close.
A Coach Built For One Hundred Carries Five Hundredसौ की जगह में पाँच सौ लोग
100 की जगह में 500 चलते हैं, और किसी को हैरानी नहीं।
The Ball Nobody Has Bowled Faster In Twenty Yearsاکیس سال سے کوئی اس گیند سے آگے نہیں گیا
کِسی نے آج تَک 161 کِلومیٹر فی گھَنٹہ کی گیند نہیں توڑی۔
The Eiffel Tower Is Not One Height
The Eiffel Tower is not one height. In summer it stands about 15 centimetres taller.
The Tallest Building On Earth For 3800 Yearsأطول بناء على الأرض لثلاثة آلاف وثمانمئة سنة
لَم يَكُن الأَطوَلَ لِقَرن، بَل 3800 سَنَة.
She Followed the Camel Tracks on Footوہ اُونٹ کے نِشانوں کے پِیچھے پَیدَل چَلی
بھَنبھور کی ایک لَڑکی صَحرا میں پَیدَل نِکلی، اور واپَس نَہیں آئی۔
Four Pages in Cambridge, and a Country Got a Nameکیمبرِج میں چار صَفحے، اور ایک نام
چار صَفحے، اور ایک ایسا نام جو اُس سے پَہلے کِسی نے نَہیں سُنا تھا۔
The Crocodile Pond Inside Karachiکَراچی کے اَندَر مَگرمَچّھوں کا تالاب
کَراچی کے اَندَر مَگرمَچّھوں کا ایک تالاب ہے۔ یہ چِڑیا گَھر نَہیں۔
Twenty-Eight Weavers and a Shop on Toad Lane
In 1844, twenty-eight weavers put in a pound each. Nobody expected the shop to last.
The Night Twenty-Seven Women Stood in Front of the Axesजिस रात सत्ताईस औरतें कुल्हाड़ियों के आगे खड़ी हो गईं
उस दिन गाँव में एक भी मर्द नहीं था। और ट्रक ऊपर आ चुके थे।
The Stone That Still Looks Hungryوہ پَتّھَر جو اَب بھی بھُوکا لَگتا ہے
دو ہَزار سال پُرانا وہ چِہرہ، جِس کی پَسلیاں آج بھی گِنی جا سَکتی ہیں۔
She Beat the Men's Record by Two Hours
Only five people had ever swum the Channel. Every one of them was a man.
A Wall Being Rebuilt, and a Language Coming Backجِدارٌ يُبنى، وَلُغَةٌ تَعود
أَلفٌ وَأَربَعُمِئَةِ سَنَةٍ لَم يَقرَأ أَحَدٌ هٰذِهِ الخُطوط.
The Rickshaw Driver Walked Four Kilometres To Return Itبٹوہ رکشے میں رہ گیا، اور دو گھنٹے بعد
میرا بٹوہ رِکشے میں رَہ گَیا، اَور دو گَھنٹے بَعد وہ خُود میرے دَروازے پر تھا۔
They Counted The Teacups And Leftچائے کی ٹرے پر رشتہ ختم ہو گیا
میری بَہن کو دیکھنے آنے والوں نے چائے کی ٹرے دیکھی، اَور رِشتہ وَہیں خَتم ہو گَیا۔
The Whole Street Complained About That Generatorرات دو بجے چلنے والا جنریٹر
ہماری گَلی کا سارا مُحَلّہ اُس جَنریٹر سے تَنگ تھا جو رات دو بَجے چَلتا تھا، مَگر کِسی نے وَجہ نہیں پُوچھی۔
She Stood At The Exam Gate For Three Hoursامی ہر پرچے کے دن گیٹ کے باہر کھڑی رہتیں
میری امّی ہَر پَرچے کے دِن گیٹ کے باہَر تِین گھنٹے دُھوپ میں کھڑی رَہتی تھیں، مَگر وَجہ برسوں نہیں بتائی۔
A Plate Of Dates At Our Door Every Fridayصحن تمر أمام بابنا كل جمعة
جارُنا يَترُك صَحنَ تَمرٍ أمامَ بابِنا كُلَّ جُمُعَة، وَلَا أَحَدَ يَعرِف لِماذا.
The Notebook Under The Till On Our Street
The corner shop kept a notebook under the till, and nobody in my family ever once mentioned it.
I Lost My Bag On The Mumbai Local. It Came Backमुंबई लोकल में बैग खो गया, और तीसरे दिन लौट आया
मैंने मुंबई लोकल में अपना बैग खो दिया, और तीसरे दिन वो लौट आया, एक रुपया कम हुए बिना।
My Brother Sold His Motorcycle And Told Nobodyبھائی نے موٹر سائیکل بیچ دی، کسی کو پتا نہ چلا
میرے بھائی نے اَپنی موٹر سائیکل بِیچ دی، اَور دو مَہِینے تَک کِسی کو پَتا نہیں چَلا۔
The Flat Came With A Letter Nobody Ever Posted
Nobody warned me the flat came with a letter, folded behind the radiator since 1974.
He Kept The Key To A Flat Nobody Lived Inمفتاح شقة لا يسكنها أحد
بَوّابُ العِمارَة يَحتَفِظ بِمُفتاحِ شَقَّةٍ لا يَسكُنُها أَحَد، وَلَا أَحَدَ يَسأَل.
شادی پر کتنا لگا؟
«اٹھائیس لاکھ۔ گھر ابھی تک ادھار میں نہیں نکلا۔» — a Lahore father opens with the number, and the last answer is a couple who spent forty thousand
پہلے کیا ٹھیک کریں؟
«پانی۔ باقی سب اُس کے بعد۔» — a Karachi street where every answer is water until one woman names the thing under it
مہینے کا خرچ کتنا ہے؟
«ایک لاکھ اسی ہزار۔ تنخواہ نوے ہزار ہے۔» — a Karachi shopkeeper opens with the gap, and the video spends the rest of it finding out how the other half is made up
بہترین کپتان کون؟
«عمران نہیں۔ میں نے وہ دور دیکھا ہے۔» — a Karachi tape-ball ground where the obvious answer is refused first and argued back to by the end
When Did You Stop Feeling Young
"Thirty-one. Not a birthday. A knee." — nobody names the age you expect, and the oldest person asked has not stopped
किराया कितना देते हो?
