The Express Tribune Magazine - June 3

JUNE 3-9 2012

how to save a life

JUNE 3-9 2012

Cover Story

18 How to save a life What if you could save lives, even after your own death?

Travel

31 Hashish, Hippies and Hedonism Naveed Hussain visits Christiania, Denmark’s free-wheeling tribal area

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Feature

34 The Original Iron Man A villain to much of the world, in Central Asia Amir Temur is revered as a hero

Humour

38 Our Man on the Moon

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That’s one small step for Moonis and one giant leap for the mechanics of Lalookhet

Regulars 8 People & Parties: Out and about with Pakistan’s beautiful people 40 Review: Funny films that (slightly) fail 42 End Of The Line: Friend request

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Magazine Editor: Zarrar Khuhro, Senior Sub-Editor: Batool Zehra, Zainab Imam. Sub-Editors: Ameer Hamza and Dilaira Mondegarian.

Creative Team: Amna Iqbal, Jamal Khurshid, Essa Malik, Maha Haider, Faizan Dawood, Samra Aamir, Sanober Ahmed.

Publisher: Bilal A Lakhani. Executive Editor: Muhammad Ziauddin. Editor: Kamal Siddiqi.

For feedback and submissions: magazine@tribune.com.pk Printed: uniprint@unigraph.com

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Gloria Jean’s launches at the Clifton Dolmen Mall in Karachi

Tapu Javeri, Fatima Amir, Wardha and Nubain

Sidra Iqbal and Azfar Rehman PHOTOS COURTESY STATUSPRO INC

Khalid Malik and Hina

Shehnaz Ramzi

Mr and Mrs Ashary

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Mr and Mrs Danish Khan

Urooj

Zara and Bilal

Tooba and Zain

JUNE 3-9 2012

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Saba Ansari hosts the FPW3 after party in Karachi

Ayaz and Sabina

Sanam Agha and Manooj

Areeba, Saima and Asma

Manal and Basharat

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Maham

Iraj and Sadia

Rubab

PHOTOS COURTESY CATWALK PR

Frieha Altaf, Saba and Kokab

Amna Ilyas and Rizwanullah

Joshinder Chaggar

Change clothing launches at Dolmen Clifton Mall with a change makers event in Karachi

Somayya Adnan

Nida Butt and Hamza Jaffri

PHOTOS COURTESY VOILA PR

Hira Tareen

Mehrene

Saraa Gheewala and Shezi Chagla

Rubya and Deepak Perwani

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JUNE 3-9 2012

JUNE 3-9 2012

PEOPLE & PARTIES

PHOTOS COURTESY VOILA PR

The Designers, a multibrand store, holds an exhibition in Karachi

Marvi, Maha and Rubya

Shaheen Khan holds an exhibition for her summer collection, Summer Fiesta, in Karachi Sarwat Gillani

Sehar and Shaheen Khan

Afsheen and Summaiya

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Kinza and Arbish

PHOTOS COURTESY MYRA IQBAL

Arena holds the premiere for The Avengers in Rawalpindi

Farzeen

Farooq and Zahra

Sameer, Anum and Asfandyar

Scentsation holds the event ‘Shades of Motherhood’ at Dolmen Mall Clifton in Karachi

Samra and Dr Bilal Alvi

Rohma Qureshi

Tehseen Feroze and Madiha Iftikhar

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FEATURE

The state museum with its signature dome

the original iron man “On mountain soil I first drew life, The mists of the Taglay have shed; Nightly their dews upon my head, And, I believe, the winged strife; And tumult of the headlong air, Have nestled in my very hair.” From Edgar Allen Poe’s epic poem Tamerlane PHOTOS AND TEXT BY FAZAL KHALIQ

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Sitting atop a horse, with a hand raised towards the sky as though he were the master of all he surveyed, the statue of Amir Temur — whose name means ‘Iron’ in Persian — welcomes all who enter the spacious square in the heart of the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.

At the base of the statue, one spies an inscription: “Strength is

in justice,” a quotation attributed to the man regarded as a hero

by most Central Asians and despised as a villain by much of the rest of the world.

