The Magic of Fireflies
Fireflies used to light up the Karachi night sky but now they only exist in poetry, music and folklore
Fireflies lit up the evenings of Kashif Qamarβs childhood in Karachi. With his friends heβd collect βjugnuβ as they are called in Urdu into a large jar which then became a living lamp in the intense darkness. But the fireflies have gone β artificial light means they disappear and Kashifβs young daughters will never see their flickering magic.
So Kashif sets out to make a present for his daughters - a collection of memories from history, poetry and music all of which have the jugnu or firefly at their centre.
(Photo: Fireflies seen at the Santuario de las Luciernagas protected by the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR), Nanacamilpa, Tlaxcala. Credit: Mario Vazquez de la Torre/AFP/Getty Images)
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Broadcasts
- Tue 20 Mar 2018 13:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except News Internet
- Tue 20 Mar 2018 20:06GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview & Europe and the Middle East only
- Tue 20 Mar 2018 21:06GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Australasia, East and Southern Africa, South Asia, West and Central Africa & East Asia only
- Wed 21 Mar 2018 02:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except News Internet
- Sat 24 Mar 2018 18:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Australasia, East and Southern Africa, South Asia, West and Central Africa & East Asia only
- Mon 26 Mar 2018 05:06GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Americas and the Caribbean
- Wed 6 Jun 2018 10:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Wed 6 Jun 2018 21:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except News Internet
- Thu 7 Jun 2018 01:32GMTΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except News Internet