The Express Tribune hi five - November 8

Ms NOVEMBER 8, 2015

ISSUE NO. 177

In Conversation with Adnan Siddiqui page

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Rise Against Rett Syndrome

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inside En vogue —

Gulabo’s latest casuals

Domestic goddess — Milkshake madness

Section In-Charge: Dilaira Dubash Sub-Editors: Amna Hashmi Nisma Chauhan Designer: Umar Waqas Feedback: women@tribune.com.pk

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The creative Sarah Anees

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The buzz

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 8, 2015

By Hurmat Majid eople like Adnan Siddiqui age like fine wine. With over two-and-a-half decades in the entertainment industry, the actor has an illustrious career to his credit. From dramas like Meri Zaat, Zarra e Benishan, Doraha and Zebunnisa to starring alongside Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart, the heartthrob has done it all. Yet, he is far from hanging up his boots.

The Express Tribune sits down with Adnan to make sense of what it is that we find so endearing about the man.

For starters, there is his versatility. Besides being an accomplished actor, Adnan has a great passion for cricket and music. He plays a range of instruments including the flute, percussions and keyboard. Moreover, he is also a successful entrepreneur and advertiser. One would think Adnan would probably want to sit back and revel in the fame and fortune he has deservedly found. Instead, he is showing no signs of slowing down. And with Pakistani cinema getting a new lease on life, Siddiqui isn’t one to watch from the sidelines.

“Films like Jawani Phir Nahi Ani are proof that we have potential and great talent. All we need to do is to tap it,” Adnan says. He himself is starring in upcoming film Yalghaar, to be released either later this year or the next. But unlike some of his peers, he doesn’t seem too keen on making a foray into Bollywood. “I was offered a couple of films, but it never quite worked out. I am also a father and have a moral responsibility towards my children. If tomorrow, my daughters were to decide on a career in acting, I want to be able to tell her to go ahead and do it without any hesitance,” he says, in a veiled reference to contentious content in Bollywood productions. It is apparent that the father of three, once a man mauled by ladies, has come of age.

He chuckles at the memories of yesteryears, 1989, to be exact. That was when Adnan first arrived in show business as a ramp model. “Boys weren’t even given clothes to wear at the shows; they had to get their own. I remember I used to borrow clothes of friends to wear on the ramp,” he recalls with amusement. His first television appearance was in the following year, in a play called Khwabon ki Zanjeeren, in which he played a young man who had returned to Pakistan after completing his education abroad and decided to stay and teach children in his locality — all against his father’s will.

Adnan hasn’t forgotten the first time he got paid for a job either. “I got a cheque of Rs500 and didn’t even have a bank account at the time. The cheque is framed and still hangs at my house. It’s a great conversation starter,” he quips. Before Adnan was propelled to superstardom, following the drama serial Aroosa in 1991, he also appeared in a couple of commercials, like the first-ever advertisement for a cellular phone in Pakistan.

That and a Gillette commercial put him on the radar of Men’s Club Magazine which dubbed him the highest paid model in the country.

“That play (Aroosa) changed my life. Every actor you meet will say this to you: there is that one performance that sets you up for life and that was mine,” he says. The play was aired on PTV and Siddiqui made his first appearance in the fifth episode. “The day after the episode was aired, I was on my way to PTV to shoot the next one. At around 11am, I had my first brush with fame at a traffic signal near Karachi’s Gora Qabristan. I was on my motorcycle and people started recognising me and asking for

autographs.” He laughs as he narrates the story, “I was late for the shoot that day and [director] Qasim Jalali was furious. ‘Jumma Jumma aath din huay hain industry mein tumhe aur mizaaj nahin mil rahay’, Jalali said to me. And I kept trying to explain to him that I had been stuck in traffic giving people autographs.” Adnan adds that the director and actor Talat Hussain believed him a few days later when they had to shoot at a girls college and faced a similar situation.

As his mood turns introspective, Adnan remembers his recently deceased father, fondly reminiscing the time when he went to him to seek permission to start acting. “He told me I was old enough to make my own decisions, but that I should remember never to be mediocre, no matter what I did. He also told me to always remember that to every peak there’s a downfall, so we should have it in us to accept the highs and lows of life with grace.”

The highs of Adnan’s life have indeed been many. But one of his proudest moments was when he got a role in the film based on journalist Daniel Pearl’s murder, A Mighty Heart (2007). One of the spot boys he knew called him up one day and said auditions were being held for a Hollywood film at Pearl Continental Hotel and all the best actors from Pakistan were on the list. The spot boy told Adnan he should be there too, but the actor wasn’t completely convinced. “I was in half a mind to go. I was busy shooting for a serial already, but I made it to the auditions nonetheless. They called me back for a second audition and then a third, not telling me exactly what we were auditioning for,” shares Siddiqui. He was finally told he would be starring in the Paramount production with Angelina Jolie and Irrfan Khan.

“It took me a while to realise that when they said Angelina, they meant Angelina Jolie! The realisation, of course, made me ecstatic,” says Siddiqui.

