MAY 19-25 2013
Why does this woman have the Last Word on what we read?
MAY 19-25 2013
Feature
The mystery of Pattan Minara
28
A British political agent went digging for gold here but death awaited his men
Feature
Cover Story
20
A bookstore that sees no full stops
Yogi Kumar opens a yoga centre in Mithi
34 Travel
Jordan by ruins
Driving from the airport, the first thing that strikes you is the poverty. This wasn’t a beautiful, rich country in the Arab world
Aysha Raja on expanding to Islamabad
Technology
The juice on the hybrid car Pakistanis should have more options, argue dealers
30
4
Sun salutes in the sands of Thar
36 Regulars
6 People & Parties: Out and about with the beautiful people 40 Reviews: Shobhaa De and Sethji 42 Memories: Karachi in the 1950s
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
CrossRoads holds a dance competition in Lahore Sania
xxx
Mahwaish, Fahad and Sahar
Fia
Rizwan, Kanwal and Ashna
Amna Kardar Eesha and Hashim
6 MAY 19-25 2013
Maleeha and Hina
PHOTOS COURTESY BILAL MUKHTAR EVENTS & PR
Amina, Asma, Saba and Meesha
MAY 19-25 2013
PEOPLE & PARTIES Khadijah Shah launches Élan Lawn in Lahore
Maheen and Zainab Amara and Tehreen Mahnoor, Rabeea and Ayesha
PHOTOS COURTESY PINHOLE STUDIO
Cybil
Amna, Mehvish and Shazia
Maha and Rabia
Mehak and Sahira
8
Amirah MAY 19-25 2013
Hamd
Mehreen and An
um
Hina and Misbah
Ameena and Anam Mehreen
Amna
Fayezah Ansari
Maha and Sonia
Ayesha
Mariam
Iza
Khadijah Shah
Arooj
Azka
9 MAY 19-25 2013
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Sofia Naveed Lari launches her new collection, SNL Casuals, in Karachi
Saira
Hira Lari and Sofia Naveed Lari
Sofia
Maroof and Mehreen
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Zehra MAY 19-25 2013
Afreen Shiraz
PHOTOS COURTESY IDEAS EVENTS PR
Rana, Maheen, Humaira, Jabeen and Marvi
Beenish, Noor and Farheen
Nabeel & Aqeel boutique launches in Islamabad Hajra
PHOTOS COURTESY REZZ PR AND EVENTS
Nida
Aleezay and Tauseef Hashaam and Qurat
Tanya and Amna
Mr and Mrs Aqeel
Roshanny and Ali Murtaza
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MAY 19-25 2013
MAY 19-25 2013
PEOPLE & PARTIES Phenomena holds the book launch of Between Dreams and Reality — The Art of Tabinda Chinoy in Karachi
Ayla with a friend PHOTOS COURTESY PHENOMENA
Haseena Moin, Nadia and Kursheed
Sabi, Maryam and Amra Shelly Pirzada
Alexi and Mishaal
Saeed and Tabinda Beo, Pomme and Amin
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Yogen Fruz launches in Islamabad
Nida and Umana
Zoya and Aminah
Maryam, Fakhri and Marva
Maheen and Minahil
Jia and Sadaf
Maria
Maryam and Hina
Elishma, Marisha, Shanza and Alina
Gogal and Mrs Khurram
PHOTOS COURTESY VERVE
Mariam and Sana
Mashal and Sarah
Anam and Faiza MAY 19-25 2013
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PEOPLE & PARTIES
Flitz launches Nadia Khan Lawn 2013 in Karachi
Shamaine, Shakeel and Tehmina
Shehla and Sabeen
Meera Ansari
Nadia and Hasina Moin
Nazia Malik
Sadia Nawabi Sehrish Bukhari
Shehnaz and Angie Marshall
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Tabasum Mughal MAY 19-25 2013
Saira Saigol
Sadaf
PHOTOS COURTESY TAKE II
Sherry
Nadya Malik
Iman Ali Maira, Hira, Shehla and Maryum
Saman and Arif
Neha and Munezza
Adnan and Shiza
PHOTOS COURTESY BILAL MUKHTAR EVENTS & PR
Nayna celebrates its 10 year anniversary in Lahore
Ramzan and Uzma
Sexy Hair launches with a press conference in Karachi
Jani Raisanen
Rida Ali
Wendy Graham
19 MAY 19-25 2013
COVER STORY
BY SADAF PERVEZ PHOTOS SHAFIQ MALIK
Eve Ensler is lying on top of Coetzee. Roth is cheek by jowl with Rilke. Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K. The students greet each other with comic cries and sodden collapse. Their summer has been bloated with criminal pleasures. My very photogenic mother died in a freak accident (picnic, lightning)... This is the world that awaits anyone who walks into The Last Word, Aysha Raja’s independent bookstore. It is not the place to go if you want the latest Paulo Coelho or a Sophie Kinsella. Only those used to the onomatopoeic somersaults of Tom Wolfe and the kind of syntax that emerges from German translations will feel at home here. E-book fans. Don’t bother. Of course, Pakistan has a selection of solid, serious bookstores from Quetta to Islamabad (see box), but what sets this one apart are Aysha Raja’s likes and dislikes. “Like any self-respecting independent book[store], [The Last Word] is informed by my tastes and preferences,” she says unapologetically. “A lot of publishers I work with often say that by their standards I have a very intellectual readership.” They have commented on how highbrow her customers’ tastes are. This debunks the myth that Pakistanis don’t read or that we don’t enjoy a little Leviathan post our postprandial constitutional. “I never seem to have enough copies 20 of Infinite Jest,” Raja explains, “but I will struggle to sell MAY 19-25 2013
a single copy of the Twilight series. My business runs on my taste so I have to be really careful while choosing the right kind of books.” And thus, while she prefers having a range of titles in fewer quantities to a handful in large quantities, this means higher costs and the risk of running out of certain copies. “But at least the book shop is in a position to constantly yield gems to discerning book buyers,” she adds.
