Light Within

Karachi Chapter 55 PMA Long Course get together DA Golf Club! Here are some of the images by Zafar Iqbal Durrani

Thanks to CIO Pakistan, IDG got together with Google Pakistan that they launched the Annual Pakistan Blog Awards in 2010. The award has become an annual feature and all Pakistani bloggers and readers to look forward to. This year, blogs related to Pakistan either through the topic, language or audience can context in Pakistan Blog Award 2011. The theme for 2011 is “Colors of Pakistan: Celebrating the New Media Spaces” and it aptly shows on the blog award site. Nomination will close by Monday morning (November 21, 2011). Voting will continue through November 25, 2011 (extended till November 28, 2011).

Lahore School Blog has been nominated here. Show your support for the blog by voting, rating and or leaving comments. Look for golden little star and click on the last one. Your vote is done. Check the image below for more help. Also leave your comments at the bottom of the page. Your comment and feedback matters a great deal.

Nadir Mir

The ‘Memo of Treachery’ has been considerably unveiled. Actually it is no great mystery. This is in fact the corruption, transfer wealth abroad – get foreign support – stay in power or acquire more power – money complex in action. Pakistani liberals (puppets) living abroad, posing as the ‘face of Pakistan’ the linchpin for this Faustian bargain. (Between Pakistani traitors and alien supporters).

It is certainly not about civilian control over the military establishment (which is a good thing). It is about corrupt, self serving elite, who seek foreign support to keep robbing the people of Pakistan. (Betraying Pakistanis is not an issue, but part of the agenda).

Without confusing the issue, the ‘Memo’ sent by some Pakistanis (with bank accounts, assets and residence abroad) sought foreign (Uncle Sam’s) support which by simple connotation meant:

Tags: Gratitude, Reflections, Thanksgiving

Every moment I am thankful to Allah (God), the exalted, for every thing I am blessed with in life.

In different cultures, people celebrate Thanksgiving in different ways and on different days. I wished one of my American friends on the eve and she sent me her post titled Reflection, a Blue Sky Thanksgviving. here is the post to mark he occasion:

If I could reflect back every blue sky that every someone has given me, It would be priceless. It would be a crystal lake that is a mirror of the good things in humanity. I’d be a liquid filled with gratitude and compassion. It would go deep with forgiveness and a lasting sense of faith in people. I have faith in you always.

If I could reflect the joy that has come to me, It would be one shining, peaceful oasis in a noisy cluttered world. It would offer anyone, everyone a place of safety, solace, silence, some little bit of certainty that God is in his heaven and the angels still watch over us. Angels are everywhere. They are watching really.

If I could reflect, project my feelings to those I love, using words I care about. I would tell them of their genius, of their mighty uniqueness. I would write their essence into history. They would live forever. Your mark is on the universe. Your love has left its mark on me. That is the size and depth of my gratitude. That is the fuel that fires my soul. That is my reflection, a blue sky thanksgiving for the people in my life.

Have you counted your blessings?

But still, here in Pakistan Black Berry has become very famous for another reason. In a slow tech Pakistan landscape that is crowded with new smartphones, the BlackBerry emails, messages and calls between Ejaz Mansoor and Hussain Haqqani are being discussed by everyone; in print and electronic media as well in social spaces.

It is a sheer coincidence that only a few days before the memogate scandal started unfolding, my son (thanks to you beta) got me a spanking new Black Berry. I am still getting used to it and trying to explore its features but I quickly found out a very uncool fact that Black Berry data can be altered and manipulated though the process is difficult. Excuse me, I heard an expert analyst saying this in Capital Talk ay at GEO TV.

I did not mind reports about the phone that built its reputation on security and reliability that it was struck by a three-day service outage that affected users on five continents. But I am worried about the fact that its data can be altered. I must be careful with whom I share my Black berry Pin and who all are in my contact list.

If you still need my PIN, please ask.

