For most people, an award can be a source of confidence, encouragement or pride. But for the nine selfless Pakistanis, who have been honoured with the Ramon Magsaysay Award, this prestigous feather in their cap never went to their head.

The award, which was established in 1957 — in honour of Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay, widely lauded for his integrity and pragmatic idealism — has been recognising people and organisations committed to community service for over 40 years. Its recipients include a wide range of people, from Mother Teresa to the 14^th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, as well as nine Pakistanis, with The Citizens Foundation (TCF) being the latest recipient.

Akhtar Hameed Khan

Year of the award: 1963

Akhtar Hameed Khan, a development activist and social scientist, who set up a comprehensive project for rural community development, known as the Comilla Model, was the first Pakistani to be honoured with this award. He also started the community development initiative Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), in a squatter town on the edge of Karachi. The idea behind OPP was that local residents should be trained and equipped to solve their community’s problems such as sanitation and low-cost housing on their own. The OPP model is now replicated all over the country, along with other developing countries in Asia. Upon receiving the award, Khan said at the time, “It is indeed an honour for me to be associated with the name and tradition of the late Ramon Magsaysay who combined in himself the qualities of a statesman and administrator. It is a combination which is rare but most needed in the newly liberated countries, much troubled as they are by conflict and alienation between the common people and their rulers.”

Abdul Sattar Edhi and Bilquis Edhi

PHOTO COURTESY: AYESHA MIR

Year of the award: 1986

Abdul Sattar Edhi and Bilquis Edhi, the forces behind the Edhi Foundation, one of the biggest non-profit social welfare programmes in Pakistan, have dedicated their lives to the service of the poor and the marginalised. The Edhi Foundation provides round-the-clock emergency assistance, shelter for the destitute, orphans and the mentally challenged, drug rehabilitation services, free medical care and legal aid for the poor among a multitude of other services. Today, the foundation has over 300 centres across the country. The couple released a joint statement upon receiving the Ramon Magsaysay Award, saying that they thought of it “as a debt, always reminding us to pay it back by more devotion to humanity.” They vowed to use the money they received as part of the award to open up another foundation in the country.

Shoaib Sultan Khan

Year of the award: 1992

Shoaib Sultan Khan is one of the pioneers of rural development programmes in Pakistan. As a young civil service officer, Khan learned from his mentor, Akhtar Hameed Khan, that democratic village institutions can empower the rural poor to take charge of their own development. He later applied this principle to rural communities in Pakistan’s northern areas, as well as in Sri Lanka. Working with various organisations such as the Aga Khan Foundation, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the United Nations Development Programme, he became an experienced development administrator and in 1982 started heading the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), a citizen-sector organisation that targets poverty-stricken villages primarily in northern Pakistan and engages their inhabitants in development programmes, such as a one-time-only grant for a project which would be collectively worked on by the village residents. Upon receiving the award, Khan credited residents of the villages in the Northern Areas for the success of his programme, “It is they who responded so positively to the terms of partnership offered by AKRSP and fulfilled their obligations of organisation, human resource development and capital formation, the three cardinal principles on which AKRSP is based. It is the workers of AKRSP and the people of the programme who truly deserve the honour the award has bestowed on me.”

Asma Jahangir

PHOTO COURTESY: TARIQ HASSAN

Year of the award: 1995

Leading lawyer and human rights activist Asma Jahangir, who was also the founding member and former chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, has done significant work in Pakistan to prevent the persecution and exploitation of religious minorities, women and children. Upon receiving the award, she said it “has a special significance, as it comes from a country that is rich with a tradition of liberation movements and a society that has the most active and robust social action groups”. She also added that she felt a bit embarrassed when comparing “what little we have achieved against what still has to be achieved.”

Dr Adibul Hasan Rizvi

PHOTO COURTESY: ADIBUL HASSAN FACEBOOK PAGE

Year of the award: 1998

Dr Adibul Hasan Rizvi is a urological surgeon who founded the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) by transforming a department of urology at the Civil Hospital, Karachi, into the country’s largest kidney disease centre and public health facility. For Dr Rizvi, the award provided an impetus to continue providing state-of-the-art health facilities to the underprivileged. “This award has propelled me and my colleagues at SIUT to consolidate and expand our work being mindful of future generations. Let it never be said by them that indifference, cynicism and selfishness made us fail to live up to the ideal of humanism which the Magsaysay Award encapsulates,” he said in his acceptance speech.

Tasneem Ahmed Siddiqui

Year of the award: 1999

Tasneem Ahmed Siddiqui went to great lengths to regularise Sindh’s katchi abadis and bring them into the ambit of the provincial government as the director of the Sindh Katchi Abadi Authority. Rejecting the stereotype of the poor as freeloaders and criminals, he saw the katchi abadis as centres of dynamism whose occupants were both industrious and resourceful. Siddiqui also developed Khuda ki Basti, a housing project for the urban poor. He was appreciative that the Ramon Magsaysay Award recognised his work as a member of the government and said that the award “supports the view that good government is possible if the method of governance were to be redefined and government decision-making made more participatory.”

Dr Ruth Pfau

PHOTO COURTESY: CHEREE FRANCO

Year of the award: 2002

Dr Ruth Pfau is a German nun who has been working tirelessly to fight leprosy in Pakistan for the past 50 years. She runs the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre and it is due to efforts by her and her team that Pakistan became one of the first Asian countries that have successfully controlled leprosy. Dr Pfau said in her acceptance speech that the award went a long way in “helping Asia to discover, rediscover, find, cling to and confess its values — values of the intellect and heart.”

Ibn Abdur Rehman

PHOTO COURTESY: ZAFAR ASLAM

Year of the award: 2004

Ibn Abdur Rehman is a leading peace and human rights activist who has been influential in promoting peace between India and Pakistan, as well as advocating other human rights issues in the country. Speaking about armed conflicts during his acceptance speech he said, “It has been our experience in South Asia that absence of armed conflict does not amount to peace. It has also been our experience that peace is not an ideal that can be pursued in isolation from other concerns of the people.”

The Citizens Foundation

Year of the award: 2014

TCF was set up in 1995 to improve the dismal state of education in Pakistan. According to Asaad Ahmed, the CEO of TCF, “It is a great honour not only for our organisation, but also for this country.” But he is quick to point out that the award has just reinforced the organisation’s zeal and determination to continue to bring high quality education to those who cannot afford it otherwise.

TCF already runs 1,000 schools across the country, giving full or partial scholarships to 145,000 students. The average fees a child is expected to pay per month is Rs100, and the rest of the tuition, including the cost of textbooks and uniforms, is covered by the organisation. “As nice as the award is, for us the most important thing is our work. Education remains a major problem for Pakistan and TCF still has a long way to go,” says Ahmed, adding that more than 150,000 schools are still needed in the country. “There is still a great need for better quality as well as greater quantity of education. A lot more work and investment is required.”

Awards such as this are a great way to recognise and celebrate the work that is being done towards improving society. It is also a welcome reminder that although we may still have a long way to go, there are people out there who are taking the road less travelled.

Nudrat Kamal is a sub-editor at The Express Tribune. She’s pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature. She tweets @Nudratkamal

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 7^th, 2014.

Correction: In the print version of this story, we incorrectly mentioned that nine Pakistanis honoured with Ramon Magsaysay Award instead of 10. We regrettably missed out Shoaib Sultan Khan’s name. 

How do you get people to sit up and take notice of basic issues, such as health, education or human rights, when even the most devastating of conflicts have a shelf life of a few hours? You take your car or bike, whatever is within your means, and set off on a journey to spread the message on your own. If you are lucky and do the job right, you may even raise money for the cause you are championing. A few adventure-loving Pakistanis have done something similar recently and proven that sometimes the only solution to a big problem is a creative one. 

Riders for a cause

Thirty-year-old Khitab Khan has spent a good part of his life ensuring that the adage of “the spirit for adventure is dead!” never applies to him. Building on his childhood appetite for adventure, he embarked on a motorbike journey across the globe along with his father, Burhan M Khan, this year. And if the duo successfully completes this voyage, they will be the first Pakistanis to have gone round the world on motorbikes.

Khitab Khan embarks on a motorbike journey across the globe to raise awareness for the LUMS National Outreach Programme which provides financial assistance to talented students. PHOTO COURTESY: KHITAB AND NATASHA KHAN

A mechanical engineer by profession, Khitab, from Lahore, lived for nine years in USA studying engineering at Penn State University and then went on to work for Harley-Davidson. After working for a few years, however, he realised that the monotony of corporate life was not something he wished to settle into. He, therefore, left engineering and pursued his first love — adventure.

With his father having worked in the air force, the spirit to explore was not alien to the Khan household. In 2012, Khitab travelled from Lahore to London on a motorbike with his father. “I’ve been riding on motorcycles since I was very young; I prefer them over other modes of transportation,” he says, adding that aeroplanes are boring and trains are a passive mode of travel while cars are just pointless. “Motorcycles provide the freedom to truly feel the place one is passing through [and] to engage with the environment.”

The goodluck charm presented to Khitab by a boy while passing through Russia. PHOTOS COURTESY: KHITAB AND NATASHA KHAN 

The duo is looking for tough routes and remote roads, such as the Road of Bones in Russia where slaves perished, to make their self-funded expedition as unusual and unique as possible. Khitab, who prefers to spend money on moments and experiences that will last a lifetime, says, “Death is inevitable. It is not how many seconds I live that counts, but how fully I live the seconds I have.” Their mission this time, however, is not just limited to experiencing new things but also to promote education — a cause close to their hearts. They aim to raise awareness for the Lahore University of Management Sciences’ (LUMS) National Outreach Programme (NOP) which provides scholarships to talented students in need of financial assistance. Their jackets and bikes proudly bear the NOP logo.

Khitab Khan proudly poses next to a signboard after crossing the dreaded Road of Bones in Russia. PHOTOS COURTESY: KHITAB AND NATASHA KHAN 

On June 20, they took their first steps towards completing their 104-day world tour, and after crossing the China border and travelling through Mongolia and Russia, they are now in Seattle, USA, to deliver their bikes, lovingly named Bassanto and BG, to their dealership for repair and service. From here they will go on to ride across Canada, England, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Iran and then back to Pakistan. “It’s been a revelation of how beautiful the world can be,” Khitab says about his journey thus far. From Pakistan’s snow-capped mountains to the breathtaking night skies in Mongolia, he claims to have experienced some of the best moments of his life surrounded by nature.

Khitab Khan with his father Burhan M Khan, who shares his passion for adventure.  PHOTOS COURTESY: KHITAB AND NATASHA KHAN 

Acts of kindness from complete strangers have been equally encouraging for Khitab and his father. While riding through a remote area in Mongolia, they saw a group of wild horses and stopped to admire the beautiful spectacle. There was nothing in the vicinity but a small tent, from which a girl emerged carrying two cups of tea which she offered to them silently. Her parents then gave them food, again silently. No one spoke the other’s language and yet they enjoyed a comfortable moment together. Similarly, at a rest stop in Russia, a boy handed Khitab their patron saint of luck as a thank-you gift for allowing him to sit on his bike and pretend to ride it. “They (the boy and his mother) knew we had an arduous journey ahead. And while they were in the middle of nowhere, it was not their own safety that the boy thought of,” he says, touched by the boy’s gesture. “There existed no inhibitions, no racial or class differences, or any language barrier in that moment. It was only the purity of his soul that made him do something so kind for two complete strangers.”

