As the Muslim month of Moharram begins this week (June 26 or 27, depending on the sighting of the new moon), the pulsating Pala Galli aka Hazrat Abbas Street in Dongri prepares to be draped in black.
Syed Israr Ahmed, my brother-in-law, records one Urdu nauha (laments recited to a tune, but without musical instruments) a day, weeping copiously as he does so. He then sends it to his family’s ...