The Express Tribune Magazine - February 23

FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 1 2014

Dead

WEIGHT Pakistani bodybuilders struggle for due recognition and glory

FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 1 2014

Feature

A historical encounter Rajmohan Gandhi is the man who walks in the footsteps of the past

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Interview

Saadistic Pleasure Saad Haroon tickles your funny bone

Cover Story

Dead Weight Pakistani heavy weights struggle for due recognition and glory COVER PHOTO CREDIT: PAKISTAN BODYBUILDER ASSOCIATION

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32 Regulars

6 People & Parties: Out and about with beautiful people

39 Review: Books, music and movies

42 Green Thumb: Aquaponics

Magazine In-charge: Sarah Munir and Sub-Editor: Dilaira Mondegarian Creative Team: Amna Iqbal, 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 Angela Ageler

a Shahid m and Sany

Farya Zaee smin Hyder

randi and Ya

Giuiliana G

Saman Qadeer

Kamila Siddiqui, Devrim Erol and Neera Saggi

Afiya Zia

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PHOTOS COURTESY NEW WORLD CONCEPTS

International Women Leaders Summit held in Karachi

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Dolmen Mall Clifton holds its shopping festival in Karachi

Nazia Ayub

Danesh N Dubash with the Dolmen Shopping Mall marketing team

Dolmen Shopping Mall

Aisam Malik

Brad Gee

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PEOPLE & PARTIES

Nida Butt brings Grease – The Musical to Karachi

Deepak Perwani

Huma Adnan Nadia Hussain

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PHOTOS COURTESY PHENOMENA BY POMME

Nida Butt and Pomme

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Kiran Fine Jewellery opens its flagship store in Karachi

Atiqa Habib

breen

Faiza Mateen

Shama and Jasmine

r Sara Mazha ban

Sehrish Shah

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PHOTOS COURTESY KOHI MARRI

wish and Am

Maria, Mah

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Feeha Jamshed

a Sarah, Mahwish and Aliy

PHOTOS COURTESY KOHI MARRI

Komal

Kiran Aman Sara Arshad, Huma and

Ruqhia Nazeer Saima Essa and Tooba

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Siddiqui

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Maybelline New York launches its new lip balm, Baby Lips, in Karachi

Raana Khan and Kiran Haroon

d Misbah

Naimal Hammad

Wafa and Cyrah

Sara

Natasia Bushra and

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Muzzammil

PHOTOS COURTESY LOTUS PR

Samreen an

PEOPLE & PARTIES Hana and Rabeeyah

Hina

PHOTOS COURTESY LOTUS PR

Jadirah Sarmad

Zainab Pasha

Maleaha and Natasah

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Rakhshanda

FEATURE

A historical encounter In conversation with Rajmohan Gandhi — the man who walks in the footsteps of the past

BY FAIZA RAHMAN PHOTO BY AYESHA MIR

Rajmohan Gandhi is lesser-known as the grandson of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He mostly stands his ground as a prolific historian and a key peace builder, smiling from over six feet above. At the three-day Karachi Literature Festival this year, his works were being read and his opinions solicited on a number of topics, giving Pakistanis an opportunity to revisit the much-debated chapter on Indo-Pak history.

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At the generalised tête-atête, one could not help but marvel at the humility with which the 78-year-old Mr Gandhi conducted himself; he found time to scribble autographs for people gathered in endless queues even after winding up an action-packed session on an unexpectedly hot February afternoon. The progeny of the subcontinent’s preeminent pacifist FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 1 2014

Available at Liberty Books for Rs1,395.

did not snub anyone, did not end a handshake till a hand was withdrawn and was in no haste to end conversations with fans. Therefore, cornering him separately for a conversation grew more challenging with every ticking moment.

He addressed his Karachi readership in Hindi, English and Gujrati.

His latest manuscript, Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten, was seen in so many hands that it was almost as if it had been distributed for free. At sessions, people peppered him with questions on his biography of the independent Pashtun activist Bacha Khan, proving that Mr Gandhi’s works have long resonated with Pakistani audiences. There were multiple requests that he write a biography of Jinnah for Pakistanis, to which he replied with a chuckle, “I am almost 80 now!”