Selfish motives After having moved to Lahore in the early 2000s, Raja found herself returning from occasional trips to Delhi with suitcases full of books. “I couldn’t fathom why we didn’t have the same variety across the border. I was always envious of their bookstores,” she says. “Accessibility to books with ease is a fundamental right.” And then, in 2005, when she was pregnant with her
daughter Leila, she visited a bookshop in Istanbul called Robinson Crusoe 389 on the hip stiklal Caddesi. “It was the perfect embodiment of a small independent book shop and served as the inspiration [for my own],” she says. The name The Last Word summed up her ambitions. She wanted the book shop to be the destination for cutting-edge, definitive works of fiction, non-fiction and the creative arts. Continued on page 24 MAY 19-25 2013
21
COVER STORY
Raja, who was a lawyer for eight years, started out by opening her home to readers with a small exhibition that relied on their interest and her coffee table more than anything else. “You can do such things in Pakistan with ease. It is an unregulated society, where there is no need to seek permits and loans. I never felt the limitations taking on a huge endeavour here.” She is candid that the business plans that were drawn up for her would have in all probability turned her off the idea except for the fact that she was committed. Guts made up for a lack of business sense. She invested heavily in the inventory before publishers extended her credit and after starting out in her own house she was lucky to get space at PFDC. “I am eternally grateful to Seher Saigol for allowing me the opportunity to set up shop with no overheads whatsoever,” she says. The Last Word eventually found its home at The Hot Spot in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore and recently moved to Roadside Café in Karachi. She is going to open at Mocca café in 24 Islamabad by the end of May or in June. MAY 19-25 2013
Like any self-respecting independent book[store], [The Last Word] is informed by my tastes and preferences. A lot of publishers I work with often say that by their standards I have a very intellectual readership The big break came when a Random House editor urged her to promote Mohammed Hanif’s A Case of Exploding Mangoes. “The manuscript was amazing and I was sure that this book would create ripples in the literary landscape,” she says. “I never had imported from India [though]. It was my first time, and there were obviously problems because of the animosity between the two countries. The people at the customs office were suspicious about the
Kitabein.com Founded by Usman Siddiqui and Jawad Yousuf, this website provides an online marketplace for independent sellers of new and used books, as well as rare and collectible titles. (021) 32426851
Gosha-e-Adab, Quetta Housed in the historic, Kabir Building off Jinnah Road, Gosha-e-Adab was founded in 1962 and is one of the oldest and most prominent bookstores in Quetta. The place to go for books on Balochistan and its society. (081) 2820375, 2843229 goshaeadab.com.
We also recommend Bookland on M.A. Jinnah Road (081) 2824295 and New Quetta Bookstall on Jinnah Road (081) 2842882
Ferozsons, Lahore This bookstore is over a 100 years old. It was founded by Al-Haj Maulvi Feroz-ud-Din. (042) 111-62-62-62
Readings, Lahore Readings opened in 2006 and claims to be the largest bookshop in Lahore that provides a large range of old books at (042) 11-11-26657 affordable prices.
