ISSUE #14
Marching To His Own Beat
WAQAS KHAN
Art
Manchester’s New North South Vision Risham Syed Karachi Biennale 2017
Fashion
Khadijah Shah Faraz Manan Seher Tareen
Food
Serendipitea At The New Dhaabas
Travel
Skardu
For Family, Fitness & Fashion
Cover Shot by Abdullah Haris at the Lahore Fort Courtesy Walled City of Lahore Authority
contents.
ISSUE #14
marching to his own
Beat
WITNESS #KB17
On the cover
p.61
p. 96
VISIONARY 61
Marching to His Own Beat
72 The Crowning of Waqas Khan
ART SPEAKS 84 Manchester & the New North South Vision 90 Risham Syed - The Art Of Meaning 96 ‘Witness’,#KB17
LET’S DISH
104 Karachi Runs on Chai
Karachi
Chai runs on
p. 104
Through
Lens of the
p. 56
MHM
NEAR & AFAR
p. 134
24 26
Elan
Dream Destinations Destinations Desires
DESTINATIONS DIARY
celebrates
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Champs de Patchouli
Ready, Set, Adventure
WANDERER 42 48 56
How To Travel With Your Tribe Soulscape To Skardu Through the Lens of MHM
THE FASHION FIX 114 Serendipitea
STYLE RULES
120 Hear Me Roar 128 A Season for Regality 134 Elan Celebrates Champs de Patchouli
p. 30
A WORLD OF GOOD
14 4 Agents Of Change - The ZB Foundation 160 Tedxlahore 2017 - Moving Forward
REFLECTIONS
148 Daring to Dream Different
MAN ON THE SCENE 152 One to Watch - Irteza Ubaid
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK 154
p. 125 p. 116
ready, set,
Adventure
Out In Tanzania
PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASMA CHISHTY MANAGING EDITOR : MARIAM MUSHTAQ EXECUTIVE EDITOR : ZAHRA HIDAYATULLAH DESIGN & LAYOUT : ZOHAIB AKHTAR OBAID-UL-MOHSIN USMAN MUNIR MEDIA SALES : NAEEM ULLAH KARACHI CORRESPONDENT: YASMEEN HASHMI CIRCULATION INCHARGE : SHAAN ALI PUBLISHED BY : Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service Ltd. 231, Ferozepur Road, Kalma Chowk, Lahore, Pakistan +92.42.111.007.006 , +92.42.3583.5132 GM MARKETING & SALES (DAEWOO) : SHERIAR HASSAN CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER (DAEWOO) : USMAN HAYAT LEGAL ADVISOR : BASIT WAHEED WATTOO CONTACT (SALES) : +92 334 423 4681 (NAEEM ULLAH) naeem.ullah@daewoo.com.pk +92 333 488 8203 (KHAWAJA AMMAR) khawaja.ammar@daewoo.com.pk DISTRIBUTORS: NATIONAL NEWS AGENCY PRINTERS : TOPICAL PRINTERS
destinationspk
destinations.com.pk www.destinations.com.pk
destinationspk
contributors Quddus Mirza
The Art of Meaning p.90 An artist, an art critic and independent curator, Quddus Mirza is the Head of the Fine Arts Department at National College of Arts, Lahore. Holding an MA (Painting) from the Royal College of Art, London, he has shown extensively in both group and solo exhibitions locally and internationally. Having co-authored the book “50 Years of Visual Arts in Pakistan�, he writes regular columns for various print and digital publications from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and is the editor for Art Now Pakistan.
Mina Malik-Hussain Hear Me Roar p.121 Mina Malik-Hussain is a writer and teacher based in Lahore. Her poetry and prose have appeared in national and international literary magazines and journals, including Vallum, The South Asian Review and Pakistani Literature. Malik-Hussain writes a popular weekly column for The Nation, teaches literature in English and runs The Sirajuddin Foundation, a literary non-profit.
The PinkTree Company Serendipitea p. 114
M Bilal Hassan
Irteza Ubaid
Karachi Runs On Chai p.104
Out In Tanzania p.154
M Bilal Hassan is a Karachi-based doctor by profession, who loves to travel to places both obscure and off the beaten track anywhere and everywhere around the world. He enjoys writing about art, travel and geopolitics and his Instagram can be viewed: @mystapaki
With an MBA from LUMS, Lahore, Irteza Ubaid is a technology and energy consultant. As the Tedx Ambassador for Pakistan, he loves to connect with people and engage communities; and is greatly interested in renewable energy, digital media marketing and social entrepreneurship.
editors note from the
As part of our on-going 70th-year of Independence celebration, we bring you a new perspective on Pakistan through some extraordinary people who are forging ahead and breaking new ground as they march on to a beat of their own. It is a proud moment indeed, as six young and dynamic Pakistanis made it to the the Forbes “30 Under 30” 2018 list in fields as varied as Manufacturing and Industry; Venture Capital; Retail and E-Commerce; Enterprise Technology and Education.
Our key focus this month is on Waqas Khan, the Lahorebased abstract artist who has created an international appeal with his complex and hypnotic art work composed of millions of minute, intricate dots on canvasses of grand proportions. Like many people who have witnessed his art up close and in person, we were awe-struck by what we saw. As an ode to our heritage, we chose the regal Lahore Fort as the location for Waqas Khan’s cover shoot with ace photographer and filmmaker, Abdullah Haris. Resplendent in all its glory, and harking back to a Golden Era of economic prosperity and cultural renaissance, the historic fort serves as the perfect backdrop in contrast to young and creative Waqas Khan’s novel approach to the age-old concept of spirituality in art.
ASMA CHISHTY
PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
2016 was a big year for feminism in fashion. Dior’s first female creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri sent out a strong message at their Spring 2017 collection which also marked her debut, with the tee shirt reading “We Should All Be Feminists”. Young and trendy fashion designer, Seher Tareen is also on the front lines of the feminism in fashion debate in Pakistan with her latest collection, “Hear Me Roar”. With her previous collections also entrenched in thoughtful messages and movements, such as her 2014 Luxury Pret capsule collection “Neo Nouveau” inspired by the Art Nouveau movement of the early 20th century, Tareen has quite a track record of rooting her fashion in deeper meaning. Also featured in this issue of DESTINATIONS is a story on the evolution of the region’s favourite brew “chai”, as it moved out of classic tea houses to dhaabas (kiosks) into today’s new and hip, millennial chai cafes. Writer and photographer, M. Bilal Hassan follows the trail and makes a compelling case in favour of this hot drink as it seems to be fuelling Pakistan’s financial hub, Karachi. Lastly, as we mark this landmark year, it is to say Pakistan is not 70 years old – as you turn the pages, the stories go on to show, it is 70 years young and the changing of the guard has ushered in a new set of flag-bearers.
ZAHRA HIDAYATULLAH EXECUTIVE EDITOR
MARIAM MUSHTAQ MANAGING EDITOR
NEAR & AFAR
Whether you’re craving a domestic getaway or eyeing a more exotic trip abroad, we pick out the best places to help you plan your travels.
Photography: M. Usman Khan
How to get there: Khuiratta lies 165 kilometers from Islamabad and because of the good condition of the roads, can be reached in about 3 hours by car or bus.
Where to stay: Huts and lodges set up by the AJK tourism department in Khuiratta as well as nearby Kotli provide comfortable accommodation.
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What to do: There are various natural springs and waterfalls around the area. The Karjai Fort, built by Mughal emperors, stands towering over the town and provides panoramic views of the entire valley. At a distance of approximately 4 kilometers from Khuiratta is a famous shrine, Darbar Mai Toti, that draws in hundreds of visitors daily.
Khuiratta, AJK
A vibrant town nestled within a picturesque valley, Khuiratta lies at an elevation of 2,570 feet above sea level in the Kotli district of Azad Kashmir. While it is best known for the Baisakhi festival in spring, one can enjoy the beautiful city and its surrounding sights, such as the magnificent Karjai Fort, any time of the year.
How to get there:
What to do:
Stay for Hogmanay, described as the world’s best New Year party, a four-day event marked by concerts, processions and street parties. Edinburgh Castle, home to Scotland’s crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, is a must-see as The Balmoral is an is the futuristic Parliament Edinburgh landmark, a neobuilding. Duck into the Renaissance building with ish Gallery of Modern Scott its very own majestic clock the Inverlieth House or Art tower. This luxurious, five-star the weather gets when property is home to Number chilly or cozy ularly partic One, the Michelin-starred the city’s of inside up eatery ranked amongst the rants and restau rous nume city’s best restaurants. pubs that offer up a variety of culinary delights. All major international flights, such as Etihad Airways and Qatar, fly to the Scottish capital.
Where to stay:
Edinburgh, Scotland
Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital of culture, is characterized by medieval architecture and historic castles as well as stylish art galleries, award-winning restaurants and winter festivals d. that will make you forget the col
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NEAR & AFAR Our guide to what we’re currently loving.
1 Pakistan Heritage Cuisine – A Food Story “Pakistan Heritage Cuisine – A Food Story” by Sayeeda Leghari is a treat for the senses. A first of its kind book in Pakistan, it explores how the cuisine of a country is intricately woven into its fabric and is shaped by the history and characteristics of the region and its people. Traditions and cultures overlap in the subcontinent, which is a region of shared history. Along with recipes, Leghari gives her readers an insight into the incredible journey of Pakistani cuisine, its grandeur as well as its simplicity, its finesse as well as its ruggedness and the historical influences that have shaped it. Published by Markings, the limited edition book is available at Liberty Books and online at www.kitabain.com for PKR 5,000.
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Sumo Originally founded in 1990, Lahore’s first Japanese restaurant returns to us, re-imagined. From the food – featuring classics such as miso salmon, wagyu beef and sushi rolls – to the stylish décor, the restaurant, located above Mandarin Kitchen in Z-Block, DHA, Lahore, provides a refreshingly contemporary Japanese experience. For reservations, call (042) 35692969.
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Karachi Kanteen Karachi Kanteen brings a taste of the city by the sea to Lahore and we just can’t get enough. From Karachi’s quintessential street snack, the bun kebab, to its aromatic biryani and the ideal winter comfort food, nihari, be ready get blown away by a veritable explosion of flavours at MM Alam Road’s latest eatery. Contact 042-35785410, 0321-4656159 for more details. 26
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Austenistan Inspired by Jane Austen and set in contemporary Pakistan, Laaleen Sukhera’s Austenistan (Bloomsbury) is a collection of seven stories; romantic, uplifting, witty, and heartbreaking by turn, which pay homage to the world’s favourite author in their own uniquely local way. Heiress Kamila Mughal is humiliated when her brother’s best friend snubs her to marry a social climbing nobody from Islamabad. Roya discovers her fiancé has been cheating on her and ends up on a blind date on her wedding day. Beautiful young widow Begum Saira Qadir has mourned her husband, but is she finally ready to start following her own desires?
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N-Gents, Lahore Bringing Nabila’s cutting-edge expertise to Lahore, the much-awaited N-Gents is now open in Gulberg. The salon provides a range of styling services for its discerning clientele in a stylish and contemporary setting and is located at 43A-C1, Off Ghalib Road, Gulberg 3, near MM Alam Road.
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Children’s Literature Festival The Children’s Literature Festival teams up with the Walled City of Lahore Authority to present a threeday event in the culturally rich heart of Lahore, the Walled City. With various venues along the Royal Trail hosting sessions on literature and the preforming arts, the WCLA and CLF hope to provide an enriching and thought-provoking environment for children of all ages. The Children’s Literature Festival will be held on 8-10 December.
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Women of the World, Karachi The WOW – Women of the World – festival in Karachi will take place on 2-3 December 2017, showcasing the achievements of women and girls as well as highlighting the social and economic challenges they face today. With musical performances, dramatic readings, panel discussions, inspirational talks, workshops, a space for young children and a market place, WOW Karachi is an inclusive space open to women, men, boys and girls to come to together and recognize the importance of an equal society. To learn register visit: www.facebook.com/events/144463059515633/ 27
DESTINATIONS DIARY
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ready, set, Adventure Discover the beauty of Swat and its surrounding areas with Team Destinations as they take a break from their daily routine to escape to this scenic paradise on a company trip.
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DESTINATIONS DIARY
Trip
Lahore
Itinerary
Swat
Time
Distance
Transport
Stay
1.
MINGORA / SAIDHU SHAREEF
8 hrs
591 kms
Daewoo bus
Serena
2.
MADYAN
2 hrs
50 kms
Daewoo cab
-
3.
BAHRAIN
30 mins
10 kms
Daewoo cab
-
4.
KALAM
2 hrs 30 mins
38 kms
Daewoo cab
5.
USHU FOREST
15 mins
12 kms
4x4 jeep
Marco Polo Hotel -
6.
MATILTAN
45 mins
12 kms
4x4 jeep
-
7.
MAHODAND LAKE
1 hrs 30 mins
22 kms
4x4 jeep
-
8.
SAIF ULLAH LAKE
30 mins
2 kms
On foot
-
W
hile the 9 to 5 approach was once considered the key to achieving workplace efficiency, many companies have increasingly come to realize that there is another major factor determining success – employee satisfaction. To this end, team building has become a core HR practice in most large-scale organizations across the globe and Daewoo Pakistan is no different. As part of its policy, Daewoo employees within each department are encouraged to take an annual, all-expensespaid trip together to a destination of their choice. Beyond the recreational part, the benefits of this team-building activity are long lasting: it reduces stress, fosters better communication between team members, boosts morale and encourages creativity. For its annual company trip, Team Destinations headed to Swat over a weekend of adventure, camaraderie and the great outdoors. Here, we share our collective wisdom with those of you wishing to set off on a similar trip to discover the best of Pakistan’s North.