Thanks to CIO Pakistan, IDG got together with Google Pakistan that they launched the Annual Pakistan Blog Awards in 2010. The award has become an annual feature and all Pakistani bloggers and readers to look forward to. This year, blogs related to Pakistan either through the topic, language or audience can context in Pakistan Blog Award 2011. The theme for 2011 is “Colors of Pakistan: Celebrating the New Media Spaces” and it aptly shows on the blog award site. Nomination will close by Monday morning (November 21, 2011). Voting will continue through November 25, 2011.

Lahore School Blog has been nominated here. Show your support for the blog by voting, rating and or leaving comments. Look for golden little star and click on the last one. Your vote is done. Check the image below for more help. Also leave your comments at the bottom of the page. Your comment and feedback matters a great deal.

Here is the document at the center of the "memo-gate" controversy, sent allegedly from the highest echelons of Pakistani's civilian leadership to Admiral Michael Mullen after the killing of Osama bin Laden and every one seems to be talking about. It has some serious conotation but the main question is who has written the memo: Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani, Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz and on whos behalf?

The Sindh Cultural Day is being celebrated Novermber 19, 2011 with passion and zest across the province. The people in Sindh will wear traditional Sindhi clothes, caps and Ajraks while the female will be in ‘Susee’, garment and hand made Gajj. The day will be marked with various activities such as rallies, corner meetings, Mach Kachaharees (folk gatherings) and Sufi music nights.

Tags: Travel, Travel Blogs, Review, Maria Celina Gallo

Guest Post By Maria Celina Gallo

I personally do not have a favourite type of travel-blog. Whether they belong to my fellow country people living in a foreign country, a foreigner writing about their experiences living in my hometown, a foreigner living in a foreign country or someone who is promoting their own country, I enjoy them all. All have their own merits. But all in all, I am inclined towards the message portrayed, not how a weblog post is physically made of (i.e. text and its length, images, video, sound clips, etc.). I believe the physicalities of how each post is presented is a reflection of the readers inclinations to giving out the intended message, and I do not believe in judging them for the best way the writer believes can send her/his message out.

I believe that every country has merits, whether it be in the arts, music, literature, sight-seeing or a combination. Those merits should be promoted because it strengthens foreign relations and because I personally believe that we are rather, our countries all connected in some way or another. This is why I believe word of mouth is also very important. What we say about a certain places though it could be from our own experiences can affect the way others look at it. What we say is more powerful than we fathom, even if the message was idly said or was intended for an effect.

With that said, I have learned to distrust travel-blogs that promote a certain country by putting down another. (Note this is different from making a comparative analysis that can be backed up with something objective!) I believe the best travel-blogs are filled with entries that promote places without having to resort to negativity of any kind. I have read travel-blogs that make short and subtle jabs towards another country the writer may hold a personal grudge against. Not only do I think it is unfair for the stigmatized country, but also for the country the writer may intend to promote, because what the writer says can mistakenly be a reflection of the mentality of the general people. I am aware of the reality that there are people who actually invest in the time to antagonise another nation, but if they want to promote the country of their choice, I believe they should be doing so without putting one country in the expense of another. I remember getting furious when reading entries that were pocked with such remarks, but now I just step back and find another site. If the writer wants to be consumed in their own hate or grudges, then let them but I don’t want to let that vexation take a toll on me.

There is also the use of false superlatives:[Name of country] is one of the most breath-taking places in the world. Really? While that is a nice thing to know, is there a chart of statistics that justify the claim? Is it a universally accepted principle? Can one really prove that, when people might have a different palate on what takes their breath away? If a person it not impressed but their breath is still within their possession, or have been impressed by another place, does it mean that they are wrong? While pride and a sense of national identity is a good thing to have, I believe one has to remember and understand that it differs from person to person. I have read passages that involve around the same words but with the addition of the following: I believe that. Subjectivity also reflects some honesty in the author, and I find that to be extra points in my book.

I understand that there are some travel-blogs that might be intended for certain audiences, but if the writer is intending to promote their country in a global basis, the writing, message and context should to follow suit. It has to cater to all potential readers, and that also means leaving behind as much of their sense of ethnocentricity, regardless of how subtle. (Refer to two paragraphs back.) Translations of original texts should be clearly pointed out and things should be made understood. If there are cultural aspects that are only fully comprehended within the country, that should be highlighted. Again, this depends on the target audience.