When he finally settled into a conversation with The Express Tribune, he spoke passionately about his family,

his taste for historical studies and his travels in Pakistan.

“I have, unfortunately not travelled to Balochistan. Apart from that province, I have frequented the urban areas of Sindh, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,” Mr Gandhi stated. When asked if Pakistan’s cordiality towards him varied with geography, he replied: “No; in fact, it has varied with time. Now, people in both India and Pakistan are more receptive to the concept of a peaceful subcontinent. I think it has to do with the fact that the West is no longer a stable ally; states have to be self-sufficient and can no longer afford to sustain hostilities.”

Along with a lesson in history, Mr Gandhi was full of advice for Pakistani parents. He confessed to never having manipulated his children into adopting any career paths. “Despite that, to my great delight, both my daughters steered towards the humanities and social sciences. My daughter, Supriya Gandhi, studies literature and history, can read Persian and Arabic and holds a PhD from Harvard,” he said proudly. “There is no doubt that one has to be somewhat of a rebel to study the humanities or the social sciences in India or Pakistan. I agree that just as it is in Pakistan, parents in India want their children to become doctors and engineers, or study business at the [most].”

But he cautioned that a utilitarion approach had its drawbacks. “Seeking knowledge should be an enjoyable venture,” said Mr Gandhi, who has, of late, been researching and teaching global studies at the University of Illinois at UrbanaCampaign. Indeed, he lamented the lack of focus on the humanities in the subcontinent, and the fixation to study technical subjects. “It is indeed what one may call a ‘Third

World phenomena’ — study only what brings in immediate monetary benefit.”

Mr Gandhi’s route to the study of history was, however, one which he describes as ‘natural’. His father edited the Hindustan Times. He himself ventured into journalism for a few years after college-level studies, and during the 1975-1977 Emergency in India, wrote a popular, strongly prodemocracy weekly column for the local press. It was simply a switch from an intellectual endeavour of one sort to another. “I don’t care whether the study of humanities can thaw the ice between Pakistan and India; I just wish youngsters today would study more literature, philosophy and history, even if these studies fuel unprecedented arguments between scholars of India and Pakistan.”

As he spoke, people attending the festival listened. Why, after all, was Mr Gandhi so well-loved here? “Because people are tired of politicians on either side who have built these walls of territory, and of history,” he said. “People in Pakistan know that I, despite being a Hindu, despite being an Indian, am not much different.”

Some attendees tried to cut the queue, while others argued with volunteers. A gentleman in a crisp, white shalwar kameez pleaded to break the line: “Please, I have come all the way from Rajasthan to give him this.” He produced a copy of M K Gandhi’s biography in Sindhi. “He must read this!” Someone draped an ajrak on his shoulders and another slipped a note to him. And as the din rose, harried-looking Karachi Literature Festival volunteers knew that they had lost their lunch break. T Faiza Rahman is a subeditor for the Editorial pages at The Express Tribune.

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COVER STORY

Every year around February, Al-Hamra Arts Complex in Lahore, normally known for hosting plays, concerts and arts exhibitions is transformed for a throng of aspiring Pakistan muscle-men, who vie to become Mr Pakistan. The open hall is lined with glistening biceps, rigorously toned abs and nervous expressions as the contestants wait for the jury’s verdict. This year, it is Abbas Khan, an unlikely underdog, who bypasses 180 participants from all over Pakistan to win the title for Pakistan’s best bodybuilder. But Khan’s excitement on winning the title is dampened by a sense of dejection as he will not be competing for Mr South Asia this spring in Lahore, due to a lack of funding and support. The story is not an unusual one for lower middle class men who are forced to abandon their passion after years of hard work.

DEAD

WEIGHT 24 FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 1 2014

Bodybuilding has long been the sport of choice for the young urban Pakistani male but has failed to receive the attention it deserves

BY SHER KHAN PHOTOS BY SHAFIQ MALIK DESIGN BY MUNIRA ABBAS

Ripped glory Abbas Khan after winning the title of Mr Pakistan 2014.

COVER STORY

To be Mr Pakistan, you need a lot of will and money.

People ask me if I train and compete to make the country proud. But this country takes down people like me so I guess it’s for myself more than anything Current title holder Abbas Khan

Khalid Fitness Center, located in Rehmanpura, Lahore, has produced many bodybuilding champions including Abbas Khan.