“The thing that makes me sad is that that Irrfan Khan and I both started our Hollywood careers with the same film but because of a lack of media support, no one even knows I was in the film.”

For Adnan, striving to be better is a constant, untiring process, which is why he takes criticism seriously. However, he feels criticism should not come for the sake of criticism. “As a nation, we need to learn to produce constructive criticism. It is easy to be a hater. Instead, be someone whose criticism helps others in becoming better at what they do.”

Hurmat Majid is a subeditor at The Express Tribune.

She tweets @bhandprogramme

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 8, 2015

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Design by Eesha Azam PHOTO: ARIF SOOMRO

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En vogue

Gulabo’s latest collection will give your wardrobe a splash of colour Location: Phuket, Thailand Label: Gulabo Layout: NTP Makeup & hair: Ikram Gohar I Nabilas Photography: Nadir Toosy I NTP Model: Fatima Ejaz

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 8, 2015

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 8, 2015

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Lifestyle

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 8, 2015

By Rahat Kamal She goes to school, swims like a champ, plays at the park and loves the company of her friends and family.

She is just like any other child, yet starkly different.

Eight-year-old Aaizah’s bright smile and vibrant eyes speak a thousand words and yet, she cannot utter a single one herself. Aaizah suffers from Rett Syndrome — a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by a period of normal growth followed by the deceleration and loss of movement as the child grows older.

Affecting girls almost exclusively, the syndrome leads to idiosyncratic hand movements and slower brain activity which cause problems with walking and talking, seizures, gastrointestinal issues and intellectual disability. Most commonly, affected children generally grow normally up until about two years of age, only to be inflicted by daunting incapacities later. These incapacities render them dependent upon their parents completely and unable to lead normal lives.

Aaizah’s story began with a chance diagnosis. When she started exhibiting a few symptoms, doctors failed to provide an accurate explanation and even misdiagnosed her as having autism or cerebral palsy.

It was only after extensive browsing on the internet that Aaizah’s mother, Sana Kashif came across Rett Syndrome and realised Aaizah had already shown all of its indications. A visit to a pediatric neurologist confirmed the diagnosis.

Naturally, realising that a random genetic mutation was wreaking havoc within her daughter and that there was no way to stop it made life extremely difficult. That is when Sana discovered an online

community for Rett Syndrome and sought counsel from it. And although the community gave her knowledge and courage, she felt the absence of a local support group strongly and yearned to be around her own people.

This was when she decided to take action. Sana established a platform called Rett Syndrome Pakistan to fill the void: a community to spread awareness about the disorder and provide guidance to families of children suffering from it. “I didn’t want any parent to go through what I did because sometimes, even family can’t help you through trying times,” shares Sana. “Having someone whose has experienced it themselves and can guide you through can be the greatest of blessings.” Through this group, Sana is available to anyone who seeks her. She helps parents attain inner peace and learn the best ways of caring for their ailing children.

Much like Aaizah, Shazia Karim* narrates that it took a long time for doctors to recognise her daughter’s symptoms as well. “It is the most traumatic experience, being told that your child has Rett,” says Shazia. “It is something one wouldn’t even dream of in their worst nightmares. You need all the support you can get,” she adds. According to Shazia, the initial shock is followed by the harrowing experience of helplessly witnessing your child go through ‘regression’ — a phase of the disorder wherein all the development the child has shown until the time is reversed, detaining them within mind and body. Unfortunately for the parents, this is just the start to a long and painful struggle.

Globally, the occurrences of Rett have been compiled and worked upon but it is distressing to know that no such research has been conducted in Pakistan. As a result, the occurrence of the disease is surrounded by ambiguity. “Rett has never been studied systematically in our population,” explains Dr Salman Kirmani, associate professor and chairperson at the Department of Pediatrics in Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) Karachi. “Prevalence in other parts of the world is roughly 1 in 9,000 to 10,000 girls, so it is expected to be at least that much here as well. One can safely say, that due to the lack of awareness and appropriate diagnostic testing, Rett syndrome goes undiagnosed in most patients.”

Nonetheless, Dr Kirmani claims things have already started improving for Rett patients in Pakistan. “A group of well-trained child development, neurology and genetics professionals have started to come together as a team that will address the problems of children

with special needs, including Rett Syndrome,” he says.

“They will further train other professionals to fulfill the needs of such children.” Dr Kirmani is also hopeful that the DNA test for MECP2 mutations will be available in Pakistan within the next two years.

Many other developments have taking place, and scientists are working hard towards finding a cure.

“In the world of Rett, everything changed in February 2007, when Dr Adrian Bird demonstrated that features of Rett could be fully reversed in the animal model, even in advanced stages of the disease,” says Dr Aleksandra Djukic, director of the Tri-State Rett Syndrome Center and a professor of neurology at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York. It took about 33 years to discover the genetic routes of the syndrome and only eight years to develop a way to reverse its symptoms completely. Dr Aleksandra shares that there are seven clinical trials available for young patients that have led to the discovery that a “downstream gene target” may be able to ameliorate symptoms of Rett.

