JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
Cover Story No end in sight The use of pellet guns to disperse crowds in Indian Kashmir has left hundreds blinded or maimed
Feature
A cut above Chef, menu planner and culinary instructor Samar Husain traces her entry into the world of food
18 Feature
Tharparkar’s dance of death There is still no relief in sight for the people of Tharparkar
24
32 Regulars
6 People & Parties: Out and about with beautiful people
36 Reviews: Art and movies 42 Health: How to fight eye infections
Magazine Incharge: Dilaira Dubash. Senior Subeditors: Sanam Maher and Ali Haider Habib. Subeditor: Komal Anwar Creative Team: Jamal Khurshid, Essa Malik, Mohsin Alam, Talha Ahmed Khan, Hira Fareed, Maryam Rashid, Eesha Azam and 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 Anny and Shoaeb Shams
PHOTOS COURTESY BILAL MUKHTAR EVENTS & PR
Ayesha Sana and Ali Malik
Fashion Central launches its second outlet in DHA, Lahore Amina Batool
Hina Salman
6 JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
Sehyr Anis
Lubna Farhad and Amna Imtiaz
Kanwal Ilyas
PEOPLE & PARTIES Abdul Hameed and Dr Baber Khan
PHOTOS COURTESY FOMENTAR EVENTS & PR
Saman and Palwasha
Dr Baber Khan launches his music video The Karachi Nama at Southend Club in Karachi
Alveena and Nauman
Uzmi and Barkat
8 JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
Farhan Wahid with his family
Nighat and Kaukab
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Mohsin Naveed Ranjha showcases his latest collection at Labels in Islamabad
Sabeen and Anber Javed
Amna Badar
Maliha Waqas and Anam Narjis Mariam, Sami Khan, Almas, Mohsin Naveed Ranjha, Abubaker Ranjha and Anila
10 JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
PHOTOS COURTESY LATITUDE PR
Maria and Mariam
PEOPLE & PARTIES Peng Qureshi
Sultana Siddiqui, Rubya Chuadhry, Areeba Habib and Masarrat Misbah
Masarrat Misbah celebrates the launch of her makeup line by hosting a lunch in Karachi
PHOTOS COURTESY WALNUT PR
Hafsa Haseeb
Maira
Mashal and Sana Awan
Maria Wasti
Huma Adnan
12 JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
Zainab Mohammad Shah
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Khushbakht Shujaat
Anushe Bawany
Nighat Misbah, Zainab Chottani and Shanze
Batul Rizvi
Fia and Zhalay
Redah Misbah
PHOTOS COURTESY WALNUT PR
Hira Tareen
14 JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
Mohsin Sayeed and Bushra Ansari
Aabove cut
Chef, menu planner and culinary instructor Samar Husain’s food journey is as ambitious as her gastronomic creations BY HURMAT MAJID | PHOTOS BY ARIF SOOMRO | DESIGN BY HIRA FAREED
When you see a generous serving of homemade egg and chicken cold cut sandwiches arranged neatly on a platter and steam leaving a cup of freshly brewed tea, you wonder if your host has a knack for cooking. But when you bite into the delicate, well-seasoned treat, all doubts leave your mind. For my host Samar Husain, whose food insights are reflected in the menus of some highbrow restaurants in Karachi, this is a way to whet the guest’s curiosity to investigate into the makings of this kitchen maestro. Samar Husain talks about her food journey and her passion for culinary arts.
Although Husain has numerous degrees in culinary art, including one from leading culinary school in London Leiths, and has also spent time at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, her childhood food experiences have shaped her tastes today. Recalling her early travels with her father
Three cheese stuffed ravioli with sundried tomato reduction.
and grandfather, she says, “They were both foodies and loved to eat. They were the only ones I travelled with so I acquired a taste for good food from a very early age.” Along with developing a taste for good food, Husain started experimenting in the kitchen at an early age to recreate those flavours. During one such kitchen escapade in Ramazan, her cook got into an argument with her and was dismissed by her father. “My father was fasting and there was nothing to eat. I went into the kitchen and prepared iftar for him and I have never really stopped cooking since.” Upon returning to Pakistan 10 years ago, after completing her formal education, Husain tried her hand at cooking commercially. Her growing portfolio includes working at places like Chairman Mao and Pizzo. “I used to prepare one dish every day, then text the menu to everyone saved in my phonebook. Miraculously, it worked! Soon, people started expecting the texts and I started getting orders in advance,” shares Husain. Later, requests started pouring in from friends to cater events. They gave Husain free reign to select dishes for the menu and were delighted with the results. She soon became a household name with her food gracing the tables of the King of Greece and dignitaries from various
Pinch and Co’s exquisite ponzu beef salad. PHOTO COURTESY: SAMAR HUSAIN
countries. Husain started working for herself much later. Her first business was whimsically named Sanwich. “It started with my mother’s salon. She wanted me to make a few sandwiches that clients could buy and munch on. I sent over five the first day and they sold out so I sent 10 the next day and received a similar response. From there it grew and kept expanding. I was literally making sandwiches till the day I went into labour,” she quips. After having her daughter, however, Husain decided to take a break, which meant shutting down San-wich. But Husain couldn’t keep herself away from her passion for long and made a comeback in 2012, designing menus for restaurants including Café Chatterbox and Lals Patisserie. While speaking about her experience as
My father was fasting and there was nothing to eat. I went into the kitchen and prepared his iftar for him and I have never really stopped cooking since 19 JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
FEATURE
Sometimes I’m asked to tweak dishes, once they are on the menu, which is actually more fun than designing the menu itself
Discussing the fine details of pasta making.