Thomas and Thomas, Karachi The oldest surviving bookstore in Karachi, Thomas & Thomas has been standing tall since before Partition and was run by a British gentleman before it was bought in 1948 by Mohammad Yunus’s family. (021) 35682220
Saeed Book Bank, Islamabad The well-stocked Saeed Book Bank was founded in 1955 by Saeed Jan Qureshi with the aim of “making books assessable and knowledge affordable”. It has expanded to Peshawar as well. Phone: 92-51-2651656-57-58
Mohammed Hanif’s A Case of Exploding Mangoes. raised eyebrows. “I never had imported from India... The people at the customs office were suspicious about the name of General Zia on the book” name of General Zia on the book.” It has been names like Hanif’s that has made reading sexier in Pakistan in the last decade or so. It also helps that in the sub-continent we are still in love with the feel of the weight of a book and the smell that nestles in its spine. Bricks-and-mortar bookstores still have plenty of cultural currency in Pakistan. “I remember talking to Hanif Kureishi about the turnout on the reading gathering which is merely fifty abroad,” recalls Raja. “He was amazed that we can easily gather 200 people at any reading gala. It shows that there is a lot more intellectual curiosity over here.” For Raja this means that it is more and more important for publishers to target this part of the world. Aside from benefiting from a serious reading population, Raja’s success lies in stocking what she is curious about herself. “I tend to enjoy more left wing literature, by that I also mean non-fiction.” This means increasingly buying from Verso (Tariq Ali) to stocking the shelves with works on the movement of the Arab Spring. It is at The Last Word that you will find Jane Jacobs, the Hummingbird Bakery’s Home Sweet Home, Jeanette Winterson, Oliver Sacks, Phaidon’s art books, Le Corbusier, The Velveteen Rabbit. She has close to 5,000 titles in stock from publishers ranging from the big six, including Random House and Penguin, to the smaller imprints such as Verso, Persephone, Hesperus, Quirk and specialist publishers such as Phaidon, DC Comics/Vertigo, and Gollanz. “Being a boutique book shop we largely air-freight our titles in to keep the wait time as little as possible,” she explains. And readers are free to interact on their Facebook page if there are any special requests or recommendations. Her range of fiction is heavily influenced by customer preferences and feedback. These days, Mohsin Hamid’s How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia and Chinaman by Shehan Karuna- 25 MAY 19-25 2013
COVER STORY
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tilaka are flying off the shelves. On her bedside table, metaphorically speaking, is Come to the Edge by Joanna Kavenna, one of Granta’s recently heralded Young British Authors, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore that will hit the shelves in June, and Sex and the Citadel by Shereen El Feki. “I read a lot and yet not enough,” she admits. And like any serious reader, she is usually juggling two to three books at a time. She reads every day, in the car, at home, in waiting rooms. Forget TV and Twitter. You’re more likely to find her behind a book. Although she prefers 20th century works to the more contemporary literature coming out today, most of what she reads is usually published within the last 12 months. (She abhors chicklit). She is drawn to explications of the human condition and the art of writing. “I find it imperative to read [about] how superficial and base we’ve become. That’s what literature does; it puts our values and ideas under the lens and shows us how flawed we are. We could do with the constant reminder[s].” Don’t ask to borrow a book. She doesn’t lend them to friends because she becomes “unbearably passive aggressive trying to secure their return”. And while she can’t bear to damage a book, somehow they always end MAY 19-25 2013
Liberty Books Established in 1961, Liberty Books is best known for distributing new titles. They deliver to your doorstep as well (libertybooks.com). (021) 111-117-323
The Strand, New York City If you are ever in New York, do visit The Strand at 828 Broadway (at 12th St.). It opened in 1927 and has 18 miles of books or over 2.5 million used, new and rare titles.
Foyles, London London is full of beautiful bookstores but we thought we’d mention Foyles because of the one-of-a-kind Ray’s Jazz cafe on the first floor. Open up the new book you’ve just bought, take a seat at one of the rough hewn wooden tables and lose yourself for hours.
Daunt Books, London Even if you don’t buy anything here, you have to see Daunt Books at Marylebone High Street once in your lifetime if simply for its Edwardian interior. You will never want to leave the long oak galleries that are bathed in sunlight filtering in from the graceful skylights above.
Primrose Hill Books One of Aysha’s favourite spots. PHB has been called one of the best small bookshops in London. It is located on a quiet Victorian terrace — the best natural vantage point in London for a spectacular view of the whole city.
London Review Bookshop According to Snipe’s Kate Weston, LRB’s classy dark exterior opens into a small yet spacious, light and well stocked bookshop. It opened nine years ago to bring people a range of literary and academic titles.
Robinson Crusoe 389, Istanbul Whether you’re looking for a specific book, or just want to browse, Robinson Crusoe 389 is perfect with its floor to ceiling book stacks. Twentyminutes away from Taksim Square, it’s the most well-known English language bookstore in Istanbul.
up ravaged by the time she is through with them. She only recently started annotating the ones that she was reviewing. Now Leila’s school permission slips, shopping receipts, flyers are morphed in bookmarks. As for perhaps writing her own book some day, Raja knows it is unlikely. “I cannot open myself to be scrutinised that much.” She would rather read about the lives 27 of others. MAY 19-25 2013
The mystery of A British political agent went digging for gold here but death awaited his men
BY AKHTAR SHAHEEN RIND PHOTO AMINA KHAN
Nearly a century and a half ago, a political agent of the former state of Bahawalpur called Colonel Minchin is said to have set out to explore the ruins of Pattan Minara. This structure is believed to
be a 5,000-year-old Buddhist monastery of which only a single burnt sienna column remains about eight kilometres from Rahim Yar Khan. Col Minchin was drawn to the mysterious site because he had heard that treasure was buried in tunnels that were part of the remains. Oddly though, even the records of his adventure are as fuzzy as the legend of Pattan Minara. In several places on the internet it says he went for the dig in 1870. But according to peerage records he was born in 1862, making him just eight years old at the time. The dig apparently ended in disaster. Minchin and his team “came upon some putrid semi-liquid matter
28 MAY 19-25 2013
over which swarmed flies of a large size and peculiar colour,” according to Salman Rashid, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. His coolies were stung and died on the spot. Minchin abandoned his search. Very little is known about the minara, but the general consensus is that it was built during the Hakrra valley civilization of the Mauryan period (250 BC). According to Rashid, in the absence of any scientific investigation, it is only the Gazetteer of Bahawalpur State (1904) that is the teller of tales of Pattan Minara. The travel writer extensively describes the structure, which has a single doorway facing west. There appears to be no way to reach the top floor, leading to the assumption that a ladder was used. At some point in time, the minara is said to have been used as a watch tower.
