The Express Tribune Magazine - April 6

APRIL 6-12 2014

Rajas to ruins

How the decline of the royal families marked an end to a cultural era in Gilgit-Baltistan

APRIL 6-12 2014

Feature

The scribe of the East Pakistani-Polish poet Ilona Yusuf reflects on her lyrical journey

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Feature

Wired to buy Is virtual shopping the next big thing in Pakistan?

42 Cover Story Rajas to ruins A look into the cultural deterioration of Gilgit-Baltistan

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28

Regulars

6 People & Parties: Out and about with beautiful people

46 Review: Movies, books and technology

50 Wildlife: The Indian Pangolin borders on extinction

Magazine In-charge: Sarah Munir and Sub-Editors: Dilaira Mondegarian and Zehra Qureshi Creative Team: Essa Malik, Jamal Khurshid, Samra Aamir, Kiran Shahid, Munira Abbas, S Asif Ali & Talha Ahmed Khan Publisher: Bilal A Lakhani. Executive Editor: Muhammad Ziauddin. Editor: Kamal Siddiqi For feedback and submissions: magazine@tribune.com.pk Twitter: @ETribuneMag & Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ETribuneMag Printed: uniprint@unigraph.com

PEOPLE & PARTIES Where is the Apple Joshinder — an art performance by Amin Gulgee in Karachi

PHOTOS COURTESY ADNAN AT PHENOMENA

d and Nida

Sanam Saee

Ayesha Omer

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Mona and Rabiya Seema Tahir with a guest

Ayla Butt

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PEOPLE & PARTIES

Chinyere launches its stitched lawn collection in Lahore

PHOTOS COURTESY BILAL MUKHTAR EVENTS AND PR

Nadia Ramzan and Uzma Rao

a Farhad

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Amna, Sa ina Minhas,

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Sophia and

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Inzar Farhad and Minahil

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Sam Ali Dad

Humaira, Sonia Munawar and Anny Shoaeb

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PEOPLE & PARTIES

Zara Neha Tanveer and Yab

um PHOTOS COURTESY BILAL MUKHTAR EVENTS AND PR

Gul, Fia, Kanwal and An Uzma Pervez and Sonia

Alyzeh Gabol and Aliha Chaudhry

and Mahenau Sidra Talib, Sara Awais

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faq and Hira

Maha Hasnie, Arooj Ash

PEOPLE & PARTIES Grandeur Art Gallery organises an art exhibition for International Women’s Day in Karachi

Nilo, Kausa

PHOTOS COURTESY CATALYST PR

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Asim, Nes r Irfan, Aalia

Sadia Nawabi

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Zara Malkhani and Sara Malkhani Marium Khan with her mother and Kausar Irfan

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Yasmeen B

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PEOPLE & PARTIES Sasha

Nano’s Salon opens up in Karachi b

PHOTOS COURTESY ADNAN AT PHENOMENA PR

a and Kauka

Jehnara, Azr

d Ghazala

Ferozah an

Shabnam Anusha and Ghazala

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COVER STORY

Rajas to ruins How the decline of the royal families marked an end to a cultural epoch in Gilgit-Baltistan TEXT AND PHOTOS BY RINCHAN ALI MIRZA DESIGN BY ESSA MALIK

28 APRIL 6-12 2014

It might appear odd, even unbelievable, if one suggests a shared chapter in history between Gilgit-Baltistan and the Italian Renaissance. Like the Medicis family, which controlled Florence throughout much of the Renaissance and acted as patrons for writers, artists and thinkers in the region, the rajas or ruling families were the foundation for the cultural edifice of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Art, poetry, music and folklore flourished during their rule and carved a distinct identity for the area.

Once the Medicis were ousted by a fanatical priest in the early 16th century, Florence never returned to its for-

mer glory. The royal families of Gilgit-Baltistan suffered the same fate after the introduction of land reforms in the region during the 1970s. And cultural deterioration in the region has been its biggest price.