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Ic on og ra phy & stay
N
Mahodand Lake
Saifullah Lake
Falak Sair Ushu Forest
Matiltan
Kalaam
View
Swat Museum, Bazaar, The White Palace Tea spot by the river
Food
Madiyan
Mingora / Saidu Shareef
Famous chapli kabaab
Barikot
Chakdara
Malakand
Kalam Bazaar
Sher Dil haandi
Lush green forest
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Mardan Swabi
View of Mount Falak Sair, Mighty 22 Fall
-
Forest island
Freshly caught trout
2 kms on foot
Peshawar
-
Hassan Abdal
Attock
Rawalpindi
Taxila
Swat Museum, Mingora Photo by Obaid ul Mohsin
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DESTINATIONS DIARY
White Palace, Saidu Shareef Photo by Obaid ul Mohsin
Wooden cafés, Bahrain Photo by Obaid ul Mohsin
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Ushu Forest, Kalam Photo by Obaid ul Mohsin
Bridge near Bahrain Photo by Zohaib Akhtar
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DESTINATIONS DIARY
Walnut trees enroute to Kalam Photo by Obaid ul Mohsin
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Matiltan Photo by Zohaib Akhtar
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DESTINATIONS DIARY
Water stream near Saif Ullah Lake Photo by Obaid ul Mohsin
Local houses, Matiltan Photo by Zohaib Akhtar
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Team Destinations Trout at Mahodand Lake Photo by Obaid ul Mohsin
Zohaib Akhtar, Shaan Ali Zaidi Obaib ul Mohsin
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WANDERER
Skardu, 3ways
Whether you’re a family looking for adventure, a fitness fanatic seeking transformation of the body, mind and soul, or a visual artist in search of inspiration, Skardu is an uplifting experience, as discovered by three diverse sets of travellers who made it their go-to destination this fall.
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WANDERER
Skardu
Famed for its natural beauty and the regality of its form, Skardu holds many wonders for all those fortunate enough to actually set foot in this alpine wonderland. Karachi-based teacher and travel enthusiast Safinah Elahi makes a trip with her family and friends to this magical hamlet, and chronicles the how and why of it in an attempt to make it easier for all those wishing to travel there. She shares details on her hotel, meals and sightseeing to act as possible markers for others who feel inspired. 42
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Y
ou generally travel international. This time, how did you end up choosing Skardu?
I often think of travel as a teacher. It provides one an opportunity to learn about culture, food, terrain, topography, natural wonders and so on. Each feature makes you appreciate nature and every structure is exceptional in its own way, which is why my family and I love to travel together. We make many plans – some work out, and some work out sooner than later. After being on our bucket list for a long time, we decided to finally venture out to the north of Pakistan, or more specifically, the lower part of Gilgit Baltistan, namely Skardu. Unspokenly, unseemingly unaware of its own beauty, Skardu sits calmly at the southern tip of Gilgit Balitistan. Nature lovers like myself can inscribe poems about such exquisite sights. With imposing mountains and majestic lakes stretching out far and beyond, the view is nothing short of magnificent for the onlooker. This trip to Skardu has been a truly remarkable time for our family; so much so that it has inspired me to chronicle the how and why of it so that more of you can find it easier to travel there and are better equipped in terms of logistical know-how.
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How does one get there? Catch a flight to Islamabad. Spend the night at one of the luxurious Islamabad hotels (we stayed at the Islamabad Serena). Book a flight from your travel company to Skardu. It’s almost an hour’s flight. Watch out of your airplane window for amazing views during the flight; you should be able to catch a glimpse of Nanga Parbat too! Your travel company will arrange pick up from the airport to your hotel. There are plenty of lodging options to choose from; we opted for the Khaplu Palace and the Serena Shigar Fort. What a delight the latter was. The rooms were comfortable, with wooden detailing, clean bathrooms, excellent service, delicious food and heart-warming hospitality.
Who to book from? TACTACK Adventures. Personally I feel your travel company is the difference between a pleasant trip and an average trip. TACTACK Adventures was the perfect choice for us as it managed to cover all that it promised, the guides were friendly, the daily excursions were organized and there was lots to do.
How long did you go for? We went for 3 nights, 4 days. I feel that is a good amount of time so that it fits in with long weekends. We’re pretty active during our trips so we managed to do a lot in these four days.
Who did you travel with? Well it was us, a Pakistani family of four, including my kids who are aged eight and four. We were accompanied by another family who were previously expats. Khurram and Saulat have just moved back to Pakistan from Singapore, with their two children aged five and nine. It made our hearts swell with pride to be able to introduce Pakistan to them in such beautiful light, as most people who have left the country hear about it from the news and other troublesome sources. Khurram Jamali is heading Google Pakistan and Saulat is currently conducting Mandarin classes from her home.
Tell us what all you did when you were there. Well, the children loved the great outdoors, running around picturesque gardens, swimming in aquamarine lakes and tasting local delicacies.
1
DAY
We visited the Shangri-La Resort. It’s so serene and beautiful that it is almost always displayed on all the travel blogs featuring Skardu, and so many postcards (when that was a thing!) Next we went to Upper Khachura Lake, and it took my breath away! We couldn’t wait to jump in, even though we knew the water would be a bit chilly. The scenery surrounding the lake also left us awestruck. The conifer trees compliment the expanse of high mountains. These mountains are covered with snow in the winters but in fall, one gets to see a lot of vegetation around them. The lake is located 8,200 meters above sea level. The beauty of this place is worth so many photos that it jams up all space on your smart phone. Next we were to climb a mountain fort, the Kharpocho Fort. It was built in the 16th century by the rajas of the time. Standing at 1,400 meters above the city, it was a challenge to climb, but once at the top, it was totally worth it. The views from there were unmatchable. We were served a scrumptious dinner at our hotel to round off our first day.
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WANDERER
2
DAY
The next day we aimed for the Deosai plains. This is a must visit when one comes to Skardu. The Deosai plains are meant to be carpeted with green vegetation during the summer season, which the locals refer to only as ‘season’ (Yup!). With it being fall, what we caught was an orange brown topography which my husband and I much rather prefer. Personally, we appreciate the colours of fall more than anything, as being Karachites we hardly ever see seasons change the colour of our tropical trees. The Deosai plains sit at an astounding 15,000 feet, and (health alert) one might feel a bit woozy at such a height. But the landscape is (for want of a better word) absolutely stunning. We were served freshly made tea and coffee with parathas followed by lunch at the campsite.
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Initially, we had planned to go on a two-hour hike to see the snow, but the wind chill was too much for the kids. The ride back was a bit tough as it was 3.5 hours, and this time the excitement had died down a bit. Made it back to an à la carte dinner served in the lounge where we played games.
5 Meals
Top
1Freshly-caught trout fish. 2Walnuts. (flour dough 3Zurchone biscuits).
fish at Ghazi Hotel, Upper Khachura 4Barbecued Lake, which was finger lickin’ good. local delicacy called bhally dawdoo (soup), a 5Abroth with noodles.
5 Items Top
to pack
1Hiking boots or good grip sneakers. 2Sunscreen. jacket, as this time of the year it 3Astarts getting chilly. if you have one, otherwise 4DSLR plenty of free space on your smartphone.
5Swimwear.
4
3
DAY
The third day we were taken to Jarbozo for a swim and a hike. We hiked first. This was a lower mountain and less challenging to climb, so the kids had more fun getting to the top. Again, the view once we managed to climb up was spellbinding. The kids then loved jumping into the water to freshen up before being served lunch. Delicious lunch boxes were organized through Serena Hotels by our guide. As we headed back to the hotel, we asked our travel company to arrange an exclusive dinner for us four adults on the last night. Let’s just say we experienced Serena hospitality at its best as they did a brilliant job of spreading it out on one of their many beautiful balconies. A bit of conversation about life and our trip was complete.
DAY
We woke up early the next morning as we were told the roads might be blocked because of Ashura (a national holiday commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein), so would need to leave the hotel and station ourselves near the airport. We left Serena at 6:30am and lounged at Hotel One until it was flight time. The flight back to Islamabad was a comfortable one with an hour’s stay at the Islamabad airport and then back to Karachi.
The kids then loved jumping into the water to freshen up before being served lunch.
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WANDERER
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SOULSCAPE to
Skardu By Zahra Hidayatullah
Yoga instructor Saba Rana of Soul Space has her yoga practice in Lahore. She also specializes in yoga retreats in Northern Pakistan. Having recently organized two yoga retreats in Skardu, in a twopart series, here is an in-depth look at the first one that comprised of a group of seven women. The second one is featured as a picture essay accompanying this story. Located at an altitude of over 8000 feet, at the confluence of the Indus and Shigar Rivers, the valley serves as a gateway to the eight-thousanders of the nearby Karakoram Mountain Range and is famed for its picturesque vistas and panoramic views. The diverse set of participants from both groups welcomed these breaks and enjoyed the brief getaways, while finding peace and enlightenment on a higher plain. 49
"A WANDERER
lawyer, a banker, a fashion designer, an entrepreneur, a writer, a mindfulness motivator and an architect. Different cities, different walks of life, different ages, all set out for a yoga retreat in the mountains. Seven beautiful and powerful souls. Each one brought a unique set of strengths and energy to the group; each one so authentic, pure and open-hearted. To the universe and to each one of you who accompanied me, I thank you for helping me learn, grow and connect with our inner selves. Mariam Shebaz, Zarmina Masud Khan, Saira Ahsan, Ambereen Israr, Rishm Saifullah, Uzma Ramzan, Shandana Gulzar Khan – may the light be with you.” – Saba Rana What is a yoga retreat? As a yoga teacher leading a retreat, I get all kinds of questions like ‘can I bring my blow dryer?’ to whispered concerns about whether they will be able to have a piece of meat. Across the globe one can find endless varieties of yoga retreats and crazy combinations like ‘Foodie & Yoga Retreats’, ‘Bikini Boot Camp & Yoga Retreats’, ‘Chocolate Tasting & Yoga’, ‘Surfing & Yoga’ as well as those replete with Vipassana (silence) and/or fasting, chanting and other forms of abstinence out there. So there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to what an ideal yoga retreat is and what it should entail. However, if you think we sit cross-legged for a week and then go home, you’re mistaken. Typically, the day starts with a one-hour yoga practice (sun salutations, asanas, meditation) early morning either at sunrise or shortly after and then perhaps another 30-minute session of breath work (pranayama) at sunset. Ideally yoga practices are done on an empty or very light stomach. The idea is to relax and have a laidback schedule for the day and be flexible. We have most of the day to go out for sightseeing, picnics, walks, swimming in lakes etc. Each group is different as well and depending on group synergy, the pace is set. There is plenty of adventure and holiday type fun but what mostly happens on a retreat is a special bond, both inside the yoga room and out. We gather from different parts of the world or country with our varied travel and yoga backgrounds or at times totally new to yoga and renew our spirits together. The practice of yoga in all its forms grounds us and gives us a platform through which we connect at a deep level. As we make
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our way through our retreat week, I can see the transformation infiltrate each of us. Sure, someone might learn how to do a great warrior pose or find balance in the swan pose but it’s the collective experience of the journey that regenerates and inspires from skin to soul. There’s nothing selfconscious about this shift. It’s an organic immersion that lends itself to the universal ‘oneness’ most spiritual practices and regions espouse. When we slow down we allow ourselves to see the beauty around us and within us. Whether you are an adventure seeker or a laidback writer/philosopher or have a high flying corporate career and are looking for time out to unwind, our yoga mats become magic carpets, to see both the world around us and the infinity within us. How many days did it cover? It was a 6 nights and 7 days retreat. How many people went? There were 7 females in the group. Why did you choose Skardu? I chose Skardu for its legendary beauty and magic. Where did you stay and practice yoga in Skardu? We stayed at the Serena Shigar Fort Resort. We practiced in various gardens and terraces and beautiful historic pavilions with breathtaking views of the mountains and a soothing sound of gushing stream water. We also practiced by lakes and inside the lakes (water yoga), in apple orchards, as we set out to picnics and adventures in nearby and surrounding locations. What all did you eat? The food was great, a lot of it organically and locally grown. Fresh peach jam and blackberry compotes, a healthy vegetarian selection, fresh fish grilled, a variety of barbecue. For those wanting a complete vegetarian meal, the choices were endless. We stayed flexible to accommodate the meat-eaters too. What arrangements did you have to make in terms of logistics, room and board? Everything was organized by TACTACK a company I partnered up with. They took care of logistics, transport, and it was professional and smooth sailing. When is the best time to go? (Season/month?) The best time to visit is summer, but those months are also the busiest. Both April and October are also nice because the weather is turning and the foliage is coloured. Another plus, it’s quieter and more peaceful. When do you plan to do it again? I’m planning my next retreat in April 2018.
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Retreat
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WANDERER
2
Retreat
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WANDERER
Testimonials Creating a space, a group, a vibe, a flow, is an art form of the highest order. I credit the unbelievably inspiring, supremely talented Saba Rana for this experience.
Our teacher, Saba, had this magical, calming spell on us. She created a space which was a fusion of yoga and singing and writing and sharing, with laughter and tears mixed in!
MARIAM SHAHBAZ
ZARMINA MASUD KHAN
In light of this retreat, Shigar Fort and Upper Kachura Lake hold special meaning for me now. I associate them as places where I connected with my true self and the Divine One - with nature and the universe. UZMA RAMZAN
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I witnessed the sand dunes of the highest altitude desert between the tallest peaks in the world. I saw the mirage like the verdant Shigar Valley surrounded by only sand dunes and rocky peaks. And I saw myself in everything that my eyes could see and now it all resides in me even though I’m back in the city, Lahore. All I need to do is close my eyes and breath – and I become that mirage because its all within me.