«बयालीस हज़ार। कमरा एक है।» — a Mumbai street where the rent numbers keep rising until a man who owns nothing explains he pays nothing
امی کا نام کیا ہے؟
«نام؟ نام تو کبھی نہیں سنا۔» — a Lahore man of forty cannot produce his own mother's first name, and neither can the next two
متى زرت جدك؟
«من سنتين. ما زرته.» — a Riyadh corniche evening where the answers get further away until a farm four hundred kilometres out explains why
What Your Parents Think You Do
"They think I'm a pharmacist. I'm not." — a Bradford street outside a mosque car park after Jummah, where four people are living two job titles each
रोज़ कितना सफ़र?
«दो घंटे आना, दो घंटे जाना।» — a Delhi metro platform where the commutes get longer until a woman explains what she gave up to make hers eleven minutes
آخری کتاب کون سی تھی؟
«ختم؟ ختم تو کوئی نہیں کی۔» — an Islamabad book fair where nobody has finished anything, until a security guard names the one he has read four times
The Last Thing You Searched
"Last search? I'm not reading that out." — strangers hand over their phones one by one and the funny answers run out fast
أول أغنية حفظتها
«مش أغنيتي. أغنية أمي.» — a Cairo street where four generations name four different first songs and the oldest one has been sung wrong for thirty years
The Oldest Thing in Your House
ग्यारह शादियाँ
नवंबर में ग्यारह शादियाँ। कौन देगा? — an eleven-month-old in a sherwani on Lucknow's wedding season and the empty gullak
Eight Twenty-Two
Eight twenty-two. Nobody has found the shoe — a Birmingham nine-month-old audits the family school run
छह से छह बीस
पानी छह से छह बीस। बस? — a Mumbai infant landlady on the twenty-minute morning water window
Forty-One Unread
Forty-one messages. Nobody has said anything — a Manchester nine-month-old reads the family group so you do not have to
उधार बंद
मार्च से उधार। एक पैसा नहीं — the infant seth of a Jaipur kirana shop closes the credit ledger
The Silver Corolla
Nobody's moving. The silver Corolla again — a nine-month-old runs the Friday car park at a Bradford mosque
दस बजे
दस बजे तत्काल खुलेगा। कोई तैयार नहीं — a nine-month-old runs the family's Tatkal booking from the dining table
٢٠ ريال فقط
٢٠ ريال فقط؟ — a nine-month-old audits nine uncles' Eid money from the corner of a Riyadh majlis
Two Teeth and a Nap
Nine months old, and nobody stopped them — a wedding-hall infant on the aunties who asked about her plans
प्लंबर आ रहा हूँ
तीन बार बोला। आया नहीं — a ten-month-old householder on the plumber who took two thousand advance and switched off his phone
Gate Nine
Gate nine. Nobody has said one word — the only passenger keeping count of a two-hour delay is nine months old
التالتة
the baby is on his third plate of mahshi at a Cairo Friday lunch and explains that he is not hungry, he is a hostage
دو سو پلیٹیں، بھری ہوئی
سات سو پلیٹیں لگائیں۔ دو سو باقی، بھری ہوئی — a Multan wedding caterer counts back the two hundred plates nobody touched
دو بار، ایک ہی بچہ
اکتیس بچے صبح مفت۔ شام کو وہی اکتیس، مفت نہیں — a Nazimabad schoolteacher teaches the same thirty-one children free at eight and for five thousand at six
سترہ بار، وہی دو سوال
سترہ رشتے آئے۔ ہر بار صرف قد اور رنگ — a Rawalpindi woman on the two questions every proposal actually asks
بارہ سال، ایک بار بھی نہیں
بارہ سال، ہزاروں فائلیں۔ زمین ایک بار بھی نہیں دیکھی — a Ferozepur Road plot dealer has sold files for twelve years and never once stood on the land
Two Hundred Towels, One Card
Not the planet. Four hundred euros a week — an Amsterdam hotel housekeeper on what the towel card is really for
بارہ الماریاں، اور باہر کی پرچی
بارہ الماریاں بھری ہیں، لیکن پرچی باہر کی دکان کی — a Hyderabad ward nurse on the cupboard nobody opens
ثلاثون طالباً، ورسالة واحدة
ثلاثون طالباً، ولا رسالة واحدة — a Dammam teacher on the letter none of his thirty students could finish in Arabic
Nineteen Kitchens, One Drum
Nineteen kitchens on this road. Not one of us makes the base — a Wilmslow Road owner on the drum every curry house buys
चार सौ बच्चे, एक बोर्ड
चार सौ बच्चे। पढ़ाई नहीं, सिर्फ़ रैंक होती है — a Kota coaching teacher on the board that does the teaching
چھ بجے کام ختم، آٹھ بجے چھٹی
چھ بجے کام ختم۔ چھٹی آٹھ بجے سے پہلے نہیں — an I.I. Chundrigar Road office where the work ends at six and the day ends at eight
Nine Bags In, Two Bags Out
Nine bags in today. Two we can sell — a Glasgow charity shop pays two hundred and ten pounds to bin the rest
تلات صناديق ورايا
اللي قدام مش بتاع النهارده — an Anfoushi fish seller on which ice the fresh box actually sits on
The City That Dug Itself a Coastline
Manchester has never had a coastline. For decades it was still Britain's third busiest port.
Four Hundred Guests to Seven Million a Dayचार सौ मेहमानों से पचहत्तर लाख तक
चार सौ मेहमान, तीन इंजन, और एक शहर जिसे अंदाज़ा नहीं था कि क्या शुरू हो रहा है।
The Port Pakistan Had to Buyوہ بَندَرگاہ جو خَرِیدنی پَڑی
پاکِستان اُنّیس سَو سینتالِیس میں بَنا۔ لیکِن گَوادَر گیارہ سال بَعد تَک پاکِستان کا حِصّہ نَہیں تھا۔
The Cheapest Thing on the Ship Redrew the Map
In 1956, loading a ship by hand cost dollars a ton. One man got it down to cents.
