The Express Tribune Magazine - December 20

DECEMBER 20-26 2015

Pakistan can learn lessons from post-conflict peacebuilding in Afghanistan Riding a motorbike is no longer a boys’ club activity A Syrian refugee and an Australian journalist find love in a harsh climate

DECEMBER 20-26 2015

Feature Cover Story

Pedal power

A tale of two countries

Naureen Kanwal’s struggle to ride a motorbike

Afghanistan sets a precedent for Pakistan in post-conflict peacebuilding

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24

Feature

Love in War A Syrian refugee and an Australian journalist prove that love conquers all

30

Portfolio

Beak season

Every Sunday, bird enthusiasts gather at the Lalukhet bird market

36

Regulars

6 People & Parties: Out and about with beautiful people

39 Reviews: Movies and art 42 Human Resources: Maternity and paternity leaves

Magazine Editor: Dilaira Dubash. Subeditors: Komal Anwar & Manahyl Khan Creative Team: Jamal Khurshid, Essa Malik, Mohsin Alam, Talha Ahmed Khan, Hira Fareed, Maryam Rashid, Eesha Azam, Sobia Khan, Umar Waqas & Sanober Ahmed Publisher: Bilal A Lakhani. Editor: Kamal Siddiqi For feedback and submissions: magazine@tribune.com.pk 4 Twitter: @ETribuneMag & Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ETribuneMag Printed: uniprint@unigraph.com

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Fayeeza Naqvi launches AmanLeaders in Karachi

Ovais Naqvi and Saad Raja

PHOTOS COURTESY AMAN FOUNDATION

Fayeeza Naqvi

Alizay Saeed and Sahar Ahmed

Shazad Dada

6 DECEMBER 20-26 2015

Kifah Shah and Anaam Afridi

Imran Sarwar, Bina Shah and Shehryar Ahmad

Fawzia Naqvi

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Sarwat and Fahad

Mehreen and Fakhir PHOTOS COURTESY WALNUT COMMUNICATIONS

Nadia Hussain

James Bond film Spectre premieres in Karachi

Amir and Zhalay

Frederic Duplouy and Faiza Qayum

Nubain Ali, Frieha Altaf, Samia Achria, Tapu Javeri, Deepak Perwani, Sadaf Malaterre, Adnan Malik and Tara Mehmood

8 DECEMBER 20-26 2015

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Mariam Mushtaq

Sara Gandapur

Mantaha Maqsood

10 DECEMBER 20-26 2015

Aiyma and Shehrbano

Mahnoor Khyal and Momina

Amina Saeed

PHOTOS COURTESY SAVVY PR

Rubia Moghees

Nabeel, Asifa, Hadiqa Kiyani and Mickey

Asifa and Nabeel launch Lifestyle Couture in Lahore

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Ammara and Asima

Sarwat and Fahad Aasia Zahid and Sameera Effindi

Seher and Nazia

Saleha and Shayan

12 DECEMBER 20-26 2015

Faria, Babloo and Rachel Gill

Sahar Fard and Uzma Ramzan

PHOTOS COURTESY SAVVY PR

Farheen, Seyham and Mehreen

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Rubina

Abbas Bukhari and Madeeha

Vintage & Classic Car Club of Pakistan present a classic car show in Lahore

Rema Taseer

Khurram, Ayesha and Shahbaz

Arooj and Imran Naqvi

14 DECEMBER 20-26 2015

Ayesha and Sadia Omer

Jahanzeb and Fatima

Tehmina Kirmani

PHOTOS COURTESY SAVVY PR

Arooj and Hina Salman

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Saad, Rayaan, Asad and Sobia

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Raza Rehman, Mariah and Jansher DECEMBER 20-26 2015

Saira Rizwan

Hammad and Rima

Mehryn Zafar

Raza and Sofia

Hassan and Shiza

PHOTOS COURTESY SAVVY PR

Arsalaan Iftikhar

FEATURE

Pedal power Naureen Kanwal encourages women to become more self-reliant by riding a motorbike

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY MUHAMMAD DAUD KHAN

18 DECEMBER 20-26 2015

A woman riding a bike is a rare sight in Pakistan.

Riding a motorbike is no longer a boys’ club activity; women world over have clocked some serious mileage to experience the empowerment.

In Pakistan, however, this change is approaching slowly, but steadily. A twenty-two-year-old from Rawalpindi, Naureen Kanwal, is one of the few who have embarked on this daunting journey to challenge existing stereotypes and encourage more women to ride in independence.

Twentytwo-yearold Naureen Kanwal challenges existing stereotypes and encourages women to ride independently.