Personally, I know that I would have a difficult time starting and maintaining a travel-blog because of the pressure that comes in the last paragraph. This is why I keep my blog revolved around a subjective air. But the thing about the Internet is that it is a hub for a lot of subjectivity, where opinions are rampant and the opportunity to agree or disagree is made available, even though we might not let the writer know. Conversely, this also brings on a lot of misinformation, which is dangerous for people who cannot discern the integrity of the things stored in the digital ether. This is precisely why even though I am firm with my preferences on travel-blogs, it is the opinion of one person (me) and even if they are a truth that applies to me, there will be others that might beg to differ. But wanting a connection with another person, whether it be platonic or romantic, is inherent in the human condition, I am sure.

Maria Celina Gallo (aka Marz), 22, living in Sunny Singapore is a university student majoring in Interior Design. Marz call herself a third culture kid and her blog is a semi-personal documentation of life in progress.

The Defence Day was celebrated by 55th Long Course Canadian Chapter in Toronto, Canada on 6 September 2011

Owais Mughal

The day I celebrated my third birthday (1974), my parents decided that it was high time to start my formal education. With this aim in vision, I was admitted to a kindergarten school. School was fun but even funnier was my school bus. It was a model called bed-ford, built in the early twentieth century. It must have been a World War II veteran too. I reached this conclusion because of its camouflage appearance. Its original color must have been lost years ago. Only a few patches of gray-green remained here and there. With this natural camouflage it was too difficult to spot it with a naked eye even on busy city roads.

This bus had a maximum seating capacity of 10 human beings but our driver made sure to pack 30 of us onto it like sardines. There was never enough oxygen for all of us to breathe. Especially if there were any bulky kids in the bus, they would intake all the oxygen leaving only the residue gases for skinny kids like me to breathe.

Our back-packs were hooked outside the bus because there was no room for them inside. Many of us had to sit in the laps of others. It was also virtually impossible to scratch any body part because of one simple reason; one could not find them. They were all entangled and entwined with other children.

There were no fixed seats in this bus. Two wooden benches were placed on the sidewalls and one in the center. These benches had center of gravity tilted so high that on every little curve, laws of inertia were proved and disproved.

This bus also had a pressure horn. It was shaped like a trumpet and it had to be pressed at least 15 seconds before it was intended to be heard. Therefore, in many emergency situations our bus had a narrow escape because it could not honk in time. The only reason that we never had any accidents was because of our bus’ speed. I think when running at full throttle it could go as fast as a running man. If I could give a comparative illustration of speeds of different species then the graph, in descending order of speeds, would look like this:

Cheetah, Horse, Man, My School Bus, Snail

And to add to all this misery, I used to be the first one to board this bus and the last one to disembark. Thus, I had to face the maximum blunt of its thrill ride EVERYDAY.

I kept seeing this bus on the streets of Karachi until 1984. And today, I sincerely pray that its soul may rest in peace or to be exact in one piece.

As expected, today (November 8, 2011) Google introduced Google+ for Business - a collection of tools and products that help you grow your audience and create any sites identity on Google+. It is available in Pakistan and anyone can create a Google+ page, engage in conversations with visitors, direct readers back to your site for the latest updates, send tailored messages to specific groups of people, and see how many +1’s you have across the web. Google+ Pages will help you build relationships with your users, encouraging them to spend more time engaging with your content.

Yes, I have created Google Plus Page for my business site here. Go visit and see how you too can get started. Better still, create a page for your site and or blog and have a feeler.

Among all the goodies that God has created for the pleasure of mankind, one great thing is a Bihari Kabab. Those of you who have tasted it may agree that no other food can beat the great taste of a well-marinated and spicy Bihari kabab.

Few weeks ago, I got this sudden urge where I craved for the Bihari kabab at 9:00 p.m. By 9:15 I found myself in the car driving towards a famous desi restaurant in Hayward California. The restaurant closes at 10 p.m and I managed to reach there just in time. I ordered a plate of Bihari kabab. The owner who was a novice in customer service looked at me with such eyes as if saying couldn't you have come earlier.