a menu planner, Husain explains that first she has a meeting with the restaurant owner to get a clear picture of what his/ her expectations are as each restaurant offers its diners a unique food experience. She then brainstorms and comes up with numerous dishes that fit the bill. A tasting is held for the client to pick the dishes they fancy on the menu and Husain then trains the chefs at the restaurant on how to prepare the dish. “Sometimes I have to have 10 sessions with the chefs but I don’t stop until they have memorised the recipe,” she says, emphasising her meticulous attention to 20 detail. JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
Despite having prior experience in designing menus, Husain explains how planning a menu for a restaurant differs from planning one for a catering service. Although pricing and produce play a vital role in both, her clients allow her a certain measure of freedom to select seasonal produce whereas availability of produce is key for restaurateurs. Even the cost has to be within a certain range or else the dish, no matter how good it tastes, will not make it on the restaurant menu simply because of its high price. “Sometimes I’m asked to tweak dishes, once they are on the menu, which is actually more fun
than designing the menu itself,” she says, adding that keeping the ambience in mind is as important. “You can hardly serve steak in a five-star, fine-dining setting. It won’t sell.” Husain’s latest project is the Karachi café Mews. She has worked on its menu from the beginning and is still a part of the project as a food consultant. Presently, she is coming up with new ideas for a summer menu for the café. While talking about the versatile menu, Husain explains that she rarely restricts herself to a particular cuisine. “I think we should push boundaries. Food is about experiencing new things; it’s a celebration. So, as
long as a dish makes sense on a menu, I put it there.” Husain already has a lot of things on her plate and a recent addition to her long list of culinary achievements is imparting culinary knowledge to aspiring, young chefs. Unlike conventional cooking classes, Husain offers a uniquely enriching experience. One starts at the beginner level, where Husain teaches students fundamental cooking techniques, for instance how to boil an egg properly or how to properly fry chicken, and advance further to prepare challenging gourmet dishes. The philosophy behind Husain’s carefully-
Getting handson experience during a pasta making session.
designed cooking course is to help enthusiasts sharpen their skills rather than master certain recipes. “The classes are held in small groups so that they can be interactive. I want it to be an honest, open discussion about food,” Husain shares. Alongside teaching, Husain is currently expanding her catering business, rebranding it Pinch and Co. The kitchen is under construction these days and her team consists of three people — all trained by her. Later, she plans on expanding the business and establishing a largescale event catering service. With so many stars in her chef’s hat, it’s hard not to
imagine Husain in chef’s whites, calling orders at her own restaurant. To this, Husain responds, “I believe the catering business will ultimately turn into a restaurant, but that time is far. With changing times, I think I want to create a takeout place with good, healthy meals which people can pick up on their way home and share with their family.” And with such soaring ambitions, it won’t be long before one spots Husain’s healthy takeout joint on every street corner.T
Hurmat Majid is a subeditor at The Express Tribune. She tweets @bhandprogramme
Spicy Arrabiata with mixed olives and handmade fettuccini.
In the absence of government intervention, the use of deadly pellet guns by police in Indian Kashmir leaves hundreds blinded or maimed BY UMER BEIGH DESIGN BY EESHA AZAM | TALHA KHAN
It was an overcast day in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir, on May 22. Feroz*, a 38-year-old fruit vendor in the Rajouri Kadal neighbourhood was wrapping up business for the day when he spotted Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) vehicles crossing the main square. Feroz paid them no heed; the security officials were a familiar sight. “I could sense that the situation was possibly volatile, but I didn’t feel nervous or scared,” recalls Feroz. “People living here are used to feeling like this, and I am no exception.”
Protesters clash with Indian authorities in Srinagar. PHOTO: AFP.