Such stories of kindness and adventure are replete on Khitab’s Facebook page where he keeps his followers updated. “The drive for humanity to push limits has simmered down compared to the past,” Khitab insists, adding that the blame mainly lies on the emphasis on security by our education system. “We have killed the spirit that took us to the moon. We went there in the 1960s and we haven’t gone any further.” Having grown up in an environment that encouraged independence, Khitab was fortunate enough to pursue his dreams without being judged. And the bond with his father has only strengthened after this shared experience.

But this is just the beginning of one of Khitab’s many adventures. He fears turning 70 and not having done enough in his lifetime, such as trekking to the North and South Pole, sailing across the world, climbing the highest peak in every continent, driving from Cairo to Cape Town, going to space, scuba diving with the great white sharks, riding a 12-feet high wave and then writing a book. He wants to experience the thrills of life without having to regret later, and he’s only getting started.

Kifah Qasim Memon is a freelance writer based in Karachi. She is majoring in Sociology.

A man in the right direction

The small-but-visible Pakistani flag stitched onto Muhammad Iqbal Ghangla’s prominently red-and-black riding gear tells a mostly positive story. Just as his uniform suggests, the man literally wears his heart on his sleeve when talking about his country and riding bikes.

Ghangla, who originally belongs to Multan, recently completed a successful 60-day tour of Pakistan, called ‘Peaceful Pakistan’, on the back of his motorbike. The journey was funded mainly by himself along with some support by the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation to promote a resilient image of the country worldwide. And by completing the 20,000km journey in just 55 days, from April 20 to June 14, he now holds a national record for the feat.

Ghangla parks his motorbike at the side of the road to rest before resuming his journey. PHOTO COURTESY: MUHAMMAD IQBAL GHANGLA 

“I made my first 12-feet long bicycle and toured from Multan to Islamabad on it,” says Ghangla, who was 18 years of age at the time. After reaching his destination within just four days, on February 24, 1992, he received a warm welcome from the sports minister who also awarded him Rs2,000. “I realised that this is exactly [the method] I can [use to] promote my country’s beauty,” he adds. And by the late 1990s, he was ready to take his passion to the next level and pursue long and short bicycle tours across Pakistan.

Just when Ghangla seemed to be heading in the right direction, his bicycle was burnt to the ground in Multan during the unrest that followed Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in 2007. “This was the time when I forgot about my dream of a bicycle tour of the world,” he says. Although disheartened by the incident at first, it didn’t take long for Ghangla to get back on track and pursue his dreams — this time on the back of a motorbike. He saved money over the next couple of years and bought a Sukuki 150cc motorbike on a six-month installment and from 2006 to 2012 covered a total of 60,000km doing several tours of Pakistan.

Ghangla poses with the poster he carried throughout the journey to prove to the world that Pakistan is a peace-loving nation that is safe for tourists. PHOTO COURTESY: MUHAMMAD IQBAL GHANGLA 

“I have done plenty of awareness tours, including care for the blind, relief funds for earthquake and flood victims, disease control and educational awareness,” says Ghangla. Having set his mind on promoting his country next, he bought a Yamaha Tenere 660cc motorbike along with a camera and a travelling kit for Rs1,700,000 in 2012, after selling a piece of land and set about on the 2014 ‘Peaceful Pakistan’ tour.

Muhammad Iqbal Ghangla embarks on a 60-day tour of Pakistan titled ‘Peaceful Pakistan’.  PHOTO COURTESY: MUHAMMAD IQBAL GHANGLA 

Before embarking on the long journey, Ghangla did a warm-up 12,000km tour called ‘Welcome to Pakistan’. He left Multan on November 5, 2012, and reached his final destination, in Islamabad, after 30 days. Fully prepared, he set out for his big mission from Karachi, travelling through numerous cities in Sindh and Punjab, and then from Azad Jammu and Kashmir to Naran, and concluding in Multan. Throughout the tour, he kept his followers updated by posting pictures and statuses on his Facebook page. He held his ‘Peaceful Pakistan’ poster high wherever he went, asking others to do the same, and managed to depict an unfiltered picture of Pakistan. His invaluable experiences, shared with people from diverse cultural backgrounds and ethnicities, have been documented along with Pakistan’s impeccable landscape.

Ghangla crosses a stream to successfully complete his peaceful tour.  PHOTO COURTESY: MUHAMMAD IQBAL GHANGLA 

Although Ghangla’s journey was mostly peaceful, there were a few bumps along the way. Several tyre punctures, mugging and an accident on the way to Kashmir didn’t deter him as much as the demise of his father during the last leg of his journey. Recalling that day he says, “I tried a lot to get a flight from Gilgit and even from Islamabad, but when all my efforts went in vain, I kickstarted my motorbike and reached home riding all the way from Gilgit to Multan.” This was the toughest 25-hour journey of Ghangla’s life, but despite the impact on his health, he managed to accomplish what he had set out to do. 

Fazal Gilani is a freelance journalist and former news reporter. He tweets @Gilaniism 

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 7^th, 2014.

If there was ever a book that I wish I had discovered in my youth, it would be Rahul Sanskrityayan’s From Volga to Ganga — a vivid account of the evolution of civilisation in the subcontinent. The book which was first published in Hindi in 1944 and translated in English by Victor Kiernan in 1947, has since been published in more than 20 languages and is considered a literary classic.

From Volga to Ganga is an anthology of 20 short stories, written by the inveterate traveller Sankrityayan, who became an authority on the culture, language, philosophy and ethos of South Asia towards the mid-20^th century. The stories, which cover a period of more than 8,000 years, document the evolution and growth of the region with remarkable coherence and are equally relevant 70 years later.

For those interested in South Asian history, the book has volumes to offer. The dynamics of the relationship between the individual and society, the rise in complexity of man’s emotional and intellectual dimensions as they evolved through history, the amount of learning undertaken and the author’s progressive thoughts will leave you spellbound. If you are a citizen of South Asia, the book will also give you a sense of your roots and improve your understanding of the current socio-political environment in the region.

The edition of the book published by Pilgrim Books, Varanasi, in 2006, also includes a brief biography of Rahul Sankrityayan, written by Prabhakar Machwe. Few may know that one of India’s most venerated scholars, Sankrityayan, did not have a formal education. Instead, he used his extensive travels to study history, culture and philosophy and master 30 languages. Kiernan also mentions Sankrityayan’s reflections on art at one point. According to Machwe, Rahul was against ‘art for art’s sake’. Art, according to him, ought to be purposeful and the purpose should be the uplift of the poor and the downtrodden, towards the creation of an egalitarian society, where each person would have maximum opportunity as well as freedom from want. Sankrityayan, it seems, held his own works to the same high standards since there is not a single pedantic or extraneous passage in the entire book.

From Volga to Ganga is a veritable source of information and inspiration for research scholars, academics and students of South Asian history. For the common reader, it acts as a portal to the subcontinent’s past and provides valuable insight into the socio-political and religious frameworks currently in vogue in South Asia. In either case, it is a resource that should definitely be added to one’s literary collection.

Rakae Rehman Jamil is a musician and a lecturer at the Punjab University College of Art & Design and an adjunct faculty member at LUMS. He tweets @rakspaks

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 14^th, 2014.

Considering the ongoing anti-government agitation, Aqil Shah’s book, The Army and Democracy, is likely to attract a large number of readers. The book gives an in-depth analysis of civil-military relations since 1947 to the present day, with special focus on the army’s role vis-a-vis democracy. Understanding the army’s role in politics acquires special significance given the fact that since Pakistan gained independence in 1947, only once has an elected government transferred power to another one.

Based on archival material and more than 100 interviews with politicians, civil servants and military officers, including four services chiefs and three heads of the Inter-Services Intelligence, and assessment of military writings, Shah’s book provides deep insight into the military mind. The book traces the organistational culture of the army, whether real or perceived, as an institution that does not accept civilian superiority. It is, however, difficult to tell if the army has acquired this tendency on its own or if the role of the final arbiter has been thrust upon it by the corruption, ineptness and uncouth behaviour of politicians fighting among themselves. As the infighting among politicians continued, so did the army’s dislike and disdain of civilians. Politicians have tried to reduce the army’s influence in politics without first putting their own house in order, though Shah believes that the army’s superiority complex is built into the psyche of officers during training in various institutions. The author, a faculty member at the Princeton University, writes that at the National Defence University in Islamabad, very little time is given to explaining officers their role and subservience to civilian authorities as laid down in the Constitution. He writes that out of the total 987 contact hours, students attended just one two-hour lecture on the Constitution by a civilian legal expert.

As a corporate entity, Shah writes, the military seeks to enhance internal control and limit external interference. The military’s prerogatives over its internal structure and functions limit the scope for establishing civilian supremacy over the armed forces. He cites the example of General Kayani awarding service extensions to several officers beyond the age of retirement without even seeking the requisite formal approval of the government.

The book also brings home the point that the army considers foreign and security policy its domain.

Shah writes that the military has made nominal concessions since 2008 by allowing the disclosure of an itemised annual budget before the Parliament. The army maintains that the full disclosure of sensitive budgetary matters would undermine national security by exposing critical information to enemy agents. It has also advised the government to check wasteful expenditures rather than question the military budget.

The author gives several instances of the army’s displeasure with harsh criticism by politicians. For example, Ayub Khan’s annoyance at Suhrawardy’s intense questioning of the accused persons in the Rawalpindi conspiracy case of 1951, which was the first attempted coup in Pakistan against Liaquat Ali Khan’s government.

Overall The Army and Democracy is a treasure trove of information on civil-military relations in Pakistan. It is also a lesson on what the country needs the most at this critical juncture — a politics of inclusion by all stakeholders, rather than exclusion.

Shahabuddin Gilani is an editorial consultant for The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 14^th, 2014.

Rebel Angel, a posthumous monograph featuring Asim Butt’s art practices, is a work-in-progress that gives an orientation of the artist’s body of work but lacks chronology. The editor, Nafisa Rizvi, however, takes the reader into confidence about this missing link from the get-go. In her introduction to the collection, Rizvi admits that the book challenged the curators — because the length of Asim’s career was cut short, his body of work can only be measured in its depth. Hence, the viewing lens of the book in terms of a clear theme is distorted.

Asim Butt was an enigma. His work embodied an unfiltered raw artistic expression and hence, his thematic practices were diverse enough to become a challenge if they are categorised. While the compilation accepts the dilemma it doesn’t fall victim to it. The fact that the artist’s uninhibited artistic expression was eventually constrained by labels such as controversial and even censored at times is another hindrance to a clean compilation.

Asim’s work was a speculative use of mediums, material and form. The fact that he used everything from oil on canvas to charcoal on paper and spray paint on benches reflects a process of growth and a constant restlessness to process the world in order to communicate with it. His instinct as an artist, however, was strong enough for him to retain the essence of the various mediums he used, while mastering them and understanding the value of each. Most artists arrive at the abstract as part of their evolutionary process, or they begin to strip away at the essence of their chosen material until it is unrecognisable. Asim was brave enough to use vibrant canvases, elaborate imagery or rough stencils on walls 10 years after he was required to prove his skills as an art student at The Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. He became more comfortable with his own technique and used that to enrich his vast language.