It was an unforgettable week. This retreat, with the extremely talented, encouraging and motivated yoga teacher Saba Rana; a group of wonderful women; against the magical setting of the Fort, with grand views all around; and a soothing, reallife soundtrack of a stream rushing down through the the rocks next to us, has instilled in me a sense of true peace and tranquility.
The wondrous setting of Shigar and it’s majestic landscape perfectly complimented the feeling of wellbeing. In short, the whole trip was like a beautiful dream, one I didn’t want to wake up from.
AMBEREEN ISRAR
SAIRA AHSAN
RISHM SAIFULLAH
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WANDERER
Through
Lens of the
MHM
One of the top fashion photographers of the country, Muhammad Husnain Mahmood, more commonly known as MHM, has been operating independently for only one year and in this short span of time, has already bagged the prestigious Q Mobile Hum Style Award 2017 for “Rising Talent of the Year.” Having previously photographed the well-received shoot “This Used To Be My Playground” for DESTINATIONS’ Issue 8 with Waleed Khalid in the Walled City of Lahore, Husnain loves exploring places old and new. An intrepid traveller, he recently shot a beautiful campaign against the picturesque backdrop of the Cold Desert in Skardu for a renowned fashion brand with four young models. “Young and Free” was the main concept behind this project, which was shot with Aimal Khan, Arsalan Ahsan, Farwa Kazmi and Rubab.
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WANDERER
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VISIONARY
marching to his own
Beat By Mariam Mushtaq
A visionary, an original, one of the greatest abstract artists of our time – Waqas Khan has been described as all this and a lot more. His intricate drawings are coveted by top international galleries and collectors, and featured amongst the permanent collections of the world’s most prestigious museums. In this exclusive two-part series with DESTINATIONS, the artist shows us around his home and studio in Lahore and takes us on a retrospective journey that begins in rural Punjab and sees him take on the world. In the second segment, photographer par excellence Abdullah Haris shoots Waqas Khan at one of his favourite Lahore spots, the historic Lahore Fort, once the seat of royalty and power and a befitting venue for the reigning star of the global contemporary art scene.
My Small Dancing Particles, 2017 Archival ink on wasli paper (diptych). 244 x 244 cm Courtesy of Manchester Art Gallery, the artist and Sabrina Amrani Gallery
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On what he would have preferred to be a leisurely Sunday evening spent at home, Waqas Khan is stuck in a snarl of traffic just outside Old Lahore, at the entrance of the shrine of the Sufi saint Data Ganj Buksh. The urs (death anniversary) of the ancient mystic is just a few days away and devotees have begun arriving by the hundreds for the 3-day celebration that will mark the occasion. “No wonder I don’t get out of the house any more,” he smiles, good-natured and unfazed despite the delay the jam has caused him. Is it the traffic that’s keeping him away, I joke, or the fact that as the hottest new star of the international art world, he spends more time catching flights to art fairs, exhibitions and biennales across the globe than he does navigating the streets of his current home city? “It’s probably the latter,” he laughs. Coming from any other person, such an admission might come across as arrogant or selfcongratulatory. In the case of Waqas, it’s a simple, guileless acknowledgment of his current status, which has seen the Guardian compare him to the likes of Rothko and Mondrian, two of the greatest abstract artists of the 20th century. Waqas makes intricate, detailed drawings, comprised of precise tiny dots and dashes arranged in lines and circles that expand to form soothing, meditative expanses resembling delicate webs and celestial shapes. His works are part of the public collections of prestigious organization such as The British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (UK); the Deutsche Bank Collection, Frankfurt (Germany); the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and The Devi Foundation, New Delhi (India). His art has been described as “delirious and disorienting,” and “blazing with spiritual intensity” by critics around the world. Such rapturous reviews are, of course, humbling, admits the artist. “But what really inspires me is the people around me and how they interact with my work. I want to make connections with everyone,” he says. “I want to know what he thinks of my work,” he gestures towards a devotee in a brightly coloured shawl crossing the road in front of our car. “Someone like him will ask me, ‘how the hell do you find the time to do all this?’ and I love that purity, that honesty.”
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The jumble of people and vehicles finally untangles, and as we cross the shrine, which will be lit up with thousands of candles and lights and resounding with the hypnotic sounds of drums in just a few days, I bring up Waqas’ own connection with Sufism that has been referenced extensively by the international press. “I tend to get boxed in with Sufism, but I have always been very clear that I don’t talk about Sufism, I only talk about the Sufi poetry that I grew up hearing my elders recite. In small communities such as my village, people interact, they sit and talk and share stories.” The tales that a young Waqas heard encompassed universal themes such as love, truth and devotion, and it is this universality that is now reflected in his art. It is art that, in its refusal to be pigeonholed into themes and subjects one might expect a Pakistani artist to conform to, often tends to take the viewer by surprise. “The first question a critic ever asked me during my early international shows was, ‘are you really from Pakistan? Where are the guns, the blood, the woman in a veil?’” Nothing gives Waqas greater pleasure than such instances of confounding expectations. Another story he enjoys recounting is of his first European show back in 2012. With him not present at the opening, many of the guests believed they were viewing the works of a female artist. “Can you believe, they thought I was a woman?” he laughs. It’s a mistake one can easily be forgiven for, I admit, given the striking contrast between the delicacy and gracefulness of the work and the strapping, burly 6’2’’ physique of the artist creating it. Waqas’ journey to becoming one of the most celebrated new artists of our times has been similarly unpredictable. It began in a small village called Akhtarabad, near Okara in rural Punjab, where his family owns agricultural farms. With two younger brothers who moved away to pursue careers, Waqas stayed behind to look after his parents and tend to the family lands. He was eventually sent to Lahore to study in an all-boys government college, and ended by at the nearby National College of Arts (NCA) after his aptitude for drawing was spotted by friends and teachers. “NCA was a culture shock for me, a complete departure from the environment that I was used to,” he recalls. “The thought of being an artist had never even crossed my mind up until then. It took me three tries to get in. By then, I was already part of the NCA family because I had been living in the hostel for 3 years and knew everyone.”
Khushamdeed IV, 2017 Photographer: Michael Pollard Courtesy of Manchester Art Gallery, the artist and Sabrina Amrani Gallery
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VISIONARY Contrary to what his stellar professional accolades may suggest, Waqas was hardly a model student, rarely attending classes and barely scraping through semesters. It wasn’t until his 4th and final year, when he started working on his thesis collection titled ‘Dot’, that a sense of purpose began to permeate his creative process. “I started working on the idea of making a connection. I wanted to know how to make people see spaces and interactions in a different way.” This reimaging of the concept of space has remained one of Waqas’ primary motivations and is reflected in his recent work, the ‘Khushamdeed’ signs placed across Manchester, a city that also happens to be the venue of his ongoing exhibition for the New North South programme. ‘Khushamdeed’ is an Urdu word meaning ‘welcome’ and Waqas’ neon installations at three of Manchester’s museums and art galleries are an intriguing invitation to the city’s diverse population to step inside. The idea came to him when he noticed that Manchester’s vast South Asian and Arabic communities seemed hesitant to enter many of its buildings. “They didn’t connect with the structures, I could tell,” explains the artist. The bright Urdu lettering is now making those very people stop for a second look and increasingly, cross the threshold. “The installation has literally activated the community, people are now stepping inside the buildings. The whole point of the works is to start a dialogue, get people to let go of preconceived ideas.”
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Like the neon signs that offer up a friendly yet compelling invitation to all, Waqas draws in people with his openness and eagerness to start a conversation. From the technicians at the Manchester Museum who helped set up his installation, to the international art critics covering his shows to the domestic staff that works at his home in Lahore, he knows them all and treasures their opinions. In fact, when the Sabrina Amrani Art Gallery in Spain that represents him asked for names of Pakistani critics who could analyze his work for one of its publications, he insisted on having his mother and his cook send in their opinions. “A critic would have said ‘ah wonderful!’ I wanted honesty. I sat down and thought about who knows me best and I realized that it was the woman who gave birth to me and the man who has been working in my house for years.” Sure enough, Shahid Shah, Waqas’ cook, finds a mention in Abstraction Contained (2012) where, describing the artist, he writes, “Either you are a lover of Allah or a psycho man… but, for me, your work is so deep.” Indeed, when Waqas is at work in his studio, he straddles a thin line between spirituality and madness. It’s physically gruelling work – a man of his height and bulk hunched over a drawing board for hours on end, gripping the pen with both hands for accuracy. Yet there’s a meditative quality to
it – he syncs his breathing in time with the strokes of the pen, the repetitiveness of the process often transporting him into a trance-like state. The bigger works can take weeks, sometimes months, to complete, with Waqas hardly ever leaving the tranquility of his studio located above his house in Model Town, one of Lahore’s oldest residential neighbourhoods. It is the smaller works, however, that give him the freedom to connect with outside spaces. “When I travel, I make sure I keep a small drawing board handy and I sketch on it. These smaller works are really important to me because they are the keys on which I base my large drawings.” Travel for Waqas can mean any one of these things – cycling around Model Town’s quiet streets early in the morning, catching a rickshaw to soak in the ancient architecture of the Shahi Hammam inside the Walled City, racing his jeep at Gilgit Baltistan’s spectacular cold desert, Sarfaranga, during a national car rally or escaping to his ancestral village for a few days of solitude. Of late though, most of his trips have taken him to international destinations – Manchester, Vienna and Paris to name the last few. “I used to think that other places were different from Pakistan,” he muses on his recent trip to Manchester. “But I don’t think so anymore. Whether I’m in Lahore or Manchester, I take to the streets, I talk to people. I have made so many friends around the world by striking up random conversations.”
One such chance encounter led to a friendship that has spanned 5 years and two continents and is the reason why we’re navigating Old Lahore’s perilous traffic on a Sunday. During his 2012 residency in Vienna, Waqas met and befriended British artist William Mackrell and this fall, successfully managed to convince him to make the oft-talked about trip to Pakistan with his photographer girlfriend Agnese. Waqas, his wife Bushra and their 17-month-old son, Abdul Aziz have spent the day showing off their adopted city to the visitors, rounding up an eventful day of sightseeing with a tour of the Badshahi Mosque. Tomorrow, the group will head off to the countryside to be hosted by Bushra’s family at her village in Mianwali, enjoying a week of traditional rural hospitality. As the sun dips below the horizon, we sit adjacent to the 17th century mosque’s sprawling courtyard, gazing up at a skyline dotted with some of Lahore’s most iconic buildings, sipping chai. “I used to come here with friends when I was in NCA,” recalls Waqas. “But I don’t think those people would recognize me anymore.” And who could blame them, for gone is the uninspired art student seeking distraction. In his place stands a man who is disciplined and at peace with himself, a man at the pinnacle of achieving greatness, worthy of being crowned Pakistan’s rising art star of the moment.
Installation at Manchester Art Gallery Photographer: Michael Pollard Courtesy of Manchester Art Gallery, the artist and Sabrina Amrani Gallery
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Detail of My Small Dancing Particles, 2017 Archival ink on wasli paper (diptych). 244 x 244 cm Courtesy of the artist and Sabrina Amrani Gallery
Detail of Doors, 2017 Archival ink on wasli paper (diptych). 70 x 102 cm Courtesy of the artist and Sabrina Amrani Gallery
Oracle, 2017 Archival ink on wasli paper. 244 x 132 cm Photographer: Michael Pollard Courtesy of Manchester Art Gallery, the artist and Sabrina Amrani Gallery
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Waqas at his home & studio
Photography: Naveed Amjad 68
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Waqas on the road 1
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1. Waqas with William Mackrell at Thal Desert. ©Agnese Sanvito 2. Camping on the Indus River at Kamar Mushani, Mianwali. ©Agnese Sanvito 3. Multan at night. ©Agnese Sanvito 4. In Skardu for a national car rally. 5. Construction underway for Waqas’ studio at his village, Akhtarabad. ©Agnese Sanvito 6. Streets of Akhtarabad. 7. & 8. Participating in the car rally at Sarfaranga Desert.
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Crowning of Waqas Khan Photography: Styling: Grooming: Location:
Abdullah Haris Ehtesham Ansari Dessange Lahore Fort
With special thanks to Walled City Of Lahore Authority
Kurta: Amir Adnan Track Pants: Puma Shawl: Artist‘s Personal Collection
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Kurta: Munib Nawaz Scarf: Cambridge Foorwear: Hush Puppies 74
Waistcoat: Bareeze Man Kurta: Munib Nawaz Watch: Artist‘s Personal Collection 75
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Kurta: Amir Adnan Track Pants: Puma Shawl: Artist‘s Personal Collection 76
Kurta: Amir Adnan Track Pants: Puma Shawl: Artist‘s Personal Collection
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Kurta: Munib Nawaz Scarf: Cambridge Foorwear: Hush Puppies 78
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Waistcoat: Fibonacci Bespoke Kurta: Cambridge Track Pants: Puma 80
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Shirt: Cambridge Waistcoat: Fibonacci Bespoke Track Pants: Puma 82
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ART SPEAKS
Manchester New North South vision and the
By Mariam Mushtaq
Nick Merriman is the Director of the Manchester Museum, UK’s largest university museum. His background as an archeologist and heritage expert has seen him take on numerous projects centered around the themes of cultural diversity and sustainability, the most recent of these being ‘New North South’, a partnership of ten arts organizations in the UK and South Asia that seeks to promote deeper understanding between the regions. While recently in Pakistan, Nick chatted with Team Destinations about why Pakistani contemporary art is taking the world by storm, the historical ties that bind Manchester and Pakistan, and how Lahore turned out to be a city of surprises. 84
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he Manchester Museum will soon be home to a permanent South Asia gallery, set to open in early 2020. Why did the museum feel the need to create a separate gallery dedicated to the region?