The minara is named after Pattan Pur which is said to have once been a lush city nestled on the bank of the River Ghagra, an offshoot of the River Indus. Pattan Minara thus means ‘Tower on the Ford’. Fazal Qureshi of Dawn writes that Alexander the Great passed through the area during his military expedition to India. As was his practice, Alexander set up a cantonment here under a Greek governor. A university complex was even set up here. But with time, as the River Indus changed course and River Ghagra dried up, the place lost its importance. This slice of history surfaces in folklore, according to research carried out at Bahawalpur University. The legend was that the river god fell in love with a
Minara
Pattan
damsel who was already betrothed. In vengeance, the rivers rose up in fury and drowned the entire city. By the beginning of the 18th century, Pattan Minara’s surrounding structures were so dilapidated that a chieftain ordered for them to be demolished. It was during this that a brick inscribed with Sanskrit was discovered. It said that the monastery was founded during the time of Alexander, the Macedonian conqueror. The Gazetteer does not record what became of the brick. Today, in an ironic twist of fate, it appears that another form of putrid, semi-liquid matter is back at the minara — though fortunately
this time it is unlikely to kill anyone. A major sewage scheme, undertaken by the government, is destroying Pattan Minara even though it is an officially declared heritage site. Informal housing is creeping up in the surrounding area and the construction industry is excavating for retibajri or sand around the ruins. For whatever it is worth, however, people from the area are willing to try and save this site by pledging to bring back coins they found. Perhaps, after all, someone discovered the treasure that Minchin set out to find.
During demolition, a brick inscribed with Sanskrit was discovered. It said that the monastery was founded during the time of Alexander, the Macedonian conqueror
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TECHNOLOGY If you lived near the Lahore airport and had to drive to Mall road regularly, you’d be open to buying a car whose fuel cost you less. Amir Riaz has that 50km commute, and he’s quite frank about his decision to keep a hybrid car. “I have a [regular car] too,” he told The Express Tribune. “But I prefer taking my [hybrid]. It is just sensible. It consumes one-fourth of the fuel.”
The Toyota Prius is a full hybrid electric mid-size hatchback. Currently it is the most popular hybrid in the world. Its estimated fuel-efficiency is 21 kilometres per litre.
The hybrid guzzles less gas because it uses a combination of petrol and electric power (in the form of a battery). Pakwheels CEO Raza Saeed says over 90% of the hybrids sold on their website are the Toyota Prius manufactured in Japan. Other choices include the Insight and Reborn by Honda or the Civic hybrid. Some high-end names recently introduced to Pakistan are the Porsche hybrid and the BMW 7-series.
The juice on
Hybrids
BY SHER KHAN & SONIA MALIK
30
The Cayenne, which gives 13.75 kilometres a litre. Interestingly enough, this is an SUV giving you better road mileage than a much smaller non-hybrid 1300cc or 1000cc car MAY 19-25 2013
While prices may vary depending on the model of the used car, something like the Toyota Prius will set you back 1.4m rupees. If you’ve got the cash to spare you could consider what Porsche, Mercedes and BMW have to offer at a hefty price tag of Rs13.5m. Porsche Pakistan CEO Abuzar Bukhari brought in the first luxury hybrid, the Cayenne, which gives 13.75 kilometres a litre. Interestingly enough, this is an SUV giving you better road mileage than a much smaller non-hybrid 1300cc or 1000cc car. “Pakistanis should not be limited to […] for hybrids,” he argues while naming two companies. “We Pakistanis deserve better, why buy used cars from other countries?” Imports are the most obvious option, though, especially since no one is making them locally. These hybrids, many from Japan and the UK, are being brought over the Afghan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. However, the majority of them are arriving at Port Qasim in Karachi. About two out of 10,000 used cars reaching Karachi shores each month are hybrids. The hybrid is considered more environmentally friendly and economical when it comes to fuel consumption. And as petrol prices rise in Pakistan, some people are thinking this type of car is a better option. But despite these positives, this technology is struggling to become a viable player in Pakistan’s controlled market.
The BMW ActiveHybrid 7 is the first BMW model with an automatic transmission to feature an engine Start/ Stopfunction. The engine automatically switches off when the car is stationary. This cuts fuel consumption and emissions. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds.
The Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid features a 3.0-litre V6 supercharged engine and an electric machine (motor/generator) that provides additional power on demand. With a top speed of 242 km/h, it can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds.
The Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid can accelerate from a standstill to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds. Its special feature is its unique efficiency and the ability to drive considerable distances in all-electric mode.
ds in Pakistan Getting a greener car is the smart choice, but the government won’t let you make it at least for now
31 MAY 19-25 2013
TECHNOLOGY
299 Fraction of a fraction
cars out of the 20,000 PakWheels.com claims to sell each month are hybrids
Honda Civic Hybrid
The deal-breaker is that these used cars don’t come with insurance. For some models the battery needs be changed after 200,000km which is about five years.