There is a standard operating procedure that is followed in such situations and police fire the pellet guns from a safe distance Sixteen-yearold Hamid’s injuries from being shot at with a pellet gun are extensive.
Inspector General of Jammu and Kashmir police Javaid Gillani
PHOTO COURTESY: SHAHID TANTRAY
A CT scan shows pellets embedded in an injured victim’s face and head. PHOTO COURTESY:UMER BEIGH
The boy on the bicycle Feroz didn’t know these men were on alert for young boys who had pelted their bunker with stones in the neighbouring Kawadara area. As Feroz locked up, CRPF men circled the alley leading towards his shop. Across the street, an 18-year-old student named Sajad* was riding his bike, heading home from his part-time job when the CRPF men spotted him. Feroz watched as the men turned their 26 guns towards Sajad and, in a split second, fired a round of JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
pellets at him. The boy was struck in his left eye, neck, head and arm. The last thing he remembers seeing is the CRPF men retreating, as men in the neighbourhood swooped down on him and took him to a nearby hospital. At Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), doctors plucked out all visible pellets from Sajad’s body. A few hours later, Sajad slipped out of the hospital, choosing to go home even though he still had pellets embedded on the left side of his head. “I had just been riding my bike when this happened, and I wasn’t expecting it,” he says. “I might have been in pain, but I thought I would be safest at home.” Even as he says the pain from his injuries is “impossible to describe”, his fear of being arrested in the hospital outweighed his discomfort. With his eye badly injured by the pellets, Sajad waited in silence at his home, spending his days in darkness, too scared to go back to the doctors.
Crowd control Pellets are small iron ball bearings that are fired at high velocity. According to Amnesty International India, the pellet gun cartridges used in Indian Kashmir contain 400
to 500 plastic pellets. When fired at short range, a single shot can pierce the target’s body with hundreds of pellets. Inspector General of Jammu and Kashmir police Javaid Gillani told Amnesty International India that state police are instructed to use pellet guns when protests go ‘out of control’. “There is a standard operating procedure that is followed in such situations and police fire the pellet guns from a safe distance,” he states. However, he concedes that the pellets do not have a predictable trajectory. The Indian government insists that pellet guns — resembling shot guns and often used while hunting animals — are ‘non-lethal’ weapons. However, experts maintain that pellets can be lethal and cause permanent damage. According to a study by SKIMS, the leading hospital in Srinagar, the guns were extensively used to quell anti-India protests in 2010; at the time, pellet injuries killed at least six people and left 198 injured in a span of just four months. The study found that five of these injured people lost their eyesight — the youngest victim was just six years old, while the oldest was aged 54. The casualties have racked up since: on August 19, 2010, Mudasir Hajam was the first of the six people killed. He died when pellets damaged his lower abdomen. Since March 2010 to October 2013, SKIMS dealt with 36 eye injuries caused by pellet guns. And from January to June 2014, 15 patients with serious eye injuries caused by pellets were admitted to hospitals across the valley. On May 25 this year, The Hindu newspaper reported that Hamid Nazir Bhat, a 16-year-old boy, lost vision in his right eye after he was shot at by police in his village, Palhalan, in north Kashmir. Doctors say at least 100 pellets hit Hamid’s head and eyes; two pellets remain in his right
An X-ray of the chest shows pellets embedded widely in the shoulder, arm and chest of a victim. PHOTO COURTESY:UMER BEIGH eye, causing vitreous haemorrhage, a leakage of blood in the space between the lens and the retina. The police allege that Hamid was taking part in a protest on the 25th death anniversary of leader Mirwaiz Molvi Farooq; his family said he was going for tuitions. “Even if I have to sell all my land to get my son treated, I’ll do it,” his distraught father Nazir Ahmad says. “Our boys go out for tuition and their blood is spilled on the streets. How is this justice?” Doctors said that several patients admitted on the same day have over 100 pellets lodged in their skulls as they were shot at from a close range of less than two feet. The guns were aimed directly at their faces when the shots were fired. PHOTO: REUTERS
Our boys go out for tuition and their blood is spilled on the streets. How is this justice? Father of a victim, Nazir Ahmad
When the police are trying to contain violent persons, it is important that they focus any use of force accurately at those individuals. However, pellet guns cannot ensure welltargeted shots and risk causing serious injury to bystanders or other protesters not engaging in violence Programmes Director at Amnesty International India Shemeer Babu
Doctors at SKIMS and Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital told The Hindu that in the five years since the 2010 protests, an estimated 700 people have been left disabled by pellet gun injuries. Since many victims, like Sajad, choose to leave hospitals before receiving proper treatment for fear of being arrested or harassed and media coverage, the number of casualties may be even higher, doctors say. A hospital administrator explains, “Many of our patients run away from the hospital with pellets and pus in their eyes because police spies note down their details, arrest them and often extort money.” A senior ophthalmologist in Srinagar Sheikh Sajad adds, “Around 70% of those injured lose their sight in one eye, and at times in both. While they haven’t been killed, their lives are ruined forever.”