The starting point for the idea a gallery dedicated to the history and culture of South Asia at the museum came about from a realization that 13 percent of the city’s population is of South Asian heritage, and most of those are of Pakistani origin. Yet we don’t see South Asian visitors to our museums and galleries in that proportion – only about 4 percent of the museum’s visitors are of South Asian origin. We realized we were obviously missing something; there was no narrative anywhere for the history of South Asia in Manchester. Manchester Museum is a museum of human and natural history; and we have very little material from South Asia. To cut a long story short, we entered into a partnership with British Museum to create this space, which will be the largest single gallery in the museum. It will tell a pretty comprehensive story of South Asia from early human settlements to empires like Asoka’s to the British Empire. Crucially, it will be the first gallery to tell the story of migration from South Asia to the UK. The city of Manchester is also celebrating contemporary South Asian art at the moment, under the expansive New North South project, for which you serve as the lead spokesperson. Can you tell us more? We wanted to do something to mark the 70th anniversary of the independence of Pakistan and India and also to celebrate the shared heritage of the North of England and South Asia. New North South is a three-year programme that focuses on the contemporary art scene in South Asia – by which I mean Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. It hopes to reimagine the relationship between the North of England and South Asia on a more equitable basis than the historic ties. It’s a partnership between 10 different organizations facilitated by the British Council; 5 in the North of England, namely the Manchester Museum, Manchester Art Gallery and Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, the Liverpool Biennial and The Tetley in Leeds, and 5 in South Asia, which are the Lahore and Karachi Bienniales, Colombo Biennale, Kochi Biennale and the Dhaka Art Summit.
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The Manchester Museum
Other than engaging with the city’s substantial South Asian population, does the project also intend to reshape the UK’s general perception of what it means to be South Asian? One of the main aims of my museum is to promote understanding between cultures by showing a different image of South Asia, based around its creativity, its dynamism and its variety. Through the New North South, we are trying to mainstream South Asian art; and the ultimate aim is to make it unremarkable in that it ceases to matter where it comes from. During the opening weekend, 6 shows opened at the Manchester Art Gallery, out of which 4 were by Pakistani artists, including Waqas Khan, Risham Syed and Mehreen Murtaza. Some of the anecdotal feedback we’ve received from audiences so far is that they are just amazed at the dynamism of the works, and the fact that these artists are no different from artists anywhere else in the world; that they are not necessarily defined by their background but are defined by their humanity.
Can you cite any one particular show/performance/ installation that perfectly captures the aim of New North South? Nikhil Chopra is a performance artist from India and I particularly liked the story that his work encompassed. He put up a non-stop, 48-hour performance at the Museum of Science and Industry based around a steam locomotive that he discovered there. It was built in Manchester for the North West Indian Railway and then transferred to Pakistan around the time of partition. It still has these giant initials on it – ‘PR’ for Pakistan Railways. It was one of those locomotives that was most certainly bringing people to safety, to Pakistan, during partition. Nikhil adopted different personas during the performance and drew on canvas. His father, who grew up in Lahore, was also involved, and it was a really moving piece. It encapsulated a lot of things we wanted to do – it was prompted by the 70th anniversary of the partition, it linked Manchester to South Asia, it showed a great artist at the peak of his power and told a story that was easy to relate to for non-traditional audiences.
Nikhil Chopra at Museum of Science and Industry
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ART SPEAKS What was the process of choosing the artists who became a part of the project? A whole team of us from North England made various visits to the region and saw that there is so much going on here that doesn’t get exposure in the UK. The aim was to find artists who are mid career, and who really deserve international recognition. There was no one theme we were looking for; the selection was based on the quality of their art, its excellence and innovation. One of the stand-outs for me has been Waqas Khan from Lahore. His work is so amazing in its minute detail, with its swirling organic shapes based on biology and Sufi philosophy. It is abstract work, but it’s very moving in a way that’s almost inexplicable. Waqas’ show received 5-star reviews from the UK press and he was announced as a major international artist. That’s what we want – to find someone who is really good and give them a platform. This is your second visit to Pakistan in less than a year. You work closely with the South Asian community in Manchester and now that you’ve been to Pakistan twice, do you feel you have a better understanding of the country, the art coming out of it and the context in which it is being produced? I was conscious that I was working in partnership with the Karachi and Lahore Biennales and I had never been to Pakistan. I felt I couldn’t understand how to work with the organizations unless I had been there. Also, there is no substitute to meeting people face to face. During my first visit in February, I spent a few days in Lahore being wonderfully hosted by members of the Lahore Biennale and visiting quite a few artist studios. There had been a bomb incident just before my visit, so there was some nervousness on behalf of the hosts about letting me wander around. Colleagues in England kept asking me if I was really going to go as it was very dangerous. The timing actually turned out to be very salutary because after the Manchester Arena bomb this year, some of our colleagues from South Asia were worried about coming to Manchester. I think the trip was really good for mutual understanding. When you come to a city, you realize that for the vast majority of people, it’s just normal life despite the rare terrible incident. After the two visits, I could also understand the context of doing a biennale here in Lahore and Karachi where so much of the budget is spent on security and then on electricity generators. These are the kind of things that one doesn’t think about in the UK and it is very important to understand the context in which people who you work with are operating. 88
Waqas Khan, Khushamdeed-IV, 2017 Risham Syed, The Cushion
Mehreen Murtaza, How Will You Conduct Yourself In The Company Of Trees, 2015
What are your impressions of Lahore? The first time around, security was heightened so I spent most of my time inside a car. I did go to Old Lahore, which as I expected was full of narrow alleys bustling with life, similar to some of the older cities in other parts of South Asia. What I didn’t appreciate until this second visit is what a lively, modern, cosmopolitan city Lahore is, and what a young population it’s got. I’ve had really excellent quality international food and where we’re in right now is a lovely little coffee shop, the kind that I’d expect to see in any major city of the world.
momentum behind a new heritage strategy for Lahore that will see the Walled City being looked after and made accessible to wider audiences. Similarly, the Lahore Museum is a fabulous building with a fantastic collection that needs investment to bring it up and make it attractive for contemporary audiences. Museums are incredibly popular in the UK at the moment, and that is a result of 25 years of hard work. Most of them, including the big national museums, are free of charge. At the Manchester Museum, we have really worked at making ourselves accessible through our programming, through the welcome you get when you come in and you see people like you. To get to this point, Pakistan requires investment in buildings and staff and that’s the next big challenge facing the country and its heritage sector.
The heritage of Lahore is absolutely fantastic but as with many heritage cities, there is a real challenge as to how you preserve, conserve and make accessible that heritage for contemporary audiences.
What’s really struck me is how vibrant the art scene is and how much creativity there is. I’m not just talking about visual arts, I see it in architecture, in fashion, in craft as well. In that sense Lahore has confounded my expectations because its image perhaps is more of an older city but it’s got the old and the new working very well alongside each other.
This time around, you’ve come as a delegate of the Heritage Now Festival, an event aimed at discussing issues that face museums and the heritage sector in Pakistan. What do you think are some of the major challenges that Pakistan has to confront in that area? The heritage of Lahore is absolutely fantastic but as with many heritage cities, there is a real challenge as to how you preserve, conserve and make accessible that heritage for contemporary audiences. I hope the seminar will get some
This is an exciting time for art in Pakistan, poised as we are between the Karachi and the Lahore Biennale. What are your hopes from the two international art events?
What I’m really hoping for is that they will put Pakistani art properly on the international map. More importantly, within Pakistan where the audience for contemporary art is perhaps not as large as it could be, they will show a different way of engaging people with art – in a more fast-moving, non-traditional world outside of building-based institutions; in spaces where ordinary people would feel comfortable going. What’s fantastic is that two biennales are working to showcase the dynamism and sheer variety that exists in the art scene here in Pakistan.
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In a detailed retrospective of foremost Pakistani contemporary artist Risham Syed’s work, art professor and critic Quddus Mirza details the narrative that shapes her art – global themes that explore the economic, social and political construct between cities and nations that are privileged and underprivileged, colonized and colonizers, dominant and dominated. He concludes with a special review of her recent showing at the Manchester Art Gallery, UK which alludes to cityscape in connection with a paradigm shift in culture and tradition.
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art MEANING The
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By Quddus Mirza
Photos Credit: Installation shots from Manchester Art Gallery Photographer: Michael Pollard
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hrough his work, Paul Cezanne wanted to “make of Impressionism something solid and durable like the art of the museums.” Following the French painter, several artists are creating works which can be in the same category – the art of museum. Risham Syed is one of these individuals, and her latest solo exhibition at the Manchester Art Gallery, UK is a testimony to how the artist living in Lahore negotiates with diverse worlds, words and times. Risham Syed is an important contemporary artist practising in/from Pakistan. Her work has been shown at various locations at home and internationally, but the recent exhibition at Manchester is distinct because the venue provides a different context to her work. From an early stage in her creative life, Syed has been interested in exploring ideas beyond the formal exercises of image making. The series of works, that won her the prestigious Abraaj Art Prize in 2012 during Art Dubai, was the outcome of her research into trade routes, and exploitation connected with it because of colonialism. Thus, the work was not merely a visual fabrication of images, but a comment on the unjust relation between colonial powers and colonized territories, as well as how the regions now classified as the Third World have been exploited under the false banner of progress and civilization. Actually, the contradiction in the narratives of oppressor and oppressed – which often turned into conflict (bloody, too, in our recent and distant past) can be understood as the main or major content and recurring theme of her work executed in different forms and formats. Syed paints – with an incredible level of accuracy, adds objects, devises a display order to create a narrative which describes the situation of a country that faced many calamities and atrocities in its history. But if one looks at her work in retrospective (as her Manchester exhibition – being held from 30th September 2017 to 25th February 2018 – gives the opportunity) one realizes that even if the work is grounded in Lahore it is not landlocked in a city; in fact, it offers meanings and conveys concerns which are connected to all those cultures and communities which suffered under the claws of colonialism. Risham Syed was trained in painting from the National College of Arts, Lahore (1989-93) and acquired her MA Painting from Royal College of Art, London (1994-1996), but her recent works are more about just exploring the possibilities of painting. Or the potential of art, in its conventional sense. She has incorporated objects, artefacts, ornaments and photographs for creating a complex set of meaning. These comments on the conditions of an era that
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has witnessed two World Wars, the demolition of the Berlin Wall, disintegration of the Soviet Union, demise of ideological positions (especially Communist modules), destruction of the Twin Towers in New York, and the deposing of multiple dictators in different parts of planet, particularly the Middle East, also refer to how the East has been viewed by the West, which assumes the position of an outsider and perceives the other as an exotic paradise.
She paints – with an incredible level of accuracy, adds objects, devises a display order to create a narrative which describes the situation of a country that faced many calamities and atrocities in its history.
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Probably the most important work at Manchester is about Lahore, how Syed delineated the undergoing shift in civic works and development, which reverberates and reflects in her small paintings.
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In her work, especially from Manchester Art Gallery, Syed denotes these relationships, in which East meets West, comfortably, in the fields of war. Men from North India were drafted and dispatched to far off battlegrounds to fight a battle that had nothing to do with them. In her work ‘Tent of Darius’ army trench coats are hung next to a small painting, all indicating how men are dragged into a conflict that is unnecessary, be it Imperial expeditions or national confrontations, because no matter what the political outcome, war always brings death and destruction. In today’s world, conventional wars have been replaced by media campaigns. First one must conquer the air space, or the virtual territory of a nation, before one can actually take over the physical land (which in many cases is not required). Indian journalist Shekhar Gupta, replying to a question in Lahore about the prospect of war between India and Pakistan, remarked that war is not possible between countries that both have McDonald’s; hinting how it is the commercial, corporate and multi-national organizations who fight with each other on economic fronts in place of traditional soldiers facing one another on a barren field. Syed refers to that power struggle in a number of works, in which two worlds – the developed and developing; dominant and dominated; powerful and poor –encounter at multiple points and view each other. Her work is a chronicle of those contacts, in which East is often considered as primitive, savage, raw and dark. It is also associated with sinuous beauties and ignorant men. All that is brilliantly collected, compiled and analysed by Edward Said in his seminal book Orientalism.
Risham Syed, responding to those attitudes and approaches, has composed works that incorporate and critique visual material that signifies certain beliefs about the imbalance of the world, particularly in relation to progress and enlightenment. The commentary upon political position emerges in Syed’s works such as ‘The Cushion,’ ‘History As Re-Present’ and ‘History As Past,’ in which references about the representation of East from past sources are used for re-reading the past and its powerful authors/authorities. In her work, images as varied as segments of a Central Asian goat’s coat (which became part of a national symbol in Pakistan), pictures of fallen planes, records of civic protests, and recollections of social and political protests on streets are combined to assert a reality that is at the same time cruel but comfortable (both for its pictorial purposes as well as for its political consequences). Risham Syed elaborates on these situations in different ways, in which she documents local products, cultural expressions and indigenous craft, all part of a larger scenario in which the relationship between a newcomer who heralds progress, development and opportunities and the old-timer who lived at an existing location, are in a confrontational state. Yet through her work one comes to recognize the strange link between tradition and modernity, or between progress and past; as she translates the shift in a culture that is generally considered normal, but also uncanny in certain situations.
Probably the most important work at Manchester is about Lahore, how Syed delineated the undergoing shift in civic works and development, which reverberates and reflects in her small paintings. In a series of immaculately created canvases, Syed has painted images from Lahore that suggest a division of power. In her sensitive rendering of houses and civic establishments, she signifies how a culture has to go through a transformation, because fashion, industry or academia is all about claiming a new space in cultural context. In her work, mainly dealing with the conversion of Lahore, Syed focuses on the segmentation of newly built environments, with all their details next to imagery of familiar vision. This blend is remarkable as it suffices the existing situation along with its critique. Through these paintings, Risham Syed has demonstrated her maturity, in fact mastery, on depicting details which add to a larger narrative. Her work at the Manchester Art Gallery, carefully chosen and considerately installed, allude to how the local spaces in a city are subject to tremendous and terrible transformation. Syed, through her sensitive work, reconnects with the art of the museum, since her art has always been about turning thoughts into tangible forms, which offer new meanings with each new contact, like the objects from museums all over the world.
