The Express Tribune Magazine - May 12

MAY 12-18 2013

MAY 12-18 2013

Wardrobe

30

Don’t get hot under the collar Modern man’s shield against the summer sun

Portfolio

Cover Story

20

The Qawwal also rises

Hamza Akram gets his groove on

4

Fields of Gold The beauty of bread is that it comes from these great grains

34 Regulars

6 People & Parties: Out and about with the beautiful people 40 Reviews: Watch out for Iron Man 3 and The Croods 42 Gadgets: Tech for Time Pass

Magazine Editor: Mahim Maher and Sub-Editors: Ameer Hamza and Dilaira Mondegarian.

Creative Team: Amna Iqbal, Jamal Khurshid, Anam Haleem, Essa Malik, Maha Haider, Faizan Dawood, Samra Aamir, Asif Ali. 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

Element Jeans opens at Vogue Towers in Lahore

Sonia

Zarah

Rizwan, Riffat and Shabnam Natasha

Ria Noor

Murita Sen

Anees

6 MAY 12-18 2013

Ansa, Tariq, Marvin, Rhea Jane and Allan

Alizey Rasul

PHOTOS COURTESY THE TALENT & EVENT COMPANY

Kanwal and Sharjeel

MAY 12-18 2013

PEOPLE & PARTIES Adnan Malik Productions presents the music video My Punjabi Love For You in Karachi

Frieha Altaf and Adnan Malik Zoe Viccaji

Aaminah Sheikh

Sana Usman

Ayesha Omer Rabeel and Mantaha

8 MAY 12-18 2013

Anila

Alyzeh

PHOTOS COURTESY CATALYST PR AND MARKETING

Meera Ansari

MAY 12-18 2013

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Bano and Huriya

Erum, Chandni, Zareen and Amil

Diam

ond Nazia and Shazia D o laun lce V ches ita s in L howr aho re oom

Neha and Samar

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Hina MAY 12-18 2013

Noor and Sundus

Mahwish and Uzma

Nadia, Asma and Anam

Saniya

PHOTOS COURTESY J&S

Nazish

MAY 12-18 2013

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Abeera and Izza

PHOTOS COURTESY SAVVY PR & EVENTS

Saima, Alina and Saima

Aliza and Saira

Nabeela Sami brings Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt to Lahore Farrukh and Anushka

Humera

Saba

12

Waleed and Anum MAY 12-18 2013

Ayesha and Shazia

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Seemi and Meg PHOTOS COURTESY SAVVY PR & EVENTS

Maheen and Fauzia Sharmeen

Ammar and Maha

Aneeka and Reema

Amena and Waqar

Dolly and Nabeela

Reda and Khadija MAY 12-18 2013

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MAY 12-18 2013

MAY 12-18 2013

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Huma Dawood

Sehar Makdumi

Tara Uzra Dawood hosts a tea party to celebrate her birthday in Karachi Nazli Leghari and Nadia Rehan

Laila Rizvi and Asma Ahmad

Huma Adnan

Afreen Shiraz and Sofia Naveed Lari

Saira Saigal and Dr Fadieleh Sohail

Sharmeen Peshimam

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Dr Najjia Ashraf, Khadija Salim and Asma Kazmi

Sana Sultan

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ART OF ... PUBLIC RELATIONS

Mehrnaz Khan, Tara Uzra Dawood, Tanya Ashfaq, Aymen Malik, Zahida Habib and Zehra Reza

Yasmin Hyder

Beste and Mrs Adenan

Sana Usman Naz and Neshmia

PHOTOS COURTESY NEW WORLD CONCEPTS

Turkey’s National Sovereignty Day celebrated in Karachi

Saba Hussain and daughter Anita and Laiqa Hassan

Mr and Mrs Ansari

Nilofer and Nizar Lalani

Cyra Ali MAY 12-18 2013

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PEOPLE & PARTIES

Tanaz

Saadia Mirza launches her latest prĂŞt line at the Anjalee & Arjun Kapoor boutique in Dubai

Janie and Saadia

Amna Babar and Naila Ishtiaq

Safa and Annie Mansoor

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Myra and Meera

PHOTOS COURTESY SAVVY PR & EVENTS

Atinirmal and Nisha with a guest

PEOPLE & PARTIES Waleed Zaman and the Fashion Pakistan Council co-host a luncheon at Olivetto in Karachi

Fatima and Waleed Marzi

Shamaeel Ansari and Saadia Mansoor

Aneeka Bani

Maheen Khan Najia and Amna

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COVERSTORY COVER STORY

20 MAY 12-18 2013

Qawwali has been around longer than rock but these two genres share so much verve.