This monograph, which meanders on purpose, does the best it can in terms of curatorial decisions. The controversial nature of his work overwhelms any attempt to critique it in terms of his artistic development and expression. The lack of an organisational chronology is, however, confusing and fails to give a clear view of his artistic development and the shift in his influences. For example, an oil on canvas studying anatomical forms is right next to what was supposedly part of ‘The Stuckist’ movement, that aims to produce art with spiritual value regardless of style, subject, matter or medium and the Karachi chapter for which was founded by Asim in 2005. As a result, the collection does not weave a compelling narrative, despite the essays that put him in context as a student, a friend and a colleague.

Rebel Angel is not a collection that could be used as a reference when studying Asim Butt’s creative practice. However, it is a tribute — an attempt to fill the artist’s absence since the collection of both essays and the curatorial process of his work involved artists, practitioners and writers who had been personally associated with him.

Amna Iqbal is a visual journalist at The Express Tribune. She tweets @amna_iqb

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 14^th, 2014.

Too much exposure to the sun can harm your hair and skin but too little of it can lead to a lack of vitamin D in the body. Also known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is not only essential for growth but also provides protection against various diseases.

Since all the tissues in our bodies have vitamin D receptors, it explains why all our tissues need vitamin D to function. Vitamin D, which is found in foods such as fatty fish and dairy products, is responsible for sustaining heart muscles, brain cells, fat tissue, regulating genes that control cell growth, immune function and metabolic control. It also helps in bone and tooth development as calcium can only be absorbed into the blood stream with the help of Vitamin D.

According to patient accounts, most girls in southern Punjab are deprived of milk, eggs and poultry, due to fear of precocious puberty or menarche. Boys, on the other hand, are given twice the amount of those products to accelerate growth and make them muscular. This lack of calcium absorption in the body can cause an increase in common bone fractures among young adults, especially girls.

In infants, vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets, body ache, pain, developmental delay, muscle weakness and limb deformity and in adults, it manifests as body and bone pains and aches, weakness and recurrent fractures. It can also lead to breast, prostate and colorectal cancer, asthma and cardiovascular diseases.

While this form of deficiency is common among all ages, it is more likely to occur in pregnant and lactating women, infants and children under five years, senior citizens above 65 years, vegans and vegetarians. People confined indoors or those with a darker skin tone, milk allergies, malabsorption, renal and liver diseases or on drugs such as anticonvulsants, that prevent seizures, also have a higher chance of suffering from a lack of vitamin D. The Pakistan National Nutritional Survey 2011 has revealed alarming vitamin D deficiency levels in the local population. Approximately 69% of pregnant and 67% of non-pregnant women suffer from vitamin D deficiency, and almost 41% of children in the country are vitamin D deficient.

Prevention

Vitamin D production in the human body is inhibited and affected by darker skin tones, obesity, old age, stress, wearing sunscreen, minimal exposure to sunlight and even northern latitude and long winters. Here are a few measures one can take to prevent vitamin D deficiency:

Sun exposure is a vital source of vitamin D, therefore, people with a lighter skin tone should opt for minimal sun exposure, around 15 minutes, and those with a darker skin tone should opt for nearly 40 minutes under the sun. Outdoor activities should be promoted at schools, colleges and universities for this purpose and sunscreens should be avoided.

Eat vitamin D rich foods such as salmon, mackerel, mushrooms, tuna, sardines, milk, beef, egg yolk and cheese.

Visit your local physician to receive Vitamin D in the form of shots or supplements.

Saadia Khan is a pediatric resident from Multan. She tweets @drkhanchc

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 14^th, 2014.

What a predicament it can be to sum up all your qualifications, experiences and accolades in a page (or two) while walking that fine line between sounding accomplished or risk coming off pretentious. Along with the countless ‘How-to’ books available in the market that promise you the craft of writing the perfect résumé, the internet is also flooded with templates and freelancers willing to do the job for you. The million dollar question, however, remains the same — how to make your résumé stand out and get noticed?

Jargon, slang, grammatical errors, inconsistency and flaws in the format are some of the many reasons why a potential employer would ignore your résumé. Not to mention that these days, most organisations use online databases to filter the résumés and narrow them down to those that match their requirements. To mitigate all this confusion, here are a few tips that can help you write an insightful and effective résumé and get your foot in the proverbial door.

What is an insightful resume?

Your résumé is like a mini-trailer of your personality, performance, persistence, persuasion and presentation. It shows your personality, accomplishments, enthusiasm for work, ability to adapt and work under pressure, and finally, what differentiates you from other candidates. Based on whether it makes a positive impact or not, you get your interview call to show your talent. Remember, employers look for the ideal match based on how trainable the candidate is and if they are a potentially good fit for their organisation.

What are some common mistakes?

A common mistake that people make is to write the same thing for different jobs or have an inconsistent format. For example, the bullet points for each job should be tailored according to its requirements instead of using a standard four to six pointers for all jobs. Ripping off pointers from online templates should also be avoided. Some people also confuse a résumé with curriculum vitae — which does not have any specific limit in terms of length — and risk losing the employers attention with pages of unnecessary information. Similarly, in some instances, the candidates’ résumé is not updated, which fails to provide evidence.

What to do to make headway?

1) Update periodically — Be diligent and do not copy-paste. Stop procrastinating and waiting for the last day or until you are ready to start looking for a new job to make changes to your résumé. In fact, experts say it is best to remain proactive and update it immediately after a new promotion, professional development or upon completing an academic degree or a project. It is a good way to guarantee that you do not miss due credit later and increases your chances of getting noticed.

2) Remove less relevant information — Your employment history is important but if you have over a decade of experience or have worked several jobs over the last few years, you do not need to include all the details. Retain the more recent information since times are changing and a lot of skills that were crucial a few years ago may no longer be relevant. Moreover, you should also remove some of your older references as organisations look for referees within the last few years only.

3) Use keywords — Just like Google and other search engines thrive on keywords to display results, organisations use keywords to find the right candidate. To clarify this further, keywords are certain terms that appear frequently in job postings within a particular industry. You, as the job seeker, can benefit from keywords by narrowing down your job search and use these keywords in your résumé in order to increase your chances of being noticed. Some HR experts also propose that one should research industry trends to find out which words are doing the rounds these days and then include them in their résumés.

4) Format and structure — When it comes to the layout, there is no fixed format. However, apart from the theory-based chronological, functional and combination résumés, the skill-based résumés are the ones that get selected as they target the role directly and can tell the employer whether the candidate is passionate and committed to the field. But with two pages being the maximum length for a résumé, there is only so much information one can add, so it is best to keep it precise. Avoid significant gaps in your work history and check your spelling, grammar and unnecessary use of abbreviations and jargon. Here are some broad categories that the résumé can be divided into: summary of accomplishments, education, work experience, professional activities, volunteer experience and references.

Remember, the goal of your résumé is to sell yourself as the perfect match for the advertised position. Keep the above pointers in mind when you prepare or update your résumé and package it along with a strong cover letter when a job opportunity comes your way. Be creative, be honest and be prepared. Ready — Set — Hired!

Writing format

• Be concise. Use brief statements and try to limit your résumé to one page.

• Keep font size to 10, 11 or 12 point and set margins to no less than 0.5-inch on all sides.

• Do not use “I” or other first-person pronouns.

• Use the past tense when describing past positions and present tense for your current positions.

• Be consistent with your punctuation usage.

Content

• Use verbs such as “do” or “did”, “worked”, “completed” and “helped with” as replacement for low-content verbs.

• Include multiple titles and responsibilities if you had multiple roles at one organisation.

• Do not lie, exaggerate or include something on your résumé that you would not feel comfortable discussing in a job interview.

• Do not use jargon or other acronyms without explaining what they mean.

• Do not include personal data such as birth date, marital status or excessive information about hobbies and interests.

Last-minute checklist before submitting your application

• Create a log of applications you send. Include position descriptions, dates, contact information, follow-up date (if appropriate) and follow-up communication notes.

• Do not rely on spell-check and get your application material  proofread by a second person. Remember to double-check names of companies and people.

• Print the document on résumé paper using a laser printer. Do not use dark or speckled paper that can be difficult to read once photocopied or faxed.

• Ensure that your documents are appropriately named.

• Ensure that your voicemail greeting is professional on the phone number you have provided to the employer.

• Ensure that your e-mail subject line is relevant and specific.

• Ensure that your e-mail address is professional.

The checklists have been recommended by the Cawley Career Education Center.

Moiz Allidina has worked as a career counsellor and is the founder of ‘M3 Training & Consulting’.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 14^th, 2014.

If you really want to get to know someone, take long walks with them. Sit across them and read a book. Share a meal. Listen to their words and also their silence. Getting to know a place, or a city, is no different and Farooq Soomro — the man behind the blog thekarachiwalla.com — seems to have mastered this craft. His blog, as the name suggests, documents unexplored corners of Karachi and allows people to absorb unnoticed details of the sprawling metropolis. The following are some of his top choices of places for people who want to get acquainted with a city that they live in, but do not necessarily know.

A table in the past

Saddar’s archaic charm can bowl over even the most rigid contemporaries. The neighbourhood harmoniously blends rustic family-run stores and eateries with modern malls and hotels, and offers a variety of places to choose from for good old-fashioned entertainment.

Cafe Mubarak’s non-fussy decor attracts customers who prefer to sit in a quiet corner and grab a quick meal. PHOTO: FAROOQ SOOMRO

Also tucked away in this pulsating part of Karachi is Café Mubarak — a hot spot for old-world Persian dishes. With its non-fussy décor, that includes arched wooden chairs and white marble-topped tables set in a dimly-lit atmosphere, the place simply focuses on serving good food. Polite, uniformed waiters, who serve tea in vintage teapots, are a pleasant reminder of the glory of pre-Partition Karachi. The menu offers a blend of Pakistani and continental breakfast items including biryani, chelo kebab and seafood dishes at economical rates. And since the joint is a regular spot for students from the Institute of Business Administration’s (IBA) city campus, along with other loyal customers, the conversation is as diverse as the items on the menu.

So, the next time you are in the area, find a quiet corner at Café Mubarak, order a cup of chai and enjoy the energy of a business that hangs on to tradition in a city that is changing by the hour.

Always in tune

The Abdul Waheed Music Shop in Lalu Khet, PIB colony, is the place to go to for Karachi’s musicians whenever they need help with their musical paraphernalia. Broken strings are connected and copper wires untangled as the eponymous owner works his magic on the instruments with his nifty fingers. Along with repair services, he also supplies a wide range of musical instruments including violins, guitars, ukuleles, harmoniums and tablas, making the store a one-stop shop for musicians of all kinds. Accolades in the form of momentos, including a picture with legendary singer Mehdi Hassan, line the walls of the shop, bearing testimony to his experience and dedication to the craft.