From practicing martial arts to painting and a full-time job as a radio jockey, Kanwal had a lot of distance to cover every day.

Therefore, in order to reduce her dependence on flakey public transport she turned to a motorbike for commute. In 2010, with the help of neighbours, Kanwal took two days to learn how to ride. Confident that their daughter was ready to take to the open roads, Kanwal’s parents gifted her a motorbike soon after.

Being the only woman riding a bike on the road, Kanwal says, “In the beginning, people used to treat me like an alien.” But the stares from passers-by did not faze her, she adds. Initially, Kanwal rode the motorbike without a license and was regularly harassed by traffic wardens. To rectify matters, she approached the local traffic police office to apply for one, only to be rejected thrice. She was not approved for a learner’s permit and the rejection hinted at gender bias.

Traffic officials discouraged Kanwal by repeating statements such as, “It’s not your field,” “riding a bike is unsafe for a girl,” and “it is not accepted in our society”.

But words did little to dissuade her and Kanwal visited the traffic police office regularly until she finally cleared the test to receive a 42day learner’s permit.

After obtaining the permit a road-signs test was to follow and Kanwal could feel the pressure. Whether it was nervousness, a lack of preparation or luck, she failed the first attempt. Eager to cross yet another hurdle, Kanwal spent the mandatory seven days’ gap between tests to study harder and succeeded in clearing at second attempt. After that the only thing standing in between her and her motorbike was a tricky road-test in front of a traffic warden.

Kanwal recalls the day of the test with a winner’s smile. “The examination officer

One evening I gave a police constable a lift.

I was fully covered so he didn’t know he was sharing a bike with a woman RJ Naureen Kanwal passed me and congratulated me on a perfect ride,” she says. After two years her journey to gain independence had finally come to end and she became a registered license holder in 2012.

By proving herself to be just as qualified a driver as her male counterparts Kanwal has once and for all silenced critics who say ‘women cannot ride a bike’. “I always obey traffic laws and have never received a ticket in five years,” she claims. Despite the freedom that comes from riding a bike, Kanwal is weary of safety and wears a genderneutral outfit along with proper biking gear.

Recalling a case of mistaken identity on the road once, Kanwal says, “One evening I gave a police constable a lift. I was fully covered so he didn’t know he was sharing a bike with a woman. When I dropped him off, he said thanks to which I said it was my pleasure. He just blushed after figuring it out.”

Going beyond her achievements, Kanwal has also been selected into the Anti-Narcotics Force as an assistant sub-inspector. Fulfilling her father’s dreams of donning a uniform, Kanwal will soon join the training academy.

“I feel honoured to serve my country in uniform,” she says. Just last month Pakistan lost Flying Officer Marium Mukhtiar, one of the few serving female pilots in the air force, in a crash during a training flight. But Mukhtiar’s courage and that of Kanwal’s to take the road not taken will inspire countless women to pave their own path even when the tide of opinion is against them.

Muhammad Daud Khan is an Islamabad-based freelance journalist. He tweets @daudpasaney

19 DECEMBER 20-26 2015

COVER STORY

There are lessons for Pakistan in Afghanistan’s slow but sure ascent to normalcy TEXT AND PHOTOS BY AZAM KHAN | DESIGN BY SOBIA KHAN

For decades, both Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained in the eye of an ugly storm. The two war-torn countries have lost innumerable lives to senseless violence in the name of religion, foreign occupation and the right to self-determination.

The recent anniversary of the Army Public School attack in Peshawar is a grave reminder of what Pakistan has lost. Neighbouring Afghanistan, too, faces similar challenges of militancy, displaced persons and corruption. And there are some lessons to learn from our Western neighbours.

Value for life

Afghanistan has a ministry dedicated to addressing issues of women, justice and compensation for families of those martyred and war-disabled. Additionally, international bodies claim 80% of the manipulated areas in Afghanistan have been cleared of landmines left behind after the Soviet war and subsequent fighting. One can also spot billboards declaring, ‘We want a mine-free Afghanistan’ across the country. Even locals are being trained to help security personnel clear landmine-infested areas.

24 DECEMBER 20-26 2015

On the other hand, Pakistan is still grappling to devise a mechanism and form a central department or ministry to officially document the number of martyrs and wardisabled. There is no consolidated or uniform criterion to pay compensation to families of the deceased or injured either, admits a senior official of the interior ministry.

Former interior minister, MNA Aftab Ahmad Sherpao, says Islamabad should learn some lessons from Kabul.