Bare minimum Even though the competition for the title of Mr Pakistan first started in Pakistan in 1954, it did not get much attention until the late 1980s. It was only after an array of bodybuilders from the country competed on international forums (such as Mr Asia, Mr South Asia, Mr Olympia) that the sport gained traction locally as well.

But the sport never became mainstream, since it was reported that the ulema council under the Zia era had banned it from being shown on national television, due to the men’s attire in the competition. Hence, bodybuilding has had little audience throughout most of its existence.

But that has failed to deter contestants who train meticulously for months to become the next title holder. To qualify, a bodybuilder must perfect the following seven poses: front double-biceps, front lat-spread, side chest, back double biceps, back lat-spread, side triceps and abs and thighs. The judges rank contestants based on symmetry, proportion and the size of each muscle group. As Arnold Schwarzenegger once alluded, a bodybuilder is like a sculptor, since he perceives his body as something that can be continuously molded and shaped into perfection.

Khan’s case is no different. Hailing from the humble neighborhood of Ichra in Lahore, he first started training at the age of 15. Since he worked as a warehouse lifter during the day, he had little option but to go to a single-room

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Runner-up at the 2014 Mr Pakistan competition held at Al Hamra Hall, Lahore in February. gym nearby at night with four of his friends.

Even though the gym offered minimum facilities, Rs100 a month was all Khan could spare to feed his passion. Over time, he began participating in district competitions and worked his way up the bodybuilding ranks to the city level.

Despite years of experience in the field, Khan can still barely sustain his training costs and depends on a well-organised local support network of veteran bodybuilders who have opened up gyms and support young talent.

“To be Mr Pakistan, you need a lot of will and money. People ask me if I train and compete to make the country proud,” says Khan. “But this country takes down people like me so I guess it’s for myself more than anything.”

Fat Busters When it comes to bodybuilding, Lahore is seen as the hub, as it has produced the highest number of Mr Pakistan title-holders. The city boasts a rich history of masculinity and machismo derived from the sport of wrestling or pehlwani. Gawalmandi, the central part of Lahore, is not only known for its food culture but also for being home to the Bholu wrestling clan. However, with time, wrestling has been replaced by the culture of bodybuilding.

“This is a working class sport,” says Sheikh Farooq Iqbal, general secretary of the Pakistan Bodybuilding Association (PBBA). “You will see

Bodybuilders from all over the country participated in this year’s competition for the Mr Pakistan title. everyone from sanitation workers to labourers in this field. Despite the high costs, you will see that bodybuilding is flourishing everywhere in Pakistan, from urban centres like Lahore to small towns like Mardan, Chaman, Loralai, Swat, Larkana, Sukkur and Hyderabad.

This is something that sports like cricket cannot boast.” Bodybuilding is immensely popular in the lower middle and lower income classes, but has never earned the same prestige in the more affluent sections of society who may lift weights within the confines of their gyms but have never endorsed it at a public forum.

In small mohallas, however, gyms are seen as a positive sign, as they promote fitness and keep the young men from falling prey to drugs, weapons and crime. “If you look at the history of professional bodybuilding, none of them have been associated with crime. It is an activity that promotes positive thinking,” says Khalid Malik Nawaz, who has trained Khan

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COVER STORY Gyms in small mohallas have seen a massive influx of young men over the past three decades. Not only do these gyms promote fitness, but prevent young men from turning to drugs, weapons and other crimes.

and runs a small gym in Rehmanpura, Lahore.

Nawaz, a former national champion, opened Shaukat gym after retirement, which has produced several of Pakistan’s best bodybuilders. “It used to be the kind of place where we had to stop training every time it rained. There were no big halls or air-conditioning or any cover,” he says. Since its inception in the late 1990s, the small gym, which could easily be mistaken for an industrial warehouse, has been a nursery for several national champions

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and Mr Pakistans over the years. Some of the most prominent names include Ashfaq Butt, Muhammed Hanif, Shoaib Zahoor, Mudassir Khaliq, Amanat Ali and the current Mr Pakistan, Abbas Khan.

During the early 1980s there were only three gyms in the city. Today, Lahore alone has around 500 gyms, which are loosely associated with the PBBA. The growth of gyms and the fitness industry has not been limited to Lahore however and has burgeoned throughout the country.

