The White Garment

Thursday 11^th August 2011,  6:30 P.M.

Saddar was too crowded today. It was already getting late. I took the Rs. 100 change from the cashier, which was all the money I was left with, picked the shopping bag and rushed out of the store. The unusually humid August and the hassle I have been into since morning had turned me into a sweating shower by now. Despite of that I was excited. Very excited. My Ali was going to be happy today. He will not be disappointed with me anymore. He will not have to face any insult now. He was upset with me since quite long. I picked a small sized 10 rupee national flag for the upcoming independence day only to give him an additional surprise.

I Do Not Drive A Convertible... So What???

A few weeks ago, Pakistan, and the metropolis in particular was busy protesting against the infamous ‘moral stunt’ pulled off by Maya Khan. The protest predominantly came from a relatively privileged class of the country with their primary contention being the intrusion of privacy and harassment of people, especially those who could not afford the luxuries of up-market restaurants and cafes. Besides that, many also pointed out the media bubble going directionless and the need to hold the media accountable in the larger interest of the public.

Our Poisoned Education System

 I still remember that day when a healthy discussion over some issue was going on in my economics class at university, when my professor, a PhD, uttered the words ‘Alhamdulillah, I am a sunni, I am a muslim.’ These words took me and many other likeminded students in my class by surprise. I could not get the bizarre logic of uttering these unnecessary words in the midst of a socio economic discussion, especially when the class, although in minority, comprised of students from diverse religious backgrounds. Even if she considered it essential to make a reference to the Islamic economic system, she could have easily done that in a mild tone without boasting about her own religious and sectarian affiliations wrapped in an ‘Alhamdulillah’. Moreover, the way this sentence was uttered, and the order in which her sectarian view followed by her religious affiliation was mentioned, it gave an impression as if her views are divinely superior to others. At that point of time, none of the students present, including me, dared to cut her off in the middle and question, protest or confront her on the statement that she made.

10 Things I hate about Indian Soaps

10 Things I Hate About Indian Soaps

            I have always been impressed by how Bollywood has emerged as an internationally renowned entertainment industry by keeping up with the technological advancement, production quality, talent grooming, and creativity and packaging the ingredients in an intelligent marketing strategy. Lately, what has impressed me more about Bollywood is their inclination towards experimentation. When Bollywood became my benchmark to assess the Indian entertainment industry, I obviously expected something close to that standard, if not equal, from the Indian television industry as well.

Maula Jutt and the 2012 Apocalypse: Kachee Goliyan - The Fallen Warrior

The early 90s will always hold a special place in my heart for filling my life with treats that included 'Slims', Music Channel Charts, Ainak Wala Jinn, and Archie comics. Comics, were actually the reason why I developed interest in reading newspapers. I grew up reading Archie comics and was completely in love with Jughead. However, being a complete Desi, by the time I crossed my teens and started to develop interest in my own local surroundings, I started to feel a need of a comic character, which I could connect to. I wanted a desi humor to laugh about. This huge gap in my life was filled about six months back, when I accidently landed on a page, Kachee Goliyan. It was only a matter of days when Archie and Jughead were replaced by JC and Sufi, and that is what I will always love and remember Kachee Goliyan for- For giving me my own desi comic characters, and to introduce me to our local comic scene and a bunch of great local talent.