Lethal combat According to police officers, pellets are ranked from grade five to grade 12 — with five being the largest and fastest pellets with the widest range. Last month The Hindu reported that officials have been ordered to use the number 28 nine pellet for crowd control, as it does not cause lasting JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
damage. However, the instructions are not followed and in many villages, police officials choose to use number six or seven pellets. “The police have a duty to protect lives, provide safety and prevent violent crime. However, in carrying out this duty they must use non-violent means as far as possible,” says Shemeer Babu, Programmes Director at Amnesty International India. “When the use of force is unavoidable because of compelling reasons, it should be only what is strictly necessary and to the extent required.” He adds, “When the police are trying to contain violent persons, it is important that they focus any use of force accurately at those individuals. However, pellet guns cannot ensure well-targeted shots and risk causing serious injury to bystanders or other protesters not engaging in violence. These risks are almost impossible to control.” Babu, like other international observers, is unequivocally against the use of these guns. “Pellet guns should have no place in law enforcement,” he says firmly. According to one official who wished to remain unnamed, “Pellet guns have to be used from a range of 500 feet or more. Any closer than that, and the pellets become
Radiography of a victim’s pelvis showing the location of pellets. PHOTO COURTESY:UMER BEIGH a lethal weapon.” Doctors say patients sustaining pellet injuries are hard to cure. “Pellets often pierce the eyeball, causing blindness, or even death if the pellet damages a soft spot on the back of the head or in the chest,” explains Dr Nisar ul Haq, the president of Doctors Association Kashmir. Former head of the ophthalmology department at Kashmir Medical College Dr Bashir Ahmad Bhat says that the chance of retaining normal eyesight after a pellet hits your eye is rare. “It is the rarest of cases where you wouldn’t lose your eyesight,” he says. He adds that even the most modern medical techniques can only remove the pellets — the damage, however, remains forever. Just a mile away from Rajouri Kadal, where Hamid was shot, 17-year-old Danish Altaf sits in his room, struggling to focus his gaze. Danish was shot by CRPF men on the street a year ago during protests against human rights violations in Gaza. Nearly 150 pellets have left their mark on his body. “We have sold almost everything we could in order to afford the surgeries Danish needed,” his mother says. Danish’s treatment has cost the family INR300,000 (Rs480,923) to date. The family is not well-off and Danish would supplement his father’s earnings through a job as a wedding decorator. His parents are afraid to talk to anyone about the incident, as they fear police action.
Condemnations and calls for change: the government’s response As Hamid lay in his hospital bed, his case was taken up by Junior Health Minister and Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Aasiya Naqash. “There should be a total ban on the use of pellet guns,” Naqash said in a statement to the media in May. “We always spoke against it (pellet guns) when we were in the opposition and held protests on the issue. There can’t be any argument (over use of pellet guns),” she said, demanding an inquiry into the incident that has left Hamid blinded in one eye. This is not the first time the PDP has broached the
Around 70% of those injured by pellet guns lose their sight in one eye, and at times in both. While they haven’t been killed, their lives are ruined forever Senior ophthalmologist in Srinagar Sheikh Sajad PHOTO: FILE
subject. In 2014, the party’s president Mehbooba Mufti demanded an ‘official ban’ on use of pellets as a means of crowd control, staging a walkout from the state’s legislative assembly in protest against the use of pellet guns. However, this time around, the party says it will push for tangible change. “There will be a change for good and it will happen with the passage of time,” says PDP’s chief spokesman Mehboob Beg, when asked about the party’s stance on the use of pellet guns. Meanwhile, senior minister and PDP leader Syed Altaf Bukhari says the government would “review the use of pellet guns soon.” He adds, “The issue has been bothering us for a long time now.” State Minister for Education Naeem Akhtar is not optimistic about such reviews. “We hope the use of pellet guns will be curbed soon. But the police have their own concerns and we cannot really force them to stop using pellets against protestors.” *Names have been changed to protect privacy. Umer Beigh is a freelance journalist based in Indian-administered Kashmir. He tweets @omibeigh JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
29
Main entrance of District Head Quarter Hospital, Mithi.