The quality of gyms starte started to improve during the 1990s with the opening of Gold’s g gym in Lahore, which catered to a higher income clas class. The rise of cable television and the internet exposed testosterone-fueled young men to tthe likes of Salman Khan and Arnold Schwa Schwarzenegger.

Yahya Butt who was Mr Asia thrice and also won the Mr Pakistan title five times was one of Schw Schwarzenegger’s most ardent followers. Butt is cred credited for introducing workouts based on Schwarzenegger’s encyclopedia of bodybuilding in high-end gyms like Gold’ Gold’s and later on, Shapes.

As more educated an and affluent men picked up weights, the line divi dividing brain and brawn started to fade and the mi mindset about bodybuilding began to evolve. “Wh “When we started bodybuilding, people thought of us as gangsters,” Butt speaks of the earlier days. “We made a conscious choice of not wearing skinskin-tight clothing and wandering outside girls colleges b because we loved the sport and

When we started bodybuilding, people thought of us as gangsters. We made a conscious choice of not wearing skintight clothing and wandering outside girls colleges because we loved the sport and wanted to transform its image Trainer and former Mr Pakistan and Mr Asia Yahya Butt

wanted to transform its image.�

But his passion could not steer him clear of controversy. After having tested positive for steroid use, he was twice banned from competing between 1988 and 1991.

The Pakistan Olympic Committee and the PBBA also had to distance themselves from him in the long run and the Yahya Classic (a promising annual event named after Butt in the 1980s) went under the radar.

Butt is however, not the only one who has fallen victim to the culture of supplements in the race to push his body to the limit.

In 2011, Muhammed Shafique who was made Mr Pakistan thrice died of a heart attack on the night before a competition in Badin. To date, there has been little clarity on the cause of his sudden demise.

Blood, sweat and tears As with every other industry, bodybuilding is also torn by internal politics. Currently, there is a tug-of-war between two groups; one of them

The costs of the sport cannot be borne through the current prize money since the diet alone costs around Rs3,000 to Rs4,000 per day

is headed by General (retd) Arif Hassan while the other is led by Major General Akram Sahi.

The split threatens their chance to participate in the Olympics (for Pakistani bodybuilders). It also means that two major associations aside from the International Olympics Committeesanctioned PBBA, Butt’s Lahore Bodybuilding Association and Masoom Butt’s small organisation, are all holding Mr Lahore competitions and vying to be the sole representatives of the sport. At a local level, the schisms between the various associations do not have much of an impact as it only provides more avenues for bodybuilders to compete. However, the lack of unity has constrained Pakistani bodybuilders from rising to international fame.

Not only does the industry lack institutional infrastructure, it provides little payback to those who brave these circumstances.

The history of bodybuilding is replete with stories of former national bodybuilders who have fallen back into poverty due to a lack of financial compensation for the sport. One of the primary examples is Rifaqat Ali, a former Mr Lahore, Mr Asia, and national champion who now drives a rickshaw in the old city.

The costs of the sport cannot be borne through the current prize money since the diet alone

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Steroid usage has led to the downfall of several Pakistani bodybuilders. costs around Rs3,000 to Rs4,000 per day.

According to former Mr Pakistan, Imran Qureshi, mental acumen is as important as physical strength, if you want to excel at the sport. “If you are really passionate, you will try to understand the constraints and work to find a balance,” he says.

One of the ways bodybuilders can sustain themselves is by making a name for themselves in the industry and using it to train others. “Being Mr Pakistan is a lifetime achievement and your name goes down in the records. You can use this professional credit to train others and make a living for yourself,” explains Qureshi.

Like many former athletes, he owns a gym in Iqbal Town, Lahore, which is constantly swamped by 30 to 40 young bodybuilders, who pay a minimal fee but benefit from Qureshi’s vast experience and mentorship.