The golden years Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly known as Northern Pakistan, is nestled between the Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountains in the north and Western Himalayas in the south. Not only does the region enjoy immense geo-political significance as it connects parts of West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia and China, but it has also had an unusual history.

29 APRIL 6-12 2014

COVER STORY

One of the few storytellers who is still alive. He complains of forgetting the folktales since there is no longer an audience for it.

Gilgit-Baltistan has always been under the rule of various tribal families, such as the Yabgos, Amachas and Maqpons, who trace their origin to the steppes of Central Asia. Their reign was interrupted when the Dogras conquered the region and established their rule. The Dogras were, however, driven out at the time of Partition with the Pakistani state establishing its authority in 1948. During the early phase of Pakistani rule, the region’s administration reverted to tribal families under the supervision of a political agent that was appointed by the federal government. Arts and culture thrived under the patronage of the rajas as they provided financial and commercial support to craftsmen, musicians, sportsmen and storytellers.

This setting remained largely intact up until the 1970s when land reforms were implemented in the region by the Bhutto regime. By taking away a significant portion of the land from the tribal families through these reforms — which they had made cultivable and inhabitable 30 — dramatically reduced the power, prestige and assets of APRIL 6-12 2014

In order to survive, every nation needs its music, sports and folk stories. Without them, it simply becomes a gathering of people lumped together by an accident of history who share neither a sense of pride in their collective identity nor a feeling of belonging to their native soil Member of the Yabgo family of Khaplu, Raja Hidayat Ali Khan

Players scrambling for the ball during a polo match. The game was considered a testimony to the valour and courage of the locals.

the rajas. As a result they became incapable of maintaining their support for local cultural activities.

“In order to survive, every nation needs its music, sports and folk stories. Without them, it simply becomes a gathering of people lumped together by an accident of history who share neither a sense of pride in their collective identity nor a feeling of belonging to their native soil,” says Raja Hidayat Ali Khan who belongs to the Yabgo family that once ruled the Khaplu valley in Baltistan. Even though tradition and culture in Gilgit-Baltistan seems to be dying a slow death, the region was once rich in both.

The lost word Under the rule of the rajas, the storytellers or Rungh-Tankhans were given land grants for sustenance in return for keeping the tradition of orally reciting folktales alive. It was because of such patronage that the epic mythology of King Kesar — different versions of which exist across the Himalayan belt from Gilgit-Baltistan in the west to Burma in the east — survived and was handed down from one generation to the other over the years. The mythology consists of 12 chapters that takes 14 days and nights to narrate from start to finish

Raja of Skurdu’s polo team. The polo ground at Skardu was built

by Raja Sher Ali Khan Anchan of the Maqpon family.

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The Indus River enters the Gligit District from Skardu, six kilometres from Jaglot, where it is joined by the Gilgit River. and its central character, Kesar, is entertaining enough to keep the listener engaged for days. Its geographic span covers regions as diverse as the Chinese Turkestan, Tibet, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Nepal and Burma.

As the traditional patrons of storytelling lost their wealth and influence, the number of storytellers shrunk in numbers too. The onset of technology in the form of mobile phones and television further alienated the youth from this age-old practice. With no audience for their tales, most surviving storytellers have forgotten their stories that were orally passed on from one generation to another.

When the music died The professional musicians or Moans were accorded a respectable position within the social hierarchy and were considered by the rajas as members of their own household. The music they produced was sophisticated enough to be used as a medium to deliver messages across long distances through a subtle change in the tune of the flute or the drumbeat. For instance, the rajas could determine the ebb and flow of the fortunes of their army in the battlefield from a safe distance by listening to the changes in the beat of the drums being played by his musicians nearer to the action. They could also determine, sitting at their residence, 32 whether a player had fallen off his horse or a goal had been APRIL 6-12 2014

scored or a foul had been committed during a polo match by discerning the changes in the tunes played by the musicians at the polo ground.