Amir Temur Square, where the statue is located, has had many

changes of name — transforming every time a new regime decided to put its own stamp on history. It was first built in the

JUNE 3-9 2012

1870s, by the Russian Imperial Government, and was known as

Konstantin Square. The statue in the middle of the square then was that of General Konstantin Petrovich von Kaufman, a Russian aristocrat and the first governor-general of Russian Turkestan (of which modern Uzbekistan was then a part).

After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the statue was replaced

with a Monument of the Free Workers. At the height of Stalin’s

reign, that statue was replaced by one of Joseph Stalin himself.

In 1968, as the glorification of Stalin was purged from Soviet textbooks, it was replaced by one of Karl Marx. Finally, in the early

1990s, as the Central Asian Republics gained independence, it was renamed Amir Temur Square.

Amir Temur is regarded by most Central Asians as a hero and

his time is remembered fondly by many Uzbeks. “Temur has a revered place in our hearts. He was a true leader, a real amir

Amir Temur Square, where the statue is located, has had many changes of name — transforming every time a new regime decided to put its own stamp on history.

who helped develop the whole region with art, architecture, literature, science and trade,” said Aziz Mirza, a resident of Samarkand.

That’s understandable, because despite the depredations and

massacres Temur carried out in other lands, he was very particular in his desire to make Samarkand the greatest city in the

world. This city of blue domes still bears Temur’s architectural imprint.

“He was a real talent seeker and used to bring the most gifted

artisans to Samarkand from the areas which he conquered. He would leave them (artisans) free to express themselves in their

respective arts and that’s why one can see grandeur in the architecture of his time,” Mirza added.

The design of the museum itself, with its distinctive blue ro-

tunda visible from afar, also harkens to the Timurid era. The main gallery, circular in shape, has several large paintings of

Amir Temur and other kings of the Temurid dynasty. It also has a very large copy of the Quran, which is labelled “Usman’s Quran, 7th century”.

Perhaps what is extraordinary about the museum is that much

of its displays are replicas of Temurid artefacts, manuscripts and artwork, as the originals are on display in other museums around

the world. Yet the museum nonetheless manages to paint the Temurid era as a golden age, with no references anywhere to be found of the dynasty’s fabled brutality. The whitewashing of history it seems is not limited to the square itself. Not that it bothers the visitors.

“The period of Temur and Temurids shines in the pages of Uz-

bekistan’s history. Some even refer to it as the ‘Temurids Renaissance’,” said Ajmal, a Tashkent University student who was visiting the museum.

“I really feel honour and pride in our heritage which makes me

realise that our ancestors contributed much to human civilisation,” said Yasmeen, another student and resident of Tashkent.

A statue of Amir Temur in the heart of Tashkent

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Some of the displays are indeed of people who made impressive JUNE 3-9 2012

FEATURE

The museum nonetheless manages to paint the Temurid era as a golden age, with no references anywhere to be found of the dynasty’s fabled brutality.

The whitewashing of history it seems is not limited to the square itself contributions to local culture. There is, for example, a miniature of the great Uzbek poet Alisher Navoi in

the literature gallery. Close to the miniature is an

inscription with a quotation of another famous Central Asian warrior, one more familiar to Pakistanis:

Zaheeruddin Babar. “Nobody wrote more and better

than Alisher Navoi since the very first lines in the

Turkic languages had been written,” the first Mughal emperor was quoted as having said.

Other displays include quotes from Amir Temur

himself. “I befriended travellers from each country

and province and they entrusted me with information from their lords. And I appointed merchants and

caravanserai to travel to each country including Chi-

na, Khotan, India, Rum, Algeria, France and Egypt from which they brought skills and gifts,” says one such inscription.

Another gallery portrays Temur as a builder of

mosques and schools and included another quote from the Amir himself: “In every city, town and village, I established mosques, schools, and guest hous-

es, alms houses for the poor and hospitals for the rich with physicians to treat them. In every city, I established palaces and courts to administer justice fairly.”