Machismo 3.0 Until a few decades ago, masculinity manifest itself in the form of pehelwans, derived from kushti or wrestling. With time, however, bodybuilding has been accepted as the alternate form of manliness. It is now seen as a move towards sophistication — a culture of young males shunning a life of indiscipline and delinquency for a life of commitment, training regiments and physical perfection. However, until the sport is promoted locally and the sportsmen compensated duly, our male Adonis will remain trapped in dingy gyms and narrow alleys. T Sher Ali is a culture reporter for The Express Tribune. He tweets @sherakhan46

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INTERVIEW

Saadistic Saad Haroon talks about Asif Ali Zardari, Woody Allen and a girl with a lot of baggage

BY SUNDAR WAQAR DESIGN BY ASIF ALI

When it comes to comic delivery, Saad Haroon is up there with the best of the lot. Haroon is responsible for launching Pakistan’s first improvisational comedy troupe, Blackfish, which took stage in 2002 and he has managed to keep audiences in fits to date. This week, The Express Tribune catches up with the man in the comic hat to find out his thoughts on a few key issues:

Pleasure

Describe Pakistan P in three words.

Have we become a live comedy?

I thin think Pakistan is more of a Shakespearean play. Which Sha means mostly you don’t m u understand what’s going on. It has its comedic moo ments though.

Which Pakistani politician do you think would make a good stand-up comedian?

There is a whole comedy club out there. But I think Asif Ali Zardari can steal everyone else’s jokes.

Which Pakistani politician’s speech would you like to see interrupted by a heckler?

What do you think his/her response would be like?

I would love it if Shahbaz Sharif would heckle Nawaz Sharif. I think Shahbaz Sharif will ask for a youth loan and w Nawaz Sharif will say: “But you’re Na not the youth,” and Shahbaz Sharif will reply: “But I’m your younger wil brother.” bro

I think Pakistan is more of a Shakespearean play. Which means mostly you don’t understand what’s going on

Ho do you see Bilawal Bhutto as a How future leader? fu I am optimistic. I see myself having coffee with him. But it’s scary, the thought that someone younger than me might be leader.

So, when I see him as a future leader, I feel like I want to see his report card from school first. You

know how you have to show your degrees as a politician first. So, if you are that young you should have to show your report cards.

That’s only fair.

I feel at his age you do everything in life to get girls, so I wonder what’s going on in his head, maybe he thinks, “Oh, I’ll become Prime Minister of Pakistan and I’ll meet so many women.” Maybe Pakistan is his girl, but that’s a girl with a lot of baggage.

If the government of Pakistan could be described in one word what would it be?

Run! What did you think about the recently held Karachi Literature Festival?

Getting people involved in literature and reading is a wonderful thing. The more people you get reading the more people you get writing, and we desperately need writers in the performing arts.

The crowd is fun. It’s like when you buy a book you might not read it, but you can put it on your shelf and everyone comes and says, “Look at how many books he has read. This guy must be smart, he must be literate and he reads.” It puts you into that category when you can put your book up on the Facebook shelf and be like, “Ah, I was at the KLF today.” We live in the age of checking-in so you can 33 check-in there.

FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 1 2014

INTERVIEW YouTube has been banned for over a year, what do you think about that?

Our politicians have the attention span of a YouTube video.

How can they look ten years into the future and see how people lost out because of them? They have taken away learning. I think politicians have so much free time on their hands that they should sit in a room and personally go through every website, and watch YouTube videos to approve each video and website individually.

The chairmanship of the Pakistan Cricket Board keeps switching.

Your thoughts?

I think they should be playing Leapfrog instead. They don’t understand cricket and how much it means to people. Or maybe the third umpire should watch the PCB instead of cricket matches. Maybe watching the recordings and slow-motion action will lead to a solution.

The paranoia that comes with living in Pakistan. Hiding phones and mistaking fireworks for bomb blasts, what do you think about this?

I think my butt has touched my phone more than my face.

Karachi is a city full of Woody Allens where everyone is paranoid. I feel we look over our shoulders so often that we should install side-view mirrors there so we can keep looking without turning.

Everyone on Twitter thinks they are revolutionaries. Comment.

Everyone on the internet is an armchair activist. If they invented an unlike button for Pakistan, Facebook would explode or people’s fingers would break through the iPad screen and come out through the other side. That’s how intensely people on the internet think they’re helping.

Tell me how comedy started for you?