Tharparkar’s dance of death Ravaged by malnutrition and drought, people of this desert district have only crummy medical facilities for consolation BY ABDUL HALEEM SOOMRO PHOTOS BY KHALID KUMBHAR DESIGN BY SANOBER AHMED
For the Thari, as the people of Tharparkar are known, death is always around the corner. According to the district health officer (DHO), so far 170 children have lost their lives this year at Mithi Civil Hospital due to malnutrition and waterborne diseases. Despite several appeals and front-page stories, the plight of the people remains the same. The drought-stricken population of 1.5 million continues to fight against all odds to survive in the face of rampant malnutrition. Father of eight Aarab Kapri braved a gruelling 75-kilometre journey from Wangi village to the civil hospital for his newborn child suffering from severe malnutrition. “The hospital is a slaughter house. No one cares now that the
32 JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
media has turned its focus to other issues,” he complains. Kapri says his wife is anemic and gave birth to an underweight boy five days ago. Soon, the condition of both the mother and child deteriorated, compelling Kapri to rush them to the hospital. A taxi ride to the hospital costs Rs5,000, an amount near impossible to cough up for a family that has braved four consecutive droughts. The grief is apparent in the eyes of Kapri’s wife Ameeran, who says she can see her son slowly dying. “Who should I complain to: God or my fortune? No one is here to listen to our miseries,” she says, adding that doctors have asked them to purchase medicines from outside the hospital because the ones available there are substandard. They also asked them to get pathological test done from somewhere else as they do not trust the results of the hospital lab. According to an attendant at civil hospital Kheto Mal Bheel, the administration was not providing food supplements to children admitted there, even though it was receiving provisions from Unicef. He added the hospital puts up a façade in front of the media, but the situation is completely
A men takes care of his child while his wife is admitted at the Mithi Civil Hospital
A young man suffering from malaria receives medical assistance.
Family members wait at the hospital.
33
PORTFOLIO A newborn baby lies in an incubator at the children’s ward of Mithi Civil Hospital.
Officials in all the departments think of themselves as lords rather than public servants Social Activist Mama Vishan Thari
34 Female patients wait for their turn at the outpatient department. JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
different beyond the camera. Moreover, social activist Mama Vishan Thari, known as the ‘Edhi of Thar’, adds, pregnant and lactating mothers are suffering from severe anemia. Vishan says he has seen pregnant women with hemoglobin levels as low as 2mg and 4mg, which can be fatal. He laments the lack of health awareness, which in turn results in no antenatal or postnatal care. Furthermore, no attention is paid to the facilities available at the hospital, Vishan says. Most health facilities in the desert shut down at 2:00pm. He also questions how poor people can be expected to purchase medicines and pay for tests outside the hospital. “Officials in all the departments think of themselves as lords rather than public servants,” he says. DHO Dr Jaleel Bhurgri, on the other hand, insists a number of facilities have been improved at Mithi Civil Hospital. “The nursery ward has been developed, the number of incubators was increased from four to 13 and more doctors have been hired.” However, he says, 50% posts for lower-level staff are still vacant. Dr Bhurgri admits there was no sanctioned post for a nutritionist either. Even the hospital ambulance is out of order, he says. Despite having admitted to a number of things, the DHO categorically rules out the alleged practice of doctors prescribing medicines and tests from outside the hospital. Dr Abdul Aziz Kumbhar says the government has a policy whereby it sanctions one dispensary for a population of 10,000. This, however, is an ineffective policy for a scattered population such as Tharparkar’s. People do not have access to timely medical attention in case of emergencies and many often die by the time they get to a hospital, adds Dr Kumbhar. He stresses that
Attendants of patients queue to get food assistance from Bahria Dastarkhwan, located near Mithi Civil Hospital. the government needs to revise its policy and sanction a medical facility for every 5,000 people in order to save precious human lives. Tharparkar’s woes all arise out of water, or rather the lack of it. Researcher Ali Akbar Rahimoon talks about the three angles of water in Tharparkar: quality, scarcity and access, and women fetching water during pregnancy. The major source is rainwater, harvested either directly or from the ground by digging wells and tube wells. The depth of wells ranges from 20 feet to 350 feet and many have to cover considerable distances on foot to fetch water for their homes. Rahimoon says 50% of Thar’s underground water contains total dissolved solids of more than 5,000 ppm (parts per million); there is an excess of fluoride and nitrate, which makes the water unfit for human consumption. To add to this, Rahimoon says, May to July is the ‘stress period’ during which wells dry up completely or the discharge rate drops considerably, because of which concentration of salts increases considerably. In Ramazan, women, children and the old are especially at risk because of lower immunity. A child with his younger sister in the hospital’s corridor.