You could feel the headbanging come on to the guy with the extended bootlegged version of Jimi Hendrix’s hair in the front row. That was when everyone knew Hamza Akram had hit the sweet spot.

The 21-year-old delivered a blood-thumping performance with his ‘party’ at the Pakistan American Cultural Centre in Karachi on April 30 to test the waters with their ‘Sufystical’ blend of Qawwali and rock. The new-fangled name for their interpretation of fusion is too clever to stick but its sound is dead on.

Anyone who was in that auditorium that night knew this young man had quickened their pulse in the way that only one other had done before. But if you mentioned that name to Hamza Akram he would

likely blush. The weight of his musical lineage is four generations heavy and he is only too aware of it.

But in the body-still preparatory pause before he opens his mouth, you can tell Hamza is finally getting his groove on. He is the face of the next generation of shudh traditional Qawwali and is being trained by none other than his uncles Fareed Ayaz and Ustaad Naseeruddin Saami.

Cradle to chord All your stereotypes about the homes of qawwals are correct. From the day they are born, their children eat, sleep, breathe music.

Any other profession is unthinkable.

But even in a household whose bread and butter is about the other world, Darwinian evolution rings as true as it does in ‘normal’ ones. It is the ‘fittest’ child who is chosen to lead the pack.

“Whenever he was teach-

ing his students, my grandfather Munshi Raziuddin would single me out and make me sit there if only to observe,” says Hamza.

“Sometimes I would go to sleep listening to them perfect that one note for hours.”

Today his party consists of eight young scions of the Qavvaal Bachon ka Gharana of Delhi, including Hamza’s own brothers and the sons of his uncles, the famed qawwals Fareed Ayaz and Abu Mohammad.

“I was selected to lead the group by Fareed Ayaz,” he says. Just Fareed Ayaz, no chacha, taya or other deferential references, because the great qawwal is now his teacher and there is no space to invoke a family connection. It’s all about the hours of hard work required to master the art that has been handed down 750 years, and is considered almost sacred.

The newest voice from the oldest tradition tests the waters

BY ZAINAB IMAM PHOTOS ATHAR HUSSAIN

21

Continued on page 26 MAY 12-18 2013

COVERSTORY

COVERSTORY

Thank God for this performance. Tumhein ghairat aagayi, Hamza quotes Fareed Ayaz as telling him the night he performed himself for the first time in a qawwali to commemorate the death anniversary of Munshi Raziuddin in 2011 Practice, practice Hamza wasn’t always a clear choice though. “Everyone would make fun of me whenever I tried to sing,” he says. “My brothers and uncles were capable of creating such a powerful sound. I, on the other hand, had a terrible voice.”

It didn’t help that Fareed Ayaz would make it a point to chastise Hamza every time he made even the slightest mistake during a performance. “Sometimes I would be really embarrassed because I felt the audience could see him scolding me,” he adds.

But his father Ghulam Akram, who is also part of the Fareed Ayaz & Abu Mohammad group, would pacify him. He would tell the dejected young man to consider himself lucky that Fareed Ayaz was paying such special attention to him.

But it would take much more to convince Hamza that he was going to be able to make the grade. His confidence level was at an alltime low in 2005, following what he calls his worst performance ever. The All Pakistan Music Conference in Karachi had organised a competition for about 350 child musicians. Given his

lineage, Hamza was asked to come for an audition.

Hamza went running in a panic to his uncle Ustaad Naseeruddin Saami who taught him Jaagi main teray kaaran saari saari ratian in a Raag called Kalavati. Jaan, as Saami’s pupils refer to him, broke it down for him note by note.

Unfortunately, the 13-year-old did little to squawk out the number. “I was selected only because there were others who were worse than me!” Hamza says candidly. After the audition, one of the musicians beckoned to him.

He asked him if he was really Munshi Raziuddin’s grandson. When Hamza said he was, the musician replied: ‘Woh to kabhi aisa na gaatay’ (He would never sing like that). “I wanted to die and I cried inconsolably when I got home,” says Hamza. “My father kept asking me what on earth had happened. And I told him I was a complete failure.”

