“یوه ژبه هیڅ کله بس نده — One language is never enough.”
— Pashto Proverb
The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said, ‘Verily you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will her leader be, and what a wonderful army will that army be!’ [Musnad Ahmad, Al Hakim, al Jami’ al Saghir] https://www.instagram.com/p/CCi6_fjlq6i/?igshid=1j6ub958hpgzg
Illuminated pages from a manuscript of Hafez, Zand Period style, 1790.
that one sticker you were saving
pressed flowers from a walk around your neighborhood
book quotes that made you laugh
paint swatches of colors that remind you of them
the local time of sunrise and sunset
poems and movie quotes
meaningful song lyrics
polaroids of your desk space, or the view out of your window
cutouts of sheet music you used to play
phrases in your native language with translations
magazine cutouts
pages of old books folded into a small envelope
a secret about your hometown
newspaper clippings from the day of writing
coins from your country
maps or drawings of your city
recounts of strangers you saw
teabag of your favorite tea
colorful stamps
“د مسافرو یاري مه کړه تا به د زړه په رنځ اخته کړي دوی به ځینه Do not fall in love with wanderers You will drown your heart in sorrow And they will leave.”
— Pashto landay
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
Afghan Dark Academia consists of wearing velvet kuchi dresses and drinking kahwah while listening to classical Rabab music and analysing poems of Rumi, Rahman Baba and Hafez.
(because everyone talks about the literature lovers but not the science lovers)
Staring through a microscope far longer than you should just because you love being able to see what few others have seen
The idea of pushing the boundaries of human knowledge, of making an impact
Studying ocean currents and still feeling amazed when you see them churning the sea’s surface
Messy writing
Going through online libraries and only reading the abstracts of research papers
Thousand page anatomy textbooks
Latin words you don’t quite know the meaning of
That feeling when memorizating facts finally turns into understanding concepts
Knowledge of biological functions even though you’re not quite sure when you learned it
Two Pashtun men greeting
Location: Kado, Nortwest Frontier. Pakistan
Photographer: Michael Freeman
Desi dark academia is just a group of multilingual STEM students with an extensive knowledge of history, who recite Tagore, purely out of memory
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. 🥰🤗