Abdul Haleem Soomro is a social activist and freelance journalist JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
35
ART
AÊ WALKÊ
TOÊ REMEMBER The artwork at ‘The Science of Taking a Walk’ at Gandhara Gallery gives you an insight into the unique life journey of each artist BY SHANZAY SUBZWARI PHOTOS COURTESY: GANDHARA GALLERY
Hajra Haider Karrar, curator of ‘The Science of Taking a Walk’ at Gandhara Gallery says, “The artist’s curiosity often takes him/ her to navigating unknown paths or (re)navigating known ones.” Highlighting the role the eight participating artists play in this interdisciplinary exhibition, Karrar alludes to the fact that each one of them wishes to take viewers on a visual journey stemming from their exploration and response to certain spaces (tangible or intangible) they experienced in their lifetime. To reiterate the idea of navigation, each viewer was given a ‘map’, highlighting, in different colours, the placement/location of works by the artists on two floors of the gallery. Every viewer, thus, charted out his or her own route. The first piece that caught my eye on the left was Omar Wasim’s Untitled. A suspended brown lamp, hung very low, lit up a mass of rusting nails in what seemed like murky liquid. The placement of the piece made getting a good look at the nails difficult, perhaps deliberately? According to Wasim, “Exposure and concealment are my tools, [also] human beings are constituted by language, [and] they, too, are texts”. He echoed this idea in another untitled piece, where 56 sheets of paper were paired in rows. Each sheet contained crisply arranged text, with chunks that seemed to be removed, rearranged or replaced. The stories they told were short yet embodied the human condition.
36 Stills from the video Mangoes, 1999, by Bani Abidi. JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
A still from the video Untitled, 2015, by Yaminay Chaudhri . It was interesting to see how other artists had incorporated text in their works as well. Naiza Khan’s digital print on paper, derived from her documentary, highlighted various images, taken through binoculars, of the Pakistani common man bathing in the highly frequented Karachi Sea. Accompanying this was text derived from Henry Pottinger’s colonial-era book on the ‘Kurrachee’ port with terms blotted out by the artist. Perhaps this mirrored the act of erasure and reinvention of our history by the British. Fazal Rizvi, too, worked with text. However, rather than creating words and sentences, Rizvi’s text formed images through the help of a typewriter. These images were minimal, yet powerful, as they traced out various spaces that intrigued the artist: Samandar traced a land-reclamation site, while Pathar was a derivation of the notoriously violent site in Karachi — Katti Pahari. For his work, Rizvi often relied on visuals that stayed in his memory, drawing upon ideas of fragility, reclamation and man’s influence on the changing nature of spaces.
rather than seeing from her point of view, viewers could simply see, in sequential fashion, the linear walk she takes. Could she be hinting upon how entities/the media provide us with a one-sided view of things? Or how perception changes with proximity/placement? Yaminay Chaudhry’s video depicted a boat, painted gold, washed ashore on a Karachi beach. Like a sea-monster breathing its last, the boat was seen responding to the waves, calmly, as sea-goers claimed it is theirs. One may ask: what journey did the boat take before it was abandoned? Who really owns the items washed ashore? A catalogue accompanied the show with essays by people from various disciplines: an artist, film-maker, fiction writer, etcetera. According to the curator, the thought processes resonated between the artists and the writers, making this exhibition a coherent whole.
Shanzay Subzwari is an artist and art writer based in Karachi. She tweets @ShanzaySubzwari
Seher Naveed and Seema Nusrat’s False Perspective.