Africa's First Metro Runs Under Your Feetأَوَّلُ مِترو في إِفريقيا يَمُرُّ تَحتَ قَدَمَيك
تَحتَ ميدانِ رَمسيس تَمُرُّ قِطاراتٌ لا يَراها أَحَدٌ فَوق.
Why Roti Sticks To A Brand New Iron Tawaنیا لوہے کا توا: روٹی چپکنا بند کرنے کے پانچ قدم
نَیا لوہے کا توا ہَر گَھر میں روٹی جَلاتا ہے، مَگر خَرابی توے میں نہیں، پَہلی دَھلائی میں ہوتی ہے۔
The Water Tank Nobody Opens For A Whole Yearچھت کی ٹینکی: سال میں ایک بار کی صفائی
کَراچی کے آدھے گَھروں کا پانی چھَت کی ٹینکی سے آتا ہے، مَگر اُسے کوئی سال بَھر نہیں کھولتا۔
The Salan Is Too Salty. Do Not Add Waterسالن میں نمک تیز ہو جائے تو پانی مت ڈالیں
نَمک تیز ہو جائے تو گَھر میں سَب سے پَہلے پانی ڈالا جاتا ہے، اَور سالَن وَہیں خَتم ہو جاتا ہے۔
Cooling A Room With No Electricity At Allبجلی کے بغیر کمرہ ٹھنڈا کرنے کے پانچ قدم
مُلتان میں لوگ گَرمی میں کِھڑکی کھول دیتے ہیں، مَگر ایک کِھڑکی کھولنے سے کَمرہ اَور گَرم ہو جاتا ہے۔
Arabic Coffee Is Never Boiled. That Is The Ruleالقهوة العربية لا تُغلى: خمس خطوات
القَهوَة العَرَبِيَّة لا تُغلى؛ الغَلَيان هو ما يُفسِد طَعمَها.
Your Chai Tastes Flat Because Of The Kettle
Your chai has tasted flat for weeks, and nobody blames the kettle. The scale inside is the reason.
Coriander That Lasts Two Weeks In The Fridgeधनिया दो हफ़्ते तक ताज़ा रखने के पाँच कदम
धनिया फ्रिज में दो दिन में गल जाता है, और इसकी वजह ठंड नहीं, उसकी अपनी नमी है।
Five Minutes That Save You A Lakh On A Used Bikeپرانی موٹر سائیکل خریدنے سے پہلے یہ پانچ کام
لاہور میں پُرانی موٹر سائیکل خَریدنے والے اِنجن دیکھتے ہیں، مَگر اَصل دھوکا سٹِیل کی گَردَن پر ہوتا ہے۔
Your Knife Is Not Blunt. Its Edge Is Folded Over
Nobody tells you a blunt knife is rarely blunt. The edge is folded over, and ninety seconds straightens it.
Koshari Onions Do Not Burn By Accidentبصل الكشري: خمس خطوات حتى لا يحترق
بَصَل الكُشَري لا يَحتَرِق صُدفَةً؛ الخَطَأ يَبدَأ عِندَ التَّقطيع.
Nihari versus haleem: Delhi's morning against Deccan's patienceنِہاری یا حَلِیم؟
نِہاری کا نام صُبح سے ہے، حَلِیم کا نام صَبر سے۔ لاہور اِن دونوں پَر لَڑتا ہے۔
Sindhri versus Chaunsa: Pakistan's summer warسِندھڑی یا چَونسہ؟
پاکِستان میں ہَر جون ایک جَنگ شُروع ہوتی ہے: سِندھڑی یا چَونسہ۔
Indus versus Nile: the longer river and the mightier one are not the same riverدریائے سِندھ یا دریائے نِیل؟
نِیل چھ ہَزار کِلومِیٹر لَمبا ہے، مَگر سِندھ اُس سے دُگنا پانی لے کر چَلتا ہے۔
Lahore Fort versus Red Fort Delhi: the same emperor, two forts, one olderشاہی قِلعہ لاہور یا لال قِلعہ دہلی؟
شاہجَہاں نے دونوں میں رَہائش کی، مَگر لاہور کا قِلعہ دہلی سے سَتَّر سال پُرانا ہے۔
Burj Khalifa versus the Great Pyramid: six years against twenty, and the older one held the record longerبرج خليفة أو الهرم الأكبر؟
بُرج خَلِيفَة سِت سَنَوات، وَالهَرَم عِشرِين. لَكِن الهَرَم حافَظ عَلَى الرَّقم أَطوَل.
Chai versus coffee: Pakistan drinks more tea than anywhere, and coffee still wins one round
Pakistan imports more tea than any country on earth, and coffee still wins one round, yaar.
Delhi Metro versus Mumbai Local: the new network against a hundred and seventy years of railsदिल्ली मेट्रो या मुंबई लोकल?
दिल्ली मेट्रो बीस साल की है, मुंबई लोकल एक सौ सत्तर की, और बूढ़ी ज़्यादा लोग ढोती है।
Sindhi biryani versus Bombay biryani: Karachi's oldest fightسِندھی بریانی یا بمبئی بریانی؟
کَراچی میں ایک ہی سَوال پَر دوستِیاں ٹُوٹتی ہیں: سِندھی بِریانی یا بَمبَئی؟
Lion versus tiger: who actually wins
The lion is called king. The tiger is fifty kilos heavier, and nobody told the lion.
Koshari versus ful: Cairo's two plates, one older than the pharaohsكشري ولا فول؟
الكُشَري عُمرُه مِيَة وَخَمسِين سَنَة، وَالفُول أَقدَم مِن الفَراعنَة. القاهِرَة بِتِتخانِق.
The City Where Water Arrives On Wheels, Not Tapsکراچی کا پانی: نل سے نہیں، پہیوں سے
کَراچی کے ہَزاروں گَھروں میں نَل سے پانی نہیں آتا، مَگر ہَر صُبح پانی پِھر بھی پَہُنچ جاتا ہے۔
Lahore's Smog Is Not Smoke. It Is A Lidلاہور کا اصل مسئلہ دھواں نہیں، ڈھکن ہے
لاہور میں نَومبَر آتے ہی آسمان غائِب ہو جاتا ہے، مَگر دُھواں نَومبَر میں پَیدا نہیں ہوتا۔
The Committee Everyone Joins And Nobody Ever Auditsکمیٹی: گلی کا وہ بینک جس کا کوئی حساب نہیں
لاہور کی ایک گَلی میں تِیس ہَزار کی کمیٹی برسوں چَلتی رَہی، مَگر کِسی نے کبھی حِساب نہیں دیکھا۔
Zero Fee Transfers Are Never Actually Zero Fee
The poster said zero fee. The money still landed short in Lahore, and nobody at the counter explained why.