No bang for your buck The government has put the squeeze on importing used cars. It now says that you can’t get them if they are more than three years old. It used to allow used cars that were up to five years old until the end of 2012. According to official car import numbers, over 1,140 Toyota Prius were imported from July to October 2012 compared to less than a thousand units before the end of the previous financial year. But then the official policy changed. “[Newer] used cars mean a higher price,” explains Salman Hameed, a hybrid dealer in Lahore. He was getting up to 70 cars until the government changed the rules. Now it’s just 20 and he thinks demand could sink further. This means that dealers like Hameed who used to be getting the 2007 models are now forced to get the 2010 ones. This means an average price difference of Rs400,000. “But it is also a newer car,” he says. All of this would change if the government gave local manufacturers incentives. If not, people like Pakwheels CEO Raza Saeed feel that the market for hybrids will remain small because
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Porsche Panamera S-E Hybrid
Hybrids available in Pakistan Cars
Price
Models
Toyota Prius
Rs1.4m-Rs3.2m
2003-2011
Honda Civic
Rs1.6m-Rs1.8m
2006-2010
Honda Insight
Rs1.7m
2008-2010
Porsche Cayenne
Rs17m
2013
All the cars mentioned above are imported
Features and what to look out for
t h e choices are so limited. If local companies made the car, it would be cheaper and hybrids could possibly become the norm. Take the example of India where there has been a concerted push by the government. Today, one of India’s leading local manufacturers, Tata, produces the Nano hybrid which is known as the world’s cheapest hybrid at a mere 100,000 Indian rupees. On the other hand, in Pakistan, the government has deliberately kept a tight fist to protect the existing local car industry. The Federal Board of Revenue, which is the brains behind the import policy on hybrids, openly says it will not be opening the doors on this new technology because local manufacturers will be affected. FBR spokesman Israr Rauf admitted the previous government hadn’t done much to encourage it either. “We have to wait for the next budget first,” he says. “Even then, it is unlikely of the government to take any drastic steps to push local manufacturers to incorporate greener cars.” There is no roadmap on how to factor it into the budget either. “The real issue today is that mainstream parties we have spoken to have little clarity on the long-term role of hybrid automobiles,” says Syed Umair, the head of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce’s environmental committee. It is certain though, that globally petrol-only cars will go, he adds.
Hybrids are popular because people think they offer better mileage. Honda’s hybrid switches between the battery and fuel at a speed of up to 40km. The Prius operates dually at a speed of up to 120km, says dealer Hameed. The ordinary hybrid car will likely have automatic windows, steering, a push start button, a remote key and a CD player. Others feature bluetooth, a GPS system, a backview camera, an auto parking system, a hard-disk drive and a mini-disc player. Some more modified versions have two additional features of cruise control, a keyless entry by touching the car door and a keyless start option. The deal-breaker is that these used cars don’t come with insurance. For some models the battery needs be changed after 200,000km which is about five years. When you buy one, advises Hameed, make sure you check that the battery is original and the synergy driver has not been tampered with. Another concern is whether we have enough mechanics versed in this technology to repair them. But as has been proven in the past, when the market grows, eventually the manpower catches up. For now, it seems though that unless the government moves, hybrids will be stuck in the back seat. T
Honda Insight Hybrid
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FEATURE
Yogi Kumar opens a centre for yoga in Mithi after his wife died of blood cancer
Sun insalutes the sands of
Thar
BY SARAH MUNIR
PHOTO BY SAJID BAJEER
Bundled between tiny tea-stalls and vegetable vendors on the main commercial strip of Mithi, the capital of Tharparkar district, the Prem yoga centre stands out as a complete anomaly in the city’s landscape. The
huge signboard at the entrance immediately grabs your attention and coaxes you to come inside. A sizeable open-air ground, often used for political jalsas and weddings leads up to the yoga room where the actual sessions take place. Huge posters showing the teacher and founder Santosh Kumar suspended in various yoga positions like the crow pose, the warrior pose and half-lotus, adorn the walls. “The same Supreme Being that 34 breathed life into you also breathed MAY 19-25 2013
life into me. An inextricable force binds us. So where does that leave time to hate? We are here to love,” says a solemn Kumar, popularly known as Yogi Kumar as he explains the premise behind his latest labour of love — the Prem Yoga Centre. As the name suggests, Kumar aims to help his clients maintain a balance between mind, body and soul with the help of yoga. His broader vision is to create harmony in society by helping individuals reconcile with their spiritual and physical beings. “People around us are stressed, despite having everything,” he says. “Yoga helps you achieve that internal change, and ultimately inner peace.” For Kumar, the centre holds a personal, an almost spiritual meaning.
Having lost his wife to blood cancer, he treasures the importance of health over everything else. “The doctors said that my wife wouldn’t make it beyond one month. I used to make her do a little bit of yoga every day, and she survived for 14 months. It was a miracle,” he says. Soon after, he handed over his business to his brothers and devoted his entire attention towards the centre and helping others. He claims that most conditions such as obesity, stress, thyroid malfunction, and eyesight loss are all aggravated by a neglect of the self. Kumar has no formal training in the subject but has learnt everything over the internet, using video guides and manuals. He has also attended a few formal training sessions in
PHOTO BY AMEER HAMZA
Dubai and Malaysia. Despite the lack of proper certification, his clients have complete faith in his expertise. Forty-three-year-old Jai Prakash, an employee with an NGO, comes to the sessions regularly after work. He says that even before the yoga centre opened, Kumar was always the person everyone used to go for health advice. “He has always been inclined towards health and fitness. You talk to him for ten minutes and you will realise that he knows what he is talking about,” says Prakash. The centre has been open for less than a month, but over fifty people are already attending. While the majority of them are men, six women are also training. Kumar admits that the response has been phenomenal, proof that there is a market for health and fitness in a place like Tharparkar as well.