However, music in Gilgit-Baltistan no longer enjoys the same lyrical beauty it did a few decades ago. Folk songs narrating the history of the area have now been replaced by popular Bollywood tunes and most musicians have switched to other lines of work in order to sustain themselves.

No land for sportsmen G T Vigne, an English explorer, who visited Baltistan between 1835 and 1838, described the game of polo as ‘hockey on horseback’. The quintessential royal sport was kept alive because of the interest and patronage of the rajas and was also considered an exquisite display of the valour and ruggedness of the local population. The Shandur polo festival which has been taking place on the Shandur top every year since 1936, is also a huge tourist attraction. A large number of domestic and international tourists flock to the area each year to watch the Gilgit home teams take on a number of participating guest teams.

The match commences when the raja — the chief player, takes the ball in one of his hands, and then, loosening the reins on the horse with the other, starts off at a speed.

He then tosses the ball in the air to strike it before it lands

Students at the Abruzzi school in the remote Shigar valley of Baltistan. The youth in the area is disconnected from traditional cultural practices. on the ground. A macabre legend has it that Raja Ali Sher Khan Anchan of the Maqpon family used to perform the manoeuvre using the skull of his vanquished enemy after success in a battle.

But there seem to be very few in the region who revel in the glory of the sport now. “These days, young boys waste time on mobile phones and frivolous TV dramas rather than keep up their forefather’s tradition of playing polo,” says Khan. Although he grew up playing the sport, he sadly admits his failure to pass on the fervor to the next generation. “My own sons are no longer interested in listening to my exploits from the days when I used to play. They taunt me and say that instead of wasting my youth playing a sport I should have instead concentrated on increasing my wealth so they could have had a larger inheritance.”

Raja Hidayat Ali Khan who belongs to the Yabgo family of Khaplu. The family lost its wealth and influence after the 1970s land reforms.

Regaining lost glory The cultural trajectory of the region has not shown much promise over the past few decades, but things may soon improve due to projects like the Aga Khan Cultural Support Programme, which has been instrumental in renovating most of the forts in the region. The local radio broadcaster, Radio Baltistan, has also stepped up its efforts in recording traditional folk tales, poems and songs that are in danger of being lost forever. Furthermore, there has also been a revival of interest in polo with matches being played twice a week in all the major towns of the region. Whilst all these developments are commendable they can only be considered the first steps on a very long journey of reclaiming the glorious cultural past of the region.

Rinchan Ali Mirza is a candidate for DPhil in History at University of Oxford.

Shigar valley — gateway to the mighty Karakoram.

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FEATURE There is a dip at some point after which the land and the road will flatten.

This lyrical address description serves as something of a roadmap while one traverses the winding road that leads to the residence of the Pakistani-Polish poet Ilona Yusuf in Bani Gala, Islamabad. Driving past the foliage-lined lanes on a crisp spring afternoon, one wonders if the scenic suburb offers some inspiration to Yusuf’s creative process.

The scribe of the East

Ilona Yusuf is determined to keep the usually neglected genre of poetry alive in Pakistan

BY MARYAM USMAN PHOTOS BY MYRA IQBAL DESIGN BY ASIF ALI

36 APRIL 6-12 2014

Traces of Yusuf’s writing inspiration can be spotted all over her workspace. Wooden bookcases housing a collection of hard covers and paperbacks on literature and poetry line the walls. There is a printing press, some sheets and linocuts in a corner while another wall showcases two pieces of altered darkroom photos and an abstract painting. The setting speaks volumes of Yusuf’s two primary passions, writing and beautifying spaces, which she indulges in with her small interiors business.

“Most of my writing is done in short spurts,” says the soft-spoken poet who started writing at the age of 10.

“I’ve got things floating around in my head but lines would usually come to me at night or early morning and I’d save them up in the night and write them early morning.” Even though she has been writing since a young age, Yusuf recalls the lack of forums in the country for budding writers like herself at the time. “When I was growing up there were writing competitions at the British Council and the American Centre but when I got married, which was during Zia’s regime, there was nothing.” The creative lull in Yusuf’s life was prolonged after the birth of her children as domestic responsibilities took over. “I thought it (writing) was just something I used to do.”