The Marks On A Rupee Note You Have Never Noticedनोट पर वे उभरे निशान जो आपने कभी नहीं देखे
पाँच सौ के नोट के किनारे पर उभरी लकीरें हैं, और वे सजावट के लिए नहीं हैं।
The Pressure Under The Rickshaw Seat You Sit Onرکشے کی سیٹ کے نیچے دبی ہوئی گیس
لاہور کے رِکشے کی سِیٹ کے نِیچے گَیس دو سَو گُنا دَبی ہُوئی ہے، مَگر سَواری کو پَتا تَک نہیں چَلتا۔
Why Europe Keeps Its Eggs Out Of The Fridge
A supermarket in Leeds stacks eggs on a warm open shelf. An American shop legally cannot.
The Cairo Jam With Nothing At The Front Of Itزحمة الدائري التي لا يوجد أمامها شيء
الدائِري واقِف تَمامًا، وَلَا حادِثَة أَمامَك وَلَا سَيّارَة مُعَطَّلَة.
THREE STEPS AWAY
a stylised brown hare already pressed flat in its form on the Pennine moor above Bradford
छह मीटर की छलांग
a stylised Malabar giant squirrel already running a branch in the Western Ghats and jumping the gap
ایک سیٹی
from inside a Deosai burrow, a stylised golden marmot rises into the light and whistles
ONE JUMP, ONE DIVE
a stylised red fox already listening over deep snow, then head first through the crust
ثلاث خطوات للنيل
a stylised Nile monitor already flattened on a granite rock at Aswan slides into the water
A house in Lahore or a Canada visa: pick oneلاہور کا گھر یا کینیڈا کا ویزا؟
لاہور میں اَپنا گھَر، چابی ہاتھ میں۔ یا کینیڈا کا وِیزا، پاسپورٹ پَر مُہر۔ صِرف ایک۔
Two thousand wedding guests and a loan, or fifty guests and a house deposit
Two thousand guests and a loan, or fifty guests and a house deposit. Same Lahore, only one shaadi. Auntie is counting, yaar.
A one-BHK in Mumbai, or a bungalow in your hometownमुंबई में वन बीएचके, या अपने शहर में बंगला?
मुंबई में वन बीएचके, अंधेरी, पैंतीस लाख का लोन। या इंदौर में बंगला, आँगन, नीम, सिर्फ दस लाख। एक ही, अभी।
Electricity that never cuts but no internet, or internet forever with four hours of loadshedding a dayبجلی کبھی نہ جائے مگر انٹرنیٹ نہیں، یا انٹرنیٹ ہمیشہ مگر روز چار گھنٹے لوڈشیڈنگ؟
بِجلی کَبھی نَہ جائے، مَگر اِنٹرنیٹ نَہیں۔ یا اِنٹرنیٹ ہَمیشہ، مَگر روز چار گھَنٹے لوڈشیڈِنگ۔ فَیصل آباد، جون کی رات۔
Know the date of your death, or the cause
Know the date of your death, or the cause. One envelope on the kitchen table, only one answer, no second opening.
An apartment in Cairo, or a house back in the villageشقة في القاهرة، ولا بيت في البلد؟
شَقَّة فِي القاهِرَة، الدَّور السّابِع، مِن غَير أَسانسِير. وَلا بَيت فِي البَلَد. واحِد بَس.
16:9 · 66
Job 302 Ran Sixty Times in Eleven Years and Was Never Billed
The licensing letter says car nine was on Ashton Road at twenty to midnight. My father says he was at the Royal Oldham with my mother. Our own booking sheet says they are both wrong.
Eighty-Four Doors, and the Notice Was on Only Oneचौरासी दरवाज़े, नोटिस सिर्फ़ एक पर
शांति निवास चाल में चौरासी दरवाज़े हैं। उस सुबह नोटिस सिर्फ़ एक पर चिपका था। कमरा नंबर चौदह। और काग़ज़ दो दिन पुराना था।
The Order to Cut the Bund Came at Four. It Was Already Cut.بند کاٹنے کا حکم چار بجے آیا
بَند کاٹنے کا سَرکاری حُکم رات کے چار بَجے آیا۔ مَگَر بَند تِین گَھنٹے پَہلے کَٹ چُکا تھا، اور کاٹنے والا اُسی گاؤں کا آدمی تھا۔
The Piano Was Stamped 1937. Our Ledger Bought It in 1944.
The serial number inside this piano was stamped in 1937. Our own sales ledger says the workshop bought it in 1944. Nobody in three generations ever wrote down the six years in between.
The Logbook Entry From a Night He Was Never On Duty
The roster says Ewan MacBride was ashore on the night of 14 November 1979. His own logbook, in his own hand, says he was not.
His Tally Stick Had Forty Notches More Than His Cows Could Give
One farmer's tally stick came down off the alp in September 1961 with forty more notches on it than his cows could possibly have given. Nobody in the valley accused him out loud.
The Foundry Cast 406 Bells. The Ledger Lists 405.
Between 1946 and 1961 the Kerridge foundry cast four hundred and six bells. The order ledger lists four hundred and five. Nobody ever ordered the last one.
