Title: “Mein Aaya Mukh Wekhan” by Dr. Uxi Mufti
Reviewed by: Muhammad Saeed Chishti Nizami
What does it truly mean to know a civilization? Dr. Uxi Mufti’s _Mein Aaya Mukh Wekhan_ seeks an answer beyond monuments and folklore, moving from cultural preservation to spiritual inquiry.
Son of eminent thinker Mumtaz Mufti, Dr. Uxi Mufti charted his own path. With a background in psychology and a PhD in Western Philosophy from Charles University, Prague, his encounter with Western thought paradoxically drew him closer to his own roots. He understood that a people’s identity lives not just in history books but in folk songs, crafts, languages, and collective memory.
This vision shaped his career at PTV with _Lok Tamasha_ and later as Chief Executive of Lok Virsa (National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage) until 2002, where he preserved Pakistan’s living traditions.
_Mein Aaya Mukh Wekhan_ — literally “I came to see the face” — marks a deeper turn. If for decades he sought the face of a civilization, here he seeks the face behind the face: reality itself. Drawing on Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh, Sultan Bahu, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani and Ibn-e-Arabi, he explores existence, self, and Creator-creation relationship with simplicity rather than jargon.
The book’s relevance today is striking. In an age of information overload and AI, the fundamental questions remain: Who are we? Why are we here? Information tells us what; wisdom asks why it matters.
Continuing the intellectual legacy of Mumtaz Mufti’s _Labbaik_ and _Talash_ but in his own voice, Dr. Uxi Mufti reminds us that outer heritage preserves memory, but inner meaning gives it life.