Shalalae Jamil displayed enlarged passport photographs of various people. Voyeuristic in a sense, it re-contextualised images meant for official use. Perhaps Jamil speaks about the journey these images made: from where they belong (passports) to where their presence is unexpected (the gallery space) or the journey these people may have undertaken as passengers. More so, the subjects look back at the viewer, returning their gaze and bringing about the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. Seher Naveed and Seema Nusrat literally added a new dimension to the gallery in False Perspective. A life-size image of a wall was pasted on the same wall from a different perspective, altering the gallery space and startling the viewer for a moment. This gave rise to several questions: how can a simple thing, such as taking a walk, bring about multiple perspectives? Can a situation be seen in a number of ways, with each way being true? How often has our mind tricked us into seeing something that isn’t there, or vice versa? Naveed and Nusrat’s work sparked physical and psychological queries. On the first floor, Bani Abidi’s video, Mangoes, provided comic relief with a serious message. Originally made 15 years ago, it displayed Abidi as an Indian and a Pakistani conversing with one another over a plate of mangoes. While the conversation was initially friendly and nostalgic, it became slightly hostile when the two began to compare the variety of this venerated fruit available on both sides of the border. Undoubtedly, the Indo-Pak rivalry is real and never-ending; yet, the two nations are inherently similar, as depicted by the choice of fruit, language and, of-course, appearance. Farida Batool’s lenticular print installation Kahani Ek Shehr Ki spanned two large rooms. Through this illusory medium, it depicted the artist walking across roads in Lahore, crossing graffiti, street vendors, cars, barricades, oblivious people and small shops. But
37
Untitled by Omar Wasim. JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
Back with a bite Jurassic World rakes in more crowds — and cash — than the original film, with a perfect blend of unadulterated entertainment and nostalgia BY ALLY ADNAN
“What do you want?” Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), the uptight operations manager of Jurassic World, asks a group of potential investors from a telecommunications conglomerate. “We want to be thrilled,” replies one of the investors. “Don’t we all?” responds Claire. Of course, we do! And thrill Jurassic World does. Director Colin Trevorrow’s clever, confident and entertaining film is nothing if not thrilling. The film set new box office records in its opening weekend all over the world. Expected to make $125 million on its opening weekend in North America, Jurassic World topped the estimate by raking in a phenomenal $209 million. The success of the film is not surprising. Jurassic World appeals to a range of audiences: kids and teenagers looking for unadulterated entertainment and elders wanting to evoke the nostalgia of the original 1993 Jurassic Park. Jurassic World features a very likable cast with the affable Chris Pratt holding his own as the film’s hero with authority, gusto and charm. The film, however, belongs to Howard who plays a career-obsessed woman with no room for a husband and children in her life. The initially uppity manager undergoes a transformation during the course of the movie, developing feelings for the dinosaurs owned by the park, her troubled nephews and dinosaur researcher Owen Grady (Pratt) and serious misgivings about the genetic engineering of dinosaurs, while taking part in a lot of action, all in high heels. The conversion of the business-minded careerist to a motherly person is a tad sexist — it has drawn a lot of mostly unfair criticism on that front — but Howard’s capable handling of the role makes Claire likable, reasonable and real. She handles the change less like a transformation and more as personal growth that does not require sacrificing her innate strength and independence. The accusations of sexism notwithstanding, Jurassic World passes the Bechdel test by making sure that all of its dinosaurs are female and that Claire talks to her assistant about matters other than love. Jurassic World opens with the theme park running successfully in Costa Rica. The onceextinct dinosaurs are found in abundance in the park which draws 20,000 visitors each day. This is not good enough for Claire and the park’s eccentric owner Simon (Irrfan Khan) who feel that the dinosaurs have become too tame over the years. In order to insure the park against visitor ennui, and to increase the park’s wow factor and profits, they oversee the creation of a genetically spliced mega-dinosaur named Indominus Rex. The new dinosaur turns out to be more aggressive, terrifying and intelligent than anticipated and soon escapes its paddock, turning the park into a killing zone. Owen, who has a way with dinosaurs, is brought in to control the monster. Meanwhile, Claire’s nephews, who are visiting the park, sneak into restricted areas and are soon in the clutches of danger. Claire, predictably, starts searching for them with the help of Owen. A genuinely well-made film, Jurassic World is a befitting sequel to the original film and decidedly better than the first two lackluster sequels. However, it lacks the insight, originality and charm of the original. Several important themes — the effect of divorce on young boys; the military use of the genetically modified animals; the mutual exclusivity of being a good mother and a successful business woman; the marketing of dinosaurs to today’s consumers; the arrogance of man when dealing with other living beings and a few others — are touched upon, but never explored fully. While this is frustrating, it does not take enough away from the film to make it less than the spectacularly entertaining film it truly is. The film’s strength — in addition to the likable cast, excellent sound and the verisimilitude of dinosaurs — is a few magnificent action sequences. Trevorrow’s film-making is logical, clear and coherent. He is more interested in shock and awe than in fear and terror. There is a lot of spectacle but little blood and gore on the screen. A lot is left to the viewer’s imagination. Rating: Ally Adnan lives in Dallas and writes about culture, history and art. He tweets @allyadnan
FILM
Out of tune
Pitch Perfect 2 lacks the musical moments that made the first film so great BY SAMEEN AMER
Three years after their first big screen outing, The Barden Bellas are back in musical comedy Pitch Perfect 2. The sequel, like most follow-ups, isn’t as good as the original, but offers enough entertainment to please fans of the franchise. After becoming the first all-female a cappella group to win a national competition, The Bellas are riding high on their success, but their journey hits a snag when Fat Amy’s (Rebel Wilson) wardrobe malfunction during a performance results in the group getting suspended from competing at the collegiate level. To get reinstated, the girls must win the a cappella world championship, a tournament in which no American team has ever been victorious. Meanwhile, group leader Beca (Anna Kendrick) secretly starts a recording studio internship, Chloe (Brittany Snow) has trouble imagining her life without The Bellas after graduation, Amy is pursued by Bumper (Adam DeVine), and new student Emily (Hailee Steinfeld), whose mother Katherine (Katey Sagal) was once a Bella, joins the group. Director Elizabeth Banks steps behind the camera and sticks to the template of the original to make a fun, pleasant sequel that is enjoyable but doesn’t try to be exceptional in 40 any way. The film plays it safe by following its JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205
predecessor’s formula, and while its sarcastic and bawdy humour may not be up everyone’s alley, it is likely to connect with viewers who loved the first instalment. But even with style, tone, and target audience in mind, Pitch Perfect 2 suffers from a number of missteps. The story at its core isn’t very strong and the events just seem to have been strung together as an excuse to bring the girls back on the screen. Some of the song choices, Jessie J’s song Flashlight in particular, are bland. And Steinfeld lacks the charisma, at least in this instance, to carry her role and has been given a bigger part than her character deserves. Overall, this sequel to 2012’s surprise hit Pitch Perfect may not be as charming, but it still manages to entertain. There are a host of cameos in the movie, most of which are quite amusing. And even though there is nothing particularly exceptional about the storyline or execution, fans of the series will still enjoy the chemistry between the cast, as well as their a cappella performances and zany antics.
