Ali Baba Taj

 (Asim Rafiqui)Ali Baba Taj is perhaps one of the best known poets in Quetta. A scholar of Persian and Urdu literature, he writes in Persian, Urdu and Hazaragi. In between listening to him read his poems, we spent many hours talking about situation in Quetta, the struggles of the Hazara to maintain their links to their beloved city, the state of Urdu literature and poetry in the country, the pleasures of travels in India, the sorrows of the loss of his close and dear friend, the Hazara activist Irfan Ali who was killed in a suicide bomb attack on January 10, 2013, the fear of being outside of their homes, the many adjustments to life and pleasures forced upon them by the violence, and the foreboding that surrounds every home in this neighborhood.

Here he reads a few of his works, sharing with us the feelings that surround his every moment.

Hum Jee Laytay Hain (We survive)

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Tum Say (From You – In tribute to the activist and close friend Irfan Ali)

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