For 34 Years He Kept Every Frame the Cinema Cut Outتَمباکُو کے ڈَبّوں میں بَند اِکِیس ہَزار فریم
راولپِنڈی کے شَبِستان سِنما میں چَونتِیس سال ایک ہی آدَمی نے فِلم جوڑی۔ اور اُس عَرصے میں جو ٹُکڑا بھی کاٹا گَیا، وہ کَبھی نَہیں پھینکا گَیا۔
The Fare Was Four Rupees. He Never Took It, for 38 Years.किराया चार रुपये था। अड़तीस साल तक उसने नहीं लिया।
गंगा पार करने का किराया चार रुपये था। रामखेलावन ने अड़तीस साल में किसी से चार रुपये नहीं लिए। और उन्नीस सौ अठहत्तर में किसी ने उनसे लिए थे।
He Counted Everyone Who Crossed. For Forty Years.چالِیس سال، اُنّیس ہَزار آٹھ سَو سَینتالِیس
چالِیس سال میں شَبِّیر نے اُس پُل سے گُزَرنے والا ہَر آدَمی گِنا تھا۔ اُنّیس ہَزار آٹھ سَو سَینتالِیس۔ اور ایک آدَمی جو کَبھی واپَس نَہیں آیا۔
Sixty-Three Cork Oaks Were Painted With a Year That Had Not Happened
Every stripped cork oak in the Alentejo wears the last digit of its year, painted on the trunk in white. In 2011 a surveyor found sixty-three trees carrying a year that had not happened yet.
The Canal Was Dry for Eleven Days. The Wheel Kept Turning.التُرعَةُ جَفَّت أَحَدَ عَشَرَ يَومًا وَالساقِيَةُ تَدور
في صَيفِ أَربَعةٍ وَثَمانين جَفَّتِ التُرعَةُ أَحَدَ عَشَرَ يَومًا. لَكِنَّ ساقِيَةَ عَمّ حَسانين ظَلَّت تَدور، وَلا أَحَدَ في القَريَةِ عَرَفَ مِن أَينَ يَأتي الماء.
The Street Is Named After Her. She Beat the Government in Court.یہ سَڑَک اُس کے نام پَر ہے — اور اُس نے عَدالَت میں حُکُومَت کو ہَرایا تھا
زَیبُ النِّسا سٹرِیٹ پَر روز ہَزاروں لوگ خَرِیداری کَرتے ہیں۔ مَگَر یہ سَڑَک کِسی شَہزادی کے نام پَر نَہیں — اُس عَورَت کے نام پَر ہے جِس نے اُنّیس سَو اَٹھاوَن میں عَدالَت میں حُکُومَت کو ہَرا دِیا ت
Prisoner 4859: the man who got himself sent to Auschwitz on purpose
On the nineteenth of September 1940 a man let himself be caught in a Warsaw street round-up. He was not trying to get out of Auschwitz. He was trying to get in, under a false name.
The Visa That Never Came: Ruth Pfau and Karachi's forgotten laneوہ ویزا جو کبھی نہیں آیا — ڈاکٹر رُوتھ فاؤ کی کہانی
اُنّیس سَو ساٹھ، کَراچی۔ بھارَت کا ویزا نہیں آیا — اور اُس ایک رُکے ہُوئے کاغَذ نے پاکِستان کے چَھپَّن ہَزار کوڑھ کے مَرِیضوں کی قِسمَت بَدَل دی۔
Five Missiles on the Screen, and Fifteen Minutes to Disagree
Just past midnight on the twenty-sixth of September 1983, a screen in a bunker south of Moscow told a duty officer that five American missiles were in the air. Thirty verification stages had already p
Five Hundred and Fifty-Five: the boy who forgot how to loseپانچ سو پَچپن میچ — وہ لڑکا جو ہارنا بھول گیا
پانچ سَو پَچپن میچ، پانچ سال آٹھ مَہِینے — اور پِھر فرانس کے شَہر تولوز میں ایک شام، وہ لَڑکا ہار گَیا جِس نے کَبھی ہارنا سیکھا ہی نہیں تھا۔
The Man Who Bought India an Atom: Homi Bhabha and Mont Blancजिसने भारत को परमाणु दिलाया — होमी भाभा और मोंट ब्लांक
चौबीस जनवरी, उन्नीस सौ छियासठ। मोंट ब्लांक की बर्फ पर एक बोइंग सात सौ सात टकराया। एक सौ सत्रह लोग मारे गए, और भारत का परमाणु कार्यक्रम एक ही झटके में अपना दिमाग खो बैठा।
Nine Years Old, Certified by Microsoft: Arfa Karim's sixteen yearsنو سال کی عمر میں مائیکروسافٹ کی سند — ارفع کریم کے سولہ سال
نَو سال کی عُمر میں دُنیا کی سَب سے کَم عُمر مائیکروسافٹ سَرٹِیفائیڈ پروفیشنَل — اور سولَہ سال کی عُمر میں لاہَور کے ایک ہَسپَتال میں آخِری سانس۔ بِیچ میں صِرف سات سال تھے۔
The Spy Who Invented 27 People: Garbo and the lie that held Calais
At half past midnight on 9 June 1944, in a back bedroom in north London, a man typed a lie. Because of it, nineteen German divisions stayed exactly where they were.
The First Thursday: the village girl who stopped a continent every monthأوَّل خَمِيس مِن الشَّهر — البِنت اللِّي وَقَّفَت قارَّة
أوَّل خَمِيس مِن الشَّهر، سَنَة أَلف وتُسعُمِيَة وخَمسَة وخَمسِين. الشّارِع فاضِي وَالقَهوَة مَليانة، وَمَحَدِّش يِعرَف اللَّيلة دي هَتِخلَص إِمتَى.
