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Meri Mitti Key Log

by Suhail Zaheer Lari , Rs 2500/-

Suhail Zaheer Lari’s portfolio of photographs stands testimony to the endeavour of the people of this country to survive against many odds, managing to celebrate life despite the shadow of death which stalks those who live on the edge of a world marked and often scarred by so many conflicts. A pictorial memoir, an imagined landscape, and a visual history: all of these describe the rich collection of images which bring Pakistan into our blunted conscience. It is imperative that Lari’s work be preserved, shared, and celebrated as much as he has celebrated the lives of his timeless subjects.
Feryal Ali Gauhar

Amazing portraits of aged men and women depict what nature paints with the brush of time on human faces. On the one hand one sees webs of wrinkles on seasoned faces and on the other, an untouched innocence on the young. Living in the mega city of Karachi, Suhail forms a relationship with them through the soil he owns as a Pakistani. He portrays a true picture of what he sees in the rural surroundings as well as slums, which exist side by side with the posh habitats in the metropolis. Like his previous book on the political history of Sindh, his present work of photography also speaks for his hard work and patience in collecting relevant data. He compiles the data maintaining the flow of the story. The outcome is like an elaborate spread of patchwork in sober tones with continuity of design.
Shamim Akhter

When one sees Suhail Lari’s collection of photographs inspired by Mother
Earth, one realizes that photography is an art form. The black-and-white photographs taken at high speed, and with a high-speed film, have a grainy, textured effect so that human faces too, look as if they are at one with the natural environment. They send shivers down the spine, as they remind one of one’s genesis and the fact that we are, after all, just humble beings made of clay. The touches of colour projected by the photographs taken at high speed, lend them a look of a sketch rather than a snapshot. Truly an amazing work of art and craft!
Shanaz Ramzi

Neither Islamic Nor Persian: A History of Muslim Painting

by Suhail Zaheer Lari

‘A systematic and very comprehensive account of Muslim art, beginning with the birth of Islam, winding down to the Timurid period, the Ottoman empire, and ending with the Mughals and Emperor Aurangzeb. Lari is extremely thorough, meticulously recording an amazing number of manuscripts and paintings, their dates, the rulers they were created under, and often why they were painted.
After reading the book, it is almost guaranteed that one will drop the established western compartmentalisation and adopt Lart’s view instead.’
Zehra Hamdani, Newsline, August 2002

‘The cover of Suhail Lari’s latest book is deliciously enticing. Indeed the entire layout of the book is unusually beautiful...The same attention has gone into the book’s presentation is amply visible throughout the text of this remarkable little book...The book is a comprehensive guide to the artists and craftsmen behind this typically Muslim art form...it gives the reader a great introduction into the fascinating world of Muslim painting.’
Umbereen Beg-Mirza, She, June 2002

‘The questions Lari has raised ought to be discussed in art schools to educate the minds of the students rather than send them out in the world as glib technicians.’
Dr Akbar Naqvi, Herald, July 2002

‘Suhail Zaheer Lari, besides being an intellectual, is a very interesting person ... The book is very well produced and contains 40 illustrations and 40 colour plates ... and concise history of art under Muslim domains’
Shamim Akhter, The Daily News, 10 June 2002

‘There is excellent research mixed with good story-telling that fills the book with nuggets you don’t find in textbooks ... One can go on and on about the stories in this book which is liberally interspersed with miniature reproductions of good quality.’
Khaled Ahmed, Friday Times, May 10-16, 2002

An Illustrated History of Sindh

New edition 2002
by Suhail Zaheer Lari

‘A valuable addition to the few authentic books available on the subject in the English language’
Hasan Mujtaba, Newsline, March 1994

‘The political history is interspersed with accounts of the development of the Sindhi language and literature and the spread of Sufism. The book contains references to important articles, books and original sources. Short as the book may appear, it has succinctly given all important information, making it a handy, useful and connected history of Sindh from the earliest days. It will form an important guide for research workers and students of history and literature of Sindh.’
I. A. A., The Nation, 9 December 1994

‘Suhail Zaheer Lari has done a good job by unfolding details about Sindh which were not hitherto commonly known to people. It is indeed a very profound study.’
Col. (Retd) Ghulam Sarwar, Pakistan Times, 20 April 1995

‘A Reference Work’
Narayani Gupta, Department of History and Culture, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, September 1995

‘As with all Heritage Foundation publications, the layout and presentation are superb.’
Umbereen Beg-Mirza, She, November 2002

‘But what is more remarkable is that he has brought to his narration of events a more balanced interpretive angle. This gives the story a heretical slant and makes it exciting to read. Lari has a historian’s natural bent as you can see in the linear record that his brief book tries to maintain. It is his penchant for neglected facts that adds excitement to what otherwise would have declined into ideological routine.’
Khaled Ahmed, Friday Times, Nov 29-Dec 5, 2002

The Jewel of Sindh: Sama Monuments on Makli Hill

by Suhail and Yasmeen Lari

Yasmeen and Suhail have always been part of a small group of universally respected people in Pakistan. A lifetime of honest work has aroused genuine admiration for the architect-historian duo. Their earlier volume on Karachi has superseded all earlier work, and one has heard that they are preparing a volume on Lahore too. The reviewer is a great fan of Suhail’s ability to write history. Yasmeen’s expertise in cataloguing and describing architecture is wonderfully underpinned by Suhail’s grasp of the historical fact.
Khaled Ahmed, Friday Times, Jan 30 - Feb 5, 1998

What a source of inspiration and a treasure trove of design these photographs could be to the designer and artist! This beautifully produced book leaves one eagerly looking forward to its companion volumes on the other tombs of the Makli Hills funery group.
S K Rahmat Ali, Newsline, March 1998

A tour-de-force from two prominent Pakistanis who have done much to open our eyes to the valuable heritage - both archaeological and architectural - which we must protect for the benefit of the future.
Jeeva Haroun, She. January 1999

Topics: publication

The Dual City: Karachi During the Raj

by Yasmeen Lari and Mihail Lari

The Dual City: Karachi During the Raj is a monumental and comprehensive documentary on Karachi in all its aspects, and the first book of its kind to be published ... Encompassing a vast panorama of history, politics, architecture and arts and crafts illustrated with hundreds of maps, paintings and photographs (some rare and out of print), this volume is a must for schools, colleges, art and design institutions, reference libraries, clubs, and the intelligentsia. The authors have produced a tremendous piece of documentation which is destined to become a classic.
SK Rahmat Ali, Newsline, October 1996

Karachi’s best-known architect and conservationist Yasmeen Lari, together with Mihail Lari, has confirmed her good reputation by writing a high-quality historical and architectural history of the city of Karachi. It is a coffee-table volume with 400 rare illustrations, 144 of them in colour. Anything you ever wanted to know about the mega-city before 1947 is here, from Alexander’s legendary Krokola around 330 BC, the story of the British take-over in 1839, to stories behind all the landmark buildings.
Khaled Ahmed, The Friday Times, September 12-18. 1996

Topics: publication