“We are facing the same situation. Terrorism knows no borders,” he tells The Express Tribune. Another top government official claimed that when it comes to compensation the government tends to discriminate against victims of terrorism. “There is no coherence. It depends entirely on the announcement of the prime minister or chief ministers, [and is decided] on an incident to incident basis.”

The federal government of Pakistan relies on data from

the four provinces and political agents or forces fighting terrorism in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

Until a couple of years ago, the political and military leadership claimed Pakistan had lost 50,000 lives in the ongoing conflict. However, most believe this number to be much higher.

In stark contrast, Kabul established the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MOLSAMD) following the intervention of allied forces after the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001. In 2003, the ministry adopted a policy that defines a formula to pay compensation to the war-affected, families of martyrs and Afghan army.

The ministry’s spokesperson Ali Iftikhari says a committee of the health ministry verifies claims of families to determine if someone is martyred or disabled in conflict.

If a deceased person was in government service at the time 25 DECEMBER 20-26 2015

COVER STORY

Those Afghans who have relocated to Pakistan are also at a loss to claim compensation and are now staging protests in Islamabad to have their voice heard

of the incident, his or her family will be paid the same salary as before. In the case of a civilian, the affected person is entitled to 35% of the salary of a grade-eight government employee, around AFN6,000.

The ministry, however, does not compensate chronic cases. Iftikhari says if a person was martyred or disabled during the ’80s or ’90s it means someone in their family is now a breadwinner. This is why the ministry is handing out compensation for recent cases only.

Victims of conflict who are compensated by the ministry are also trained by officials to contribute in the upliftment of affected illiterate people.

Sardar Wakeel is one such example. He was injured in Kabul around two years ago and subsequently compensated by the Afghan government. He is now busy helping out in training programmes for the disabled to impart skills which would help them make a respectable living. Wakeel says many workshops and short courses are arranged to teach people how to run small businesses.

Concerns over the compensation, however, still linger. Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Deputy Director Mir Ahmad Joyenda says corruption is hampering welfare operations. According to him, at least 70,000 claims are bogus. In addition, many of those affected by conflict are illiterate, unemployed or lack access to basic healthcare. Coupled with a fragile economic base, this restricts the government from reaching out to victims who the ministry has no

Calculating the casualties Across Pakistan 3,157 personnel of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) were killed and 5,988 injured during the last five years, according to statistics provided by the interior ministry to the National Assembly during question hour last month. During the same period, a total of 5,532 civilians were killed and 10,195 were injured.

access to. Those Afghans who have relocated to Pakistan are also at a loss to claim compensation and are now staging protests in Islamabad to have their voice heard. The lack of a standard mechanism to identify the level of disability is another major factor in responding to legitimate demands.

“One of my brothers who had three children was martyred while another brother who has seven children was paralysed by a magnetic mine. No one did anything for them,” says Ahmad Nazir from Ghazni, Afghanistan.

“Now, my third brother has lost his hands. The police did not call, nor did any from the interior ministry pay a visit.”

Similarly, 60-year-old Muhammad Taqi lost both his legs in a recent incident. He claims the government does not provide timely compensation, forcing many to wait endlessly. Taqi says he visits the ministry nearly every day to check the status of his arrears. As a result, he has now lost faith in the government. “I’ve started a small business selling prepaid cards of cellular service providers. I use my ‘special motorbike’ for mobility.”

Muhammad Taqi lost both his legs in a recent incident and failed to receive compensation from the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled in Afghanistan.

Yet, despite all its shortcomings, Afghanistan is making a concerted effort to overcome these problems. This is apparent in President Ashraf Ghani’s realisation to set things right. He confessed during a meeting with the ministry’s officials that “though a significant amount of money has been allocated to the ministry, disabled and families of martyrs are still not satisfied with MOLSAMD’s service delivery, and no fundamental reforms have been brought to this ministry.” During the session, President Ghani termed MOLSAMD as the key ministry, responsible for ensuring social security in Afghanistan.

Minister of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled, Dr Nasrin Oryakhil has taken stock of these concerns.

Oryakhil said she will review and reform the informal system through which payments and other entitlements are made, along with streamlining the process of identifying the level of disability. The minister has also vowed to finalise the process of pension payments through banks across the country. She added MOLSAMD will use the databases of the interior and education ministries for the purpose, adding the use of biometric systems before issuing pension and entitlement cards will prevent abuse and fraud. To prevent overlapping of duties and duplication of efforts, the minister said she will coordinate with charity 27 organisations, donors and government entities.

DECEMBER 20-26 2015

Afghanistan started a programme to clear the mine-infested areas in 2003.