Thirty-six-year-old Mashooq Omrani, a sports teacher by day, claims that he has lost 6kg in the past two weeks and feels energised from the workout “There is a strong tradition of yoga in Hindu philosophy, so there has always been a certain degree of awareness about it in Tharparkar,” says Dr Ramesh Kumar, a resident. “But this is the first time it is being done commercially on this scale here.” Five one-hour sessions are offered at various times of the day for a nominal charge of Rs1,000 a month. Along
with the sessions, Kumar also helps his clients with their diet. Thirty-six-year-old Mashooq Omrani, a sports teacher by day, has been a regular at the centre since the beginning. He claims that he has lost six kilogrammes in the past two weeks and feels energised from the workout. “Before coming here, I was rapidly gaining weight and I hated it,” he says. “Now I feel much lighter physically and psychologically.” For 17-year-old student Rakesh, the yoga class is a welcome break from his strenuous academic routine and helps him stay and feel fit. While Kumar is the sole trainer right now, he plans to expand by training more men and women so that they can open centres in cities like Karachi and Hyderabad. “I am not doing this for money,” he stresses. “I want to take it to schools, NGOs and even the police… 35 Yoga is for everyone.” A MAY 19-25 2013
TRAVEL The first thing that strikes you is the poverty and not just in the shape of the old refugees from Palestine and new ones from Syria. Buildings stand half built. My friend points to a couple of high-rises that seem to go up 40 floors. He says construction was abandoned about 10 years ago as architects had forgotten to design a sewage system for the towers. The city does not seem planned in the academic sense. Much like Karachi, roundabouts or ‘circles’ as they are referred to locally, serve as geographical reference points. USAID stamps assert themselves on most plaques at tourist attractions. Expats tell me that the US has pumped huge sums of aid into Jordan. Research tells me that after Afghanistan and Pakistan, the third highest amount of American aid goes to Jordan. “Jordanians are confused about the US,” says an American. “On the one hand they are giving Jordanians all this money, and on the other hand they’re starting all the wars in the Middle East.” It makes it hard for them to form a single opinion about the US. I can relate.
Feeling cheated I started feeling cheated by pictures of Queen Rania. Jordan might not be the powerful, liberal country its representatives make it out to be. The litmus test was the way women were perceived. In the souks for every 20 men, I see only one woman. In Jordan, by the age of 24 you are assumed to be married, friends tell me. Women, foreign women more perhaps, are hassled by the young men. In most cases, they shout haram, bandying it about unlike how we do in Pakistan. I can’t say that the women are more conservative because I saw a lot of local Jordanians who were not. There are women who were the hijab and those who don’t. It’s perhaps evidence of natural diversity within a religion or culture, but I expected more respect from the men. The officer giving me a visa on entry asked why my head was not covered if I came from a Muslim family.
The scene
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Restaurants are buzzing in Amman, especially if you walk downhill from the first and second circles. Jordanians enjoy going out, smoking sheesha amid bites of hummus and muttabal. The food is divine. It is safe to say all those falafel places I ate at while studying in England were doing it wrong. Jordanians also enjoy a good barbeque. They don’t skimp on the meat. MAY 19-25 2013
Jorda
Understanding a modernised Arab country littered with remains of empires past The Jordanian flag flies high above the city of Amman
an by ruins BY MYRA KHAN
The sights Speaking in broken Arabic, only using words such as yanni and taqreeban, I take a taxi to one of the best viewpoints — the Citadel. It is in this spot that the Roman Temple of Hercules stands next to the Byzantine church and the Umayyad mosque alongside an Early Bronze Age cave. You even walk through a broken Ammonite palace.
Rub a dub dub The session at the hamam proved to be one of the highlights of my trip. Before you go, ensure you are extremely comfortable with your body. They will ask you to wear nothing but your underwear. Don’t worry, it’s segregated. If you feel uncomfortable, I suggest closing your eyes, because the women who work there don’t take no for an answer. You are first shoved into a steaming sauna that blinds you temporarily. In the midst of your yelps of pain an arm pops through the plastic curtain and hands you a pomegranate juice slushy. Savour this till the end. After the sauna, another sweltering experience awaits in the jacuzzi. After your pores are opened, you lie on a marble slab where you are scrubbed to remove the grime. After they exfoliate the top three layers of your epidermis it’s off to the massage and then to a wooden coal steam room.
Jerash At these ruins I saw the grandest, largest display of Roman architecture I could possibly lay eyes on at a single site. It had everything I studied in history class — the arches, the hippodrome for horses and chariots, the central plaza encircled by pillars, the fountains. MAY 19-25 2013
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TRAVEL The end of the entrance to Petra, As-Siq, is a narrow crevice, making it hard for people to discover the city in olden times
Hadrian’s Arch in Jerash built in 129 AD
The most spectacular part was being able to walk in the grooves that chariot trails left behind centuries ago.