There was another gentleman waiting for his order besides me. At 10:05 p.m. the owner looked at me with a food bag in his hand, placed it on the counter and disappeared somewhere. As he had looked at me before placing the food on the counter, so I picked it up and went to the car. Inside the car, I opened the box and found chicken kababs instead. For few seconds I thought may be it is Bihari kabab made from chicken. After all, these days one can find chicken nihari sold at restaurants too. But very soon I heard some running steps approaching me and then I found two restaurant employees looking searchingly inside my car. One of them pointed towards my food and asked:

'bhai sahab, kiya ye murghi hai? (O brother, is this chicken?)

To which I replied:

'ji-haaN ye murghi hai' (Yes it is chicken)

Apparently, I had picked up the wrong order. When I went back in I heard the owner talking in Punjabi language:

'Oye kukRi kithay nus gayee eh?" (Where has the chicken ran?)

When I gave him his lost kukRi (Punjabi word for chicken) he again looked at me angrily. His looks were like a street shopkeeper who makes a poor customer feel humble first and then sell what he needs. He said:

'pai-jaan, daNkRa khol ke vekh te lehnday'
(Brother you should have lifted the lid to see what'sinside first).

Then there was some acrimonous exchange of dialogs between us. It was quite an interesting experience. His arguments were in Punjabi and mine in Urdu. but we still understood eachother. Finally he realized that he was losing a customer fast so after both of us cooled down a bit, he brought me a free plate of haleem (a dish made of minced meat and lentils) and said:

"koi baat naee ji, jadhoN bhukh bohti lagi howay te ainj ho hi jaanda eh'
(Don't worry, when one is too hungry then things likethis happen)

Finally my Bihari Kabab got ready at 10:10 p.m. and they were as tasty as ever. It was interesting to note that owners of this restaurant are Punjabi speaking but they make the best Bihari kabab in town.

As the name implies Bihari Kabab oringinated from the province of Bihar in India. It is said that in Pakistan the Bihari Kabab originated from the Orangi Town area of Karachi. According to residents, Juma Khan was the first person in to start serving this special item, which is now a popular favourite throughout the country. Juma has been selling these Kababs since he migrated to Orangi in 1973 and starting his shop at Rehmat Chowk in sector 11.5 of the Orangi town. His specialty item Kabab and Puri gained the epithet Bihari Kababs referring to Juma Khan’s Behari origin. Although Orangi has unwillingly gained the reputation of being a backward area, it is still the home of the original taste of Behari Kababs, which attracts people from every corner of the city. They all travel to Rehmat Chowk wishing to taste the specialty item cooked by the very hands that invented it. With time, Juma’s Behari Kababs grew in popularity, spreading across the entire Karachi area, and have now become one of the most integral menu items on food-spreads at weddings.

For our readership who would like to delve into this culinary delight, here is a time tested recipe' for Bihari Kabab. Note the use of papaya in the recipe' below is the key to success.

Ingredients:

Beef pasanday (filets) 1/2 kilo
Unripe papaya (grinded) 2 tbs
Ginger paste 1 tsp
Garlic paste 1 tsp
Salt according to taste
Yogurt 2 tbs
Chili powder 1 tsp
Chopped green chilies 1tbs
Oil 1 tbs

Method:

Mix together all the spices and yogurt and papaya and coat the beef with it. Leave to marinate for 5-6 hours preferably overnight. Then barbeque over charcoal or you can bake it in an oven.

Super tasty Bihari kabab is ready. please start eating :)

More than 10,000 Sikh yatrees from India, Europe and North America converged on Nankana Sahib on Sunday to celebrate the 538th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, and the first of its ten Gurus. This was reportedly the largest Sikh gathering at Nankana Sahib since 1947.

Earlier in the week about 4000 pilgrims from India had arrived in Lahore on the train Samjhota Express to participate in the celebrations. Others arrived at Janam Isthan by the Amritsar-Nankana Punj Aab bus service. The pilgrims arrived at the Sacha Soda Gurdawara in 125 buses on Saturday morning and returned to Janam Isthan in the evening.