The Poet in Scheme One: Mustafa Zaidi's last night in Karachi, 1970اسکیم ون کا شاعر — مصطفیٰ زیدی کی آخری رات، کراچی 1970
تیرَہ اَکتُوبَر اُنّیس سَو ستَّر، صُبح۔ کَراچی کے ایک بَنگلے کا دَروازَہ توڑا گَیا۔ اَندَر چالِیس سال کا ایک شاعِر مَرا پَڑا تھا، اور ساتھ والے کَمرے میں ایک عَورَت بے ہوش تھی۔ چھپَّن سال بَعد بھی کوئ
Three Minutes in Quetta, and a Death Toll Nobody Ever Closedکوئٹہ کے تِین مِنَٹ — اور وہ گِنتی جو کَبھی مُکَمَّل نَہیں ہُوئی
اِکَتِّیس مَئی اُنّیس سَو پَینتِیس، رات کے تِین بَجے۔ کُوئٹَہ تِین مِنَٹ تَک ہِلا، اور صُبح تَک شَہر باقی نَہیں تھا۔ مَرنے والوں کی تَعداد آج بھی تِیس ہَزار اور ساٹھ ہَزار کے دَرمِیان لِکھی جاتی ہے۔
Four Minutes After Gilgit: the plane that never landedگلگت کے چار منٹ بعد — وہ جہاز جو کبھی نہیں اترا
پَچِّیس اَگَست اُنّیس سَو نَواسی، صُبح سات بَج کَر چالِیس مِنٹ۔ گِلگِت سے اُڑے ہُوئے صِرف چار مِنٹ — اور یہ کال، جو مَعمُول کی تھی، چَون لوگوں کی آخِری آواز بَن گَئی۔
Every Label Cut Out: the Somerton Man and the words in his fob pocket
Half past six in the morning, the first of December, 1948. Three men on an Adelaide beach find a body already sitting against the seawall, feet crossed — and nobody, for the next seventy-four years, c
Seventeen Hours on the Karachi Apron: the file on Flight 73کَراچی کی ٹارمَیک پَر سَترَہ گَھنٹے — پَرواز تِہَتَّر کی فائل
پانچ سِتَمبَر اُنّیس سَو چھیاسی، صُبح چار بَج کَر چالِیس مِنَٹ۔ کَراچی کی ٹارمَیک پَر ایک وین رُکی۔ اُن آدَمِیوں کی وَردی ایئرپورٹ کی تھی، لیکِن وہ ایئرپورٹ کے آدَمی نَہیں تھے۔
One Hundred and Two: the plane the Rohtang ice kept for thirty-five yearsएक सौ दो — वो जहाज़ जिसे बर्फ़ ने पैंतीस साल छिपाए रखा
अगस्त दो हज़ार तीन। पाँच हज़ार मीटर की ऊँचाई पर एक पर्वतारोही की कुल्हाड़ी बर्फ़ में धँसी और किसी नरम चीज़ से टकराई।
Forty-Eight Seconds in Company Bagh: the file that never closedکمپنی باغ کے اڑتالیس سیکنڈ — وہ فائل جو کبھی بند نہ ہوئی
سولَہ اکتوبَر اُنّیس سَو اِکیاون، شام چار بَجے، راولپِنڈی کا کَمپنی باغ — پَہلی گولی چَل چُکی تھی، اور وَزِیرِ اعظَم اَبھی کَھڑا تھا۔
Two Men, Two Lead Masks, and a Note That Said 18:30
On the afternoon of the twentieth of August 1966 a boy chasing a kite up Vintém Hill above Niterói stopped in the grass. Two men in suits were lying there, and both of them were wearing eye masks cut
Seventeen Women Under the Floor: the Labban house, Alexandria 1920سبع عشرة امرأة تحت البلاط — بيت اللبان، الإسكندرية 1920
الثَّانِي عَشَرَ من نُوفَمبِر سَنَة أَلفٍ وَتِسعِمِائَةٍ وعشرين. أَثنَاءَ حَفرِ ماسورة مِيَاهُ في حَيٍّ اللَّبَّان خَرَجَت من تَحتَ البِلَاطِ يدُ اِمرَأَةٍ. وَلَم تَكُن الأَخِيرَة.
Eight Days After the Water Came: the hole under Tarbelaپانی آنے کے آٹھ دِن بَعد — تَربیلا کے نِیچے کا سُوراخ
چَودَہ اَگَست اُنّیس سَو چوہَتَّر۔ پانی بَھرے صِرف آٹھ دِن ہُوئے تھے، لیکن اُس صُبح جھِیل کی سَطح پَر ایک بَھنوَر کُھل گَیا جو کِسی نے نہیں بَنایا تھا۔
Sixty-Six Iron Gates: how one 1932 machine feeds a quarter of Pakistanچھیاسَٹھ لوہے کے دَروازے — اُنّیس سَو بَتِّیس کی وہ مَشِین جو آج بھی چَل رَہی ہے
سُکَّھر میں سِندھ دَریا پَر چھیاسَٹھ لوہے کے دَروازے ہیں، ہَر ایک پَچاس ٹَن کا۔ اِن پَر ملُک کی تَقرِیباً چَوتھائی سیراب زَمِین کھَڑی ہے — مَگَر یہ ڈھانچَہ اُنّیس سَو بَتِّیس میں بَنا تھا۔
The Day a Drill Bit Pulled a Whole Lake Down a Hole
Early on the twentieth of November 1980 a drill bit went into the bed of a ten-foot-deep lake in Louisiana and stuck at one thousand two hundred and twenty-eight feet. But nothing on that rig's own ch
They drilled for oil and lit every kitchen: the Sui gas story, 1952تیل ڈھونڈنے نکلے، ہر چولہا جلا آئے — سوئی گیس کی کہانی
اُنّیس سَو باوَن میں ڈیرَہ بُگٹی کی خُشک پَہاڑیوں میں وہ تیل ڈُھونڈ رَہے تھے۔ تیل نہیں نِکلا۔ جو نِکلا، اُس نے ہَر پاکِستانی باوَرچی خانے کا چُولہا بَدَل دِیا۔
The tunnel in every pocket: eight hundred graves under the five-rupee noteپانچ روپے کے نوٹ والی سُرنگ — اور اُس کے نیچے آٹھ سو قبریں
اُنتِیس سال یہ سُرَنگ ہَر پاکِستانی کی جیب میں رَہی — لیکِن پانچ روپَے کے نوٹ پر وہ آٹھ سَو قَبریں نہیں چَھپیں جو اِس کے دَہانے کے نِیچے ہیں۔
The Loan That Dug a City: dredging Dubai Creek, 1959القرض الذي حفر مدينة — تعميق خور دبي، 1959
سَنَة أَلفٍ وَتِسعِمِائَةٍ وَتِسعٍ وَخَمسِينَ، لَم يَكُن في دبي نَفط. كَانَ فِيهَا خور يضيق كُلّ سَنَة، وَسُفُنٌ تَقِفُ في عَرضُ البحر لِأَنَّهَا لا تستطيع الدُّخُولُ.