It was only two years later, by 2007, when Hamza hit 15 that he began to receive formal training in both qawwali, under Fareed Ayaz, and eastern classical music, under Saami.

In a small ceremony Ham-

Umrao Khan has one son

Generation 1:

26

Sardar Khan, who has one son Ibrahim Khan

Ghaus Khan

Umrao Khan

za became the ganda bandh pupil of the two ustads who tied a red thread around his wrist which he continues to proudly wear today.

Saami would make him work on sustaining one note for three, sometimes even four, hours. Practice involved making a sound like gargling and holding it for even longer.

While Fareed Ayaz, in a typical otherworldly fashion, would dismiss all talk of dietary restrictions, SaaGeneration 2:

Qawwal Bachon ka Dilli Gharana Tanras Khan (actual name Mir Qutub Bakhsh) had two sons

Hamza loves AR Rehman and was greatly disappointed that he couldn’t go with Fareed Ayaz to Stanford University where the qawwal was collaborating with the Indian artist

Ghulam Ghaus Khan had four sons Abdul Karim Khan, Abdul Rahim Khan, Abdul Azeem Khan and Suleman Khan

mi told Hamza to stop eating rice and drinking cold water and soft drinks. “One day, I went over for practice after having cheated the night before,” recalls Hamza. Saami spotted it immediately and Hamza had to confess he had been unable to resist his mother’s biryani for dinner. But instead of chastising the young singer, Saami told him to know when to break the rules. For what if he went to a performance where they were serving nothing Generation 3: Abdul Azeem Khan had two sons

Abdul Hameed Khan

Munshi Raziuddin Khan

but rice? He could never become too choosy.

The qawwal boot camp involved two hours with Saami every day and then performing and training for four hours during performances every night with Fareed Ayaz. “Since Qawwali is such an energetic form of music, it would wear my throat muscles out. When I would wake up in the morning and try to speak, my voice would be unrecognizable,” Hamza says. Saami advised

him that in order to counter this he should start each day before breakfast by practicing his root note — the one most natural to his voice — with the harmonium for half an hour.

Saami then increased his training to five hours a day that was supplemented by four in performances in the evening with the rest of the party. Eventually his vocal chords strengthened enough to do the heavyduty lifting needed every night. “It is true that when he came to me, he had no knowledge,” Ustad Naseeruddin Saami told The Express Tribune. “But in our world, we judge a potential student not on his current ability but on his potential.” In Hamza, he spotted that and courage to pursue his passion. “I have high hopes from him. I see him as becoming a force in both classical music and Qawwali.”

Naseeruddin Saami

Nizamuddin Saami

In 2011, Hamza performed himself for the first time in a qawwali to commemorate the death anniversary of Munshi Raziuddin. Everyone in the audience knew that a star was born, but what made Hamza’s day was Fareed Ayaz’s suc-

cinct but all-encompassing acknowledgment of his grit, determination and talent. “Thank God for this performance. Tumhein ghairat aagayi,” Hamza quotes Ayaz as telling him that night.

For Fareed Ayaz, the rules

are simple: the more you learn, the more you get. “I chose Hamza because he is capable of achieving it,” he told The Express Tribune. “I know that he has both the passion and the ability to take our legacy forward.

He has my full blessing.”

Generation 5:

Munshi Raziuddin Khan

Fareed Ayaz

Once upon a time, three notes led to embarrassment in the darbar of Allauddin Khilji (1296–1316), the second ruler of the Turko-Afghan Khilji dynasty in India.

A performer from Karnataka by the name of Gopal Naik had come to the court with 900 pupils and sang a 28-line song in Sanskrit for Khilji. He then asked the ruler if there was a Muslim cultural equivalent.

Khilji was embarrassed. The Muslims had only three notes at that time. A meeting was called, and someone suggested that help be sought from Abul Hassan Jameeluddin Amir Khusrau, a special mureed of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia who was a musical genius. The king approached Aulia, seeking Khusrau’s help in the matter.

Aulia ordered Khusrau to create a response to Naik’s incredible music. Khusrau, unable to say no to his pir, asked for six months. He then selected 12 men who were known to have beautiful voices and called this team the ‘Qawwal Bachon ka Gharana’. It was led by Saamat bin Ibrahim, a physically impaired man who is said to have begun to hear and speak after a miracle performed by Aulia.