However, things turned around one day when Yusuf went to visit a friend in Lahore who asked her if she was still writing. “When I told her I wasn’t, she said it was a sin to waste a gift like that. That advice just stuck with me.” Not only did

Yusuf resume writing but also went on to publish her first collection of poems, Picture This, in 2001.

She cites literary stalwarts like Gerard Manley Hopkins, Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, Moniza Alvi, Maki Qureshi and Daud Kamal as some of her key inspirations. Her own work, however, has a distinct voice and dabbles with a variety of subjects from romance and nature to political satire. “Some of my recent poems like Jalebi is political in a roundabout way and then there is The Mechanics of Hearing which I’m told has a lot of sound and visuals to it,” she says. On the other hand her poem, Swat was born out of subtle observations in the valley through different eras. “I went there twice — when I was very little and once when I was married which is when we saw arms coming into Swat in the ’90s. But nobody was conscious of that at the time, there was that build-up, the floggings and the beheadings,” she says. “Even if you are not political, you are conscious of what’s going on to some extent,” she adds.

Along with being a renowned poet, Yusuf also served as the editor for The Alhamra Literary Review, a publication designed to highlight the work of Pakistani writers writing in English.

She has presented alongside other writers in the Association of Writers and Writing Programs in America.

Her verses have been featured in a profusion of local and international publications, including Sugar Mule, Journal of Postcolonial writing, The Missing Slate and The Chicago Quarterly Review. In 2012, Yusuf, along with the Canadian poet Blaine Marchand, guest-edited Vallum, a Canadian poetry journal that featured 26 Pakistani poets writing in English. Currently, she serves as an art critic for journals like Art Now and Nukta Art. Even though the audience for Pakistani English prose has risen steadily over the years, English poetry has not witnessed the same trend. “If you want to be a writer, you will write regardless.

Writing comes as if it’s like your second skin,” she says. While there is no dearth of good poetry in the country, the lack of awareness about the genre even among

The beast is upon us breathing fire at the heritage of precious centuries orchards of plums and apples fields of corn savaging regret and dependence bellowing wrath the quiet populace welcome him An excerpt from her poem Swat the educated circles saddens her. “Everyone is very proud of our local novelists who have acquired international recognition, but when it comes to poetry, its relevance is often questioned.”

However, the works of promising poets like Shirin Haroun, Adrian A Husain, Moeen Faruqi, Shadab Zeest Hashmi, Mehvash Amin, Kyla Pasha and Sadaf Halai among others give her hope that things may change soon. T Maryam Usman is an arts and culture reporter at The Express Tribune , Islamabad.

APRIL 6-12 2014

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FEATURE

Wired to E-commerce may not be the future, but the present of shopping in Pakistan

BY ERUM SHAIKH

DESIGN BY MUNIRA ABBAS

Browse. Select. Buy. Shopping online couldn’t get any simpler, but in Pakistan, e-commerce has yet to establish an uninterrupted connection with users. People still prefer the cash on delivery option, in which they trust a stranger with the house address, but hesitate to enter their credit card number into a secured website.

“We don’t trust the virtual world as we have no control over it,” says Ayesha Sajid, who runs a Facebook retail page for fashion items under the name Shoppingale.

“Consumers hesitate to pay through bank transfers and are more willing to use branchless mobile banking or cash on delivery.” According to Sajid, people prefer to purchase things off the shelf which gives them a sense of instant gratification that is absent in online shopping. When the young entrepreneur started off initially, her customers only had the option of online bank transfers and phone or mobile transfers. “I would lose out on 10% of daily visitors on the page every day because I couldn’t offer them the option to pay on delivery.” Backed by popular demand, she was therefore forced to introduce this option. “Shoppingale’s growth in number of orders per month has increased four times over ever since,” she claims.