The Seven Seas Series of 7 Quilts Installation View ABRAAJ Capital Art Prize 2012 Photo Credit: Jerone Kramer Display ABRAAJ Capital Art Prize 2012
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WITNESS #KB17 By Yusra Askari
Journalist and bonafide Karachiite Yusra Askari takes in the scene at the city’s first international contemporary art event - the Karachi Biennale 2017. Showcasing a wide range of expressions through paintings, sculptures, mix-media, multi-media, installations, performances, videos, readings and talks, at 12 clustered venues around town, the free public exhibition has managed to connect people and communities to the city through art.
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t was a balmy late summer evening. October the 21st to be precise. The sun had set and the chaotic weekend traffic of Old Karachi was at its very maddening best. As I manoeuvered my way, inch by inch by inch, the warm flush of yellow halogen lights illuminated bright in the distance the splendour of old Gizri Stone. And in all its glory, the Narayan Jagannath Vaidya Government Higher Secondary School stood tall amidst much fanfare, playing host to the inaugural edition of the much-anticipated Karachi Biennale. The first government school established in Sindh that once housed the country’s inaugural National Assembly, NJV as it is more popularly known, opened its doors almost 167 years to the date in the October of 1855 with a modest roll call of just 68 male pupils. “The history of NJV School is intrinsically linked to the history of Karachi and Pakistan. Located in the heart and historical core of city, where better to start a movement to take art to the people and the world,” Niilofur Farrukh, Managing Trustee of the Karachi Biennale, says it like it is.
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Bringing forth to the present echoes of the past in a bid to shape the narrative of the future, the Karachi Biennale “is a visionary platform that focuses on innovation, excellence and criticality.” KB17, as it has come to be known, showcased the works of a diverse cross-section of Pakistani and international artists “invited to respond to the theme, ‘Witness’, chosen for its strong relevance to politics of representation, erasure and selective documentation.”
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“WITNESS“ “The term ‘Witness’ is synonymous with seeing, observing, watching and looking on. Also, to view, note, notice, and spot evidence, indication, proof or a testimony. As a noun, it means to be an observer, onlooker, eyewitness, spectator, viewer or watcher. That’s what we as artists are,” says artist Nurayah Sheikh Nabi. The medium of expression: a mix of paintings, sculptures, mix-media, multi-media, installations, performances, videos, readings, talks – the list endless.
shape of an initiative of the people by the people – a citizens conglomerate so to say, keen to address the growing need of connecting art to the city and its people. The two-week long KB17 was designed to instrumentalize art to bring a fractured and polarized city together by means of a collective cultural experience. As a pre-cursor to the KB17, an extensive year-long programme under the banner of ‘Reel On Hai’ was initiated in June 2016. With Pakistan Cables as its main activity partner, the initiative involved the artistic transformation of empty cable reels into works of art. Spearheaded by the Outreach Committee, the ambitious project was designed to rescue the mundane industrial waste product seen as a symbol of subterranean connectivity.
Karachi boasts a rich and diverse art scene that has for many decades regretfully remained limited to private galleries and collectors’ homes. The need for taking its vibrancy into the public realm has long been evident. Two years ago, a handful of committed art-lovers decided to do just that. What began as the dream of a few, soon took on the
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“The reels were placed throughout Karachi - from Orangi Town to the DHA Cricket Stadium, from Gulshan-e-Maymar to the Karachi Zoo, you name it. These artworks were installed in schools, public parks, hospitals and universities among a host of other venues across the city. Artists, designers and architects worked on site to involve the local community in the process, thereby imbuing in them a sense of ownership. The project has helped engage the communities with activities designed around the work to sensitize them to the works and the role art can play to project the dynamism of a people. ‘Reel On Hai’ has not only helped create a buzz about the biennale but has also brought communities and the stakeholders of the city closer together,” Masuma Halai Khwaja, Chairperson of Karachi Biennale’s Outreach Committee, elaborates. Artist and sculptor Amin Gulgee headed the curatorial team for KB17, ably assisted by Zarmeene Shah, Zeerak Ahmed, Humayun Memon, Sara Paganwala and Adam
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Fahy-Majeed. The line-up also included international curators: Paolo De Grande from Venice, representing SPARCK, Dominique Malaquais from Paris and Kadiatou Diallo from Cape Town as well as Carlos Acero Ruiz from Santo Domingo. The mix of local and foreign curators coupled with the combination of experienced and upcoming artists specializing in a variety of mediums is what gave the exhibits an edge. “The last year has been a surreal and intense experience. The curators have all dedicated 20 to 30 hours a week for the past year to the Karachi Biennale, pro-bono. Months of plotting and planning at my kitchen table have gone into putting the exhibits together,” narrates Amin. “I also travelled from one biennale to the other - La Biennale di Venezia, Colombo Art Biennale, Berlin Biennale and also the Whitney Biennale in New York. My attendance was aimed at not only putting out the word about KB17 but also at inviting artists whose work I felt spoke to my city to exhibit in Karachi. In no way did I sugar-coat
the situation in the city or the country. In fact, I asked the artists to come and experience the crazy city of Karachi just the way it is and they agreed. We had some 60 international artists from 30 different countries showcasing their works at KB17,” he adds. Among the exhibiting artists was Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. A Pakistani artist living abroad, Zulfiqar believes the biennale has clearly set the ball rolling: “It spotlights a lot of Pakistani artists and the diversity of their experiences in relation to artists from across the globe. KB17 has brought to Pakistan an art world that always remained curious but with little to no access to the country. The non-commercial nature of the biennale has also allowed artists to take risks and invest in practices that do not pander to a market as can often be the case in Pakistan. I hope that all this attention will also allow for the availability of more grants and funding opportunities for performance artists and those whose practices are not marketable. After all artists, cannot live on exposure alone.”
From artists to a host of patrons, institutional partners, donors and sponsors, support came Karachi Biennale’s way from many quarters. “The Karachi City District Government has been generous and given us permission to install works in various public parks. They also lent us the Sadequain Gallery at Frere Hall for a month, free of charge. This is an important contribution on their part as the space generates revenue for them,” Niilofur Farrukh explained. The landscape of Karachi was thoughtfully interwoven to tell a story. Twelve venues across the length and breadth of the city showcased the works of 180 artists in four separate clusters. The journey began with Cluster A. It comprised of Karachi School of Art which is the first private academic art institution in the country, the VM Art Gallery and ZVMG Rangoonwala Trust. Each one of these three institutions are well acclaimed for their invaluable contributions to art and to the city.
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Progressing onward, Cluster B brought together Capri Cinema, 63 Commissariat Lines, Narayan Jagannath Vaidya Government Higher Secondary School, as well as Jamshed Memorial Hall which is a tribute to Jamshed Nusserwanjee known as ‘the builder of modern Karachi’, and the city’s first ever book house, Pioneer. The idea behind locating five venues near and around M.A. Jinnah Road was to highlight this area’s historical relevance. Moving on, Cluster C consisted of the Sadequain Gallery, Frere Hall, the recently restored colonial Claremont House and the Alliance Francaise. And Cluster D was made up of FOMMA DHA Art Centre, the IVS Gallery housed in the ageold Nusserwanjee Building moved brick by brick from its original home in Kharadar and the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. The feedback has been tremendous. The city has engaged with the exhibits and the exhibition venues as have its citizens. The foot fall has been impressive to say the least. The exhibits, discursive interventions and extensive visitor programmes during the KB17 combined creative energies and spark new ones. As Canvas Gallery’s Director Sameera Raja says, “KB 17 certainly created more awareness for the arts than anything done before. It is truly the largest public art project.” 102
She elaborates: “The Karachi Biennale has served to put Karachi and Pakistan on the international art community’s radar. This, in essence, promotes art tourism and also presents Pakistan through a different and positive prism rather than what it is generally shown as. It also opens the doors for local and indigenous creative fields to be recognized and known internationally. As a first step, with a shoe string budget, limited resources, surviving on the goodwill of the names associated with the biennale, KB17 has achieved its aim. This is the start of a new beginning, not just for the arts, but for emerging Pakistan.” Having successfully rolled out the first edition of the Karachi Biennale, the team responsible for putting up the show will soon be back at the drafting table. The team tells us: “We hope to uphold the tradition of hosting a biennale every two years, so it’s back to the grind for us very soon.” Here’s looking forward to KB19.
Shahzia Sikandar won the Shahneela and Farhan Faruqui Popular Art Prize at KB17.
K A R AC H I B I E N NA L E 2017
Ali Kazim won the Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation Juried Art Prize.
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LET’S DISH
Karachi
Chai runs on
By M. Bilal Hassan
Karachi and chai have a unique and long lasting relationship. The metamorphosis of the nostalgic teahouses of yesterday to the funky hipster chai stops of today is linked to the city’s social and political upheavals.
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nlike other large cities in Pakistan, Karachi does not bear the distinction of giving birth to glorious civilizations, or housing mighty empires within its boundaries. Not very long ago, it was a mere fishing village on the shores of the Arabian Sea and bore the name Kolachi. Within a short span of a few years, the city has undergone a rapid transformation and morphed into a present-day metropolis of over 15 million people. It’s no secret that Karachi has had a turbulent and volatile past but one thing that’s remained constant through the years is its cosmopolitan flair. If you are a visitor, no place is better than a neighborhood chai dhaaba (kiosk) to come and witness the city habitat at its cosmopolitan best. Taking a break from their fast-paced days to pick up a quick cup of chai from a roadside vendor or the workplace cafeteria has always been an integral part of a working Karachiite’s life. Similarly, heading out to the nearest chai stop after work to socialize has become a daily ritual for Karachiwallas (Karachi residents). Long story short, Karachi runs on chai. And like the city itself, many of these chai establishments and dare I say it, chai itself, have undergone an evolution. The fate of chai, its connoisseurs and the shops selling it has been tied to the social and political upheavals of the city through the years.
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People from all walks of life would regularly meet at these downtown cafes to partake in lively discussions ranging on a plethora of topics from politics to entertainment and everything in between.. Until the mid 70s, Karachi was booming and its literati affectionately referred to it as “uroos ul bilaad” (the bride amongst the cities) and “roshniyon ka shehr” (city of lights) because of its burgeoning nightlife and cosmopolitan nature. During these golden years, the city’s cafés and teahouses thrived. The majority of these were located in what is now known as the older part of the city, namely Saddar. With no social media, internet or 24-hour news channels to fulfil the need for information, people from all walks of life would regularly meet at these downtown cafés to partake in lively discussions on a plethora of topics, ranging from politics to entertainment and everything in between. Some would just come to socialize or play a game of chess or backgammon with friends. The general outlook of these places was pretty simple, nothing fancy or elaborate – checkered floors, small wooden chairs and tables, low-hanging, slow whizzing ceiling fans and nostalgic yesteryear rhythms playing on the radio in the background. As far the menu went, it was pretty simple too – chai, biscuits, cakes rusks and if you were lucky, some basic sandwiches – like chicken or club sandwiches. From the mid 70s to the mid 2000s the city slipped into a cycle of sectarian, economic, political and ethnic violence. The volatile conditions affected business and many of these downtown cafés wrapped up shop. However, some of the more resilient ones stayed behind and are now thriving again, such as Café Mubarak near the IBA City Campus and Jehangir Restaurant right next to the Zoroastrian Fire Temple off of Zaibunissa Street (formerly known as Elphinstone Street) in Saddar. 107
LET’S DISH By the 2010s, the general economic, political and security situation of the city took a turn for the better. With that, chaiwallas (tea-sellers) started to make a comeback, albeit in a slightly different avatar and in a different part of town. It all started off with 2-3 basic establishments selling chai and parathas (fried bread) out in the open in the area around Khayaban-e-Bukhari in DHA. Due to the city’s recent turbulent past, Karachiites were still getting used to the idea of enjoying an evening out in the open rather than spending it behind closed doors. The concept was an instant hit because no one had done it in years. Within a short span of a few weeks, these new-age roadside joints started to mushroom across town. What started off as a couple of shops on Khayaban-e-Bukhari is now an entire block full of chaiwallas.
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Other than their outdoor setting, what has captured most appeal is the fact that these establishments are family friendly. The traditional Pakistani dhaaba has been a space usually off-limits to women and hence unfortunately for years, it has remained a male-dominated space. These new-age dhaabas have broken the patriarchal mould by being welcoming for everyone. The menu has also evolved from the more traditional chai, biscuit and pappas (rusks) to flavoured naans (oven-baked white bread) and parathas; be it a cheeseburger and fajitastuffed naan, the famous nutella parathas or waffles and churros, these joints are constantly experimenting with the snacks and nibbles on offer. Even the variety of beverages has expanded to include flavoured green teas, ginger and oolong tea, doodh paati (chai latte) as well chocolate flavoured tea. Places like Brooklyn, Stockholm and Seattle are famous for their hipster coffee shops; Karachi just upped the game – we now have hipster chai stops.
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Hipster Chai Stops The chaiwallas aren’t just known for their food options but have also become popular with tourists, photographers and the Instagram crowd for their ambiance and the elaborate murals covering their walls – from eye-catching truck art to Lollywood pop art to portraits of famous Pakistani personalities and at times, just very abstract stuff. Interestingly, the graffiti trend started off with quite rudimentary, self-made murals and has now evolved into a practise whereby professional artists or art students are employed to create original art. Some of the murals are absolute visual treats. Thanks to these millennial chaiwallas, Karachi now has a thriving street art scene. Don’t believe me? Just take a short drive across town and you’ll see it for yourself.