I was very bored. I was working in the textile business with my dad and I thought that I would end up as everyone expected me to, doing all the right things. One day I decided I don’t want to do that. People talk about taking the road less travelled, but they don’t understand that there are cars coming down that direction of that street as well. All one can do is just keep hoping not to get hit.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian?

I don’t consider myself a comedian, I am a storyteller and I have been gradually working on things which aren’t based on comedy. But I would probably be a producer as I love stories being told.

Describe yourself in three words?

34 I like chocolate.

FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 1 2014

SOURCE: SAADHAROON.COM

Your biggest inspiration?

I am inspired by music. Everything works together to make something out of nothing. It is also something I find harder to do and I am very inspired by things I can’t do.

Your most embarrassing moment?

I’ve had hundreds of embarrassing moments. But once in the middle of a show for no reason, I was performing and stopped and was like, “I’ll do the next joke.” I stood there for 10 minutes talking out loud, saying “I don’t want to do this joke, maybe the next, but not that one either.” But that was comedic in itself, the audience was wondering if that was part of the act.

But there have been many other embarrassing moments with technical difficulties where jokes have failed and other things have gone wrong.

Your worst nightmare?

For a comedian the biggest nightmare is that when you just write a joke and it clicks, there is a little part of you saying, “Where is the next one?” You always have an intrinsic fear of whether you will be able to write one more joke. You think, “Did I just use up all my brilliance in that last joke?” But it never happens, you keep on going. T Sundar Waqar is a subeditor on The Express Tribune Magazine desk.

She tweets @sundar_waqar

BOOK

Mind games The unforgettable story of a journalist as she finds her way back to sanity

BY MAHEEN SABEEH

Susannah Cahalan wakes up to absolute darkness and silence. Her mind is sluggish as she tries to form a sentence. She wonders where she is. It takes a while but gradually the world snaps back into focus. As darkness falls away, Susannah absorbs her surrounding: a television set, curtains and a bed.

Cahalan instantly decides that she needs to leave. Something is holding her down to the bed. It is a straitjacket.

The above passage sounds like a gripping tale of fiction, a great mystery story if you will go along. Except it is real. It’s the beginning of the searing personal story of journalist Susannah Cahalan as she battles an illness that affects her brain in a maddening sort of way and puts her in a psychiatric ward — a world where despite scientific advancement, the state and care of mental illness is, not surprisingly, ap appalling.

But then Cahalan uses the sskills of her prof profession to piece ttogether a manu manuscript that is co coherent, sha sharp and captiva tivating. Her sto story begins in New York, in arou around 2009. It was a time when the Big A Apple had

bedbug scares. And one day that fear finds its way into Cahalan’s life as she has eerie nightmares about them for consecutive days.

Upon calling an exterminator, Cahalan finds no signs of infestation. She isn’t convinced and can feel bedbugs crawling on her skin.

And so, it begins.

While describing the assorted characters that make up colleagues at The Post, home to tabloid journalism and yet as active as any newsroom can be, Cahalan writes: “It’s like a bar without alcohol, filled with adrenalinesoaked news junkies.”

What makes it endearing is that she’s quick to admit her own weaknesses.

In a meeting with a senior editor in which Cahalan is expected to pitch ideas for stories, her mind is like an empty box.

She writes: “Usually I had three coherent ideas to pitch; they weren’t always great, but I always had something. Now I had nothing, not even enough to bluff my way through the next five minutes.”

Actual events drive Cahalan to a strange reality where the lines between senseless and reasonable begin to blur at a whirlwind pace when she begins to lose hours. A period of illness follows Cahalan and she admits that she has pieced some parts of this story from outside sources.

Eventually though, a doctor named Souhel Najjar diagnoses Cahalan with a rare autoimmune disorder that really puts

Brain on Fire — My Month of Madness is available at The Last Word Books for Rs1,785.

her brain on fire.

It isn’t just that this book is stunning for its brutal honesty or meticulous writing, but it is also Cahalan’s observations that make the story so human, and broken. You could, of course, frown at the sheer mention of The Post, or you could get past preconceived notions that we seem to share on media outlets and those associated with it. At the heart of it is a brilliant writer and that really matters.

Brain on Fire is not necessarily a story about illness. It is a triumphant story of courage, identity, the mystery of the human brain and above all, the idea that the mind can perhaps recover all that which has been lost given time and clues. The book is an unforgettable piece of writing that will stay with you for a long time to come.