Though a significant amount of money has been allocated to the ministry, disabled and families of martyrs are still not satisfied with MOLSAMD’s service delivery, and no fundamental reforms have been brought to this ministry Afghan President Ashraf Ghani

Unexploded remnants of war Kabul set a target in 2013 to clear the remaining 20% of landmines in manipulated areas by 2023. According to a survey conducted by Handicap International, which is campaigning on behalf of people living with disabilities, one in five households of Afghanistan has a disabled person. Besides continued militancy and conflict, landmines are one of the major factors contributing to loss of human lives. Iftikhari says Kabul, Badakhshan, Herat, the southern region of Helmand and Kandahar are the most affected areas, adding they have several joint programmes to eradicate landmines.

Chief of Staff at the Mine Action Coordination Centre of Afghanistan, Engineer Muhammad Wakeel, says Afghanistan was heavily mined during the Soviet occupation from 1979-89. They then started a programme to clear the manipulated areas in 2003, but the first 10 years bore no fruit because of incessant violence. The programme was then extended from 2013 to 2023 for another 10 years.

28 “Scarcity of funding and insurgency in different parts of DECEMBER 20-26 2015

the country made the task of the relevant authorities very difficult,” he admits.

Civilians, especially children, are most prone to become victims of landmines, which is why many families are hesitant to return to their native towns. Now, the local population is being trained to clear their respective areas, says Wakeel. “We pulled out our resources from Kunduz because of the ongoing unrest since this is a citizen-based programme.”

Pakistan faces a very similar challenge in its tribal belt.

There are landmines left over from the Soviet-Afghan war in several parts of Fata. Moreover, militants often plant roadside explosives to target military convoys traversing through the area. Islamabad can take a leaf of Afghanistan’s successful endeavour to minimise casualties and clear manipulated areas.

At first glance, Afghanistan seems more battered by conflict than Pakistan. But unless the latter takes some serious steps to stem the violence and compensate victims, it will continue to wallow in the limbo of war. T Azam Khan is an Islamabad-based reporter for The Express Tribune.

Love in War The enduring love of a Syrian refugee and an Australian journalist

BY FARAHNAZ ZAHIDI DESIGN BY SANOBER AHMED PHOTOS COURTESY: TRACEY SHELTON

He is thousands of miles away from his home in Aleppo, Syria, in a refugee camp in Bastad, Sweden.

The Nordic winter is bitterly harsh here in December. The journey as a refugee has been long and winding.

“We travelled mostly on foot; it was dangerous,” says Ahmad Al Haj, one of the more than four million Syrian refugees who have had to leave home in quest of safety. But Ahmad says it was all worth it in the end, as in the midst of war and displacement he found the love of his life.

For Tracey Shelton, now Ahmad’s wife, the wait for her husband to get legal residency in Sweden is not easy. “It has been really tough being forced to stay apart for so long, but hopefully it will be coming to an end soon. His asylum has been approved; we are now undergoing what seems like an endless wait for them to issue his 30 papers,” says the Australian journalist and DECEMBER 20-26 2015

Tracey and Ahmed are waiting to begin a new life in Sweden once Ahmed gets legal residency in the country. photographer who has spent years covering conflict in volatile regions, including Iraq, Libya, Syria and Lebanon. She is presently living in Istanbul, Turkey, in what she calls a “limbo”, waiting to move to Sweden to start a new life with Ahmad.

“Her work and her understanding of the situation in my region,” is one of the things Ahmad mentions when asked what drew him to her. By reporting on conflict and internal displacement, mostly within the Middle East, an affinity with Ahmad came naturally to Tracey. “After six years of working largely on frontlines and with Arab families, it’s hard for me to fit back into life in a Western country,” says Tracey.

Images of those affected by the Syria crisis and painful headlines about the spillover effects of it tell much about the situation on ground, but millions of stories behind the images and headlines remain untold. Ahmad and Tracey’s love story is one of them.

Families grieving outside a hospital in Aleppo province after identifying the bodies of their loved ones following a government airstrike that killed civilians.

The couple met socially when Tracey was living in Syria. “We met through a mutual friend. Ahmad and I got along really well from the beginning and became close friends. Things developed from there,” explains Tracey, adding that one of the reasons Ahmad took the trip to Europe was so that they could establish a life together.