1. Chai Shai 2. Chai Walla 3. Chhotu Chai Walla 4. Lollywood Café 5. Chaiflix 6. Brew 7. Roadside Café 8. Tea 4 You 9. Chai Wali 10. Chai Square
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In order to understand the modernization and/ or the rejuvenation of the traditional chai dhaaba to the present-day chai stop, you need to go behind the brains of the businesses. Most dhaabas for years have been run by men with limited education. It was often a small business to accommodate transporters and other daily wagers. On the other hand, a large chunk of the hipster chai stops are run by worldly, college-educated entrepreneurs whose entire energy goes into the maintenance and running of the establishment. Honestly speaking, I love the chai at both types of chaiwallas, but I do think there needs to be a dialogue in order to bridge the gap between these two polar opposite worlds. In this way, the Roadside Café is unique. Located near a block of high-rise apartment complexes in Clifton, it is by far my favourite chai spot in the city. With small wooden chairs and tables, pedestal fans, music playing on the radio and hundreds if not thousands of murals covering its walls, it’s got an ambience of its own. The Roadside Café is kind of like a bridge between the teahouse of yesterday and the hipster chai stop of today. Its walls are covered with portraits of famous Pakistanis, making it a fun activity to try and spot a particular personality while you wait for your order. From Qandeel Baloch to Amjad Sabri to Edhi and everyone in between, they’re all there. The menu here is more traditional and limited as compared to some of the other new joints but the place is always buzzing. From chatty school kids to neighbourhood aunties to millennials working on their laptops, the café is popular with everyone. In addition to the Roadside Café, Chaiwalla and Chai Shai will always have a special place in my heart because they were the first ones in the business. They started brewing a revolution in the city that I am sure they didn’t see coming. These pioneers literally made Karachiwallas leave their safe spaces to go out into the open and reclaim their city – quite a feat in itself. More power to all of them. 112
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Traditional Chai Dhaabas 1. Café Clifton 2. Café Mubarak 3. Jehangir Restaurant 4. Café Piyala 5. Café Quetta
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Serendipitea Nothing can be more egalitarian than tea in this world. Royalty to reverends, peasants to pop stars, writers to workers, no one seems to escape its addiction. The most perfect class leveller ever invented - far more potent than democracy. Cleric and writer Sydney Smith, known for his wit, was rather grateful for tea: “Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea! How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea.” If Pakistani teahouses were the famed spaces where intellectual debates happened and ideas were born, then roadside dhaabas were places people gathered to share life experiences, exchange political and social opinions. While teahouses became a memory - recently replaced by swanky coffee houses - dhaabas still thrive as vibrant places frequented by labourers, workers, writers and journalists who are genuinely interested in the other side of Pakistan for a strong, signature cuppa. Sensing the vibrancy as the connecting thread between The PinkTree ‘Serendiptea ‘ line and chai dhaabas, we decided to do this fashion story at one of the roadside dhaabas in Clifton, Karachi. The touch of gota on colourful prints makes this collection greatly suitable for dholkis/mayon and dinners during this wedding season. Just as a good, strong cuppa can restore your hope and inject a sense of awakening, good clothes can elevate your spirits. As they say, “Life is too short to drink a bad cup of tea and wear drab, blah clothes.”
Label: Photography: Model: Stylist: Hair & Make-up: Jewellery: Shoes: Video & Digital:
The PinkTree Company Jaffer Hasan Sonia Nazir Amal Qadri Nabila‘s N-Pro Kiran Fine Jewellery by Kiran Aman Soma MindMap Communications 115
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Hear Me
ROAR By Mina Malik-Hussain
Studio S showcased its A/W 17 collection by taking clothes off the runway and putting them on real women. Working from the theme, “Hear me Roar”, the show was a fashion installation and discussion between artists on the dynamics of female creative energy, and it’s expression in different mediums.
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eher Tareen of Studio S rang me one day with an idea. Her new collection, inspired from Helen Reddy’s early seventies song “I am Woman, Hear me Roar”, was ready for A/W 17 and instead of a usual runway show, she wanted to do something different – put her clothes on real women, and talk about the dynamics that went into the collection. In spite of all the fashionable attention feminism has been getting recently, nobody has used the platform and social access a successful brand has to actually engage with the philosophy of the movement. There is of course the argument that fashion is not necessarily a feminist space, and many feminists are sceptical of brands that co-opt the ideology for monetary gain – wearing a “we should all be feminists” t-shirt does not a feminist make. Happily, “Hear Me Roar” was none of those things, and the discussion we planned for the show was an introspective, non-academic conversation between Seher, myself, Saba Khan, Risham Syed and Aroosa Rana about female creative energy and how as women the female experience intersects with the creative expression of it. What sold me on the idea was a black beaded gown with a retro feel, Japanese inspired flowers and the word “invincible” embroidered on a beaded strap across the neck. You could only see it if you knew it was there, and that was emblematic of the feel of the collection. Studio S has always championed a feminine look; diaphanous material, gauzy net, mirrors and florals, and “Hear me Roar” had the same starting point but a different end. The hems of all the pieces were unfinished, the material left free. Kimonos, gauzy and draped, had frilled ruffs, but ones reminiscent of sharp gills on a fish. There was a complexity to the collection that was pleasing and intriguing, but also one that existed between the lines. Nothing Studio S does is that obvious, and in this case the lines were literally lyrics from the song, scrawled onto the clothes by Seher and then overlaid with sequins. The final show put clothes on mannequin torsos fashioned by Aurum from metal—shiny, gorgeous armour, the proverbial iron fist inside a glove of embroidered net. The idea was to embrace one’s femininity unabashedly and without mistaking the feminine for the weak or malleable. Like the song – ostensibly a cheerful, happy little tune but with inspiring, powerful lyrics – the collection was both beautiful and strong. 121
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STYLE RULES The conversation – we avoided calling it a panel, because it wasn’t meant to be an academic or philosophical presentation, but simply a discussion that we hoped would interest and trigger a larger one with our audience too. It began with art, as all of Studio S’s work begins from a particular artistic inspiration. “Hear me Roar” is inspired by 18th and 19th century Japanese old masters such as Hokusai and Kawarazaki, so it seemed fitting to talk to other artists. Khan, Syed and Rana are contemporary Pakistani artists who have all in their own distinct ways been exploring history, both personal and political, in a manner that also engages with their femaleness. Syed and Khan both make use of the everyday domestic in their work, a space traditionally associated with the female and in Pakistan at least, still very much a woman’s concern. Mithai, cake, quilts, teapots, embroidered panels, chairs – the private space of the domestic becomes part of a public conversation. As Syed pointed out during our discussion, it’s time to change the dynamics of female historical power. History is famously male, written and recorded from a male perspective and yet there are scores of women we know of, warriors, leaders, assassins, scholars, doctors, writers, artists who have shaped history as we know it. Where are they? Where are their voices, marginalized as they are?
Clothes do not exist in a vacuum. A lot of couture is showmanship, the theatre of the gorgeous – especially South Asian bridals with their lavishly draped, embellished outfits that could go straight onto a set for a film about royalty. In real life, nobody wears their clothes like runway models. Orders are made to fit all kinds of bodies, personal styles and preferences and become different creatures to the original ones envisioned by the designer. The best part about “Hear me Roar” was that Studio S put the collection on real women. There were artists, bloggers and friends of different age, size and look, and everyone had made their piece their own. It was a welcome, lovely break from the size zero monotony of a model; the unattainability of gorgeous clothes meant to look gorgeous only on very thin women. Because aren’t clothes part of how one sees oneself, a pivotal part of how one chooses a “face to meet the faces that you meet”? How and what we choose to wear has everchanging implications for the wearer; sometimes armour, sometimes decoration; sometimes invisibility – like wearing men’s clothes whilst finding welders in Anarkali, as Saba Khan talked about – sometimes celebration and sometimes just pure fun.
Extending from that reshaping of power and repositioning of voice is where the Studio S panel found itself, musing about creative energy. Women’s work is often considered less-than. Women’s art has so often been dismissed for being too interior, too feminine. Female preoccupations – the dinner party Clarissa Dalloway is throwing, the children in Fleur Adcock’s poetry, the lush flowers of Georgia O’Keefe, the draped women of Amrita Sher-Gil – have frequently been put aside as simply not important enough as the work of their male contemporaries. Fashion too, is slotted into that Female Domain and yet male designers continue to be extremely successful and more numerous than women.
What is most important is to talk, and for women to talk to each other. Female concerns are just as important as anyone else’s, and perpetually brushing them under the patriarchal carpet just won’t do any longer. As some of the older ladies pointed out during a spirited interaction with the audience, each generation of women has pushed back against the rules and the restrictions to create a little space, and that space is being expanded as more and more women rally to the cause. What is crucial is to have these conversations, ones that ask questions with curiosity and answer with honesty. Studio S created a space for just that, and everyone present there that evening was certainly purring.
Khan, Syed and Rana are contemporary Pakistani artists who have all in their own distinct ways been exploring history, both personal and political, in a manner that also engages with their femaleness
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season A
Regality for
In an exclusive press preview, Faraz Manan introduces his AW 17/18 couture collection, Empire.
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Faraz Manan and Pashmeena Malik
ravel inspires me. It makes me happy and opens my mind to new ideas. I love creating fusion. Blending the modern with the traditional.” Faraz Manan spoke these words in 2015. And true to this wisdom, Empire AW 17/18 is the perfect mélange of subcontinental luxury with an everlasting romance of different cultures and their historically elaborate empires; stitched and embellished with great precision and attention to detail; with a love for grandeur and opulence guided by Faraz’s signature aesthetic. In an exclusive press preview, Faraz introduced his AW 17/18 couture. Taking inspiration from three great empires of the past – the Ottoman, the Russian and the French – the couturier has created a collection where east meets west, old is infused with the new for a universal appeal that transcends beyond all regional boundaries. Now that’s what we call being cosmopolitan!
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Sana Bhatti
Anaum Hammad
Asma Chishty
Momina and Nael Ahmed
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Meher Tareen
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Shehrbano Ellahi Shaikh
Zainab Malik
Sundus Manan
Asma Chishty and Faraz Manan
Amber Liaqat and Rubia Mughees
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Elan celebrates
Champs de Patchouli
Whether it’s her breathtaking bridal couture, her sophisticated pret offerings or the lavish fashion events that her label Elan has become known for, designer Khadijah Shah’s vision sets her apart as a true trailblazer. For the second year in a row, the design house hosted a solo fashion show to celebrate its latest bridal collection – an evening that spoke of luxury, style and elegance. Inspired by the courts of the Mughal era and the Versailles with strokes of French influence, Champs de Patchouli featured ten distinctive designs that presented a fresh take on classic cuts such as angrakhas, lehengas and shararas by pairing them with printed kameezes worked in 3D silver and gold. The result – clothes that were intricate, feminine and modern all at the same time.
Conceptualization & Show Management: Choreography: Hair & Make-up: Red Carpet Photography: Event Photography:
Shazreh Khalid Rehan Bashir N-Pro and N-Gents Kamran Mehdi Irfan Younas Photography, Beeworks and Shutteredworks Video Production: Abdullah Haris
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Abdullah Haris
Khadijah Shah
Tabesh Khoja
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Iqraa Mansha and Shazreh Ali
Mehreen Syed and Khadijah Shah
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Aamna Taseer and Alizah Raza
Hamid Rashid, Asma Chishty and Attiya Noon
Maheen Taseer
Rehan Bashir
Kamiar Rokni
Amber Liaqat
Mr. and Mrs. Mansha
Aneela Shah Iman Ali
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Momina Ahmed, Erum Alam, Faraz Manan, Sana and QYT, Mehvish Khan, Zainab Malik and Umair Mirza
Anaum Hammad
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Aimal Khan
Arjumand Amin and Jehanzeb Amin
Faryal Aftab and HSY
Ali Xeeshan
Fawad and Sadaf
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Ayesha Noon and Attiya Noon
Yousaf Shahbaz
Mina and Savail Hussain
Seher Tareen and Abeera Ahsanuddin Mahnum Kabir
Amna Babar
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Nadira and Omer Khalid with Shershah Khan
Anush Ammar
Aamir Mazhar
Erum Kamal
Natasha Saleem
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A WORLD OF GOOD
Agents of
change
By Sehr Amjad Ismail
Meet the dreamers, doers and innovators who not only challenge the status quo but play a key role in remodelling and transforming the lifestyle, social condition and economic standing of communities, countries and sometimes even the world at large. These inspirational beings are identified by the projects they take on and the positive changes they help bring about.
Danielle & Akber Naqvi
The ZB Foundation
Danielle and Akber Naqvi’s journey into parenthood may have begun with heartbreak but the Dubai-based couple turned their personal tragedy into a beacon of hope for newborns in Pakistan. After the loss of their first daughter, the Pakistani-British couple set up The ZB Foundation, a charity in Pakistan that offers newborn screening, a test that can mean the difference between life and death for many babies. Sehr Amjad Ismail is the Founding President of CARE Foundation Pakistan’s UAE chapter and is actively involved in the Lahore School of Economics (LSE), one of the premier universities in Pakistan, which was set up by her family as a National Economics Foundation. She was recently appointed the Global Ambassador for The ZB Foundation. Here, she talks to the Naqvis about their inspirational journey. Tell us a bit about yourselves, your backgrounds and how long both of you have been in the UAE. How did you meet and decide to get married? Dani: I have been living in Dubai for 24 years now and run a PR company focusing on female entrepreneurs and luxury travel. Akber: I moved to Dubai 13 years ago, arriving from New York after spending 10 years in the US for my college and early professional career. Dani: We had mutual friends who Akber went to college with and that’s how we got introduced. We developed a very close bond finding common goals in travelling and then raising a family. Why did you want to adopt your first child? Dani: When Akber and I got together we discussed having children and we both mentioned that we would like to adopt. I had always wanted to do this but never had a country or nationality in mind. Akber told me about the number of babies abandoned in Pakistan annually, especially girls. With him being from Pakistan, it made perfect sense.