Maheen Sabeeh is a freelance journalist in search of penguins. She tweets @maheensabeeh FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 1 2014

Author Susannah Cahalan.

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Rolling in the raw It rocks even when it doesn’t

BY FYEZ AHMED

Listening to a Pearl Jam album is like picking up a childhood friend from the airport.

Almost all of your other friends from the glorious 90s grunge era have self-imploded — Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Candlebox, they all came into our lives, taught us the true impact of amazing music, then either left when you needed them most or became gross caricatures of their past. But Pearl Jam, they stuck around for the long haul, a solid 22-year relationship, and with their 10th studio album Lightening Bolt they are saying: “This is why we’re still friends.”

The album opens with Getaway which brings vicious pace to it and the first single off the record Mind Your Manners hits the ground running. The Bay Area post-punk influences are channeled through Eddie Vedder’s vocals, while Mike McCready’s guitar solo just leaves you completely floored. It’s not like his fretwork on Alive, but is equally effective in a quarter of the length.

Sirens is perhaps the song that makes the album — a classic rock power-ballad of

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soaring proportions with a poignant settling feel. It is the song during which most concert attendees have to make that decision: “Do I simply wave my cell-phone around? Or do I use it to send a text I will regret tomorrow?” Vedder pleads for the hope of lasting love in the face of his own mortality, the sound of ambulances reminding him of inevitable separation. McCready’s guitar solo is Vedder’s shoulder to cry on, a sad sort of optimism that would not seem out of place if you had heard it on The Wall.

Other attention-grabbing numbers include the developed sound of Infallible and the chief opener of the current tour Pendulum which would be a delight to fans who loved Black.

In this album, more apparent than on other records you notice a changing trend in the band’s music. The twin guitar musical partnership of McCready and Stone Gossard seems to give a little room for a vocal/ guitar partnership between Vedder and McCready. This is most evident in Yellow Moon,

a song credited to bassist Jeff Ament.

Pearl Jam is often criticised for being too comfortable with its sound and failing to explore new avenues. There’s a scene in the documentary PJ20, in which guitarist Stone Gossard is asked to show some PJ memorabilia he might have collected over the years. After searching the house and finding nothing, the cameras are led into his dark basement, filled mostly with junk and much to the guitarist’s amusement, a dusty, forgotten Grammy which the band had won in 1996 for Best Hard Rock Performance.

During the acceptance speech Vedder had famously declared “I dont know what this means. I don’t think it means anything.” Accolades and criticism hold the same amount of water in Pearl Jam’s world. For them, it is just about making good music and with Lightning Bolt, they drive the point home once again.

Fyez Ahmed is a Dubai-based writer.

He tweets @fyezeatscake

A DYING TALE Keanu Reeves makes a comeback, not with a bang but a whimper

BY NOMAN ANSARI

47 Ronin is set in 18th century Japan and stars Keanu Reeves (Kai) as a former halfJapanese and half-British slave striving to balance his humanity with the demonic skills he was taught as a child. Fortunately for Kai, he is never brought down by his inner demons, using his innate skills to move like a deadly wraith, slicing and dicing his enemies into oblivion.

The film is not just about fighting inner demons but also depicts a fictional account of the forty-seven Ronin — a real-life group of samurai in 18th century Japan who were left leaderless after their feudal lord, Asano Naganori, was

sentenced to commit suicide in order to maintain his honour. His rival, Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano), employs the magic of his shapeshifting witch, Mizuki (Rinko Kikuchi), to trick the lord in an attempt to take over his lands and marry his daughter Mika (Kou Shibasaki).

Kai, who is in love with Mika, is sent into exile following a defeat by one of Kira’s best men.

After Asano kills himself, his former samurai are banished, and their leader, Oishi, plots revenge. Two years later, Oishi finds the exiled Kai fighting valiantly at exhibition matches, making him the perfect candidate for seeking vengeance. Kai is initially reluctant, but eventually joins the men who are openly mistrustful of his magic, for the love of a master who took him in as an orphan.

Now for the things to look out for: powerful CGI effects, beautiful cinematography, a gorgeous art direction and some stunning visuals that lend an endearing fantasy element to the lush green Japanese feudal settings. Some of the animated Japanese folklore creatures in the film are amazing to look at and are somewhat reminiscent of a Manga novel or a Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke) animated film.