One of the store’s owners, Salim, sorts through a pile of books.  PHOTO: FAROOQ SOOMRO

When asked why he chose a relatively less-visited part of Karachi to set up his store, Waheed explains that many self-made musicians belonged to the same area. But like most people in this field of work, Waheed‘s business has been affected by the general apathy towards art and music over the years. He believes, however,  that as long as his loyal clients are creating music, the show must go on.

The world in words

As reading becomes a rare pleasure, spaces such as libraries and bookstores that cater to this niche also stand the risk of being forgotten. Such is the case of the Tit Bit Book Stall that has fallen victim to Sadder’s excessive traffic, followed by no parking spaces, and a dwindling audience over the years.

The Tit Bit Book Stall stocks everything from novels to magazines which are available  at economical rates.  PHOTO: FAROOQ SOOMRO

Sandwiched between Jehangir Restaurant and the Zoroastrian temple on Daudpota Road, the shop is hardly bigger than a small kitchen. The distinct flooring and ceiling fan take customers back in time when books were a treasured and widely available commodity. The bookstore was founded in 1944 by SM Khalil, who moved to Pakistan after the Partition and eventually became a favourite among Karachi’s literary connoisseurs.

A display of guitars and other musical instruments at the Abdul Waheed Music Shop.  PHOTO: FAROOQ SOOMRO

A quick glance at the shelves may be disappointing as none of the books are classified by genre unlike most modern bookstores. But Salim, one of the store’s owners, along with two other elderly gentlemen, act as the perfect librarians and know the exact location and availability of every book on their fingertips. From novels by Robert Ludlum, John Grisham and Sidney Sheldon, to popular magazines and cookbooks, the store maintains a wide collection for adults and children.

Abdul Waheed repairs a harmonium at his music shop. PHOTO: FAROOQ SOOMRO

To increase customer loyalty, Salim even provides personalised services, such as ordering books according to customer demands and selling them below the market price. For example, The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson, which won the 2010 Booker Prize, is available at the store at a throwaway price, along with many other classics that are priced at only Rs100.

Farooq Soomro documents unexplored sites of Karachi on his blog thekarachiwalla.com. He tweets @thekarachiwalla

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 14^th, 2014.

Nearly 140 of us stood in a loose circle inside a concrete room on the last day of the week-long Muslim Jewish Conference — a platform where young Muslim and Jewish leaders from around the globe get together to promote dialogue, encourage coalition building and foster lifelong friendships — held this August for the fifth time in Vienna, Austria. The room with its plain walls, wooden benches, harsh fluorescent lighting and metal and stone fixtures was oddly representative of this place. Somber. Silent. Reverent. Some stood with their arms folded and heads bowed while others held hands, offered a supportive shoulder or leaned against the walls. Each one of us was stunned at what we had witnessed over the past few days.

The silence was pierced by Samuel’s voice, a Moroccan Jew, as he recited a prayer for the deceased in Hebrew. Once he finished and stepped back, Bashar Ibrahim, a Serbian Muslim came forth and recited a prayer, in Arabic this time. As Muslims and Jews prayed together for the departed souls, united by the sheer scale of the tragedy that transpired here, only one thing was clear — no matter what religion, cast, creed or background you come from, some things are just decidedly inhuman.

A confrontation with the past

On the morning of August 12, 2014, participants of the Muslim Jewish Conference travelled two hours by road from Vienna to Mauthausen, one of the largest labour/death camps built by the Nazis. It is estimated that during the seven years of the camp’s operation, nearly 90,000 people were killed at Mauthausen, of which 40,000 were Jews. The vast majority of those killed were Poles and Russians, with Germans, Austrians, Italians, Spaniards and Yugoslavians accounting for the rest. Mauthausen was a Stufe III (grade three) camp, which meant that it was intended to be one of the hardest camps for the political enemies of the Reich. Hitler’s major paramilitary organisation, The Schutzstaffel (SS), referred to it as Knochenmühle — the bone-grinder.

Adina, a Jewish attendee from Australia, lit a candle for her grandfather who was one of the survivors of Mauthausen. PHOTO CREDIT: DANIEL SHAKED

From the beginning, we knew the tour would be emotionally taxing and draining. Each one of us, however, had severely underestimated the power and presence of Mauthausen and the hard-hitting lessons we would learn there.

At the visitor centre that morning, we were divided into six tour groups. Our tour guide, Wolfgang, took us to the outer perimetre of the camp, where you could see houses, barns and other structures of the surrounding town. Prisoners were tasked with building the camp on August 7, 1938, and the location was selected because of a nearby granite quarry. Initially a prison for criminals, it was converted to a labour camp on May 8, 1939. Mauthausen and nearby Gusen formed the basis of the Mauthausen-Gusen camp system, which resulted in 101 camps spread out across Austria by the end of the war. The camp was extremely profitable. For example, in 1944 alone, the Mauthausen-Gusen camp system made a profit of 11 million Reichsmark, which amounts to nearly 144 million Euros today — profits at the cost of unimaginable human death and suffering. Of the 320,000 prisoners incarcerated at the camp system, a mere 80,000 survived.

An aerial shot of Mauthausen from 1944, taken after most of the barracks had been dismantled.

As we took in the surroundings, our thoughts were interrupted by a simple question from Wolfgang. How is it possible, he asked, that a few SS soldiers and officers managed to murder nearly 90,000 people in a period of seven years at this camp, surrounded by a civilian population? The answer to this question would be revealed to us over the next three hours, through a series of revelations, each more harrowing than the last.

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference”

The first link in this horrendous chain of murder was the indifference and tacit acceptance of the townsfolk of what was happening at Mauthausen. Everyone knew these prisoners were being marched to their probable deaths, as the average life expectancy at Mauthausen was less than three months by 1945, yet no one objected. For the town, the SS were friends, lovers, ordinary folks. The prisoners, and by extension their misery and plight, were practically invisible.

It is customary to write the name of a lost, loved one on a piece of stone since they last forever.

Inside, on the main walkway, Wolfgang traced the steps of freshly arriving prisoners at the camp. Taken in through the main gates, they were first documented, then stripped and shaved from head to toe. Next, they were marched, naked, into the adjacent shower, where they were mass bathed in ice-cold water. A single Hebrew word was painted on one of the pillars inside the shower room. Adina Lieblich, a Jewish attendee from Australia, winced and turned away when she saw it.

“What happened? What does it say?” I asked.

“‘Revenge’,” she said. “It says ‘revenge’.”

Even in a place like this, it was a stark reminder of the mindless hatred that bubbles beneath the surface.

The tiny living quarters where up to 500 people were crammed at times. Many succumbed to suffocation.

Adina, whose grandfather survived Mauthausen, recounted the story of his interrogation. Her grandfather was pulled from the prisoner barracks without warning one day, and brought into one of these rooms with four SS officers. They wore brass knuckles. By the end of it, all he could see was his own blood painted on the walls of the room. During her childhood, her grandfather would have Adina sit on his lap, and place her finger inside his mouth. A wide crack could easily be traced along the roof of his mouth, a lifelong reminder of his ordeal at these hallowed grounds.

Wolfgang warned us about the memorial section of Mauthausen, saying we could skip this part entirely if we wanted, as most people found the following section exceptionally unnerving and shocking. This part of the complex housed the gas chambers, which could kill 120 prisoners simultaneously, the crematoriums where dead bodies were disposed off and various interrogation rooms. The walls were lined with memorabilia, tokens of remembrance left behind by prisoners and families of the deceased alike. In one corner of the room sat a set of cremation ovens. Inside was a lone bouquet of fresh white flowers.

The main Mauthausen memorial. Almost every nation that lost someone at Mauthausen has built a memorial but each of them is different from the other.

One room was filled with black panels, with names of the identified victims lit up in white across the surface of the panels. There were tens of thousands of names. Registers that were several feet thick also contained an alphabetical list of prisoners, those who survived and those who didn’t.

An interrogation room connected us to the final section of this area — the gas chamber. At least 3,455 people were killed here by pumping poisonous gas into an otherwise airtight, small room. The only thing an SS officer had to do was push the button to release the gas. Every other step was carried out by prisoners, who were forced to strip fellow inmates, pile them into the gas chamber, remove the bodies and cremate the remains. Prisoners, thus, were made a part of the chain of murder at Mauthausen, forced to participate in all kinds of prisoner executions, torture and maltreatment.

Our next stop was the prisoner barracks, small wooden buildings with tiny, cramped rooms, which housed up to 500 prisoners. The two residential sections in each barrack were connected by an entranceway with two washbasins. Prisoners were given 25 minutes to eat and wash up at the end of the day before being stuffed in their rooms. Several suffocated to death as a result.

Nearly 140 Muslim and Jewish participants prayed together for the departed souls at the Mauthausen camp. PHOTO CREDIT: DANIEL SHAKED

Dazed and overwhelmed, our group was led by Wolfgang back outside, to the other side of the prison which overlooked the granite quarry. Ailing and underperforming prisoners were forced to repeatedly march up the 186 steps with a large stone on their backs. Those who survived were made to stand in rows of two at the edge of the quarry and given the option of being shot in the back of the head or to push the prisoner in front of them into the quarry below. Murder was institutionalised in every shape and form at Mauthausen and everyone was a voluntary or involuntary participant. One survivor recounted 62 separate ways of murdering people at the camp that included everything from being beaten to death, icy showers that induced hypothermia, mass-shootings, starvation, drowning in barrels of water, electrocution at the perimeter fence and medical experiments by Aribert Heim, dubbed the ‘Butcher of Mauthusen’.

Wolfgang had asked us a question at the beginning. By the end, all of us had the answer to his question but no one had the strength to voice it. Ninety-thousand people died because everyone, including prisoners and guards, officers and executives, townsfolk and local businesses, either directly participated, willingly or otherwise, or indirectly allowed the inhumanity to continue. Like most crimes against humanity, this one also flourished because of unchecked hatred, tacit or explicit consent and blatant apathy.

There were two wash basins in the barracks for 500 prisoners. Each of them just had 25 minutes to eat, wash and clean.

Bassi Gartenstein, a Jewish attendee from Israel, summarised the entire experience most aptly while quoting renowned political activist, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel. “The opposite of love isn’t hate, its indifference,” she said. “[At Mauthausen] we witnessed this very indifference which caused the atrocities that mock the promise of ‘never again’.” 

Healing in unison

Tragedy can be strangely liberating — it allows those who have witnessed it closely to rise above their differences and reach out to others who may be experiencing the same pain. Something similar happened after the joint Muslim Jewish prayers at the visitor centre. Strangers reached out for comfort and found it in the unlikeliest of places. I found strength in the comforting words of Nadia Randera, a South African. Eilaf Farajullah, a Muslim Egyptian, found comfort in the hands of Gaelle Frischknecht, a Swiss Jew. “I was overwhelmed by how much [emotion] I felt,” she recounted later. “And when my emotions got me to the floor and I reached out, Gaelle was there for me, feeling what I was feeling, and just holding my hand. So I got to make a friend and that was the only good part about that day.”

Gaelle also remembers the moment. “It was just her and me and in that moment we understood that it didn’t matter where we are from or what religion we follow,” she shared. “We were just two people mourning for the pain that others felt. I don’t remember how long we sat there but I know one thing for certain. I found a friend for life and that moment will always stay with me.”