Sajid is not alone in today’s growing pool of internet entrepreneurs to have survived the wave of scepticism.

Mehdi Hasnain, the CEO and one of the five masterminds behind tohfay.com, mamooinpakistan.com and shopdaily.pk, has also experienced the issue firsthand.

When he launched tohfay.com in 2002, an online delivery and service provider site, the target audience for the site were expats and foreigners interested in Pakistani handicrafts. “We were catering to Pakistanis who weren’t in Pakistan, so e-commerce wasn’t a foreign conAPRIL 6-12 2014

cept to them. We are glad that they were ready to take that leap of faith with a Pakistani website,” he reasons.

After an unpleasant experience at a fast food restaurant in Karachi where Hasnain was unapologetically served a cold meal, he was determined to establish a relationship of trust with customers by emphasising personal care.

And by doing just that, tohfay.com has consistently exceeded customer expectations, he says.

Hasnain’s venture has since come a long way by tapping in on a basic social need. “We realised that gifts from customers in the US, to friends and family in Pakistan, was a more viable and profitable business. We started with a few products such as cakes and flowers, but quickly our catalogue grew to over 50 products,” he says. The next attempt at expansion was, however, a riskier affair. Hasnain set out to familiarise tohfay.com’s services with a Pakistani audience, meanwhile re-branding it as shopdaily.pk for expats. The task was uphill but Husnain, equipped with his experience of personalised care, has delivered Pakistanis a service they just can’t resist.

From singing birthday jingles to a recipient at midnight to offering funeral prayers on behalf of a bereaved son living abroad, tohfay.com offers a wide range of choices. Following its success in Pakistan and its 2005 advertising campaign, many companies have taken the cue and introduced their own online-based delivery services.

A popular example is the TCS Sentiments Express, an online gift shop.

Along with tohfay, mamooinpakistan serves a similar purpose. The website specialises in providing its customers with unique services even in the remotest of areas. It has enabled the delivery of 5,000 flowers to a recipient in Gujranwala and a motorcycle as a graduation gift for a re-

Fast forward a few years, get us 3G, make us internet enabled and let cheaper smart phones infiltrate the market and people will begin to see the real potential of online businesses

are some of the key factors, she highlights. According to her, success is guaranteed after the growth she witnessed in her own online venture. “The sky is the limit, provided you give personalised services and are willing to go the extra mile for your customer.”

With success stories piling up in recent times, e-commerce is beginning to receive strong signals from Pakistan. Shaadiwaadi. com, a match-making endeavour by team tohfay, is a testimony to the unlimited potential for the virtual business industry in the country. Although it has no success stories to boast yet, the website, along with its predecessors, is strategically mending all the faulty links to e-commerce dominance. T

Owner Shoppingale Ayesha Sajid

cipient residing in a small town in Sindh. And barring a few objectionable requests, the common one being the acquisition of fake degrees and driving licenses, mamooinpakistan entertains all, even honouring a bizarre request of arranging a nikkah ceremony along with two witnesses, over the phone.

And while these websites are getting many hits, they might not be in the millions. “A lot of people are not very internet-savvy so shopping with online carts may be hard for them to understand right now,” explains Sajid. “But fast forward a few years, get us 3G, make us internet-enabled and let cheaper smart phones infiltrate the market and people will begin to see the real potential of online businesses.”

Friendly websites and minimalistic designs that make it visually easy to navigate online

Erum Shaikh heads the blogs desk at The Express Tribune and has an undergraduate degree in Law from the University of London.

She tweets @shaikherum

3

FILM

Songs of blood and sandals A medley of blood, bombastic dialogue and bare bodies

BY SIBTAIN NAQVI

The men with the digitally enhanced six-pack abs, barely there loincloths and grim expressions are back with 300: Rise of an Empire. Director Noam Murro tries to capitalise on the trend of sequels prevalent in Hollywood and the success of the first installation of the series with a movie that is part camp, part melodrama and mostly kitsch.