Three Kilometres Down: how Kolar Gold Fields lit Asia and then went darkतीन किलोमीटर नीचे — कोलार की सोने की खान, जिसने एशिया को पहली बिजली दी
ज़मीन से तीन किलोमीटर नीचे चट्टान इतनी गर्म होती है कि उसे नंगे हाथ से छुआ नहीं जा सकता। कोलार की खानों में आदमी वहां रोज़ उतरता था — और सौ साल तक किसी ने ऊपर पूछा तक नहीं।
A City of 400,000 Buffaloes: Karachi's milk, and its 7,200 tons of dungچار لاکھ بھینسوں کا شَہر — کَراچی کا دُودھ، اور اُس کا سات ہَزار ٹَن گوبَر
کَراچی کے لانڈھی میں ایک بَستی ہے جِس کی آبادی چار لاکھ ہے اور اُس میں ایک بھی اِنسان مُستَقِل نَہیں رَہتا۔ ہَر روز وَہاں سے چالِیس لاکھ لِٹَر دُودھ نِکلتا ہے، اور سات ہَزار دو سَو ٹَن گوبَر۔
The Town That Sits on a Fire Nobody Could Put Out
In February 1981 a twelve-year-old boy in Centralia, Pennsylvania felt his grandmother's back garden go soft and then open under him. The hole was four feet across and a hundred and fifty feet deep, a
They Drained the Fourth-Largest Lake on Earth. Then Kazakhstan Took a Third of It Back
A ship's hull is standing in a desert in Uzbekistan, ninety kilometres from the nearest water. Nobody moved it, and nobody abandoned it. The sea walked away from underneath it.
The Blue That Comes Out of a Kiln: 380 years of Lahore's tile makersوہ نِیلا جو بَھٹّی سے نِکلتا ہے — لاہور کے کاشی گَروں کی تِین سَو اَسّی سالہ کَہانی
لاہور کے دِلّی دَروازے سے دو سَو ساٹھ قَدَم اَندَر ایک دِیوار پَر تِین سَو اَسّی سال پُرانا نِیلا رَنگ ہے۔ مَگَر وہ رَنگ پَینٹ نَہیں ہے۔ وہ شِیشَہ ہے، اور وہ صِرف بَھٹّی میں بَنتا ہے۔
The Pot That Boiled Only Stones: Umar's night outside Madinaوہ ہانڈی جس میں صرف پتھر اُبلتے تھے
مَدِینے سے باہَر، آدھی رات کو، ایک ہانڈی چُولھے پر چَڑھی تھی — اور اُس میں کھانا نہیں، صِرف پَتَّھر اُبَل رَہے تھے۔ اَمِیرُ المومِنِین اُس ہانڈی کے پاس رُک گَئے۔
The Man the Messenger Praised but Never Met: Owais of Yemenوہ آدمی جسے مدینے میں نام لے کر یاد کیا گیا، اور جو کبھی مدینے نہیں آیا
یَمَن کے پَہاڑوں میں ایک آدمی اُونٹ چَراتا تھا جِس نے رَسُولِ اَکرَم ﷺ کو کَبھی نہیں دیکھا — مَگَر مَدِینے میں آپ ﷺ اُس کا نام لے کَر فَرماتے تھے۔ اور وہ آدمی کَبھی مَدِینے نہیں آیا۔
The Man on the Palace Roof: the king of Balkh who walked out and never went back
A king of Balkh heard footsteps on his own palace roof in the middle of the night. He shouted up at the dark. The man walking about up there said he was looking for a lost camel.
He Lost His Library, Then Wrote the Book Lahore Still Feeds People Forکِتابیں غَزنی میں رَہ گَئِیں — اور لاہور میں ایک ایسی کِتاب لِکھی گَئی جو ہَزار سال سے پَڑھی جا رَہی ہے
لاہور میں ہَر روز ہَزاروں لوگ ایک ایسے آدَمی کے دَروازے پَر آتے ہیں جو ہَزار سال پَہلے غَزنی سے آیا تھا۔ مَگَر وہ اَپنے ساتھ خَزانَہ نَہیں لایا تھا۔ صِرف ایک کِتاب، جو اُس نے اَپنی ساری لائبریری کھو د
He Killed His Own Horse to Feed a Guest: Hatim of Tayyذبح فرسه ليُطعم ضيفه — حاتم الطائي
جَاءَ رَجُلٌ من بَعِيد لِيَشتَرِيَ فَرَسَه. فَذَبَحَ حاتم الفَرَس وَأَطعَمَهُ إِيَّاهَا، وَلَم يَكُن يَملِكُ غَيرَهَا. وَلَم يبقَ لَهُ بَعدَهَا ما يَركَبَه.
The Houses Built From Burma Teak: Chettinad's emptied mansionsबर्मा की सागौन से बने घर — चेट्टिनाड की ख़ाली हवेलियाँ
इस दरवाज़े पर लगा ताला चालीस साल से नहीं खुला। दरवाज़ा एक ही सागौन के तने से बना है, और उसके ऊपर की नक़्क़ाशी अब भी साफ़ है।
The Sayyid Who Tied Anklets: Bulleh Shah and the murshid who shut the doorجس سید نے گھنگرو باندھے — بلھے شاہ اور وہ دروازہ جو بند ہو گیا
اَٹھارَہوِیں صَدی کے پَنجاب میں ایک سَیِّد شاعِر نے پاؤں میں گَھنگرُو باندھ لِیے۔ وہ اَپنا مُرشِد واپَس چاہتا تھا، اور اِس کے سِوا کوئی راستَہ باقی نہیں بَچا تھا۔
The Best Job in the World, and the Day His Voice Stopped Working
In the summer of 1095 the most highly paid teacher in Baghdad stood up in front of his class and found that he could not speak. Not nerves. Not illness. His mouth simply would not make the words.
The Catalogue Alone Ran to Forty-Four Volumes
A caliph in tenth-century Córdoba owned a library whose catalogue ran to forty-four volumes. Not the books. The list of the titles, with nothing else on the page. But within forty years of his death a
There Is No 47a on Hough Street. It Uses Gas Every Night.
Hough Street was built in 1903 and there has never been a 47a. There are forty-one houses on it and none of them is divided. A statement arrives for 47a every month.