The entire conference was designed in a manner that allowed members of both faiths to communicate openly and understand the other’s point of view. Apart from the trip to the Mauthausen camp, there was also a trip to the biggest synagogue and mosque in Vienna where the rabbi/imam explained how religious prayers worked and also answered questions. Guest speakers such as a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor and members from Combatants of Peace, an Israeli-Palestinian peace-building coalition comprised of former freedom fighters and Israeli soldiers, also shared their thoughts and experiences with the attendees. A projects team helped people connect and launch collaborative ventures such as a short film depicting historical stories of Jews saving Muslims from persecution and vice versa and the Muslim Jewish Cookbook Project. Journalists from the two communities also partnered to exchange stories.

Each one of us came out of this conference shaken to our very core, yet determined to do whatever little we could to ensure such hatred was not allowed to fester, in our minds, hearts and communities. It was a hard-earned lesson, soaked in tears and painful realisations, but one that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.

Zeeshan Salahuddin is an Islamabad-based development professional and journalist. He tweets @zeesalahuddin.

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 14^th, 2014.

Since their introduction as comic book characters in the 1980s, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have become a pop culture phenomenon. Known for their ninjutsu skills and love for pizza, the wisecracking quartet have graced the big and small screens numerous times. Their latest cinematic outing, however, is one of their least entertaining.

The franchise reboot centres the origin story of the reptile vigilantes on the character of April O’Neil (Megan Fox), a television reporter tired of the fluff pieces she has to work on and eager to take charge of more important assignments. In an attempt to break an actual news story, April pursues a gang called the Foot Clan, led by the evil mastermind Shredder (Tohoru Masamune), which has been terrorising the city. Along the way, she stumbles upon four masked figures, who eventually turn out to be the titular heroes, fighting off the bad guys. Neither her cameraman (Will Arnett) nor her boss (Whoopi Goldberg) pay any heed to her seemingly ludicrous claims, but April keeps investigating, ultimately developing a friendship with the four brothers — dorky Donatello (Jeremy Howard), goofy Michelangelo (Noel Fisher), authoritative Leonardo (Johnny Knoxville), and rebellious Raphael (Alan Ritchson) — and their mutant rat mentor, Splinter (Tony Shalhoub). But as she discovers the Turtles’ connection to her own past, she also learns the truth about her late father’s former lab partner, Eric Sacks (William Fichtner), while becoming instrumental in defeating the Foot Clan and thwarting Shredder.

Director Jonathan Liebesman has taken a page from producer Michael Bay’s playbook to create this special effects-heavy installment that is as hollow as it is predictable. The movie doesn’t choose to be dark (like Christopher Nolan films), nor does it commit to being full-on fun à la Guardians of the Galaxy. Instead it twaddles aimlessly, unsure of its own tone — fighting begins and time slows down, and logic is defied at every turn. The CGI-generated Turtles and Splinter look creepy, while Shredder looks like he has escaped from a Transformers movie and is ready to saunter back into one.

Most of the characters lack definition, development and charm. With all the focus on Megan Fox’s character, the film turns into the April O’Neil show, almost making the Turtles feel like supporting characters in their own movie. Will Arnett seems out of place, Whoopi Goldberg is wasted in a role that barely matters and Megan Fox is, well, Megan Fox.

Ultimately, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles isn’t unbearably awful, but it isn’t special either. This is a by-the-numbers action film that tries to cash in on a popular franchise and ends up suffering from inconsistency, cringe worthy product placement, a shallow script, and a near-terminal CGI overdose.

Unlikely heroes save the day

1. Godzilla

In the latest addition to the Godzilla franchise, Godzilla saves the day after two MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) emerge from the ruins of a nuclear power plant and begin to wreak havoc on the planet.

It is a must-watch battle of the beasts.

2.  X-men: Days of Future Past

This X-Men sequel delves into the unpredictable world of time travel as Wolverine is sent to undo events that threaten the existence of humans and mutants. He must stop the assassination of the military scientist who created the robots responsible for this chaos.

3.  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

When disease plagues the planet, the only survivors are humans and apes. But interference from traitors in their midst takes them to the doorstep of war. Who will dominate in this fight for territory and safety and can these two species find a way to coexist?

Rating: 2/5

Sameen Amer is a Lahore-based freelance writer and critic. She tweets @Sameen. 

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 21^st, 2014.

German philosopher Walter Benjamin believes that everything beautiful in art can be ‘ascribed to the realm of beautiful semblance’, or a pleasing outward appearance. Abdullah M.I. Syed, artist and curator of ‘Semblance of Order’, the current printmaking show at the Koel Gallery, believes that for the five participating artists, semblance and play are combined. This exhibit was part of a seven-week Australia-Pakistan print residency in partnership with Cicada Press, University of New South Wales, Sydney (UNSW) and Parramatta Artists’ Studios.

Syed mentioned the order and disorder experienced by Australian artists traveling to unpredictable countries like Pakistan, and by Pakistani artists striving for order in a shared creative space. Through mark making, erasure, repetition, and layering, the artists pushed the boundaries of print making, resulting in a travelling exhibition that began in Sydney, is currently in Karachi, and will soon be held in New York.

Abdullah M.I. Syed’s own works on display derived inspiration from Dante’s verse ‘to square the circle’ from Paradiso, the third part of the Divine Comedy. While Enmeshed Blue depicted a solar/lunar halo in aquatint, in Flare II Syed silkscreened a skull cap used for prayer. Through an on-going process of appropriating and deconstructing circular objects and symbols on embossed graph lines, Syed attempted to perform Dante’s metaphorical statement.

Roohi S. Ahmed worked with ruptured marks — a response to unsaid thoughts and feelings during her extended stay in Australia. This included lines that resemble stitches — which, to decode, “one must dip into their own cache of signs and symbols.”

The work of Michael Kempson, head of printmaking at UNSW Sydney, touched on complex, geopolitics, and the world the young will inherit. Highly detailed and neat etchings and aquatint from the Friends and Acquaintances series displayed soft animal toys including the panda (China), ibex (Pakistan), and kangaroo (Australia) that represented various nations and their relationships.

As an Australian artist of the diaspora, Ben Rak’s work spoke of his links and friendships with other cultures such as China, Pakistan and Japan, where global narratives are woven into his own. His bobble head silkscreens such as that of an Arab sheikh and Steve Irwin (the late crocodile hunter) inferred “an all-encompassing consumer culture.”

Adeeluz Zafar worked with his distinctive imagery of animal toys wrapped in gauze in stark black and white. While Untitled silkscreened a zoomed-in detail of a toy, Two headed Pup displayed, according to Zafar, “a mutant along a mythical evolutionary path… Although hidden under gauze, occasional arguments often erupt between the mutated heads and appendages, leading to attacks, wounds and even attempts to swallow each other.” Zafar’s prints could read as a metaphor for entrapment, injury and conflict of various types.

All artists exhibiting attempted to create a ‘semblance’ of order’, they strove to put their respective messages across and did so, successfully. However, their skill along with their struggle to keep the tradition of printmaking alive in the world of art, resulted in a thought-provoking exhibition that has been, and ought to be well-received wherever it is shown.

Shanzay Subzwari is a fine arts student. She tweets @ShanzaySubzwari

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 21^st, 2014.

Espionage thrillers have kept cinema audiences hooked since the advent of the art form itself. It was in 1928 when German filmmaker, Fritz Lang wrote the current thematic and visual vernacular of spy thrillers when making Spione. It contained shots of the ‘agency’ headquarters, a female agent and/or a femme fatal who falls in love with the hero (or is a very formidable match) and the agent known as a number. While the structure was written a long time ago, it is the presentation of this structure that makes fans out of mere filmgoers. But The November Man leaves one scratching their head because the movie fails at structure, presentation and logic.

Pierce Brosnan stars as Peter Devereaux, a disenchanted ex-CIA agent who is assigned by his former boss, John Hanley, to extract a under cover CIA agent, Natalia Ulanova, who can bring down a Russian war criminal, Arkady Fedorov, campaigning for the country’s presidency. In the mix is a Chechen refugee whose family was killed by Federov and can bring down the house of cards built by Federov and the CIA. Alongside the main cast are Olga Kurylenko and Luke Bracey as Mila Filapova/Alice Fournier and David Mason respectively. Alice Fournier has assimilated into Montenegrin society and is a shadow of her past life. Mason is the protégé of Deveraux and the reason why he exited the agency when the latter’s impetuousness resulted in the death of a young child early in the film.

The movie is fast-paced and the action sequences are believable, but not exciting. There is Machiavellian politics at play on a global stage and a gorgeous actress who can hold her own. Yet the movie falters and missteps on multiple levels. The script and story-beats seem rushed, resulting in a lack of empathy for the characters. Kurylenko’s character is reduced to a damsel in distress and not given the opportunity to show off her skills. Brosnan provides a few pithy remarks but their intensity seems underwhelming because his characters are just not relatable enough. Not even Pierce Brosnan can attenuate this scripted material. Luke Bracey’s expositional lines make you wonder if the casting choice was to blame. He and Brosnan share some meaningful father-son moments, but the most you can do is sympathise. Not empathise.

There are no bad movies. Just movies made without forethought. It is disheartening to watch an accomplished cast and director, Roger Donaldson, wade through a movie mired in these many unforgivably trite mistakes. I waited till the end for someone to redeem themselves but no one did, least of all the screenwriters. The project was almost cancelled in 2007 but later revived in 2012 by Brosnan and his producing partner for principal photography to begin in 2013. This rush in execution is evident when you watch the movie and ultimately makes it a forgettable experience. I left the theatre scratching my head knowing that I had neither learnt anything new nor felt any different.

Rating: 1.5/5 

Vivian J Xavier is a cinematographer. He tweets@vivianjxavier 

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 21^st, 2014.

Just last week, hundreds of Apple fans across the world waited with bated breath for the release of the iPhone 6. This love for iPhones, however, seems to have skipped Pakistan. Although there are no official statistics for iPhone sales in Pakistan, a recent report published in Forbes revealed that the country sold far more Windows Phones than iPhones. The following are some of the reasons why the iPhone does not do great business in Pakistan:

1. No official support

There is surprisingly no official push from Apple to sell the iPhone or their other products in Pakistan. Without an official backbone, it becomes tough for local sellers to provide warranty or repair services for the iPhone.

2. No warranty, no return

A majority of shops sell the iPhone with a no-return policy. This is because of the lack of a warranty with the sale of the phone. Although normally things go well afterwards if you have examined the phone well enough before buying, there are rare cases where one can be unlucky and end up paying Rs60,000 or more in repairs.

3. Too pricey for Pakistan

The iPhone 5s ranges from Rs68,000 to Rs90,000 depending on the amount of storage space you are willing to settle for. All the latest and new iPhone models, more or less, cost around Rs 50,000. In a country where most subscribers are looking to buy the cheapest phones, this is a huge price tag.

4. Fierce and proactive competitors

Fan boys who rush to the defence of their smart phone brand of choice on social media and blogs, become one of the greatest marketing tools for any brand. We often see HTC, Samsung, and Q Mobile partner with local Pakistani mobile networks and bloggers to launch their new products. However, any such initiative by Apple is yet to be seen.