After listening to the response that the Qawwal Bachon ka Gharana presented, Gopal Naik was so impressed that he declared he wanted to become a Muslim. He was converted

by Saamat, who became the founder of the Qawwal Bachon ka Gharana.

Saamat’s family continued to work in music, but it was only in the 1800s that the next big name of the lineage, Ustaad Tanras Khan, emerged. He was asked to teach music to Bahadur Shah Zafar and was gifted the Chandni Mahal on Tanras Street, that continues to stand in Old Delhi today.

With Tanras Khan, the family’s name was changed to Qawwal Bachon ka Dilli Gharana. Tanras Khan was Hamza Akram’s great, great, great grandfather (see family tree).

The past and future

Generation 4: Abdul Hameed Khan

From Amir Khusrau to Hamza Akram

Abu Mohammad Ghulam Ali Akram Akbar

Fareed Ayaz Fareed Ayaz has six sons Ghayoor Ahmed, Moizuddin, Mubarak Hasan, Zarrar Ahmed, Shah Baleegh and Tehseen Fawad

Abu Mohammad Abu Mohammad has three sons Ghulam Mustafa, Muhammad Shah, Raziuddin

Ghulam Akram Ghulam Akram has three sons Hamza Akram, Taimoor Akram and Abdul Akram

Ali Akbar Ali Akbar has two sons Fattahul Khair, Abu Turab

COVERSTORY COVER STORY

Like other families organise barbeque dinners, Hamza’s family holds the Khandani Jalsa three to four times every year. Every man performs a pure classical solo, starting from the youngest all the way to the eldest. On the 29th of Ramazan, the family organises the jalsa to pay tribute to Ustad Tanras Khan, the fountainhead of the family, on his death anniversary

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Since then, Hamza has matured (exponentially).

But he has learnt well at the feet of his masters and is devoid of hubris. For example, he admits that he continues to find it difficult to perform Man Kunto Maula.

“It has a specific flavour of Raag Bhopali and that has to be delivered the way it needs to be done,” he explains. “And I am sure you will agree that no Qawwali is complete until Man Kunto Maula is performed well!”

While he knows he will be a qawwal all his life, Hamza isn’t one to stick MAY 12-18 2013

to tradition so religiously that he forgets to stay in tune with changing times.

Two years ago, he enrolled to study Western Theory with keyboardist Leonard Massey at the National Academy of Performing Arts in Karachi to learn the Western equivalent of Eastern musical notes.

“Hamza spent little time with me, but it is amazing how much he was able to learn because of his will to absorb as much knowledge as he can,” Massey says. “He coped quickly, and even learnt how to read and write Western musical

notes. I feel that Qawwali is in his blood, and it is his strength.”

Hamza feels this training gives him an advantage when performing internationally with foreign musicians. “My ancestors did not know what World Music was,” he humbly explains. “All they ever did was Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa. Now is the time to move beyond that.”

As Hamza’s PACC performance of his blend of fusion ‘Sufystical’ proved, he has the found the beginnings of a formula which was popularized by the great Nusrat

Fateh Ali Khan. “But it was never considered a genre,” says Hamza. “I want to establish it as one.”

If anything, it will be a spiritual and worldly journey in which this young qawwal will have to learn to walk the middle ground that straddles experiment and tradition. In order to remain grounded, though, he carries with him a couplet Fareed Ayaz gave him: Apni mitti pe hi chalne ka saleeqa seekho Sang-e-mar mar par chalo ge to phisal jao gay

Flirting with fusion

For a bacha of the Dilli gharana is it too experimental to depart from a centuries-old tradition?

BY RAFAY MAHMOOD

Hamza Akram’s Qawwali-Rock ‘Sufystical’ fusion created with musician Ahsan Bari is an evolution of what Coke Studio producer Rohail Hyatt did with Fareed Ayaz and Abu Mohammad’s masterpieces such as Kangna. The difference between the two is subtle. Coke Studio kept the spotlight on the powerhouse vocals. On the other hand, in Sufystical, the qawwals are following the music, which makes it a contemporary take on a classical tradition. Add an immersive instrument such as the sarangi and a jazz element with the saxophone and you’ll get an amped-up form of Qawwali that is all about the groove.