Rating: Sameen Amer is a Lahore-based freelance writer and critic. She tweets @Sameen
For more toe-tapping laughter watch School of Rock (2003) After impersonating his friend in order to be hired as an elementary school substitute teacher, a struggling musician (Jack Black) turns his class into a rock band. The Rocker (2008) A failed drummer (Rainn Wilson) joins his nephew’s (Josh Gad) high school band and gets another chance to pursue his dream of becoming a rock star.
Bandslam (2009) A group of misfits form a rock group participate in a battle of the bands competition, going up against the best for a chance to prove themselves.
HEALTH
VIRAL INSIGHT Summer means eye trouble; here‘s how you can fight infections
Dos and Don’ts
BY ISHRAT ANSARI DESIGN BY EESHA AZAM
Dark glasses
Viral eye infections can spread in any season, but are especially active during the summers. An infection occurs when the virus invades a part of the eyeball or surrounding area, including the clear front surface of the eye (cornea) or the thin, moist membrane line of the outer and inner eyelids (conjunctiva). Although there are no particular reasons for the cause, it is imperative to see an eye specialist each time you catch an infection.
Dr Chaudhry says the use of dark glasses during an eye infection does not help limit its spread. “Wearing dark glasses only helps the patient reduce eyestrain in bright conditions since the eye becomes sensitive to light when infected,” adds Dr Shahzad.
“Germs are very active in the summer if it does not rain and the virus spreads quickly if one does not take proper care of hygiene,” says Dr Tanveer Chaudhry, head of ophthalmology at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. The infection can affect either one eye or both, and though it does not affect eyesight, it can put a strain on the infected eye, he adds. Ophthalmic consultant at Shahzad Eye Hospital Dr Haris Shahzad says allergies are triggered because the eye membrane becomes very sensitive, making the eye vulnerable to attack from germs. “Cases of viral eye infections are reported from areas where blasts and firing incidents are frequent. The reason is that gunpowder and explosive material spread in the environment,” he explains. Dr Shahzad says too much dust in the house or the presence of pets can also be a cause for eye infections, which are often very contagious.
Symptoms Redness Eye strain and pain Eye discharge Blurry vision Swelling 42
Rose water Use of rosewater can aggravate the virus since the availability of pure rosewater is rare. "It can be very dangerous to the eye," says Dr Shahzad. Using steroids can provide temporary relief, but can result in severe complications, he adds. Steroids are antiinflammatory, but can worsen some conditions.
Medication Viral eye infections are very common, but people often panic and try self-medication. Medicines can provide temporary relief but have negative effects in the long run. Do not use any eye drops before consulting a doctor, warns Dr Shahzad. When you catch an infection, wash your eyes with boiled water as soon as possible as “the virus can affect eyesight if it enters the eye,” he says. “If the infection is untreated, it can leave scars or cause other problems. We only offer supporting treatment as the virus takes 10 to 12 days to go away," he adds.
Precaution
Since viral infections are contagious, the person infected should take special care of personal hygiene and avoid close contact, including shaking hands, with others. Moreover, they should not share towels or handkerchiefs with family members, while married couples should sleep separately. Also avoid touching and rubbing the eyes and teach children to not touch their eyes without washing their hands first.T Ishrat Ansari works at The Express Tribune Karachi desk. She tweets @Ishrat_ansari
JUNE 28 -JULY 4 205