The warriors of Central Asia were no doubt more

than just marauding hordes and they — including

Amir Temur himself — deserve to be remembered for much more than just their bloody conquests. The

museum in Tashkent is a valuable lesson in history, because it shows that the warrior-kings of Turkestan

Above: Armour fit for great warriors

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JUNE 3-9 2012

did not just destroy their enemies, they also sought to emulate their finest traditions.T

Above: Weapons used by Temur and his army >>Legend has it...

When Soviet archaeologist Mikhail Gerasimov wanted to open up Temur’s tomb in June 1941, he was warned by locals that a terrible catastrophe would descend on his country if he disturbed the conqueror’s rest. Brushing it off as superstition, he went ahead with his plans and three days later, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, starting a conflict in which over 23 million Soviet citizens perished. Ironically, when Temur’s remains were reinterred in November 1942, the Red Army launched a counter-offensive which turned the tide of the war.<<

HUMOUR

our man on

the moon

BY A A SHEIKH

The year is 2112. Pakistan has finally managed to put a man on the moon. He lands in one of those American colonies that former president Nut Gingrich promised exactly a hundred years ago.

It wasn’t easy. There were serious visa issues. Also, the launch failed

several times, prompting a thorough overhaul of the spacecraft by a

team of mechanics from Lalookhet. In addition, repeated onboard power

failures meant the craft was adrift in space often, losing all course and direction.

Eventually, it did land rather safely, losing only part of its landing gear

and a single tyre, and narrowly but successfully avoiding a group of pan-

icked passersby in the process. CNN’s Anderson Blooper caught up with

Pakistan’s first astronaut, Qamaruzzaman Moonis, soon after the historic touchdown. Some excerpts:

QM: Where is camera, I look in camera, yes?

AB: Yes, it’s here. You’re on air, sir.

QM: No! I not on air. I already landed. I think. Yes?

AB: I mean you’re live on camera, sir. The whole world is watching you.

QM: Yes yes, thank you. Here I am. Hello people.

AB: I’m sure your family and friends back home are watching. This is a proud moment for …

QM: No, they not watch. Sadly. This is load-shedding year in Pakistan. Electriccity come next year. For two month.

AB: Oh yes, I understand the power crisis in your country, sir. But I’m sure they must have heard about the landing. Maybe celebrating right now, distributing sweets, throwing meals, as I understand is the custom …

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QM: No, no food-cooking. Sadly. This is gas shortage month. Gas come next month.

For two week.

AB: Well at least there must be wild cheers and dances and …

QM: No, no dance. Sadly. Dance banned in Punjab. Assembly pass law. CM Maulvi Nimaz Sharif himself ban it.

AB: Well sir … I think people must be happy to hear the news anyways …

QM: Yes of course. Pakistani people always happy. Government say so.

AB: Sir, given the troubled times in the country, I can imagine how hard it must be to run a space programme. Could you tell us …

QM: Yes yes. Pakistan have many space programme. I see one on Disco Very Channel myself. That why I want to come here.

AB: Uh, I’m not talking about TV programmes …

QM: Yes, I love TV. Talk show. All politician insulting each other. Also science show on Very Disco Channel. But I not watch much. Load-shedding, you know.

AB: Sir, um, I was wondering how were you selected for this prestigious trip. I mean, you don’t seem to …

QM: Of course I was selected, all-proper. You see, PM’s wife’s makeup artist’s

nephew my close friend. I told him: I want to be country’s first spaceman. He said: not easy. So I pay him Rs50,000 and two gas cylinder. So here I am.

AB: But sir, your qualifications, experience …

QM: Of course I has qualification. Degree. Astrophysical. From University of

Lasbela. Cheapest in country. I only pay Rs15,000 for it. Degree is degree you know, real or political. That how I become astronut.

AB: You mean astronaut.

QM: Yes, astronut.

AB: Sir, I was hoping you’d give us your personal angle on this momentous journey. I mean …

QM: No problem. My personal angle: about 75 degrees. Same angle all

through flight. Back hurt so much now. But Lalookhet mechanic say:

you change angle, whole rocket break up. So I very careful. All the time 75 degrees.

AB: Sir ... what’s that noise coming from your craft: banging, shouting…!

MAL TION: JA ILLUSTRA

ID KHURSH

QM: Oh no! I forget. Ten people in cargo compartment. Illegal you see, no visa. I go check. More Inter View later. I love TV!