Sufystical retains the spiritual content of Qawwali but with bass guitar, drums and keyboard added on, its Rock undertones are highlighted. Qawwali is so very rock-like — both genres are pegged to high notes and are sung loud.

The tricky part was merging the two styles that have originated far away from each other geographically, chronologically and philosophically. But in Ahsan Bari, Hamza Akram & Party had rock solid support. Bari was able to ensure the huge set of instruments complemented each other in numerous ensemble pieces but still maintained their individual presence.

For the smattering of head bangers in what was essentially an elderly audience at the Sufystical performance, it was Bari’s brilliant guitar solos and an experiment with Baloch rhythms that had everyone swaying. In particular, it was the polyrhythmic take on the popular Baloch folk tune Wash Mallay that garnered the most applause. It works particularly well with Qawwali because, according to Akhtar Chanal Zahri, the maestro behind Daanah pah Daanah all Baloch melodies are derived from the stroll of a camel and are thus based on a beat of six. Compare this to the Sindhi or Punjabi melodies which are based on the gallop of a horse or beat of four. A

The agony and the ecstasy The Way of the Sufi The late Idries Shah’s 1970 follow-up to his book The Sufis has been hailed by the New York Times and is considered an excellent introduction to the subject. It contains the biographies of the Sufis and has extensive notes at the back. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1970

Sufi Music of India and Pakistan: Sound, Context, and Meaning in Qawwali Regula Burckhardt Qureshi walks you through all aspects of qawwali, from the textual message to the proper procedure and setting. It contains the helpful transliteration of verse and their English translations and is full of photographs. Considered a classic. Unfortunately out of print, according to OUP. London: Cambridge University Press, 1986

Three of our top picks on books and documentaries that bring you the mechanics, history and beauty of qawwali

Khayal Darpan - A Mirror of Imagination Delhi-based filmmaker Yousuf Saeed explores the impact of India’s Partition on the classical music traditions of Pakistan in his musical documentary film, Khayal Darpan. He travels across the country to interview musicians and scholars, attend music concerts and to observe the teaching of this beautiful art.

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Don’t get hot under the

WARDROBE

BY GULRAIZ KHAN

How to beat the Pakistani heat, and still feel like Don Draper this summer We would all like to believe we are Don Draper from Mad Men — sharp, impeccable and crisp in fitted suits and plain, point-collar white dress shirts. But a dose of Pakistan’s summer heat is sufficient reality check that this is not the 1960s, and we don’t work on Madison Avenue.

Cutaway BONANZA

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Large Spread

d

collar

With the mercury over 40 degrees, and the sweltering summer sun creeping under the skin, a professional in Karachi, Lahore or Islamabad must keep his suit tucked away amid moth balls, lest for occasions that absolutely demand it, for a good six months of the year. The centre-piece of his wardrobe, then, is the often-overlooked formal shirt. The ubiquitous white dress shirt has come a long way from its early days where it epitomized ‘white-collar’ professionals in managerial and administrative positions. The point-collar has at least six different variations – from deeply conservative button-down to the positively scandalous Mao collar – and the cuffs have as many configurations. The colour palette has also broadened to include blues and pastels, including pinks, lavenders and limes. Luckily for today’s working man in Pakistan, the choices are endless. Clothing giants such as Bonanza, Cambridge and Gul Ahmed stock a large variety of dress shirts, albeit mostly conservative in colour, fitting and pattern. For the more dandy among us, there are bespoke shirt makers, such as Chester Bernard, Cotton & Cotton, and a new name on the (Zamzama) block, Shahzeb Saeed, who also stock for the conservatives.

These options are by no means comprehensive. There are tens of other bespoke shirt makers and brands, and there is of course, your trustworthy tailor who can replicate a Zegna quicker than you unfurl your Italian fabric in front of him and exclaim: favoloso! We talk to some bespoke shirt makers and ask them how to beat the summer heat, and still manage to feel like Don Draper.

BONANZA “The most popular fabric during summers is 100% fine cotton … due to its inherent breathable feature that makes it cool and comfortable to wear,” says CEO Bonanza Garment Industries Pvt Ltd Hanif Bilwani. Shades of whites, pastels and blues are the most in demand and most recommended, he adds.

In line with local temperature, Bonanza introduced the ‘Stay Cool’ shirts with an ultraviolet finish that provides additional sun protection by blocking UV rays from reaching your body, making the shirt more comfortable to wear. The company does not offer bespoke services and shirts range between Rs1,580 and Rs3,600.