Petra There’s a public transport strike for buses leaving Amman. At the time, rumours were circulating that three university students had been shot dead. Finally on route to Petra, the journey seems bland. Flat desert and sporadic ghosts towns don sides of the roads. Petra was first ‘sighted’ in 1812, by a Swedish man pretending to be a Muslim trader. Claims go as far back to 300 BC of when it was created. For centuries it remained unknown to the world outside. Bedouins, a nomadic people spread all over Arab world, inhabited the built-instone structures and lived here for years without telling non-natives of the existence of Petra. You almost miss the narrow opening on the left that takes you into Petra. The entrance is so tall that it has its own name: As-Siq. It is over 1000m. A shallow groove in
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the wall shows a water irrigation system along the entire way in. The walls reach up to 80 metres in places as if the city wanted to keep itself a secret. Most of the statues are damaged. Guides say much of Petra was hit by earthquakes in old times, but the dwellings remain. Many Bedouins still act as tour guides, giving camel and donkey rides. Here, the ultimate destination is the Monastery. What you see along the way is forgotten up a grueling hike through sand, stones, stairs, with Bedouin women selling you their jewelry for almost any price. If you ignore them, they shout, “It’s the same way down!” The monastery, like every other building, that been carved horizontally into a thick stone wall with stunning precision. They say Petra was abandoned eventually as trade routes went elsewhere. I can’t imagine why, or how anyone could leave it behind. Not far from the monastery are viewing points where you can look over the entire valley. A Bedouin says that there is a river with lush green trees below, and that I can see Syria from here. “Syria? From the south of Jordan?” I ask. “Yes,” he replies. I only believe the first half of his sentence.
Walls of the city of Petra laced with tombs that have fallen victim to earthquakes and erosion
Remains of the Temple of Hercules, dedicated to the deity and constructed between 161-166 AD
The Umayyad Monemental Gateway to the palace on the Citadel hill in Amman
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BOOKS
Dirty old men and dark secrets
Shobhaa Dé plugs in to the corridors of power and the bedrooms of the damned BY SAADIA QAMAR
At a time when Indian society struggles to find ways to clamp down on rape, Shobhaa Dé’s new book Sethji opens with this crime. Sethji’s youngest son Suraj has raped a young girl. The wily old man finds a way to make Suraj disappear and his daughter-in-law Amrita deftly handles the media. We are thus introduced to Sethji and his family that has been living in Delhi after gaining a political foothold in Uttar Pradesh. Sethji is the patriarch and everyone else is a dog. We first meet him near naked in all his oiled corpulence on the massage table. His wife Leelaji is dead. His two grownup sons Srichand and Suraj are worth less than the soles of Sethiji’s white rexine sandals and it is only the ravishing daughter-inlaw Amrita in the low-cut choli who merits attention. In fact, too much attention. As it turns out, Sethji has more than a roving eye. Dé does complete justice to her signature style of peppering the plots with chaska and masala. While the immediate disaster is averted, Sethji and Amrita are kidnapped in the aftermath of the rape and what unfolds is their fight to freedom. This drives the plot’s suspense that is laced with romance (plenty of salty language) and a power struggle. The uncompromising, ziddi (stubborn) relationship between the daughter-in-law and the father-in-law keeps the pages turning right to the end with other minor characters often popping in and out of the pages. Pakistani readers, who already love Dé for gracing the Karachi Literature Festival, will perhaps find it refreshing to read the Hindi/Urdu words worked into the dialogue that make the story all the more real. “You know how Amwomen are — all women, no exceptions, not even you,” Sethji comforts Amrita. “They see a powerful, good-looking man and they have only one thought in their heads — how to phasao him.” As with all her books, we sometimes wonder how much they are based on real life. While at the Karachi Literature Festival in 2012, she gave her adoring audience a sneak peak into what we now know was the book Sethji she was writing at the time: “It is about an oily, sleazy, despicable politician in Delhi,” she said. “I want my future novels to be even raunchier than the old ones.” A Sethji is available at Liberty Books
for Rs553 after discount
Three picks on power, patriarchs and pushing back Daddy-Long-Legs (1912) My Feudal Lord (1996) Mafia Queens of Mumbai (2012) 2
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By Tehmina Durrani
By S Hussain Zaidi
By Jean Webster
When it hit the literary scene everyone read it in Pakistan. We loved it because a beautiful, well-pedigreed and intelligent woman had decided to head butt the male order. This is the story of Durrani’s 14-year marriage to Mustafa Khar until she filed for divorce. A must-read for any woman trying to maintain a glamorous façade in an abusive relationship. Available at Liberty Books, Readings and Saeed Book Bank for about Rs545
Only a crime reporter of Zaidi’s talents could have brought us possibly the most exciting look at the women of Mumbai’s underworld who are uniquely placed to run drug networks. They slip in and out unnoticed in burqas but don’t be fooled, they are just as ruthless. Available for Rs676 at Liberty Books.