The story follows a somewhat creative look at the Greco-Persian war which took place in the fifth century BC and involves the Greek city states and the Persian empire.

Xerxes, the Persian king, is in Greece to avenge the death of his father, Darius, at the battle of Marathon and expand his empire. The Greeks oppose him, principally King Leonidas of Sparta, played by Gerard Butler in a blink-and-you-willmiss-it cameo, and the Athenian politician Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton), who it seems is more into coalitionbuilding than rushing naked into the way of Persian spears and certain death.

The movie has a similar structure vis-à-vis 300, a ‘paraquel’ if you will. In the first installation, the source of the action was Leonidas, our protagonist and the Battle of Thermopylae and in this installment the story shifts to the Battle of Artemisium which strangely happened at the same time. Eventually it moves to the naval encounter, Salamis, which took place after the Battle of Thermopylae and is one of the most important events in history. The Spartans are only referred to as part of a narrative by Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) and the main focus is on the Athenians (masters of naval warfare) and the Persian forces which are led inexplicably by Artemisia (Eva Green), a Greek woman now firmly in the Persian corner.

The storyline is based on graphic novelist Frank Miller’s comic book Xerxes and though it labours to redo another sandals and blood epic, the result is an abysmal mélange of gore, bombastic dialogue and bare bodies. While 300 had a linear narrative in the way the story progressed, this installment delves straight into the action and never really pauses to set a strong premise. The slow motion action shots have been overdone and after a few kills you can anticipate every time the blood will splash generously across the screen, in a facile effort to emphasise that this is a no-holds-bar war cinematography. Rampant Orientalism is firmly entrenched, complete with suicide bombers and the insidious sugges46 tion that Xerxes wants to conquer Greece because he is APRIL 6-12 2014

against freedom — a neo-conservative picture that would have Donald Rumsfeld crowing with delight. Even having Sullivan Stapleton do a stylised battle sequence on a horse in a bid to get some YouTube hits is unlikely to win any votes, since it’s a naval battle and horses aren’t particularly helpful when you are in deep water, literally and figuratively.

Another aspect one cannot overlook is the acting which is outright laughable as Eva Green tries very hard to play a tough gal, strutting around looking like an aging Goth aficionado and even kisses a decapitated head to make sure we know she means business but it is proved otherwise.

The movie does have its moments, albeit few and far in between. The Battle of Salamis is well-shot even if it involves too much visual effects which give a distinctive cartoonish aspect to the proceedings. The soundtrack theme signature which sounds like a ubiquitous wail is not of much help either.

Overall 300: Rise of an Empire is one long cliché, down to the father-son emotive battle sequence and numerous speeches about freedom and liberty a la Braveheart. This is a Grecian tragedy considering what could have been done if 300’s director, Zack Snyder, took a shot at it, but the man that launched a thousand spoofs had moved on.

After watching the naked Greeks talking on for hours and sitting though the carnage wrought to the actual Greco-Persian war accounts, I wanted to do what the real Themistocles’s did: join the Persian side.

Rating: Sibtain Naqvi is a freelance writer and an art critic. He tweets at @Sibtain_N

BOOK

Indebted

Sometimes a fortune brings more problems than it can solve

BY KHADIJA RAZA

48 APRIL 6-12 2014

Rosie Dastgir’s debut novel A Small Fortune is set in the late ’80s and revolves around a Pakistani immigrant in Britain, who like many of his relatives, had decided to try his luck in the land of fortune in the early ’70s.

Haaris Anwer is a good Samaritan with a nose for astute sartorial purchases and an unflinching sense of responsibility towards his kinsmen, (and kinswomen) both in Britain, and in his village near Lahore, Pakistan. His selflessness always gets the better of him, making him cave in to help requests from relatives while stinting his own resources and playing hopscotch with his own problems — a rocky marriage, a daughter, relatives in pursuit, a store, a Citröen, trouble with his apartment and a prospective suitor to mention a few. Things take a hasty turn when he comes across a large sum of money as a divorce settlement. What ensues is a classic tug-of-war between Anwer wanting to use the money to solve his own problems or using it to help people who are in greater need of it.