But unfortunately, the acting in 47 Ronin is as shallow as the CGI monsters in the film.

Aside from Hiroyuki Sanada (Oishi), the majority of the film’s Japanese cast give uneven performances which often feel wooden. In fact, most of the acting in 47 Ronin is so average that Keanu Reeves, who is usually an effective actor, comes across as a shell-shocked kung-fu fighting Orson Welles.

To make matters worse, the film rests on a shaky script. Although it tells an absorbing story, the

narrative is regularly held back by laughable dialogue that descends into cliché. This is especially unfortunate because 47 Ronin retells the most famous national legend of Japan, which in the hands of a more competent filmmaker would be a compelling story If nothing else, 47 Ronin is a feast for martial arts film fans, showcasing skillfully choreographed action scenes that feature a delightful concoction of destructive magic, violent fistfight, and clashing samurai weapons. It is a pity that the rest of the film isn’t as sharp as the katana blades its heroes wield.

The film proves that even with the dazzle of an A-list actor and stunning visual effects, a weak execution can plunge a movie into darkness.

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

He tweets @Pugnate FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 1 2014

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GREEN THUMB

No dirty business Aquaponics allows you to harvest fish and grow vegetables at the same time TEXT AND PHOTO BY ZAHRA ALI

Aquaponics is the use of waste produced by fresh water fish, shrimp, prawns, crabs or lobsters to grow plants. Live fish are used to make fertilizer which produces ammonia that is high in nitrogen and is essential for plant growth. In return, the plants filter the water so that fish can live in it.

Tilapia is the most famous fish that reproduces and grows fast in an aquaponic system, but you can even start with a pair of goldfish. You can either leave the plants floating on the top of your tank or direct the water through pipes using an air pump to your grow-bed that holds plants with a growing medium. Water is then directed back into the tank to complete the tank cycle.

“Aquaponics is a quick, simple and cheap way of growing your food, and you don’t even need a green thumb!” says Abdul Aleem Shekhani, an An aquaponic set-up reusing supplies to grow plants and harvest fish aquaponicer from Karachi. Shekhani set up his simultaneously. first system in 2010 using his mother, Nasreen Ashraf’s storage boxes and store-bought PVC pipes, fish of starting his backyard aquaponic system, Sarsalejo was and other aquarium equipment. After two years, he up- able to harvest dozens of bitter gourd which is remarkably graded his system and bought used bathtubs to turn them quick. “You can double or triple your harvest if you have into a fish tank. The garden now produces everything a good system,” he says. “I started an aquaponic system from tilapia to cherry tomatoes to giant melons, unlim- back in September 2011 as an experiment and since then it ited sponge gourd, lots of basil and oregano. The set-up has been very successful.” Now Sarsalejo grows all kinds can cost anywhere between Rs1,200 and Rs1,500 and may of vegetables and herbs, including cherry tomatoes, leteven be cheaper if you reuse supplies. tuce, basil, eggplants, huge beans, okra and bitter gourds “The only thing I do regularly is feed the fish and har- that grow fast using his aquaponic set-up. vest vegetables when they are ready,” says Ashraf who It is a well-known fact that during 1150-1350 CE, Chinamalso has a rooftop kitchen garden which needs much pas — an ancient agricultural method which used rectanmore work. “Vegetables that I grow using aquaponics gular areas of fertile land to grow crops on shallow lake beds have larger, greener and healthier leaves compared to the — produced one-half to two-thirds of the food consumed by ones in the pots.” the city of Tenochtitlan, including maize, squashes, amaEven though the method is relatively new, it is picking ranth, tomatoes, peppers and beans. Hence, aquaponicers momentum globally. Ellezerdo Sarsalejo is a Philippines- might be justified in claiming that the method can feed the based aquaponicer, who lives a few miles away from world one day. where the typhoon hit last year. He built a system using PVC pipes, barrels and large water bottles. Unlike Nasreen Zahra Ali Husain is a sustainability education specialist, writer and an 42 and Aleem, he did not use any edible fish. Within 75 days environmentalist. She tweets @Zahrali FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 1 2014