Getting married was another obstacle for the two of them. Here were two people wanting to start a life together, and the proverbial man-made laws restricting them from doing so. “In Turkey it is illegal for a Sheikh (Muslim clergyman) to perform a nikaah (religious marriage) without a legal marriage so we

secure future with Tracey, the ordeal has been traumatic. “Life was normal in Syria before the revolution. I never thought I’d be a refugee one day. I was still studying at the time and thought I’d go on to develop my career in IT,” reminisces Ahmad, son of a civil engineer and businessman and the eldest among three brothers and a sister. “The fighting in our area turned intense. It became hopeless to stay there. It was difficult to even get food and medicine. Our entire family left Syria together,” he recalls.

After six years of working largely on frontlines and with Arab families, it’s hard for me to fit back into life in a Western country Australian journalist and photographer Tracey Shelton Protest against the Syrian government during a rally in Syria. couldn’t find anyone to do it there,” says Tracey. “Although in Islam, marriage between a Christian woman and a Muslim man is permitted, the Sheikhs did not want to accept the responsibility. We eventually found someone (to perform the nikaah) in Sweden, but we are still waiting for our marriage to be registered.” After trying for six months, the couple got married in June this year.

The couple has been living apart since Ahmad left Turkey for Europe earlier this year; they only get to meet sporadically when Tracey visits him.

“Since he’s been in the camp, it’s harder for me to visit.”

While Ahmad has dreams of a

The Al Haj family, today, is spread all over, and none of them have yet acquired asylum anywhere. Ahmad’s father returned to Syria to try to sell some of his property, while his mother, brothers and sister are in Southern Turkey. “The displacement affected us in every way possible. I don’t have any legal status anywhere.

On paper, technically, I didn’t exist.

You have no rights, no identity, no work, and no way to study again,” says Ahmad, who now spends most of his time in the camp fixing everyone’s phones and laptops.

Tracey recalls when she met him twice en route to Greece and Serbia.

“The soles of his feet were just two 31 DECEMBER 20-26 2015

FEATURE

The displacement affected us in every way possible. I don’t have any legal status anywhere. On paper, technically, I didn’t exist. You have no rights, no identity, no work, and no way to study again Syrian refugee Ahmad Al Haj

A boy holds up a piece of shrapnel during a protest in the town of Kureen in Syria. huge blisters from walking, just cushions of liquid. I don’t know how he managed to walk on them. But from there they had to keep walking through to Hungary.”

Despite the situational difficulties and a mostly long distance relationship, the two of them lighten up when asked about each other. “He is intelligent, funny, cool, sweet and charming. He cares about me and looks after me in a way I never dreamt of. He is also excellent with languages.

He speaks three languages expertly,” says Tracey. Ahmad’s easygoing charm worked on her, as he was easy to talk to, she shares. “He has a lot of knowledge and a deep understanding of things. I love talking with him and listening to his ideas.” For Ahmad, what attracted him to her was “how she treats people. Her personality. And her beautiful eyes”.

According to Sweden’s migration 32 agency Migrationsverket, the DECEMBER 20-26 2015

applications for asylum received by Sweden in January 2015 were 4,896.

By November 2015, the number rose to 36,741, and more than 25,000 of these are males. So far this year, more than 120,000 people have applied for asylum in Sweden.

While the future looks bleak for Syrian refugees, they have certain advantages, according to Tania Karas, an Athens-based journalist covering migration and refugee issues. “Syrians in particular tend to be middleclass, educated and technologically literate,” she says, adding that while this may be a slight generalisation, it does mean that Syrians, more than other refugees, have an easier time navigating their journeys and assimilating into European society.

“Another advantage is that Syrians are considered ‘prima facie’ refugees because there’s an active war going on in their country so they are highly likely to be granted refugee status,”

says Karas, who has been actively working with Syrian refugees in the Greek island of Lesbos. More than half of the refugees and migrants who have reached Greece this year have landed at Lesbos. Some 3,460 lives have been lost crossing the Mediterranean, reveals data provided by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

The number of Syrians arriving in Europe seeking international protection continues to increase.

However, according to the UNHCR, it remains low compared to Syria’s neighbouring countries, with slightly more than 10% of those who have fled the conflict seeking safety in Europe.

Sweden which has had a very relaxed system in the past, where refugees could enter the country unobstructed, is now introducing border checks. The laissez-faire might not be feasible for Sweden any more, considering the very real security threats following the attacks in Paris. The situation, thus,

seems poised to make life even tougher for the refugees. And a solution seems nowhere in sight.