A young orphan’s life is changed when an anonymous benefactor offers to pay for her college provided she writes him letters — which he will not reply to. All she saw of him was his shadow, which was long, leading to the nickname she uses for her correspondence. Daddy-Long-Legs, which has since grown to become a classic, is the story of how she wins him over. Available free on Project Gutenberg
MAY 19-25 2013
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BOOKS
A manuscript best left in Accra
Let Coelho’s imagination take you on a historical journey in the Manuscript Found in Accra BY FARRUKH KAMRANI
I often come across poorly composed and rhythmically imbalanced verses on Facebook. They are attributed to famous poets like Ghalib, Iqbal and Faraz. Whenever I see such posts, I make a point of setting the record straight. Most of the time, I am viewed as a troll and advised to appreciate the wisdom of the words rather than being critical of their form. When I first started reading Paulo Coelho’s latest book Manuscript Found in Accra, I resolved to follow this advice. I can safely conclude that the book is full of worthy musings and quotable quotes on a variety of subjects — from solitude and love to beauty and miracles. Like all his other works, this recent book by Coelho also has its moments of glory when the earnestness, simplicity and clarity of its prose start touching your soul and transforming your thoughts. Manuscript Found in Accra is available at Liberty Books Manuscript Found in Accra seems to echo the for Rs536 after discount writings of Khalil Gibran and sometimes also Osho, the Indian mystic. In its style and form, the book appears to be a subdued imitation of the Dialogues of Plato, the gospels and, ironically their counterpart, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A book for All and None. However the merits of Accra do not redeem its obvious defects and contradictions. Coelho attempts to disguise his string of musings by blending historical facts with fiction. In this case, the titular manuscript is an ancient document written in 1099 by a 21-year-old man on the eve of the Crusaders’ invasion of Jerusalem. It recounts his dealings with a mysterious Greek man, referred to as the Copt, who counsels a group of men and women on their most pressing questions. The back-story serves little purpose, except for making Coelho’s thoughts sound like the knowledge of Jerusalem. Coelho’s attempt to structure his thoughts by introducing a frail superstructure story seems to have failed. The Manuscript Found in Accra is essentially a book of quotable quotes with a message of self-reform rather than revolution. A
Who do you think you are? Three picks on self discovery The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Recently retired Harold Fry is surprised by a letter from a dying friend, Queenie Hennessy, who he hasn’t heard from in twenty years. He becomes convinced he must deliver his message in person to Queenie. So he sets off without hiking boots, rain gear, maps or even a cell phone. Available at The Last Word for Rs1,250 (Hardcover) and Rs695 (Paperback).
Into the Wild In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given his savings to charity, abandoned his car and invented a new life for himself. During his adventure, he encounters several unique people that change his life before he faces the dangers of the wilderness.
On the Road On the Road chronicles Jack Kerouac’s years travelling the North American continent with his friend Neal Cassady. The two roam the country in a quest for self-knowledge and experience. Kerouac’s classic novel of freedom and longing defined what it meant to be ‘Beat’ and has inspired every generation since its initial publication more than forty years ago. Available at Liberty books for Rs832.
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Journalist Khaled al Maeena on the city of the 1960s BY SAMAN ALI
Khaled al Maeena is sitting in the lobby of Le Méridian in Khobar. He signals towards a Pakistani waiter: “karak chai merey leyeh.” The man is taken aback but hurries to comply. The name Khaled al Maeena is instantly familiar to anyone living in the Arab world. Known as the ‘editor of people’, he ran Arab News, Saudia Arabia’s leading English newspaper, for 23 years. Today he is the editorin-chief of the Saudi Gazette. Recognised as a liberal Saudi, now he primarily writes about social issues but Al Maeena is also famous for his perspective on the expatriate community, especially Pakistanis. Indeed, al Maeena has a soft spot for us mostly because he spent his formative years in Karachi. Father Raymond at St Patrick’s High School shaped him as did bicycle rides from Bolton Market to Burns Road
for Nihari. Food figures prominently in his memories. He recalls Saadullah’s sandwiches at the corner of PECHS Block 2 and how in the early 1960s, Karachi had some really good Chinese restaurants. “I loved eating at
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Bundoo Khan and Hanifia,” he adds. “Those were such idyllic days.” As his family had been trading in the subcontinent since the 1920s, this meant that a young al Maeena made many trips between Bombay, Calcutta and cities in Sindh. Eventually, he chose to study in Karachi. After St Patrick’s College, he studied journalism at Karachi University where some of his peers included Khursheed Ahmad and Nusrat Nasrullah. Back then, Karachi was one of the most beautiful cities of the east after Beirut and Cairo. He would take evening walks down Shaheed-e-Millat Road. “My great uncle had a house there. Every evening, smartly dressed girls would walk in groups. How safe the roads were!” he says. “There was a time when people would drive from Guru Mandir to Tariq Road at 2 am. There was no extremism or intolerance.” Al Maeena refutes the notion that funding for terrorism in Pakistan came from the Saudi government. He interprets it as money flowing in through individuals. Pakistanis took money from rich Saudis by saying they would build mosques but the funds were misused. He maintains that Saudis have a soft corner for Pakistan. In May 1998, a few weeks after India’s second nuclear test, Pakistan detonated five nuclear devices and became the seventh country to develop and test a nuclear missile. During that week circulation of newspapers went up fifty percent in Saudi Arabia. The last time al Maeena came to Pakistan was in 2006 to visit the quake-hit areas. When asked if he would like to visit Karachi again, he says: “No, I do not want to be kidnapped.”