Please share with us your adoption journey and tragedy. Dani: Zahra Beau Naqvi, born on October 8th, 2011, was a beautifully peaceful girl with deep, soulful black eyes, rich red lips and porcelain white skin. The beautiful exterior hid a painful secret inside as Zahra Beau, from birth, carried a disease that would come back to hurt her very badly. But that was only part of the story; ZB was from one of the poorest regions of Northern Pakistan and her birth mother, under pressure from her conservative family, was forced to abandon the baby girl at birth. Zahra was given another chance when we adopted her and brought her to a home that offered hope, love and compassion. But that fairytale was cut short immediately, as ZB’s dark secret, a metabolic disease gained at birth through the misfortune of her birth parents’ genes, would come rushing back to claim her life. In just 4 short months from her birth, ZB succumbed to a disease that occurs in 1 in 250,000 babies – Glutaric Academia Type 2 – and died on February 18th, 2012, leaving behind heartbroken parents and a family and friend network deep in shock. 145
A WORLD OF GOOD The ZB Foundation is a testament to your promise to your daughter that you would not let her death be in vain. Do elaborate. Dani: Seeing our daughter die such a tragic death, not being able to hold her, so small and so vulnerable – no parent or child should have to witness this. ZB could have, may have lived and beaten her ultimate obstacle if doctors had performed just one simple ‘heel-prick’ test within the first 48 hours of her birth known as “newborn screening”. This test would have triggered enough red flags to warrant further investigation, which most likely would have led to the discovery of the metabolic disorder. From this painful experience came the birth of The ZB Foundation, that we set up in her memory and spirit and which is designed to give other babies the chance that Zahra never got herself. What have you achieved in the last 2-3 years that The ZB Foundation has been registered and operational? Dani: We are extremely proud of our efforts todate. Growing organically from what was essentially a parents’ wish and vision, we now have a dedicated team of 11, located in our lab in Islamabad. We have the only newborn screening machine in the Danielle with Zahra Beau country that provides FREE screening to all. We are currently focused on Islamabad and the North and work with approximately 30 hospitals in the region, having tested over 6000 babies so far. As our expansion and collaborations with hospitals and clinics has ramped up, the number of testings goes up on a week-to-week basis. We have plans and on-going discussions to spread our wings to cover Karachi, Lahore and greater Punjab and Sindh. We are one of the few organizations in the country to officially possess accurate figures on mortality rate and birth rates in the regions we operate in and we are about to roll out a programme to encourage and educate midwives on 146
the importance of newborn screening and how to administer the test correctly. What are the big hurdles you have faced? In a recent press conference, one of your doctors mentioned that it took a year for the machine that Perkin Elmer had donated for free (worth US$500,000) to finally get customs clearance to come duty free to Pakistan. Dani: So in the early stages of setting up the charity, we had issues with the import duty for the machine, which was given to us by the manufacturers. For us during our humble beginnings, any money we raised had to go towards testing a baby and not setting up the foundation’s infrastructure. The ports wanted us to pay the duty on importing the machine, which was so much money. My father-in-law is an extremely patient man who believed we needed to roll this out and if that meant we went from pillar to post in order to waive the fee, we would. Can you believe it took one year in order to successfully get the machine into the country with no duty tax? I am now a believer of “everything comes to those who wait”; however at the time my frustration levels would be sky high! An on-going hurdle for us remains the indifference and ignorance of doctors – the importance of newborn screening and its vital link towards prevention of newborn deaths and stunted growth is lost on doctors set in their ways. What did you hope to achieve with your first hugely successful charity fundraiser gala last month in Islamabad? What was the response like? Dani: We really believed that by mid-2017, having built up a database of actual figures for babies within the country, it would be the time to showcase what we are doing to the people of Pakistan. We
didn’t want the event to be an evening of glitz and glamour, but more to showcase who we are and our ethos by inviting the right people and partnering with the right organizations. We were extremely lucky to partner with the Hashoo Group who provided The Marriott Hotel free of charge. For sponsorship we worked with Nutricia (one of our long-term partners) and Unilever Lifebuoy. All the money we received as donations from table sales and auction items 100% went to the charity. We had 450 people attend, with many government officials, global ambassadors, United Nations representatives, DFID and World Bank. You went on to adopt another beautiful baby girl and then have your own twins. Tell us about your young family. Dani: After Zahra died, we adopted another baby girl and then 3 months later, I discovered I was pregnant with twins. Our three children are exactly a year and a day apart and are best friends. Amara is now 5 years old and the twins (boy and girl) Rio and Sienna are 4 years old. What do you both do with your mini-Naqvis on the weekend around the city and outdoors? Dani: We are certainly an out-door family. We love the beach, fresh air and exploring. We love to travel and take our minis on adventures. This
summer we explored the jungles of Ubud in Bali and then we went to Sri Lanka and took the kids on a train through the country and they went to surfing school. In Dubai we love to go out on our paddle board at the local beach or a new development that has just opened, La Mer Beach, which the kids enjoy. Dubai is an international city with such a diverse expat community and a melting pot of Eastern and Western values, cultural and religious traditions – how does your particular family fit in? Dani: That’s exactly who we are – East and West combined with so many international friends. Our children also embrace the different nationalities and cultures, taking Islamic studies at school yet living in a progressive, cosmopolitan household. Dubai is the perfect city to raise children as long as you keep your feet firmly on the ground and live life within your means. Do your children like travelling to Pakistan? Our kids are still young enough that we have not had the opportunity to take them yet. Our families come to Dubai a lot but yes certainly as they get older we will start to take them on our visits to Pakistan so that they can see half of their roots and culture as well as the beautiful story and journey being taken by their eldest sister’s foundation.
Sehr Amjad Ismail, Ali Javed Naqvi and Danielle Naqvi at The ZB Foundation Charity Gala
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REFLECTIONS
Daring dream different to
By Eemaan Siddiqi
You can take the girl out of Pakistan but you can never take Pakistan out of the girl. Digital and e-commerce expert Eemaan Siddiqi has been living in New York for close to two decades now but her heart and soul remain rooted in Pakistan. Her commitment to her homeland has led to her appointment as a Global Ambassador for Emerging Pakistan, an initiative by the Government of Pakistan to showcase the best of the country internally and internationally. Here, she looks back at her time as a journalist in Pakistan, a career that allowed her to witness the rise of some of the country’s leading names in the world of arts and entertainment, names who dared to dream different and achieve the unexpected.
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1999 is when I moved to the US. Not quite, but almost 2 decades ago. I miss Pakistan every single day and see a glimpse of my country wherever I travel to – be it in the streets of Venice that remind me of Lahore, the Swiss Alps where I see a bit of Swat, or Mexico where the touristy markets take me back to Zainab Market in Karachi.
Pakistan has taught me the power of resilience, a ‘figure it out and move on’ attitude, an ability to improvise and think outside the box. I have always been an unofficial ambassador for my country in both my personal and professional life, and it was a proud moment for me to be appointed a Global Ambassador for Emerging Pakistan. In my current position, I intend to promote a softer image of Pakistan through the robust business opportunities, international fashion scene, the amazing music and movie scene, and the rich and delicious food. As I ponder on my responsibilities, I think back to Pakistan, reflecting on what was and what is or rather who was and who is now in the country.
Asim Raza, a dear friend, was starting out his career and I (an MBA student and a freelance writer on occasion) interviewed him for the Star evening newspaper: not sure if the Star still exists but it was a cool ‘eveninger’ of its time and probably the only one that was read and respected in Karachi in the 80’s and 90’s. I sat in Asim’s living room, where on occasion, a bunch of friends would get together to hang and listen to old songs and have a cup of tea and sometimes yummy chaat. This time however, our meeting was for a purpose and we chatted informally about his dreams and aspirations, what he wanted to become and where he was coming from. Asim Raza, an architect by profession, was making advertisements and wanted to make movies. Creative; for sure. Far-fetched: totally. Let’s move on to the world of fashion. Amir Adnan, another dear friend, had taken up the tie business by storm. An MBA Finance major who had left a budding corporate career to make neck ties. Very strange and not at all conventional. Who does that?! And especially when one has a family to support? A quirky, and an unsafe path, one that had not been tried, tested, or trodden upon. Neck ties: a product that had a very small target market, if at all, in Pakistan. All this was some two decades ago. Even today, the kind of career change where one moves from a great corporate career to sew neck ties is considered an anomaly and this kind of behaviour, rather eccentric.
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The voice that today makes a thousand (actually millions) hearts miss a beat is our very own boy next door. A boy who was struggling to keep up with computer engineering studies to meet societal pressures, was also ever so secretly following his passion to sing and compose music. I’m speaking here of none other than Atif Aslam. It hasn’t been quite 20 years for our lad Atif yet but it has been over a decade of immense hard work. I interviewed him in Lahore about 12 years ago, when visiting Pakistan and he was the classic example of a young singer wanting to make it big, all the time believing that he could without displaying arrogance or overconfidence. There was sincerity in his words and eyes. Prior to the interview, the night before we had hung out at a friend’s house where Atif had sat on a kitchen stool, strummed his guitar ever so magically and sang melodious songs for a group of maybe 8 people. What I would do for that experience again! Super grateful that I was a part of our legendary Atif’s fabulous journey. To summarize, Asim Raza is a leader in Pakistan’s prolific movie industry today. Advertisements, movie videos and the movie “Ho Mann Jahan” directed by Asim are pieces of art where each image/shot can very well be a much sought after painting. He is the man behind the brilliant marketing for brands like Coca Cola, Sprite, Lux, Pantene and many more. 150
Amir Adnan today has his own fashion empire and is the largest enterprise of designer clothing in Pakistan, comprising 24 retail stores across the country and creating a retail and manufacturing structure that can rival an international competitor. Amir Adnan’s sherwanis are coveted internationally, and many a star have adorned these garbs proudly. Atif Aslam – a young legend in his own right has managed to carve his place in the hearts of people globally. Every concert of his is sold out. Maybe some of this has to do with his good looks and flirtatious adaayein but to be fair we must credit most of his fame to his immense talent and crazy hard work. Atif makes it a point to thank his fans from time to time on social media. His actions portray to us his grounded values and the fact that his humble yet confident nature. He is a great role model for the youth of our country. When we talk of Asim Amir and Atif Aslam today, we talk about them with awe and admiration for who they are, what they stand for and almost envy their lives, their success and their fame. What they have in common is invaluable – their middle-class backgrounds giving rise to their deep rooted and wellgrounded values, respect towards people, humility, an admirable work ethic, a passion to excel and never but never bowing down to the norms of the society.
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MAN ON THE SCENE
IRTEZA one to watch UBAID
Photography: Junaid Afghani
Meet Irteza Ubaid,a young 20-something Pakistani based in Lahore who has been named the TEDx Ambassador for Pakistan. A technology and energy consultant by profession, Irteza recently wrapped up his third TEDxLahore event this year on the 22nd of October, having organized 11 TEDx events (TEDxNUST, TEDxLUMS and TEDxLahore) in Pakistan since 2010. DESTINATIONS speaks with him about the TED platform, his favourite TED talk, and more.
How did you first become involved with TED? My first experience with TED dates back to 20092010 when I was still an engineering student. I was searching online for disruptive technologies and found a TED talk by Pranav Mistry on the thrilling power of sixth sense technology. I was so hooked to the talk that I binge-watched TED talks all night. Later, I found out about the TEDx programme (an international community that organizes TED-style events anywhere and everywhere) and decided to organize my first TEDx event in my university. What do you love most about the TED platform? The slogan of TED is ‘ideas worth spreading’ and I love the fact that TED and TEDx events expose you to diverse and mind-boggling ideas that help you shape your understanding better. It changes your myopic vision about life and the world. In your opinion, how can TEDx events prove beneficial for Pakistani society? TEDx events have the capabilities to act as catalysts to inspire change. It’s a platform for amplifying voices that can shape a better future. Another important facet of TEDx events are the communities they nurture; passionate people who want to connect with like-minded people to inspire change. What are some of the misconceptions about TEDx events in Pakistan? Oh, it’s a long list but I would like to highlight the top ones: 1.) Only celebrities or popular figures can speak at the event; 2.) TEDx talks are all about motivation, leadership and entrepreneurship; 3.) TEDx talks are all about personal stories; 4.) TEDx talks have to only be in English; 5.) Sponsors or partners can dictate the programme or speakers.
If you could invite any one speaker to your next TEDxLahore event, who would it be? There are so many… it’s hard to point out one, but I think it will be amazing if I could have Dr. Adeb Rizvi (the head of the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation who provides free medical treatment to numerous Pakistanis annually) to speak at TEDxLahore! You’ve been officially named the TEDx Ambassador for Pakistan, what does your role entail? The role is two-folds; working with the local community and working with the TEDx team in New York. It basically involves taking up a leadership role in the regional TEDx community to help, mentor and connect TEDx groups in the appointed region and encourage organizers to contribute to the TEDx knowledge-sharing platforms. Also, my role requires me to submit to TED ongoing suggestions on how TED could support the appointed TED/TEDx community, and recommend ways for TED to grow TEDx in the region. Do you have any upcoming TEDx projects under your sleeve? Yes, in order to keep the community engaged, I along with my core team are planning to organize TEDxAdventures for the first time in Pakistan. It is a new format and I am excited to bring this to Pakistan. What’s your all-time favourite TED talk (and why)? My all-time favourite TED talk is ‘Don’t kill your language’ by Suzanne Talhouk. She beautifully explains how our mother tongue is the best carrier of our culture and that we should not distort it or shy away from it because it is ‘uncool’ to speak in one’s mother-tongue. 153
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
Out Ta nzania in
By Irteza Ubaid
TEDx Ambassador for Pakistan Irteza Ubaid was recently in Tanzania, attending the TED Global conference and experiencing the best of Africa as he travelled across Serengeti on a safari and found himself relaxing on the white sandy beaches of Zanzibar.