While Ahmad appreciates European countries opening their gates for the refugees, and acknowledges that they try their best to help refugees and keep them comfortable, he is very clear when asked what he sees as a solution to the Syria crisis. “All of the outside countries — USA, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia — need to back off and let us solve our own problems. Foreign powers have made Syria their playground, trying to prove their strength,” he says. Tracey echoes the sentiment and expresses dismay at what started as a revolution has escalated into a regional proxy war.

of the world but is instead living in dire conditions and sinking deeper into poverty,” Guterres says. According to the UNHCR, Syrians in exile face trials such as living in sub-standard shelters and below the poverty line in countries like Jordan and Lebanon. “Having to leave behind their family and friends and not knowing when they will see them again or whether they will see them alive are the prime difficulties Syrian refugees face,” says Argentinabased correspondent Kamilia Lahrichi.

It’s tough for refugees to adapt to a new culture because of cultural barriers, she adds.

But for Ahmad, “the most difficult thing is being apart from Tracey” at

Syrians in particular tend to be middleclass, educated and technologically literate Athens-based journalist Tania Karas “Everything in Syria has become so complicated with too many players. I honestly don’t know what the solution is anymore.”

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres acknowledges that this is the biggest refugee population from a single conflict in a generation. “It is a population that needs the support

the moment. “Until Ahmad’s final residency decision, everything is up in the air. Once it’s finalised Ahmad can start working here in Sweden and I can join him. We hope to start a family too,” says Tracey. Till then, love must wait.t Farahnaz Zahidi works as a senior subeditor at The Express Tribune.She tweets @FarahnazZahidi

An earlier photograph of Syrian rebel fighters praying before launching an anti-government attack near Idlib city.

PORTFOLIO

Beak season Business at Lalukhet’s bird market soars as buyers and sellers strike deals on Sundays

BY OONIB AZAM PHOTOS BY AYSHA SALEEM

Birds are crammed into cages so tightly that they are unable to even spread their wings.

The Lalukhet bird market in Karachi is not a place for those who believe caging birds is cruel.

18 DECEMBER 20-26 2015

If you called it Asia’s biggest market for birds, you won’t be wrong Vendor Ibrahim

Young bird enthusiasts gather around a flock of geese on sale.

E

very Sunday, the Lalukhet bird market in Karachi offers exotic birds to the crowds that flock the place. As one enters the market, they are greeted by sounds from a pandemonium of parrots, a flock of pigeons and a raft of ducks with vendors chanting their demanding price at intervals.

Twenty-two-year-old Ali, who purchased a parrot from the market almost a year ago, roams around in a blue shirt and white shorts with his pet perched obediently on his right shoulder. The parrot bites at his neck and Ali gently moves it to his other shoulder and walks ahead. “I have reared him and taught him how to speak,” he says, gently caressing the parrot while it chirps “mithu beta”.

“Now I want to sell it for Rs8,000,” he adds.

Buying and reselling birds for a profit at the Lalukhet market is common practice. Ibrahim, a vendor at the market, claims, it’s the “most reasonable” market for purchasing birds which remains open till late in the evening. “If you called it Asia’s biggest market for birds, you won’t be wrong,” he says, adding that the market attracts buyers and sellers from all over the country. “From Rs200 to Rs2 million, birds of all prices are available here.”

A big grey parrot chained to the bike of his owner Toqeer is the centre of attention at the market. The African grey parrot is considered to be the most

The African grey parrot is the centre of attention at the market.

DECEMBER 20-26 2015

37

PORTFOLIO intelligent talking parrot in the world. “He won’t only repeat what you say, he also gives you a reply,” the owner says, sharing his hopes of attracting the right price for his smart pet.

Since the market attracts hundreds of bird enthusiasts who are willing to spend a fair amount of money for the right purchase, many vendors travel long distances to reach their target market.

“I collect these ducks from a fish pond in Thatta and sell them here in Karachi every Sunday,” says Sohail. He has 13 local ducks on display in a small wired cage and demands roughly Rs2,000 for the birds.

However, not everyone profits from the sale.

Asad, a pigeon breeder who had brought along his favourite Jacbobin pigeon, did not succeed in attracting a buyer. “They are the most beautiful pigeons you will find in Karachi,” he says.

“Hopefully next Sunday I will sell the pair for Rs30,000.”

This market might not be for those bird-lovers who believe the animal should not be caged but for others a trip may prove to be worth the ride. T Oonib Azam is a Karachi-based reporter for The Express Tribune.

Coloured chicks for sale at the bird market.

The sale of birds is a permanent means of livelihood for some bird breeders.

THEÊ HOMEÊ FRONT

Brooklyn yanks hard on the heartstrings by beautifully narrating an immigrant’s experience

BY ALLY ADNAN

The life of an immigrant is strange. The country that he leaves behind holds his history whereas his future belongs to the new one. It takes a very long time — sometimes decades — to decide which country to call home. It is, invariably, a critical event, powerful but rarely dramatic, and almost always triggered by love that forces the immigrant to decide where he belongs.