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REVIEW

hail to the chief

BY NOMAN ANSARI

In what is typical of films written by and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, The Dictator bombards viewers with humour that is sexist, racist, vulgar, and for the most part, absolutely laugh out loud hilarious. But here, Cohen doesn’t run a perfect regime. Unlike his other comedic films, such as Borat (2006), and Brüno (2009), The Dictator isn’t a mockumentary, being fully scripted instead, with a plot that is merely serviceable.

The movie tells the fictional tale of Admiral General Hafez Aladeen (Cohen), who seems to have been modeled after the late Libyan dictator Colonel Qaddafi. The film shows him as an immature and corrupt leader of the North African Republic of Wadiya, and such an anti-Semite that his favourite video game relives the 1972 Olympics ‘Munich massacre’, allowing him to shoot the digitised version of the Israeli Olympics team while they run away, looking horrified.

After the UN Security Council threatens Aladeen for continuing with his country’s nuclear weapons programme, he is kidnapped by a hitman (John C Reilly), and replaced with a double. Aladeen later realises it is all a scheme hatched by his evil uncle Tamir (Ben Kingsley), who we learn is looking to become wealthy by

tales of the expected

BY NOMAN ANSARI

As expected, the formulaic romantic comedy, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, isn’t a film pregnant in originality. While it does have its share of amusing moments, thanks to some one-liners from actor/comedian Chris Rock, on the whole, its narrative is more on par with a sterile sitcom, than a quality feature film.

That being said, the film is well acted, and stars an ensemble cast, who form the film’s five couples in focus that are on the road to parenthood. The first couple we are introduced to are the bickering Jules (Cameron Diaz) and Evan (Matthew Morrison), who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant after getting romantically involved on a celebrity dance show. There are Holly (Jennifer Lopez), and Alex (Rodrigo Santoro), who are a loving couple that are finding it difficult to make ends meet, as well as conceive naturally, and end up looking to adopt a poverty-stricken baby from Africa. The youngest pair of the film are Marco (Chace Crawford) and Rosie (Anna Kendrick), a pair that work at competing food trucks, and become pregnant after they become partners in a one-night stand.

The most interesting two couples of the film are also the only two that are directly linked: Wendy (Elizabeth Banks) and Gary (Ben 40 Falcone), and Gary’s NASCAR legend of a father Ramsey (Dennis JUNE 3-9 2012

appropriating Wadiya’s oil resources under the guise of democracy.

After Aladeen escapes, he tries to find a way back into power. Here, he is aided by Nadal (Jason Mantzoukas), the former head of his nuclear programme. Aladeen also becomes romantically involved with American social activist Zoey (Anna Farris) who, with her athletic figure, initially looks like a boy to Aladeen. Understandable, given that he usually surrounds himself with women with barbie-like dimensions.

Though when Nadal mentions a certain molestation incident involving Aladeen and some young boys, the dictator’s attraction to Zoey is better explained.

Towards the end, the film even delivers some interesting, albeit thinly veiled, social commentary on the double standards of first world nations. In terms of plot structure, the film definitely takes notes from generic comedy films, employing overly familiar clichés.

Having said that, The Dictator is armed to the teeth with a sharply written script, leaving no doubt that The Dictator does rule.

Quaid), and his much younger wife Skyler (Brooklyn Decker).

Wendy, who runs the ‘Breast Choice’ boutique for pregnant mothers, and is an author on pregnancy, has her views on motherhood reformed when she herself becomes pregnant, and goes through amusingly fluctuating emotions.

Meanwhile, her husband Gary, who is supportive of his wife, is shown to be resentful of his father for always being in competition with him. These fears of Gary are confirmed, after Ramsey steals the thunder of his son’s pregnancy news, by announcing that his own wife is pregnant with twins.

The movie is based on a popular bestseller with the same name, which functions as a guide for expecting mothers. At the cinema, to my horror, I was surrounded by women gleefully sharing their own pregnancy war stories during the viewing.

Unsurprisingly, for those who are either parents themselves, or planning to get there soon, the film is tailor-made to milk sentiments.

END OF THE LINE

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