This story is simple and reverberates with the all-too-familiar situations most immigrants face, including the psychological, emotional, social and religious pressures faced by British Pakistanis in the age of terrorism. However, Dastgir has managed to give a refreshing outlook to mundane problems with her acute observation, wryness and satire. The twist in the tale adds a realistic flavour and Dastgir’s language and flow keeps the reader hooked.

A Small Fortune braids strands from different perspectives; it explores the emotional landscape of a man after an unsuccessful marriage with failing finances, his move from an uppity lifestyle to living in a small desi town, the guilt he harbours from a past decision and his commitment to make the best out of every situation, even under the strains of manipulation. The other characters also move in a linear progres-

The book is available for Rs750 at Liberty Books.

sion without losing connection with themselves, Anwer or the author.

Born to a Pakistani father and a British mother, Dastgir’s unraveling of the psychology and mindset of the Pakistani immigrant community and the people back home is a job well-done. Some connections in the book give the impression that the story might be that of Dastgir herself. Overall, it is a well-written story and will leave you looking forward to Dastgir’s future works.

Khadija Raza is a teacher and published author at the Oxford University Press. She is also a freelancer for ArtNOW.

TECH

(D)rifting apart?

What Facebook’s latest billion dollar purchase means for gaming junkies

BY NOMAN ANSARI

Although Facebook’s controversial $2 billion purchase of tech company Oculus VR — the developers behind the upcoming virtual reality device, Oculus Rift — has catapulted the product into limelight, it has been on every serious gamer’s radar for years, as the technology with the potential to revolutionise video gaming as we know it.

Oculus Rift is a clunky looking headmounted device that looks like a pair of night vision goggles from the back, and a small wearable box from the front. It features a high-speed LCD display that is powered by two lenses capable of delivering a highly immersive stereoscopic 3D perspective. The device’s extraordinary 90 by 110 degrees field of view (FOV) means that the person wearing it is effectively unable to see little else aside from what Oculus Rift shows them, because the rest of their vision is blocked by the virtual FOV. This results in fewer distractions outside of the virtual reality experience.

Gamers who have played videogames on the VR headset have reported an extraordinary experience like no other, whereby looking up they see the virtual sky, and by looking down they see their animated feet and the virtual ground they walk on. Oculus Rift already boasts compatibility with countless bestselling video games, including the Half-Life series. The darling of the videogame industry, Valve Corporation, also recently announced a VR mode for their 75 million-user strong PC gaming platform, Steam. Among other things, Steam VR will allow Oculus Rift users to browse through the Steam platform in virtual reality. But of course, the biggest nod Oculus Rift received with regards to its potential was when renowned American game programmer John Carmack (Doom) joined their team.

The device’s potential is not limited to videogames as it has also been used in some instances to satisfy physical needs. In theory, dist this may sound d distasteful to some, but is a testamen nt to its extraordinary level testament im mm of immersion.

Other real world ap ppl applications of the device in nc include urban planning, desi sign, manufacturing, flight a and military training, and t treatment of phobias. the Initially, the biggest hurdle Oculus Rift faced was motion sickness. As rrecently as 2012, users w with no prior history of

motion sickness reported intense headaches and nausea only after minutes of using the device. This resulted in improvements in motion tracking and higher frame rates designed to counter the issue.

Oculus VR’s acquisition by Facebook has many gamers raising their pitchforks. Twitter, message boards, and blogs have been set on fire by gamers whining about how the move will mean the death of the product at the hands of the social networking giant. This false sense of entitlement is especially comical considering that at best, gamers have merely invested their time in following the device’s development, while Facebook has actually invested a large sum of money in its future.

