Ka Makh De Rana Heer Sho No Jehan Ba Rana Heer Shi,

Reading The Kite Runner, and came across this:

“I remember something Baba said about Pashtuns once. We may be hardheaded, and i know we’re far too proud, but, in the hour of need, believe me there’s no one you’d rather have at your side than a Pushtun” 

So accurate it hurts

south asian dark academia

Let’s admit it, we were all dark academic hoes the moment we

- started fantasising abt going on museum dates with a crush

- wanted to live in cities with mysterious vibes

- watched the rain outside the car and started reminiscing

- would buy bundles of books and literally ignore people for a few days

- wanted to learn classic instruments for the aesthetic

- had favourite clothes that made you sweat like hell in the summer

Muslim academia

shrines. qawalis. sufism. solitude. heartbreak. cigarettes. leather jackets. alcohol. poetry. football. ali sethi. manto. hadiqa kiani. havelis. photography. love. sunsets. you.

- life, once upon a time

Dark Academia for Brown People

 Most people, when they think of dark academia is books (that’s the whole point) and ancient languages such as Latin or Ancient Greek. I’m here to tell you that you all are SLEEPING on brown culture. Love that is conveyed in the languages of Persian and Urdu (my native language) crosses borders. Sure, Shakespeare and Sappho wrote great pieces of literature but the stories and poems of Rumi, Manto, Hafez and Iqbal have a special place in my heart. 

Some of my favourites are:- (all are translated)

Sit at my grave with wine and a minstrel in a trance, so your smell will raise me from the dead.

HAFEZ

My lover’s sadness lit a fire in my heart that burned my chest, there was a fire in his house that burned the nest.

HAFEZ

O the day turned night, what a shame, a gazelle of kindness a lion became, my partner and lover grew tired of my words and prayers too.

RUMI

These are my personal favourites. I can always make a longer post if you all want.

Female poets deserve a whole other post.

As someone who goes to an English-Medium school, we are always taught to converse in English, see the language as a part of yourself but deny a place to Urdu. As I grow older, I have come to appreciate my identity and so should all my fellow brown people. Take pride in your mother tongue.

Kabul in 1968.

Illuminated pages from a manuscript of Hafez, Zand Period style, 1790.

Books are the foundations of the soul. The building blocks of our very own character.

Hello!! I’ve been trying to find Pakistani/Pashtun owned dark academia accounts because there are really not much of them and most aren’t given much attention :( im honestly so glad I found yours, I adore it so much 🥺🥰 (I’m Pashtun myself hehe)

Hii! I am pleased you like it and I agree with you. I thought not many people will understand it but I started it anyway because i think the dark academia aesthetic can go really well with our culture. I am so glad you reached out. 🥰🤗