The moment takes place in the life of the heroine of Brooklyn towards the end of the film, when she is forced to choose between her past and her future. This is a remarkable scene — powerful, potent and resonant — in a remarkable film. An austere and unadorned adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s 2009 novel, Brooklyn is one of the finest films of the year.

Brooklyn owes its greatness, almost entirely, to the masterful work of five individuals: actor Saoirse Ronan who brings her character alive with a luminous performance; director John Crowley who directs with great skill and precision; writer Nick Hornby who captures the emotional essence of the novel with a trimmed but faithful adaptation; production designer François Séguin who creates a sense of time and period with seemingly effortless accuracy; and casting director Fiona Weir who assembles a perfect ensemble of actors. Romantic, intelligent and engaging, it is a film that explores the sadness and happiness, the sentimentalism and pragmatism and the truth and falsehoods of a life torn between two countries. And, while it has its sad moments, Brooklyn is sublimely inspiring and heartwarming.

Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), an Irish girl in her early 20s, lives with her mother, Mary Lacey (Jane Brennan), and sister, Rose Lacey (Fiona Glascott), in the town of Enniscorthy, Ireland, circa 1951.

She works a couple of days a week for local grocer Miss Kelly (Brid Brennan), a woman full of spite.

Eilis’ prospects of finding employment, love and education at home are gloomy. Rose arranges for Eilis to migrate to America. A kind priest, Father Flood (Jim Broadbent), arranges boarding-house accommodation, a job as a salesgirl at the swanky Bartocci’s department store and evening classes

in a local college for Eilis in the titular town of Brooklyn. Here, Eilis is surrounded by a number of well-meaning, if quirky, characters: landlady Madge Kehoe (Julie Walters), a strict disciplinarian with a caustic tongue; a few catty housemates, alternately helpful and envious; and supervisor, Miss Fortini (Jessica Paré), exacting but kind and compassionate. Eilis is homesick and lonely in America. Life changes, when she meets Antonio Fiorello (Emory Cohen), a winsome Italian plumber, at a church dance. The two fall in love over the course of just a few meetings. With Antonio by her side, life takes a decidedly positive turn for Eilis.

The two marry each other before Ellis embarks on a trip back to Ireland. Once back in Enniscorthy, she attracts the attention of the eligible Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson) and discovers that she is now able to take care of her aging mother and hold a good job in Enniscorthy. Confounded by the affections of two men, and her love for two countries, Eilis is soon forced to decide between a life in Ireland and one in America.

Saoirse Ronan’s performance — low-key, understated and precise — is powerful and moving. She makes her transformation from a demure young girl to a confident young lady.

When confronted with love, she depicts feelings of amazement, confusion and uncertainty with the skills of a master thespian. She employs the minutest touches — a wrinkle on the forehead, a twitching of the lips, a stiffening of the face — to convey the most profound of emotions.

Changes in gait, posture, diction and style are used to show changes that take place in her person during the course of the film. No words are used to communicate the emotional turmoil she experiences; only expressions.

Subtlety is, perhaps, the greatest strength of Brooklyn. It demonstrates how restraint, discipline and delicacy can be used effectively to tell deeply moving and passionate tales. Often, less is more. In the case of Brooklyn, it is a whole lot more!

Rating: Ally Adnan lives in Dallas and writes about culture, history and art. He tweets @allyadnan

FILM

The Intern works The film is a light comedy that touches on women’s rights and seniors at the workplace

BY SAMEEN AMER

The more recent arc of Robert De Niro’s acting career has followed a trajectory that generally hasn’t been a big success with both critics and fans of his earlier work. Viewers who are hoping for the actor’s return to more intense terrain won’t be pleased with The Intern, a comedy drama that somehow ends up being both charming and dull.

In the hopes of filling the hole in his life left by retirement and his wife’s death, Ben (Robert De Niro), a 70-yearold former executive at a telephone directory company, joins a senior citizen internship programme at an up-andcoming e-commerce fashion firm. Ben’s old-school charm instantly wins over the young workers at the office, but the company’s founder and CEO Jules (Anne Hathaway) is initially unreceptive to the elderly newcomer. As she tries to juggle the rapidly-growing start-up and her increasingly strained family life, she eventually begins to see Ben’s value, and learns to benefit from his advice and gentle wisdom.

The privileged individuals in The Intern are so unrealistically nice and everything is so cordially resolved that there is no real tension in the proceedings.