5. ’It’s better to wait’ phenomena

Many users who are looking to buy the iPhone decide to wait for the new model if it’s only a few months away. These users then become interested in other phone models that are being released in the market every day.

6. No memory card expansion

The smartphone generation has a habit of storing a multitude of videos, songs and other data on their phones. The difference between the prices of iPhone models based on storage is huge. For example, iPhone 5s 16GB costs around Rs 65,000 and the same model with 64GB storage space costs about Rs 90,000.

7. Fake replicas are flooding the market

It may not be that easy to pass off a fake replica of an iPhone as a real one because the inferior quality would be glaringly obvious. However, the problem lies in identifying whether any single part of the iPhone is fake. Our mobile phone vendors are notorious for repairing or replacing one component of the phone, such as the camera or the screen, and selling it as brand new.

8. Resale value

Most phone brands, particularly including the iPhone, have a resale value that fluctuates greatly in a short time span. A new phone bought two days prior, can now be sold back to any vendor for Rs 15,000 less than the original price.

Note: Prices quoted in the article have been taken from mobilephones.pk and may vary according to markets.

Ahmad Raza is an MBA graduate from the University of Wales and a digital media enthusiast. He tweets @ThisizSparta 

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 21^st, 2014.

When you see Dubai’s glitz and glamour, it is hard to believe that this ultramodern metropolis grew out of dust in just 25 years. In search of the soul of this magnificent city I found myself at the Al-Fahidi Fort, the oldest building in Dubai built in 1787. The fort, which is strategically located in Bur Dubai, was built to defend a little fishing and pearling village that has grown into a megacity over time.

A traditional khanjar (carved dagger) displayed in the weaponry exhibit. PHOTO: UROOJ QURESHI

Constructed from sea rocks and gypsum, the Al-Fahidi Fort reminds visitors of the more humble past and the traditional lifestyle of the Emirati people. Measuring 41m long by 33m wide and consisting of three towers which are roughly 13m high, the Al-Fahidi is a far cry from the mega structures that dominate Dubai’s skyline. For this building though, size does not matter. Up until 1971, the fort served as the residence to Dubai’s rulers as well as the seat of government. Today it is home to the Dubai Museum, which attracts thousands of visitors annually with its majestic charm and entertaining exhibits.

Tabura (harp), a musical instrument, made from wood and deerskin, displayed inside the fort. PHOTO: UROOJ QURESHI

Take a step inside the fort and it feels like you have entered an oasis in a vast desert. The main gate, made of solid teak, studded with large iron nails, and decorated with brass plates, leads to the main corridor and ticket booth. In the past, such corridors were designed to act as a part of the fort’s defense systems — if the outer wall was breached, the enemy faced the armed guards and an impenetrable second wall. Today these corridors have been transformed into narrow exhibit halls. One such hall houses a fascinating display of traditional weapons including beautiful old silver khanjars (curved daggers) decorated with camel bone and swords inscribed with calligraphy. Another such hall is dedicated to Emirati music and dances featuring garments and instruments used for performances.

Courtyard of Al-Fahidi Fort, the main defence to the fishing village that was Dubai. PHOTO: UROOJ QURESHI

Guarded by towering walls, the fort’s courtyard was once the centre of all important activities in Dubai. The enclosure can be accessed by traditional barasti (palm-leaf) houses. Two types of barasti can be found attached to the courtyard. The first, called al-kaimah is a primitive one-room house that was a common abode for residents of the Gulf coast before modern mansions replaced them. The second type of structure is called al-arish. It served as summer house with a barajeel (wind tower) designed to funnel wind blowing from any direction to naturally air condition the house. The innovative concept of barajeel is also a testament to the ingenuity of the people in this region. Step inside the al-arish and test it out — you won’t believe it’s over 40 degrees celsius outside!

A traditional dhow, a vessel used for sailing and transporting merchandise, displayed outside Dubai Museum. PHOTO: UROOJ QURESHI

In the fort’s courtyard are several small wooden boats. Similar ones can still be found in operation on the Gulf coast but for the most part they have been replaced by luxury yachts and large container ships. I was particularly impressed by al-hourey, a small boat carved from a single tree trunk. However, it was boats like al-baggarah and al-sambuk that were used for pearling and fishing, respectively, which were Dubai’s pride before the discovery of petroleum.

Al-sambuk, a traditional wooden, fishing vessel displayed inside the fort. PHOTO: UROOJ QURESHI

The Al-Fahidi Fort offers as much below the surface as it does above. An entrance under one of the fortresses fairytale-like towers leads to a spiral staircase which descends to the exhibit area of Dubai Museum. The museum’s collection vividly charts Dubai’s rapid growth from a village and one of the world’s first free-trade ports to the Arabian mega city it has become now. All first-time visitors should consider making the museum their first stop in Dubai. An hour or two meandering through interactive presentations gives you a quick and comprehensive introduction to the city’s history, culture and traditions. Just in case you were not convinced, a multimedia presentation and a series of dioramas brought to life by hologram-like projections will leave you with a greater appreciation for what a nomadic desert community has accomplished.

A traditional kitchen attached to the al-kaimah, a primitive house that was a common abode for Emirati’s. PHOTO: UROOJ QURESHI

Visitors get a complete sensory experience by walking through life-size scenes representing life in the souqs, madrassahs, social life, education, architecture, the desert and oasis, star gazing and my favourite, the underwater sea exhibition.

A typical Emirati shop from a pre-modernisation era. PHOTO: UROOJ QURESHI

One exhibit which truly enlightened me was from the Al-Qusais archeological site dating back to 2,500BC and 5,000BC. It turns out there’s far more to this fascinating city than what we know. Whenever I thought of Dubai, I imagined luxury cars, tall buildings, yachts, and everything that is material — covered in gold. I suppose like many I have been judging a book only by its cover.

Children being taught at a madrassah. PHOTO: UROOJ QURESHI

The south-western tower of the fort seen from inside the fort. PHOTO: UROOJ QURESHI

Bronze arrowheads from the graves of Al-Qusais dating back to second millenium BC. PHOTO: UROOJ QURESHI

The north-western tower of the Al-Fahidi Fort.  PHOTO: UROOJ QURESHI

Al-arish, an Arab summer house, which has a wind tower designed to naturally air condition the house. PHOTO: UROOJ QURESHI

Urooj Qureshi is a traveller who loves to tell stories. He tweets @uroojqureshi 

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 21^st, 2014.

A common reaction to feeling blue is equating it to depression. What most people fail to realise, however, is that by doing so one ends up trivialising one of the most debilitating mental diseases in the world, which recently claimed the life of legendary comedian Robin Williams as well. Often brushed aside as a cry for attention, depression is a silent disease that affects millions around the globe. And only those who suffer from it can articulate the darkness of battling with this lingering sinking feeling that cripples one emotionally and physically.

Depression — a neurological condition, associated with dysfunction of specific brain regions — is more complex than a medically defined ‘chemical imbalance’. It is a feeling of overwhelming sadness, including negative feelings, fatalistic attitudes, insomnia, loss of appetite (in some cases an increased appetite), mania and low self-esteem, that lasts for an uninterrupted two weeks. The trigger factors may range from faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, stressful life events (such as the death of a loved one, divorce or loss of job) and neglect or social isolation. These causes are mostly ambiguous and unpredictable, explains Dr Jasmyn R Khawaja, a psychiatrist at Therapy Works. “It can be more devastating than any kind of grief one may experience during bereavement,” she remarks.

For 55-year-old Taimoor Khan*, who has been struggling with depression after the loss of his child, the condition has translated into a chronic pain. “Every inch of my body is in agonising pain, from my hair follicles all the way down to the bones in my feet,” he says. It is almost as if a hundred burning matchsticks have been pressed against my skin, he describes. During a TED talk, Andrew Solomon, a writer on psychology and culture, spoke about the physical symptoms of depression while narrating his own battle with the disease. They include headaches, chest pain, muscle ache and back pain. Khan found it difficult to even get out of bed due to exhaustion and fatigue, and when he fell asleep, it would haunt him in the form of nightmares. “I would wake up (feeling) as if my heart (was being ripped) out of my chest,” he shares.

It hurts even more when you know what you are going through but you cannot help yourself, explains Bilal Jabbar*, a student who has undergone prolonged treatment for depression after his 11-year-old brother drowned in a pool when he was still a teenager. Initially he went from one doctor to another, but nobody could come up with a plausible diagnosis. “Ultimately, they prescribed me medication that altered my mood,” he says, adding that the medication only helped him for a short while. While preferable treatment options for patients include antidepressant medication or psychotherapy, such as cognitive behaviour therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy or problem-solving treatment, it is crucial that they are provided with basic psychological support from family and friends at home. Fortunately, Jabbar had an understanding family that took him for therapy regularly and stood by him through every step of the way. “My dependency on my parents and approval from my friends meant the world to me,” he says.

Although Jabbar blames himself even today for not being able to rescue his brother, his depression has been addressed to a certain extent. While the disease cannot be cured completely, with patients suffering from long-term major depressive disorder running an increased risk of death, it is very much treatable if detected at an early stage. “Even if you are not diagnosed with depression, chances are that you are undergoing some kind of emotional distress for which therapy can be helpful,” says Dr Khawaja, adding that the right form of help is essential for a healthy recovery. When 27-year-old Vania Malik’s* engagement was called off, she suffered from a deep spell of depression which lasted for two years. Her symptoms surfaced in the form of a deep resentment, especially towards men, and she even lost her appetite. But her family took this to be a ‘normal’ reaction after a breakup. “What caused me more pain was the lack of understanding from people close to me,” she says, adding that the only solution her family could come up with was to get her settled down as soon as possible. Eventually, Malik sought professional help while staying with her sister in London and attended counselling sessions with a psychiatrist twice a week for six months. During this period she was prescribed mood-altering medication and the dosage was lowered as she showed signs of progress. “I didn’t take any off-the-counter drugs as I see people do in Pakistan. I found my therapist to be someone I could connect to,” she says, adding that three years later, she has found love once again. But deep down, Malik still feels insecure, “what if somewhere along the line, he too leaves me?”

Clinical depression can take several months to diagnose, but the first step towards treatment is to acknowledge that depression is a problem. According to Dr Sharmeen Khan, a private-practicing psychologist, if depression goes unchecked, the symptoms may disappear temporarily, only to return at a later stage in life. “It all depends on a person’s resilience and their coping strategies,” she says. Thirty-four-year-old Natalia Ahmed* was only 10 when her grandfather passed away. She grieved for him briefly then, but as she grew older, she felt his absence more and more. “In my teens, like everyone else, I had hormonal changes but that ache that I had suppressed became stronger and manifested itself in the form of anger and rebellion,” recalls Ahmed. As a consequence, she started smoking and taking off-the-counter relaxants and in her early 20s resorted to substance abuse. It was only after her relapse that her parents rushed her to a hospital and she was eventually diagnosed with depression. Along with psychotherapy, her treatment included hypnosis which is suggested to help retrieve positive experiences from one’s past and develop coping skills. While many may have dismissed Ahmed’s unruly behaviour as ‘attention-seeking’, it was an overlooked cry for help. Early intervention is therefore important as childhood depression has damaging effects in the long-run. For example, Alayna* suffered from several anxiety attacks when there were no visible signs of worry in her life. Upon probing, it was revealed that it was the long-dormant sadness over her parents’ divorce that had finally surfaced and was causing her pain. “Real depression isn’t being sad when there’s been a turn of events in your life, it is more like being sad when everything is alright and you just can’t control your thoughts,” she says.