Summer staples A combination of 12 full-sleeve striped shirts, 12 half-sleeve checkered shirts and some basic wrinkle-free trousers and formal trousers should be enough to lead through the summers. Linen coats are also a major hit during the season.

Spread

Small

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KNOW THY SHIRT

WARDROBE COTTON & COTTON “Linen is as comfortable to wear during the summers [as 100% cotton] but since it is more vulnerable to wrinkles, 100% cotton clearly scores high on preference scale,” says Asad Bari of Cotton & Cotton that has stores in major Pakistani cities.

He recommends white and shades of blue, but adds that light pastel tones of lilac and pinks “go equally well.” Cotton & Cotton’s Royale series, made of 100% Egyptian cotton, “gives the shirts a definite advantage of being practical and comfortable. It is machine-washable, making it more manageable, yet rugged enough to maintain a fresh look for months,” adds Bari. Their off-the-rack shirts cost anywhere between Rs1,780 and Rs4,140, depending on the fabric, while bespoke shirts will set you back Rs4,070 to Rs5,130, and take 15 days.

Not all collars are the same.

Neither are the cuffs.

Know your collars and cuffs before you go to a bespoke shirt maker

THE COLLARS Spread Button-down

Summer staples Dress shirts in light colours, such as shades of white and blue, for office wear with dress pants in lighter fabrics and light grey, khaki and black colours; two pairs of formal shoes, preferably in cordovan, and black; ties in light soothing colors, without heavy designs or patterns.

Medium

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Long point/Forward Point

THE CUFFS

Rounded

Convertible French Two-button barrel Single-button standard

WARDROBE SHAHZEB SAEED “The most popular fabric is certainly 100% cotton with a wrinkle-free finish, but nothing beats double-ply Italian cotton for its vivid colours and peach-type finish of the fabric,” says Shahzeb Saeed of the eponymous new brand Shahzeb Saeed. He recommends lemon, light green, peach, light blue and pinks in addition to whites and blues that can be worn throughout the year. “Our fabrics have 100% breathability and water absorption capabilities,” adds Saeed.

“We also ensure that our fabrics are in wrinkle-free finish, so the shirt maintains its crisp look throughout the day.” His ready-to-wear collection starts from Rs1,500 while bespoke shirts cost up to Rs3,250, depending on the fabric selected. For a bespoke shirt, “the customer has multiple options for collars, cuffs and accessories, and it roughly takes one to two weeks,” Saeed adds.

Summer staples At least seven to 10 shirts in combinations of stripes, check and plains; plain whites and blues for office wear, but experiment with colours for evening wear – try turquoise, lemon, Arctic blue and lavender.

Tuxedo

Large Spread

CHESTER BERNARD “Summers are all about 100% cotton,” proclaims Faraz Salehjee of Chester Bernard, an upscale men’s clothing store on Karachi’s Zamzama and Lahore’s MM Alam Road. “Men’s clothing is all about occasions and situations.

Power ties for meetings; Cornflower blues to all pastels for the office. Shirts with inlays and subtle details for when you’re trying to impress, and peacock colours for when you’re out at night: the perfect show stopper,” he adds.

Salehjee says they try to buy fabrics from the best mills in the world. “The better mill you buy your fabic from, the better quality the fabric will have in breathability, construction and design.”

He added that they take interest in investing in fabric companies which innovate with dyes, fabric construction or wrinkle-free chemicals which enhance the customer’s experience. Their shirts range between Rs2,500 and Rs5,500, depending on the fabric, and a little extra cash can get you a bespoke shirt.

Summer staples Light, printed paper cotton shirts, shorts, loafers, 160-thread count crisp shirts, t-shirts with no numbers, animals and medieval crests on them; tapered trousers in at least seven colours, including light blue, navy , black , camel, white; woven leather belts and sunglasses.