Even when its characters are put in a potentially tough situation, the stakes

are never quite palpable. As a result, the movie’s dealing of its weighty subject matter seems shallow, over-simplistic and lacks edge.

Instead of creating interesting characters, writer and director Nancy Meyer seems content with employing caricatures and spends two long hours enamoured with her own onedimensional creations. The film mostly relies on the talent of its lead actors to add life to Meyers’ self-satisfied script, and to their credit, both De Niro and Hathaway are amiable in their roles, although there is nothing in the project that would actually challenge the actors or bring out something remarkable or memorable in their performances.

Not particularly smart or amusing, The Intern spends most of its time just being pleasant. While it does succeed in exuding warmth, its lack of tension makes it bland. As long as you don’t expect anything profound from it, you might still enjoy the movie primarily due to De Niro’s easygoing charm and Hathaway’s genial presence.

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

Robert De Niro's comedic roles

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Analyze This (1999) An insecure mob boss (Robert De Niro) who suffers from panic attacks starts seeing a psychiatrist (Billy Crystal) after the two are involved in a fender bender.

DECEMBER 20-26 2015

Meet the Parents (2000) A male nurse (Ben Stiller) meets his girlfriend's parents to ask her strict father (Robert De Niro) for his daughter's hand in marriage, but things don’t go quite as he would have hoped.

What Just Happened (2008) Suffering from a number of personal and professional problems, a veteran Hollywood producer (Robert De Niro) tries to get his new picture made.

ART

n colour

Dream of Carnage-1

Red is a multifaceted colour. Its complexity lies not only in its visual strength and intensity, but also in the fact that it can connote polar ends of the spectrum: Red is instantaneously associated with love, passion and romance, but can, with equal vigour, warn us of danger, signify war and remind us of blood and gore.

At her current solo show at Canvas Gallery, titled ‘Dream of Carnage’, Adeela Suleman conveyed how this colour can signify much more than its immediate associations. With mediums spanning video installations, ceramics, metal and wood, Suleman’s works were a reminder of ideological and physical conflicts in Pakistan, as well as the state of war and suffering on a larger scale.

‘Dream of Carnage-1’ displayed a series of 12, 9x9-inch ceramic plates in linear, horizontal fashion. As the eye travelled over the plates successively, the sky-blue morphed into a deep pink, reminding one of a sunset view from an airplane window. Things took a darker turn as the pink further transformed into a blood-red hue that altered the meaning of the work completely and signified the advent of violence over a peaceful place. This piece made one feel like an airplane passenger who, upon viewing impending atrocities from afar, is unsure of where he could safely land; a very poignant reflection of how many Muslims, refugees and other minorities feel all over the world today.

‘Dream of Carnage-3’ displayed similar glossy ceramic plates forming a postcard-like image of a mountainous region, perhaps the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Here, the familiar was presented with an element of shock as the river appeared blood red — a literal depiction of the Urdu term ‘khoon ka darya’. It was interesting to note how the mere change of colour brought with it so many connotations and questions: Why has the world around us become so steeped in violence and danger that no place is safe from it? Or rather, why have differences in religion and ideology become such a bone of contention that they increasingly cause bloodshed?

On metal plates with ornamental frames in the ‘Dread of night’ series, Suleman depicted gory battle scenes

Adeela Suleman depicts some aspects of war

BY SHANZAY SUBZWARI through art

PHOTOS COURTESY: CANVAS GALLERY

appropriated from Mughal miniature paintings of the 16th -17th centuries, replete with cut-off heads oozing blood.

With enamel paint on ornate ceramic plates placed on wood carving, she displayed conventional Mughal scenes, but with a twist: lovers in courtship, with the woman deceptively carrying a scythe, and Mumtaz Mahal on her throne, placed atop water. By including such periodic references in her work, Suleman reinterpreted and recycled age-old commentary to show us how little things have changed over time, if not become worse.

‘Don’t Despair, not even over the Fact that you don’t Despair’ also struck the viewer. This incredibly blurred video installation seemed to innocently depict people playing football at first, till many shocked viewers realised it was the same gory video of people playing with severed heads in Pakistan that had gone viral a few years ago.

By displaying most of her work in ornamental yet delicate ceramics, Suleman displayed beauty laced with the aftermath of violence in today’s fragile world. She also brought to us information we have become numb towards, to be looked at anew, while also questioning our associations.

Shanzay Subzwari is an artist and art writer based in Karachi.

She tweets @ShanzaySubzwari

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Dream of Carnage-3 DECEMBER 20-26 2015