By mishandling the product, Facebook would have a lot more to lose than the gamers, and it is unlikely that Mark Zuckerberg will risk alienating the core audience of the VR headset by shifting the primary focus of the device.

If anything, my concern is regarding the device itself. Unless its issues with motion sickness are completely wiped out, Oculus Rift could be in for a rocky future. Moreover, the failure of 3D TVs and the lukewarm reception to Google Glass has shown that consumers don’t like wearing silly head devices for long periods of time. Will we be more receptive to Oculus Rift? Well, that’s the real billion dollar question.

Noman Ansari is a freelance writer and a regular contributor to several publications.

He tweets @Pugnate APRIL 6-12 2014

49

Scaling Death Human appetite for pangolin scales has put the mammal on the list of endangered species

BY GEORGE SADIQ

An impervious skin, covered in tough, imbricate scales and a shy personality best describe a pangolin — an anteater living on the periphery of civilisation. But even their preference to lead solitary lives in deep burrows has failed to shield them from human exploitation.

Out of the eight pangolin species found in Asia and SubSaharan Africa, the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is found in Pakistan. The mammal resides in barren, hilly areas or deserts and there have been reported sightings in the Potohar plateau when the nocturnal animal steps out of its shelter in search for food. But with the soaring demand for pangolin skin products in the international market, the mammal might soon become completely extinct.

The declining mammal population is a result of the illegal trading of pangolin scales for magic rituals, bullet-proof jackets, shoes, clothes and flesh for medicines, primarily in China. Local practitioners believe the scales have aphrodisiac properties. Nearly 181 pangolins have been illegally captured or killed in Pakistan between January 2011 and May 2012, reveals Illegal Mass Killing of Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) in Potohar Region, Pakistan, a 2012 study conducted by the Department of Wildlife Management and the Department of Zoology in Pakistan. Out of the total, 45 bodies were discovered scale-less and dumped inside an unused railway tunnel near Chakwal.

Nomads and hunters from all four districts of the plateau, Chakwal, Attock, Jhelum and Rawalpindi, have been held directly responsible for the act which has become a profitable sport. Every kill secures a sum of Rs10,000 to Rs15,000, depending on the size.

“We lack information on estimates and behaviour of pangolins in Sindh, whereas it is a protected animal according to the Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1972,” says Dr Fehmida Firdous, deputy conservator for the Sindh Wildlife 50 department. Fear of further decline in the number of Indian APRIL 6-12 2014

Pangolins curl up into a tight ball when threatened. PHOTOS: SANDIP KUMAR

pangolins rises as other Asian species, especially the Malayan pangolin (Manis javanica) and the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), approach extinction. According to the above study, the Punjab Wildlife Acts and Rules, 1975, has declared the mammal a protected species. In its recommendations it urges for the species to be moved from the category of ‘near threatened’ to ‘endangered’ in the near future.

Misconception and a general lack of awareness have also spurred killings. The anteaters are commonly sighted at graveyards where they wander in search of termite mounds, and this has inadvertently earned them the label of ‘murda khors’ or grave diggers. Pangolins with their short limbs and sharp claws dig through the mounds and, due to a lack of teeth, use their long, sticky tongues to attract prey and swallow it whole. According to experts, it’s the mammal’s very diet that allows it to play an important ecological role by serving as pest control.

Although the Indian pangolin is protected under numerous wildlife ordinances in Pakistan, poaching continues. According to the Inspector-General from the Forestry department, Syed Mahmood Nasir, one way to deter trade is to, “Place signboards and very visible ones on all points of exit (airports) to educate the customs officers.” Since protection measures are still at a bare minimum, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife department, including religious leaders and community members, have taken it upon themselves to punish poachers, and over the past year and a half have put over a dozen behind bars, imposed heavy fines and confiscated dead animals. “Unfortunately, they (poachers) have now moved towards Punjab,” laments Conservator Wildlife Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Chaudhry Muhammad Razzaq.

George Sadiq is a member of IUCN Commission on Education and Communication.