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PORTFOLIO

Fields of

Gold

BY MALIK SHAFIQ

They sometimes lose their limbs while separating the wheat from the chaff. But for the farmers who work these fields of gold, if the harvest is good, they can make up to 2,400kg a season. This year, Pakistan, the

eighth largest wheat-producing nation in the world, will produce over 24 million tonnes. Around 70 per cent of it will come from the Punjab. Photographer Malik Shafiq visited the towns of Jallo Mor, Atari and Lakhodehar near the Wagah border in Lahore, to document the wheat harvest season. Sown in the cold of winter, the golden wheat was ready to be reaped, threshed and winnowed. A

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PORTFOLIO

Wheat sowing season starts October 20 and runs till November 25. Farmers borrow heavily to buy seed and diesel. Once the crop is ready the wheat is bundled up and thrown into the combined thresher. It separates the chaff from the grain. The additional airing out helps. The chaff is valuable and is sold to the paper industry for fodder and is even added to flour as it is a great source of dietary fibre. The brick kilns also buy it as fuel. Nothing should go to waste.

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FILM

Ironed Out and fLat

The third installment in the Iron Man trilogy will hopefully be the last

BY TOOBA MASOOD

Let’s cut to the chase. Iron Man 3 did not strike a nerve. Maybe my expectations were too high.

The only save was the action sequences. Billionaire playboy Tony Stark’s (Iron Man) Malibu pad is blown to smithereens. There is a great rescue scene for 13 people thrown out of Air Force One mid-air. Robert Downey Jr is an amazing super hero, as always, but the story falls flat for most of the two and a half hours.

In the third edition we see our hero still trying to come to terms with the invasion of Earth by Loki to subjugate Earth. Nick Fury, the director of an international peacekeeping agency, cobbles together The Avengers (Stark aka the Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye) as a team to save the world from the powerful Loki.

In Iron Man 3 our hero is shown still trying to come to terms with the New York invasion. For Stark, the success of The Avengers was a big deal. But he has since become a recluse because of his reliance on the Iron Man suit. His anxiety levels have escalated. He can’t sleep and this leads to problems ms with his girlfriend, Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow). At this point, new villain Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) enters. Kingsley’s character is a cross between Osama bin Laden and a warlord from m Game of Thrones. However, he is just the face of evil — the real bad guy being Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), a stark raving mad scientist who our playboy slighted at a science convention in Switzerland years ago. Yes, the terrorist isn’t the bad guy for once. It is Killian who has a serum that can turn people into living bombs.

The tongue-in-cheek humour helps defuses the tension built up by Kingsley’s character. There are jokes about Croydon, British football and Downton Abbey — but I don’t think many people outside the UK would appreciate them.

There are some parts that the censor boards might bleep/blank out. No, not the making-out scenes but the ones in which Pakistan is mentioned with links to terrorism. sm.

The Mandarin is thought to have been in Pakistan (but they later find out that he’s in n Miami).

In another scene Tony Stark’s best friend Col James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) is shown making friends in a hostile Pakistan. I don’t know what part of the country they were trying to show, but it looked like a scene out of Aladdin.

Top 3 Robert Downey Jr movies

1

2 Less than Zero

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You will barely recognise Downey Jr in Less than Zero, the 1987 movie based on a Bret Easton Ellis novel. He delivers to perfection the hopelessness and depths of despair of a young man who is sucked in by a heroin addiction. Not a movie to watch if you’re down but do get the soundtrack.

MAY 12-18 2013

Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus What could have been a tragic freak show ends up with Downey giving a moving performance as a man who suffers from hypertrichosis (extreme hairiness) in Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus.

Although Downey wasn’t nominated for this movie, his performance as Arbus’s hirsute neighbour received great acclaim from all movie critics.

3 Chaplin Downey once again pulls off a challenging character in this David Attenborough film. But his performance did not save the work which was criticised for being too formulaic as a biopic. Still recommended for Charlie Chaplin fans.

What kids can teach us

Comfort zones can turn into cages if we stop discovering what’s out there

BY SAMRA AAMIR

In theory we want our children to grow up to be fearless and adventurous. We wish we had a little more spunk and didn’t scare so easy ourselves. A film like The Croods reminds us of those noble aspirations in a time when the instinct of Pakistani parents to protect their children keeps them from discovering the world.

At the centre of this animated 3D comedy is the feisty broadfaced girl Eep (Emma Stone), whose character is worlds apart from the stereotype of the slender heroine with a well-coiffed do.

Eep’s thirst for adventure sets her at odds with her father Grug (Nicholas Cage) who puts safety at the top of his family’s needs — no one leaves the cave or does anything new.