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OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase Hakuna Matata! Ain’t no passing craze
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grew up hearing this song from one of the most iconic movies of my childhood, The Lion King. Simba and Hakuna Matata were the first two things that popped into my head when I thought about travelling to Tanzania as Tanzania, or more specifically Serengeti, is the land that visually inspired The Lion King.
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First thoughts about Tanzania: I have been curating TEDx events for the last 7 years and this year I was appointed as TEDx Ambassador for Pakistan. As part of the ambassadorship, I was invited to TEDGlobal that was held in the beautiful city of Arusha in Tanzania. I had a feeling from the very beginning that this would be a destination full of surprises and adventures. As I sat on my laptop to research about the country (the land of Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and Serengeti), I was expecting it to be a mostly desert area but to my surprise, I discovered that Tanzania has a sublime blend of all kinds of landscape and biodiversity ranging from serene beaches in the island of Zanzibar, deserts, lakes and lush green parks that are home to nature’s wildest and beautiful species, to the highest point of Africa – the Kilimanjaro Mountain.
Choosing the places to visit in Tanzania: The most difficult task was to come up with an itinerary that would allow me to experience the best of Tanzania in the 8-9 days that I had after the conference. I coordinated with my friends who were attending TEDGlobal and we decided to settle for two destinations. First, a disclaimer; some of the places I am about to name are very hard to pronounce, but I hope at the same time they induce a sense of the exotic for those of you reading this.
1Serengeti: Wildlife safari was the bucket list item for all of us and hence, we all unanimously decided to go Serengeti National Park. It is home to the highest concentration of lions in the world and a popular place to see lions and the other Big Five: elephants, rhinos, leopards and buffalo. The Serengeti is also home to the Ol Doinyo Lengai, the only volcano on the planet that is currently erupting carbonatite lava.
Where to stay: Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge – a small family owned hotel with the most scenic views and home to some beautiful birds. Mount Meru Lodge in Arusha – a lovely hotel with an excellent breakfast, friendly staff and good location. Mizingani Seafront Hotel in Zanizibar – a beautiful hotel at the beachfront that provides one of the best rooms with a view.
Top things to do:
1Arusha National Park Walking Safari As part of the conference excursion, we were taken to the Arusha National Park for a day-long walking safari and game drive. The walking safari got all of us excited as it offered a teaser of what to expect at Serengeti. It is a three-legged safari trip; we were accompanied by rangers for the first leg, the walking safari. We spotted zebras, buffalos, giraffes (took a giraffe selfie as well – giraffie). The second leg was the game drive, where we spotted several kinds of antelopes, wild animals, monkeys and many birds including flamingos. Unfortunately, we could not spot any leopards or lions that day. We had our lunch at the bank of Lake Momella which marked the third leg of the journey; canoeing, and spotting buffaloes, hippos, waterbucks and a wide array of bird species. Arusha National Park Safari is a more practical option if you are travelling with kids or are short on time.
2Zanzibar: The second option was either to go to Mount Kilimanjaro or to relax at the beaches of Zanzibar. I always prefer beaches over mountains, hence the choice was simple and I stayed there for 3 days. Zanzibar is an archipelago situated at the Swahili coast of the Indian Ocean and is home to some of the most pristine white sandy beaches surrounded by coral reefs and swaying palm trees.
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OFF THE BEATEN TRACK Safari and Game Drive at 2Wildlife Serengeti National Park There are two ways to reach Serengeti from Arusha, either by a private plane or a jeep ride. We took the jeep route and a 5-day safari tour package from Arusha after the end of the conference. The tour operators accommodate 4-6 people and a cook in the jeep, with the driver as your guide. Our game drives started early morning and continued until sunset for three days with endless sightings of lions, cheetahs, leopards, the Big Five and numerous wild beasts, along with birds and marine animals found in various lakes of the national park. Despite being in the jeep for the next few days, the sights of the magnificent animals and the amazing landscape kept us excited and upbeat. We were also successful in recognizing some of the locations from The Lion King animation in Serengeti but sadly could not locate the Pride Rock. Most nights were spent in safari camps getting a nightmarish shut-eye as hyenas would frequently roam around the open enclosures. The Serengeti safari definitely provides one of nature’s most unforgettable experiences – bucket list item checked.
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4Experience Swahili Food No trip is complete without experiencing the local delicacies. Being a foodie, I never miss any opportunity to try new cuisines. I tried the Swahili food available at various local restaurants and roadside joints, and found it to be highly influenced by South Asian flavours, albeit less spicy (compared to Pakistanis standards). Most of the main courses were served with rice or chapaati. (Yes, the locals call them chapaati!).
5Visit Masai Village or Market Tanzania is big when it comes to handicrafts, especially textile and cane products. I visited local Masai markets in Arusha and bought some handwoven shawls, blankets and other handicrafts for personal use and gifts.
and Water Activities at 6Nightlife Zanzibar Beaches Zanzibar has a number of pristine white sand beaches that are perfect for relaxing or indulging in some water sports. If you are into clear waters, diving, snorkelling and coral reefs, Mnemba Island should be your base but for nightlife and buzzy nights, Nungwi is the preferred touristy spot on the island.
Before You Travel
3African Music and Dance Workouts As part of the conference sideline activities, I took a Kukuwa dance workout class, and got a chance to explore the various African dances. Here, I learnt to move muscles I didn’t know I had! Kukuwa is your workout reinvented – break a sweat. It is open to all fitness levels and is a fun way to experience African dance routines and m usic.
Tanzania is one of the few countries where Pakistanis have visa-on-arrival facility. Make sure you have an invitation letter and a $50 bill. It will take less than 5 minutes to complete the visa and immigration process. Tanzania is free from yellow fever now, but you could be asked to show a yellow fever certificate. Make sure you get it at least 10 days before you travel. Do not forget your sunblock, bug spray and good walking shoes. Keep a light jacket for the evenings as they can get chilly; learn some basic Swahili words and most importantly, get ready for an adventure of a lifetime. Asante saana (Thank you)!
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A WORLD OF GOOD
Moving
FORWARD
This year’s TEDxLahore brought together seven distinct changemakers from the fields of healthcare, education, tourism, transgender activism and more to discuss issues that truly require our attention as a society.
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In a packed auditorium, boasting over 300 attendees, TEDxLahore 2017 kicked off on the 22nd of October, featuring seven distinct changemakers from the fields of healthcare, education, tourism, transgender activism and more.
Held at the Beaconhouse School System’s sprawling, red-brick Liberty campus, TED enthusiasts got a chance to be a part of an event that featured talks that acted as an impetus to inspire and encourage a proactive mindset vis-à-vis subjects that truly require our attention as a society. Curated and licensed to Irteza Ubaid, a bright young 20-something Lahori, who was recently named the TEDx Ambassador for Pakistan, TEDxLahore brought to stage the dynamic Kamran Lashari (Director General of the Walled City of Lahore Authority – WCLA), Nadia Naviwala (a Wilson Centre Global Fellow and an independent American writer and researcher), Dr. Noreen Zafar (a well-known healthcare specialist in Pakistan), Usama Khilji (a rights activist, writer, and researcher), Zohaib Kazi (the musician behind Patari’s popular Fanoos music series), Jannat Ali (a transgender rights activist and kathak performer) and Yusra Amjad (a poet, writer and stand-up comedian). With a theme titled ‘moving forward’, Iretza says that he and his team wanted to adopt a progressive approach to this year’s series of talks. “Right now, Pakistan is at a very important juncture,” he states, “There’s so much happening in our country at the moment – from a socio-political standpoint, there’s little equilibrium and there seems to be this air of general discomfort and fear for the way ahead. This is why with our theme, we wanted to discuss subjects and ideas – most importantly – that were and are pertinent to Pakistan. And with our featured speakers, we hope to urge Pakistani citizens to take a more proactive stance within their country to not only make society a more wholesome place to live in, but to also pave the way for the future generations to come.”
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Irteza Ubaid
@ Asjad Ahmad
Photography: M-Theory Films
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A WORLD OF GOOD
Standing as the man who has been instrumental in spearheading the restoration of heritage sites and rehabilitating Lahore’s Old City, in collaboration with the Aga Khan Cultural Services (AKCS), Kamran Lashari spoke at length about the WCLA’s conservation projects in the city. The before and after images that he showed to the audience during his talk were rather incredible, proving that Lahore – Pakistan’s cultural capital – can truly be restored to her former glory. In an insightful talk about the state of education in Pakistan, Nadia Naviwala spoke about her years of research in the field on education and brought to light her alarming findings. “If you care about education, you’ve probably heard one thing: that Pakistan spends 2% on education, and that we need to double the budget to solve the education crisis,” Nadia stated during her talk, “For English speakers, the conversation on public education pretty much starts and ends there. But while we’ve been stuck on this talking point, Pakistan has doubled the budget. We spend as much on education today as we do on the military. We spend 13% of our budget on education – the US and UK spend 14%. The people Janat Ali who have been telling you it’s 2% were not counting provincial spending. Half of at least two governments consist of education employees. 40% of students are in private schools. Parents in Pakistan spend as much as the government does on private education. If you include private spending, Pakistan spends more than 4% of its GDP on education.” Interestingly, two speakers, Zohaib Kazi and Jannat Ali, incorporated performances into their talks. Jannat, a well-known transgender activist and formally trained kathak dancer, added another layer to her moving talk (about growing up in a society that has – for far too long – treated the Pakistani transgender community like social outcasts) with a poignant kathak performance. Zohaib, on the other hand, spoke at length about his incredible Fanoos project under the local music streaming website, Patari. Kazi’s Fanoos journey took him across Pakistan, unearthing talent and recording music with some of Pakistan’s most diverse, undiscovered musicians and singers. But prior to his talk, Zohaib showed the audience how
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easy it was to make super cool beats at the palm of one’s hand – all through a cell phone. In her important and rather heart-breaking talk about women and healthcare in Pakistan, Dr. Noreen Zafar stressed the importance of educating Pakistani women about their health and to encourage them seek help at the hands of credible and reliable medical professionals. “Throughout history, more women have died in childbirth than men have died in wars. But even more unfortunate is the fact that is still a high occurrence, “ she stated in her talk at TEDxLahore, this year, “Even in the year 2017, one female is losing her life to complications of pregnancy or childbirth every single second, somewhere across the world. And in the local context it translates into one death every 40 minutes, every single day, 365 days a year. As a society we bury them quietly, no questions asked, no media frenzy, no political statements bombarding the TV and no actions taken, except that it was Allah’s will, and business continues as usual.” “To make a real difference in someone’s life, we need passion and empathy more than money,” Dr. Noreen Zafar had said. “People’s lives can be made better by communicating and talking to each other. You don’t need to leave your surroundings to create impact. Just look around in your family, relatives and friends, your domestic staff. A little effort can go a long way to make this world a much better place to live. We as a privileged group owe it to help them.” While Yusra Amjad, a talented Pakistani poetess, narrated two of her poems, gently weaving them into the subject of female emancipation amidst societal pressure and demands, the impassioned rights activist, Usama Khilji, gave the audience a run-down on their rights as Pakistani citizens, calling for a greater sense of proactivity and doing away with dull complacency. For Usama, change could only be brought about if there was greater awareness of one’s rights, in addition to demanding for social change on a consistent basis. Amidst a number of stalls for food and entertainment, TEDxLahore 2017 ended on a positive and empowering note. And with the onset of the new year, one looks forward to the team’s next big offering.
Nadia Naviwala
Kamran Lashari
Zohaib Kazi
Sonya Rehman
Yusra Amjad
Kanza Naheed
Usama Khilji
Dr. Noreen Zafar
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TALK OF THE TOWN
ISLAMABAD
The ZB Foundation Gala The first official gala dinner for The ZB Foundation was held at the Marriott Hotel, Islamabad, where dignitaries from all walks of life, including government officials, celebrities, diplomats, the corporate sector and the medical community, came together to honour a cause that aims to change the lives of newborns in Pakistan. Cybil Chowdhry
Akber Naqvi and Danielle Wilson Naqvi, Co Founders The ZB Foundation
Sadruddin Hashwani
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Tariq Amin
Sehr Amjad Ismail and Maliha Amjad
Saima Khan, Murtaza Hashwani and Shezad Ali
Masood Afridi, Sumeira Hashwani and Nadia Amin
Kirsty
Sara Khattak
Fawad and Uzma
Tehmina Janjua, Foreign Secretary of Pakistan
Zahraa Saifullah
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TALK OF THE TOWN
ISLAMABAD
Dr. Shahzad, Ali Naqvi and Dr. Sajid
Ambassador Zameer Akram
Neil Buhne, Resident Coordinator for the United Nations Development Programme
Negar Esmailzadeh
Dr. Ghazna Khalid, Health Advisor to the Ministry of Health, KPK
Sara Walid Mushtaq
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Monica
Anissa Punjani
Ardi Stoios Braken, Netherlands Ambassador
Omar Satti and Cybil Chowdhry
Dr. Ali Raza
Sarah Gothard and Danielle Wilson Naqvi
Saima Mansoor
Vaneeza Ahmad
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