No amount of wealth, success or fame can prevent depression, says Dr Khawaja. “People who have suffered need to speak up about it… We need awareness, support and acceptance (in Pakistan),” she urges. Despite efficacious and cost-effective treatment options for depression, including self-help options such as regular exercise and a healthy diet to keep depression at bay, social stigma continues to be a strong barrier to care in Pakistan. Patients feel isolated and are even reluctant to confide even in their therapists, making suicide prediction and prevention almost impossible.

To tell someone suffering from depression to stop being depressed is even worse than burying the matter or turning a deaf ear towards it. It only pushes them deeper into a state of self-loathing. If someone has built the courage to share their innermost fears, the least you can offer them is assurance that they can be helped.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy.

Survivors of depression

Buzz Aldrin, an American astronaut who flew to the moon in 1969, suffered from depression and alcoholism. He worked his way through, and even served as chairman of the National Mental Health Association. 

Angelina Jolie, who went on to become an Academy Award-winning actress and globe trotting UN Goodwill Ambassador, suffered from bouts of depression throughout her teens and early 20s, especially after her mother passed away in 2007. 

Joanne Rowling, writer of the famous Harry Potter series, was depressed and suicidal in her 20s after her divorce but managed to rise above it and contribute to the literary world in a huge way. 

In an interview in 1995, Princess Diana revealed shocking details of postpartum depression, bulimia and self-inflicted injuries. 

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Ernest Hemingway’s suicidal depression is examined in the book An Intimate Portrait of Ernest Hemingway by Those Who Knew Him by Denis Brian

Common forms of depression

• Persistent depressive disorder — Formerly known as chronic depression, or dysthymia, it is characterised by a long-term (two years or more) depressed mood.

• Manic depression — It is a complex mood disorder that alternates between periods of clinical depression and times of extreme elation or mania.

• Postpartum depression — It is a severe form of depression that is experienced by women after having a baby.

• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder — The symptoms of depression occur one week before the menstrual period and disappear after menstruation.

• Seasonal affective disorder — It often occurs during the fall-winter season, due to lack of sunlight, and disappears afterwards.

Helpline services available in Pakistan:

If you do not get the required support from friends and family at home, dial the following numbers and get the help you need.

Rozan Helpline: Toll free number: 0800-22444

You can call six days a week (Monday to Saturday) from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Madadgar Helpline: Toll free number: 111-911-922

Punjab Youth Helpline: Toll free number: 0800-12145

Zara Hafeez is a strategic marketer by profession. She tweets @zara_hafeez

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 21^st, 2014. 

When the banks of the River Jhelum were breached last week, a wave of floods wreaked havoc in Indian-administered Kashmir. Over 200 people have lost their lives while thousands of others are trapped in Srinagar, which lies inundated by flood waters.

Locals rescuing a woman in Srinagar. PHOTO: HAZIQ QADRI

The chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, said that these were the worst floods to hit Kashmir in decades. “Many of you have tweeted for help today. We are trying our best,” he said responding to appeals on Twitter. He further reassured people that help was on its way from Delhi and would be sent to the worst affected areas of Srinagar shortly, including Rajbagh, Shivpura and other areas. Moreover, the state government has also asked the Air Force to begin rescue operations in Srinagar. “This is an unprecedented situation and we are doing the best we can under the circumstances,” he added.

A damaged truck in Srinagar.   PHOTO: HAZIQ QADRI

Omer said that his administration had launched rescue and relief operations on a war footing and was working closely with the army to reach people in the worst-hit areas.

Many houses were damaged after floods hit Jammu and Kashmir.  PHOTO: HAZIQ QADRI

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who visited the flood-hit areas by helicopter on Sunday, called the situation a national disaster and offered monetary support to help deal with the calamity.

Many bridges along the Srinagar-Pulwama highway were washed away by the high pressure of the water. PHOTO: HAZIQ QADRI

Locals living in tents on Srinagar-Jammu highway.   PHOTOS: HAZIQ QADRI

Haziq Qadri is a Kashmir-based photojournalist. He tweets @haziq_qadri 

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 21^st, 2014.

The euphoria of a newly acquired shiny toy may be hard to explain to someone who is alien to the feeling. They may question its utility, raise their eyebrows at the high prices and even sound downright amused at the idea of adults collecting toys. But for the thousands of toy collectors worldwide, the anticipation and joy of breaking the seal of a freshly purchased Gundam or Transformer figure is worth the hassle and the hole it drills in their savings. 

Indulgence for the ‘un-smart’ generation

Childhood was a much simpler time for those who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. The absence of tablets and smartphones left plenty of room to play with toys that required a lot more input from the consumer than merely tapping screens or pressing keys. Naturally, the attachment to these toys was much higher in comparison and in the case of these toy collectors lasts long after their proverbial play days are over.

“I am attracted to these toys because of memories from my childhood. They make me very happy and very excited,” says a Lahore-based artist and toy collector who wishes to remain anonymous. “Sometimes I’ve even spent more [on a toy] than its value because I really wanted it,” he elaborates adding that he has nearly 200 to 300 toys in his collection comprising mostly vintage toys from the 1970s and 1980s such as Godzilla, Kaijin and Megaman.

Naeem, a Karachi based businessman in his mid-30s whose personal toy collection is worth thousands of dollars also recalls how his inexplicable thirst for the toys began during his childhood. “I remember that the Agha’s supermarket in Clifton was one of the few shops which stored these toys. I would beg and plead my mother to shop there so I could just look at the boxes and fantasise about owning one someday,” he says.

PHOTO COURTESY: SHAHERYAR POPALZAI

The story is somewhat similar for Ahsan, another Karachi-based collector, who began pursuing this hobby during his teenage years. “I had an impressive collection of action figures that included everything from He-Man to Spiderman to Ninja Turtles,” he shares. “I had about 30 of these toys, including Transformers.” Till date, Ahsan estimates that he has spent over Rs1 million on his toy collection which ranges from low-end Marvel and DC toys that cost between Rs3,000 and Rs5,000 each, to Masterpiece Transformers and Hot Toys action figures, that cost upwards of Rs20,000 per piece. These pricier toys are highly detailed products that target adult buyers, such as Ahsan.

When asked if his current collection is a manifestation of his childhood fervour for toys, Ahsan is initially offended but eventually concedes that it may be a possibility. Most of these collectors describe their childhood as time of dreams, and fantasy when they believed in magic, explains Erum Riaz Ghazi, a psychologist at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical College and head of the psychosocial oncology department at The Indus Hospital, who has conducted extensive research on the subject. “The boy who wanted to be superman [as a kid] now relies on his action figure to transport him to another world where he has super powers and can still do anything,” she says.

Each toy collector, however, may have a different reason for this indulgence. “For some, these toys offer a temporary break from reality and stress,” adds Ghazi. This is certainly true in the case of Shaheryar Popalzai, a collector of Gundam model kits which can cost up to Rs20,000 per piece. Popalzai, who purchased his collection from Hong Kong, explains that putting his Gundam toys together is what appeals to him the most, even if the project lasts for more than several weeks. Similarly, for 36-year-old Abbas Saleem Khan, who collects Transformers toys, transforming them is equivalent to therapy. “Moving them around, transforming them back and forth helps me relieve stress,” says Khan. “I like to do it without instructions since the sense of achievement is awesome.” 

There are as many different types of collectors as there are toys

While it is hard to assess the total number of toy collectors in Pakistan at the moment, the hobby seems to be picking up momentum. This can be gauged through their increased presence on social media in the form of Facebook pages such as ‘Anime, Comics & Collectibles Pakistan’ (ACCP), which boasts nearly 3,500 members. “I created ACCP (the page and group) to provide a common platform for all anime and comic fans across Pakistan including merchandise collectors who were scattered over various forums earlier,” says the Hyderabad-based creator of the page, Sono Durrani. Now members use the group to discuss everything from their toy’s price to quality, sculpting, paintwork and entertainment value.

Different collectors are inclined towards different toys depending on their personal taste, fondness for a certain movie, comic series or action figure. For example, 25-year-old Syed Ali Tahir, who collects Transformers toys, explains, “[The Masterpiece toy line] transformation sequences are complicated and accurate to the comic and onscreen ones,” he says. “Unlike the vintage action figures, they do not distort or change the characters from what we are used to watching on screen.” Hence, Tahir is willing to pay up to Rs30,000 for a genuine sealed version of the toy. On the other hand, the Lahore-based artist/collector appreciates the aesthetic of modern toys, but finds the imperfections in the older toys charming. “They have a blocky nature to them and they are disproportionate, which I find appealing,” he says.

Moreover, these collectors’ connection to their toys is not just skin-deep. For example, for many Transformers collectors such as Tahir, Optimus Prime was the embodiment of benevolence and great leadership. This is perhaps why his brutal death in The Transformers: The Movie (1986) was such a shock for fans. “There had been rumours at school that Optimus Prime had been killed, but I didn’t believe it,” shares Naeem. “When I finally saw the scene I felt this great sense of loss. You might think this is crazy, but it taught me a lesson about death and helped me deal with the loss of a grandparent,” he says. “Years later I saw the same scene again on YouTube and was surprised to feel my eyes moisten.” Similarly, Ghazi explains that while most men cannot have Lara Croft from The Tomb Raider in real life, they can have a plastic one that is 10-inch tall. “She symbolises an unattainable, sexy, dangerous woman with a dark side. Very few men can resist that!”

PHOTO COURTESY: NOMAN ANSARI

Not just fun and games

With more websites popping up where toy collectors can browse and order online, things have become a lot easier now than they were a few years ago. Ali, who sports an impressive collection of expensive Hot Toys action figures, which replicate movie characters with an almost eerie resemblance, began collecting toys at the age of seven but his collection truly blossomed when he was able to buy regularly from Dubai. Stores in Pakistan are of little help as they offer measly outdated toys priced at three or even four times their original value. Most retailers are also usually least interested in expanding their wares, leaving little option for Pakistani collectors other than resorting to websites in the US and Japan to fuel their hobby. Waqas Ahmed, a fairly new collector who has spent nearly Rs100,000 on his toys already, explains that he gets his toys from abroad because it is almost impossible to find these products locally. “Buying items is hard in Pakistan nowadays since many stores charge double for a figure which is available at half the price abroad,” adds Sarmed Ahmed, who collects toys from franchises such as Star Wars, Thundercats, M.A.S.K., Thundercats and Toxic Crusaders. “I get most of my items when I visit my brother in the UK or when he comes here.”

Not only do these collectors spend a great deal of money on these toys but also look after them with great care. The items remain sealed and displayed in their original boxes, long after they have been purchased. “I barely touch [my toys] without wearing cotton gloves, let alone play with them. Plus most of them are static, [which means they are] not meant to be played with in the first place,” says Durrani.