Sikhs in other parts of Pakistan (see here for earlier post) also celebrated the occasion. For example, in Karachi, according to The News, "a large number of Sikh community members got together at Rama Sawami Temple, which is situated at M A Jinnah and performed their religious rituals there and at some other places like Ranchor Line and Kikri Ground."

Update: An exibition of Film posters by Bashir Maujid opens at Coopera Art Gallary on Nov 7, 2006, hence this post comes up.

A very unique thing about Pakistan is the prevalence of billboard paint art. For example, look at the photo to the right. In this billboard of movie called ‘aurat raj’ (rule of women) a gladiator lady (actress Rani) is shown controlling a 4-horse chariot. All the 4 horses have faces of men. The second horse from the right is by the way none other than our Lollywood’s mega hero of 70s Waheed Murad. I think this poster/billboard is very creative.

In Karachi, Marston Road is a big center of this form of art. My father’s office used to be near Marston Road and whenever I went to his office, I invariably wandered off to watch these street artists bringing larger than life images to life on billboards. Most of these billboards belonged to local cinemas advertising oncoming movies. The use of extra bright colors, colorful language and extra emphasis on body muscles is all an essential ingredient of this form of art. Look at the photo to the left. It is the billboard of Pakistan’s first sci-fi movie called ’sar kataa insaan’ (The Headless Human). The person shown holding his own head is Lollywood’s famous star Ghulam Mohyuddin.

The billboards are created on sheets of tin metal. They are painted white first and placed along street walls. Then the artist draws image outlines (pencil sketch) and color fill up comes last. Mistakes are erased by kerosine oil. Whenever an artist is at work, a crowd gathers around him. Some people in the crowd give the painter not-needed suggestions and a two way discussion ensues. Sometimes a group of artists work together on a single billboard with portions of image divided between them. If one does the pencil skectch then others may do block painting or detailing. As written above, I’ve attended a few of these painting sessions and it is fun to watch.

A great mystery of such art to me is that the billboards make much more sense when looked at from a distance. If one looks at them from a close distance of (say) 5 to 10 feet then they appear very funny. It is very common to see shocking pink color in a heroines blushing cheeks and apple green color shown as a 5 o’clock shadow on a hero’s stubble.

Lahore, which is the center of movie industry of Pakistan is the biggest center of such art. In Lahore, the center of such art is at Royal Park in Laxmi Chowk area. Here one can see billboards as large as 70′ x 70′ being hand painted.

The artist who paint these billboards learn the art form their parents. They do not go to any art school. Even formal schooling is limited. This brings a disadvantage to these artisits as they cannot go to other jobs. With number of movies being produced at Lollywood dwindling fast, these artists are forced to live at whatever meagre resources are available to them.

Another common feature of these billboards is the Urdu translation of English titles. I don’t know who does the translation but sometimes they end up with quite funny Urdu titles.

Look at the photo right-below for the English title ‘python’. It has been translated in Urdu as ‘adam khor cobra’ meaning ‘The Man Eater Cobra’. Famous Urdu writer Shafiq-ur-Rehman has mentioned in one his books that when ‘Moon Over Miami’ was released in Lahore, the billboard translated the title as ‘Mian Mir ka chaand’ (The Moon of Mianmir). Mian Mir ofcourse is a Lahore locality famous for a saint named Mian Mir who is buried there.

Not many people know thar the famous Lollywood actor (late) Saeed Khan (Rangeela) also started his movie career as a billboard movie painter in Lahore in 1941.

Some of my favourite movie posters are following.

ACKNOWLDGEMENTS : Photos and some material for this article was taken with permission from film historian Mr. Omar Khan, who hosts the Lollywood Pop art webpage with hundreds of Lollywood poster and billboard images here. Contact information of Omar Khan is also given at his webpage.

The information age is bringing about visible changes in the way people think, behave, communicate, work, conduct business and socialize. However, the problem remains that information age has not dawned on a vast majority of the people living in the world. What is more, the digital divide is growing.

This was one of the reasons why back in 1998 Tunisia proposed to hold a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) with an aim to ensure a balanced distribution of information age resources and a fair management of the internet for the benefit of the whole world. The Tunisian proposal was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly and the International Telecommunication Union planned to hold the Summit in two phases.