As history has taught us, this philosophy of life worked in prehistoric times, which has been lusciously recreated by the team at DreamWorks who worked with writer-directors Chris Sanders and Kirk DiMicco. The problem is that your comfort zone can become a cage.

Luckily for Eep, an earthquake marks the start of her adventure as it forces her father Grug to abandon the cave with his family and embark on a road trip that will change the course of their lives forever. Thus The Croods is a story of survival, discovery and adventure packaged with slapstick humour and plenty of action. It is perhaps the story of today as well for are not all families trying to cope with change and a generation gap.

Natural calamity is not the only twist in this adventure. Guy (Ryan Reynolds) enters the picture. His relatively modern lifestyle, which includes animal skin shoes, eating from a plate and the ability to light a fire, give this primitive story an additional spark. Combined with his survival instinct and a mind full of ideas, Guy gives the Croods a lesson in embracing change without fear.

Though full of fun, this visual marvel does drag at certain points with repetitive hunting sequences and apart from Grug, Eep and Guy the other characters (Ugga, the attractive mom, Thunk, the chubby middle child, Sandy, the toddler with an insatiable appetite and Gran, Ugga’s mother) contribute little to the overall plot. This is a small price to pay for an important lesson though. T

Watch out for these animation movies

1

Monsters University The much-awaited prequel to 2001’s Monsters, Inc, is finally set to release in June. Set about 10 years before the events of Monsters, Inc, this film will show Mike Wazowski and James P Sullivan as an inseparable pair, wasn’t always the case. Monsters University unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.

2

Epic We never tire of the good oldfashioned battles between Good and Evil. This time-tested formula was used by the creators of Ice Age and Rio, to tell the story of a teenage girl who finds herself magically transported into a secret universe, which she ends up saving with help from a team of whimsical characters.

3

Planes Cars created quite a buzz in 2006 so we’re hoping Planes can soar high as well. After Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, director Klay Hall introduces you to Dusty, a crop-dusting plane who dreams of competing in a famous aerial race. But, what’s stopping him from realising his dreams is well, a fear of heights.

41 MAY 12-18 2013

GADGETS The pen is mightier than the rubber band This is a working pen that doubles as a surprisingly accurate rubber-band shooter. Continue working while you protect yourself from invading seniors all for just about $10. Of course, if you are a professional then you will need the Office Warrior, which can be loaded with 144 rubber bands and will equip you to take on the entire board of directors! It’s made of handcrafted wood and costs $900 from kleargear.com

Fake it till you ake it make And here is a contribution on from the world of nerds eks to the and geeks world off haute couture.

These funky tattoo sleeves will have you looking tough and macho or cool and radical in the blink of an eye. Just pull them on and go out and strut your stuff. They come in pairs, one with black tattoos and the other with colour motifs. Switch them around or wear one on each arm.

We have seen them advertised on olx for Rs120 each.

Extreme sport

Tech for Time Pass Need is subjective. ’Nuff said

BY KHURRAM BAIG

Shaken and stirred No selfrespecting geek is worth her salt unless she is too lazy to get her own coffee.

We believe even stirring it yourself is too much. Which is why we need the Self Stirring Mug! At a touch of the button in the handle, your beverage will begin to spin into a dizzying vortex. I am not sure if it is available anywhere here except online, and it’s not really cheap with prices starting at Rs1,000.

Not for sale

4 MAY 12-18 2013

The ball that bounces on water is already a well-known product the world over.

According to the MIT Tech Review, the Waboba (water bouncing ball) works because it is hollow and soft. The physics of shallow angles, bowl-shaped depressions and aquaplaning are involved. All we care about is that it’s fun. It comes in different versions with a variable bounce and even post-bounce accuracy so that it doesn’t change direction.

Available online from various website for Rs1,500.

Only the Japanese could come up with the anti-rape dress. We are not quite sure why. But the logic is that this skirt transforms the wearer into a vending machine. The idea is that the woman would be camouflaged and the wouldbe attacker or rapist would simply walk past her. We are not even sure where you could get one.

Undercover policing We like this invention for its sheer creativity. An Indian student has created an antirape bra that can deliver 82 electric shocks to the would-be perpetrator and is equipped with communication software that alerts the police and the girl’s family. It also has GPS so that the target can be located. It’s called SHE (Society Harnessing Equipment) and once the pressure sensors are activated, it can deliver up to 3,800 kilovolts.

It is expected to be available soon. a