Forty Metres Behind, for Three Hours, in a Sandstormأَربَعونَ مِترًا خَلفَنا، ثَلاثَ ساعات
في تِلكَ العاصِفَةِ ظَلَّ الضَوءانِ خَلفَهُما أَربَعينَ مِترًا بِالضَبط، ثَلاثَ ساعات. لَكِنَّ الطَريقَ كانَ فارِغًا، وَلا أَحَدَ اقتَرَبَ وَلا أَحَدَ ابتَعَد.
The Channel Was Shut in 2009. Every Night It Carries for Three Minutes.जो चैनल दो हज़ार नौ में बंद हुआ, वह हर रात तीन मिनट चलता है
बरहज रिले स्टेशन का मीडियम वेव चैनल दो हज़ार नौ में बंद कर दिया गया था। लेकिन उसकी लॉग बुक में हर रात दो बजकर चौदह मिनट पर तीन मिनट का कैरियर दर्ज है।
Four Thousand Six Hundred Sacks Went In. He Counts One More.اَندَر چار ہَزار چھے سَو بورِیاں گَئی تھیں
مُلتان کے اُس کولڈ اسٹور کے چیمبَر تِین میں چار ہَزار چھے سَو بورِیاں رَکھی گَئی تھیں۔ گیٹ پاس پَر یَہی لِکھا ہے۔ اور رات تِین بَجے شَوکَت کی گِنتی ہَمیشہ چار ہَزار چھے سَو ایک نِکلتی ہے۔
The Van Was Scrapped in 2019. The Chime Still Comes at 1:07.
On Thorpe Rise the chime comes down the ginnel at seven minutes past one on a Sunday morning. But the van that played it was weighed in for scrap in 2019, and the depot has the receipt.
The Line Was Cut in 2011. It Still Logs Two Minutes Every November.
The copper to kiosk 119 was lifted out of the duct in 2011. But every third of November since, the exchange has logged a two-minute call from it at 21:14, and nobody has ever been in the box.
The Camp That Follows the Blossom: a year with Pakistan's travelling beekeepersپُھول کے پِیچھے چَلنے والا کیمپ — شَہد والوں کا ایک سال
اِس خاندان کا کوئی گاؤں نہیں ہے۔ یہ لوگ سال کے بارَہ مَہِینے پُھولوں کے پِیچھے چَلتے ہیں، اور جَہاں پُھول ہو، وہِیں اِن کا گھَر ہوتا ہے۔
Twenty-Three Lanterns: one night with the Manora lighthouse keeperتیئِیس لالٹینیں — مَنوڑے کے رَکھوالے کی ایک رات
اِس مِینار کی بَتّی ایک سَو پَچھتَّر سال سے ہَر رات جَلتی ہے، لیکِن اِسے جَلانے والے کا نام مَنوڑے کے باہَر کِسی نے نہیں پُوچھا۔
One Night on the Trans-Siberian: the samovar, the snow, and Baikal at dawn
At the end of every carriage on this train there is a coal-fired samovar. Nobody ever lets it go out. It has been kept alight, in one carriage or another, for most of a hundred years.
One Night on Manchar: the lake where the street moves in the darkمنچَھر کی ایک رات — وہ جِھیل جِس کی گَلی رات بَھر جَگہ بَدلتی ہے
منچَھر جِھیل پَر رات کو کوئی سَڑَک نَہیں ہوتی۔ صِرف کِشتِیوں کی ایک قَطار ہوتی ہے، اور ہَر کِشتی کے پِیچھے ایک چھوٹا سا چِراغ۔ اور صُبح تَک وہ قَطار وَہاں نَہیں رَہتی جَہاں رات کو تھی۔
One Walnut Night in Hunza: the orchard at Altit before the first frostہنزہ کی ایک اخروٹ رات — آلٹِت کا باغ، پہلی برف سے پہلے
ہُنزَہ میں اَخروٹ رات کو گِرائے جاتے ہیں۔ دِن میں نہیں، کِیوں کہ دھُوپ میں چِھلکا سَخت رَہتا ہے اور چُھوٹتا نہیں۔ آلٹِت کے باغ میں یہ رات سال کی سَب سے لَمبی رات ہوتی ہے۔
One Night in the Al-Ahsa Oasis: the water turn, the palms, the lampليلة واحدة في واحة الأحساء — دور الماء، والنخل، والفانوس
في الأحساء يَأتِي دَور الماء في اللَّيلِ. لِكُلِّ بُستَان ساعته المَكتُوبَة، وَمِن ينام في ساعته يَفقِد مَاءَه إلى الأُسبُوع القادم.
A Night at Ghum: the toy train shed at 2,258 metres, in fogघूम में एक रात — दो हज़ार दो सौ अट्ठावन मीटर पर खड़ी छोटी रेल
घूम स्टेशन दो हज़ार दो सौ अट्ठावन मीटर की ऊँचाई पर है। भारत में इससे ऊँचा कोई रेलवे स्टेशन नहीं। और रात को यहाँ कोहरा दरवाज़े से अंदर आ जाता है।
Four Months at Twelve Thousand Feet: a night in the yak pasturesبارَہ ہَزار فُٹ پَر چار مَہِینے — بُلَند چَراگاہوں کی ایک رات
بَروغِل کی بُلَند چَراگاہوں میں رات کی سَب سے پُرانی آواز مَکّھَن بِلونے کی ہے۔ یہ آواز بارَہ ہَزار فُٹ پَر ہوتی ہے، اور سال میں صِرف چار مَہِینے۔ باقی آٹھ مَہِینے یَہاں بَرف ہوتی ہے۔
A Hundred Thousand Wheels, Eight Degrees, and Nobody in a Hurry
Under a nineteenth-century fort in the Jura mountains there are more than a hundred thousand wheels of cheese, lying on spruce boards in stone galleries at eight degrees. Nothing in this building happ
Nobody Above the Dyfi Sleeps Through March, and Nobody Hurries
It is half past two in the morning above the Dyfi valley, and nobody in this shed is in a hurry. A hundred and forty ewes are lying in straw, and one pair of hands is moving very slowly between them.
Bring the idea; we will shoot it.
Pick a content mode, name your characters, choose the market it is for. The brief takes a couple of minutes.
آپ بتائیں، ویڈیو ہم بنا دیں گے۔