Keeping it in check

Even though collecting has its benefits, like any other hobby, if it spirals out of control, it can end up being harmful, warns Ghazi. “Collecting can become hoarding, which is characterised as a disorder if it reaches pathological proportions,” she says. Some experts have even gone so far as to call it a ‘repetitive acquisition syndrome’. This becomes a problem when the hoarder spends inordinate amounts of money on his collectibles, spends more time acquiring and playing with them than meeting his everyday needs and where his social functioning is impaired. Another symptom is immense anxiety with regards to the collection and the impatience to acquire the next item. “While some people who hoard may not be particularly distressed by their behaviour, [themselves], it can be worrisome for other people, such as family members,” she explains.

Adding weight to Ghazi’s warning is the fact that some collectors requested for their names to be changed due to fear of certain family members finding out about the extent of their collections. Most collectors, however, shared that their families had been quite supportive of their unusual hobby, with some going as far as helping them find their most sought-after toys. “Even though I am not a collector myself, I enjoy my husband’s collection and they add an interesting flavour to the interior of our house. Aesthetically, I really like them and enjoy having them around me,” says Zara, wife of one of the collectors.

Toy prices vary according to brand, size and quality. The price of a toy collectible can range anywhere between Rs10,000 to Rs90,000. Vintage or collectible items, however, cost a lot more and can go up to Rs400,000 per item.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Some frequently visited retail sites by Pakistani toy collectors are:

1. Amiami

2. Hobbylink Japan

3. Amazon.com

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

There are hundreds of different kinds of toys available in the market. Some of the most popular ones are as follows:

1. Transformers

2. Marvel Legends

3. Diamond Select

4. Kotobukiya Statues

5. Gentle Giant

6. Funko

7. Bishoujo

8. Hot Toys

9. Sideshow Collectibles

10. DC Comics Toy series

11. Star Wars: Black Series

12. Medicom

13. Bandai Japan (they make Gundam)

14. Mc Farlane Toys

15. GI Joe

Noman Ansari is a freelance writer. He tweets @Pugnate 

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 21^st, 2014.

Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death in February this year had thousands of fans lamenting his profound loss to the world. It ignited a discussion on the pervasiveness of addictive substances like cocaine and heroin in Hollywood. However, when media outlets found another subject that piqued their interest, it was soon realised that Hoffman’s performances were finite and that the characters that could have been inhabited by this burly monolith of acting prowess were laid to rest with him. This also holds true for the character of Mickey Scarpato, a blue-collar worker brought to life by Hoffman in God’s Pocket, a movie that failed to match his talent.

The movie starts off in a funeral home where a community and family mourn the death of 22-year-old Leon Scarpato, who has a penchant for using the ‘N’ word. This gets him killed at the construction site he works at and now a mother’s intuition and  womanising reporter want to find out more. In the meanwhile, Leon’s father, Mickey Scarpato and his friend ‘Bird’ Capezio are trying to con their way to more money, guzzling down more beers and taking care of things by stealing meat and trying to sell it off. Mickey has a gambling problem and even manages to lose the $1,400 donation collected by The Hollywood bar patrons. Since, he cannot make the payment to the funeral home director Smilin Jack Moran. He throws Leon’s body out in the streets, and Mickey drives it around in his meat truck with the meat still in it. A stroke of luck gets Mickey the money he needs for a mahogany coffin for his son and all the while oblivious to him a romance blossoms between his wife and Richard Shellbum, the reporter. Nothing goes quite as planned, and it is easy to see why a simmering anger boils over at the end when the bar patrons give the reporter his comeuppance, after he writes an unflattering column about them.

The film’s main cast is full of character actors that always leave you wanting more. But the weak screenplay and misguided directing leave them languishing in a purgatorial existence. Hoffman and Christina Hendricks, of Mad Men, star as Mickey and Jeanie Scarpato while John Turturro, Richard Jenkins and Eddie Marsen play Bird Carpezio, Richard Shellbum and Smilin’ Jack Moran respectively. They all do a fine job of living their characters but are weighed down by a script that is totally inconsistent and a director who is probably learning that adapting a book faithfully is sometimes incongruous to a realistic script. The story beats seem off at times and the dialogue bookish.

The feature film directorial debut of John Slattery, who played Roger Sterling in Mad Men starts off somber but tapers off to a comedy of errors. But by then it is already too late for the cast or screenplay to elevate it to more than what it is. Lance Acord, the cinematographer, does well to create a drab world that looks natural but even his genius cannot help. I watched the movie because Phillip Seymour Hoffman was starring, but I am crestfallen to see that one of his last legacies will be an entirely forgettable one.

More for Phillip Seymour Hoffman fans

1. Magnolia

An ensemble cast directed by Paul Thomas Anderson that explores the forces greater than chance in our ordinary lives. Hoffman plays a male nurse caring for a cancer patient who wants to get in touch with his estranged son.

2. The Master

Paul Thomas Anderson’s exploration of a nascent Scientology-like cult with Hoffman as its charismatic leader is a modern masterpiece. This multilayered story, with a taut screenplay and inspired cinematography is a must-watch for any cinephile.

3. Doubt

John Patrick Shanley’s adaptation of his Pulitzer Prize winning play is probably cinema at its best. Hoffman deftly plays a priest accused of pedophilia in a performance that leaves the audience wondering about his innocence or guilt till the end.

Rating: 2/5

Vivian J Xavier is a cinematographer. He tweets@vivianjxavier

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 28^th, 2014.

In The Hundred Foot Journey, the protagonists and the audience will both embark on a journey. You will laugh, smile, wonder and be immersed in the surroundings of a picturesque small town in the mountains of France where two beautiful (and delicious) cultures clash, mingle and eventually harmonise. In short, you will see a Hollywood-Bollywood fusion done so well, it will leave you asking for more.

The movie depicts the initial struggle of an Indian family that has moved to France after losing their matriarch (Juhi Chawla) to the fires of a local riot. It is about their belligerent yet funny competition and subsequent truce with a French lady who owns a neighbouring local restaurant and how she ends up nurturing the talent of the Indian boy who is a gifted cook.

In its soul, The Hundred-Foot Journey centres on introducing the audience to the beliefs and lifestyles of two diverse cultures. While food is the main medium, the movie does a good job in introducing us to so many qualities of Indian and French life. Unlike most documentaries, however, it does this in a manner that is entertaining and fun to watch.

As always Helen Mirren is phenomenal. She modulates her performance from a nasty, uptight competitor to a likable, helpful friend with such subtlety that it’s a treat to watch the transformation. Om Puri plays the stubborn father role to the letter. While he is the funniest character in the movie, his humour is only one part of his character and not the whole package. His pride and morals push the character to even greater heights.

The young aspiring chef protagonist Hassan Kadam is portrayed by Manish Dayal, who proves himself beyond his good looks. Unlike other pretty boys, Dayal can act without going to extremes and does a nice job at covering the emotional spectrum required by the character. Playing his counterpart Margaritte is Charlotte Le Bon, who is mousy, energetic and upbeat. And again, this is only one component of her character for she too is susceptible to the less pleasant qualities that dwell within us all. But it is the chemistry between these two that helps bring the story to life.

Despite all its strengths, The Hundred Foot Journey is not a perfect movie. It is predictable and there are times when it reminds one of Ratatouille — the in-kitchen rivalry between sous-chefs. Although the various culinary delights certainly look sumptuous, the parade of colourful foods and dinner servings continually upstages most of the characters in the film.

Lasse Hallstrom’s gift for direction, is however the movie’s strongest asset. He knows how to make a well-crafted film and can make even the most mundane things seem interesting. The screen writing is alchemy, where humour, drama, courage, challenge, redemption and love blend in perfectly. The soundtrack from AR Rahman is also atmospheric and fitting. The camerawork is fantastic and the French countryside looks simply stunning through the lens.

Overall, The Hundred Foot Journey is heartwarming and fascinating cinema. It is a great movie for the entire family to watch and has everything you need to feel good — comedy, drama and most importantly a sweet ending.

Rating: 4/5 

Samra Muslim is a digital marketing professional, an avid reader and a movie buff. She tweets @samramuslim

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 28^th, 2014.

One might question why we need another book on Jinnah. But the distinct format and approach in Sikandar Hayat’s latest addition to the subject, A Charismatic Leader: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the Creation of Pakistan is reason enough to revisit the subject.

The general pattern of Indian history leading to Partition is rooted in an evolutionary framework of analysis of the constitutional debates. It typically draws on a relatively unbroken line of events as well as initiatives taken by the three protagonists — the British government in India, the Congress and the Muslim League — that seem to move to an inevitable endgame in the form of Partition. In contrast, the present book deals with certain deeply endemic crises that solve the grand riddle of social, cultural, political and constitutional life of Muslims in British India. The author elaborates on this theme by focusing on the ‘Muslim crisis’ spread over half a century, which provides the structural context for the emergence of Muslim nationalism. However, as electoral politics took root in India, there was a dire need for a shift in emphasis from ‘structure’ to ‘agency’. Muslim leaders at this point failed to consolidate their hold over the community and there was a dearth of leadership. Hayat makes a convincing argument about the nature and characteristic of Jinnah’s leadership beyond traditional explanations and shows how Jinnah’s role seems to be carved out by history itself when seen in the broad context of structure-agency dichotomy.

In the transition from the first to the second edition of his book on Jinnah, Hayat has expanded both theoretical and empirical findings of his research on the creator of Pakistan. Not only has he refocused his study on Jinnah’s charisma from the first edition but he has also consciously and conscientiously placed himself firmly within the discourse of Partition in general and Jinnah in particular.

In the second edition of his book, Hayat specifically seeks to address Jinnah’s new profile based on some historians’ portrayal of him — for example Jaswant Singh, Ajeet Javeed and Saleena Karim — as a secular person par excellence. The author revisits the controversy over Ayesha Jalal’s thesis about the Pakistan demand being a bargaining counter, from which she has distanced herself in recent writings. The author finds enough ground in Jalal and her critics’ positions to put aside this so-called ‘revisionist’ thesis. The new edition of the book explores the theme of nation-making with reference to some of the famous theorists of nationalism such as Ernest Gellner and Paul Brass, especially in the context of shaping an ethnic variety of nationalism based on Islam.

In the current edition, the author engages himself in a dialogue with more recent writers on the subject, agreeing or disagreeing with their arguments as the case may be. In the former case, he endorses the view about not mixing Partition as the finale of a long process of development of Muslim nationalism with communal violence that accompanied it, inasmuch as these were two separate phenomena. In the latter case, the author confronts a writer on the controversial role of the NWFP governor Olaf Caroe in such matters as the 1947 referendum, and later Pakistan’s entry into the Western military alliances. The author’s willingness to expand and update his findings in the light of newer insights on Partition and Jinnah is commendable. In the matter of production of the book, one cannot overemphasise the fact that this is a high quality publication worth reading for anyone interested in the history of the subcontinent.

Mohammad Waseem is a professor of political scienceat the Lahore University of Management Sciences. 

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 28^th, 2014.