Dr Aleksandra is highly optimistic about the cure and shares that some of the available drugs can increase brain-derived neurotropic factors, improve regulation of metabolism and cholesterol and also stabilize the balance between excitation and inhibition in the brain.

She reveals that researchers have completed the first phase of a trial with the MS drug in girls that were 10 or older. The drug led improvements in gait, memory, epileptic discharges on EEG and breathing in most of the girls treated. They have now launched phase two and are treating 20 patients with Stains. “We encourage families of Rett children to remain positive and keep their hopes high,” says Dr Aleksandra. “We appeal to their doctors, teachers and therapists to do all they can do to keep them in the best possible state while they await their better tomorrow.” *Names have been changes for privacy Rahat Kamal is a contributing writer at The Express Tribune and Independent PR writer and editor. She tweets @rahat_kamal.

Design by Hira Fareed

Domestic goddess 7

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 8, 2015

By Hirra Pervaiz

Overload Cookies and Cream Milkshake

Some interesting facts about milkshakes Treat yourself to this mouth-watering, eyepleasing, caloric dairy deliciousness!

1) The very first milkshake was a health tonic concocted from whiskey and eggnog back in 1885.

2) A worker at Walgreen’s Pharmacy in Chicago actually invented the modern milkshake in 1992. He added two scoops of vanilla ice cream to a mixture of milk, chocolate, and malt powder. It was originally designed for children and invalids.

3) Milkshakes can now be found all over the globe in different forms like the Spanish batido and Hungarian turmix. The variety of flavours ranges from mango to bee pollen. In some countries, milkshakes even contain eggs that are eaten with a spoon. Many milkshakes contain seaweed to thicken the liquid.

Ingredients • • • • • • •

Milk 1 and 1/4 cup (300ml) Nutella 2 tbsp Vanilla ice- cream 2 scoops Oreo cookies 1 pack Chocolate syrup Whipped cream (store bought) Twix chocolates (optional)

4) Did you know that blenders were invented to make milkshakes only? Before their invention in 1922, milkshakes were prepared by literally shaking the ingredients in a metal container. The milkshake also inspired Joseph B. Friedman to invent the flexible straw after he saw his young daughter struggle to drink from one.

5) The most popular milkshake flavors in the world are chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.

6) You can cure a brain-freeze (i.e. an ice cream headache) by pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth.

7) September 12 is Chocolate Milkshake Day.

Method • Begin by covering the rim of a glass with one tablespoon of Nutella using a spoon or spatula. Break some Oreo cookies and stick them to the coated rim.

• Place one scoop of ice-cream at the bottom of the glass and drizzle some chocolate syrup on the inside. Allow the glass to sit in the freezer while you prepare the rest of the drink.

• In a blender, mix one tablespoon of Nutella, Oreos, milk and vanilla ice cream until the ingredients combine.

• Pour the milkshake into the glass until it is half full.

• Sprinkle some Oreo crumbs and drizzle chocolate syrup into the glass. Continue pouring the milk shake until the glass is full.

• Top the milkshake with whipped cream, crushed Oreos and some more chocolate syrup if you like.

• Stick two Twix bars into the glass and serve chilled.

Prep time: 5 minutes Total time: 10 minutes Yield: Serves 1

8) The largest known milkshake was made in New York back in 2000 and measured 6,000 gallons (roughly 50,000 milkshakes).

9) Contrary to popular belief, most milkshakes do not use ice-cream at all.

Instead, they use a mixture called ‘milkshake base.’ This is a thick concoction with more butterfat compared to most ice-creams.

10) It has been found that almost half of all milkshakes purchased are consumed while people commute to work early in the mornings.

11) If you are watching your weight, try making a milkshake sans ice cream by mixing some dried milk, sugar, cocoa and ice cubes together. You can also opt for a smoothie to answer your cravings.

12) Keep in mind that the milk you use doesn’t have to come from cows only. Milkshakes can be made from soy, rice or almond milk too without compromising on the taste.

SOURCE: OCMOMMAGAZINE.COM

Woman of the week 8

Me on a trip to

Islamabad.

Yours truly!

Fashion Designer

Your bedroom is the most important room in the house. Not only does it contain your valuable possession and comfy bed, this is also the humble abode you are completely at peace in. After all, you can be yourself here. Some people would go as far as to say that a bedroom — and the state it is in — speaks volumes about the personality of its occupant(s).

Of course, every occupant has his or her own tastes and decorates it accordingly. A bedroom that doesn’t reflect you can begin to feel alien and interestingly, affect your mental wellbeing. If you have been a tad restless about your living space, read the tips below on how you can give it the sense of security it once had. These are sure to liven up a stale bedroom, if nothing else.

Most of us prefer barren walls near the bed frames but a small wall-hanging or two can be very pleasing to the eyes. It does not matter where you buy the paintings from. Just make sure you pick them out yourself so as to add a personal touch to the décor.

Say no to loud prints and opt for white or neutral beddings to make your bedroom the serene oasis it ought to be. However, if you love colour, a bright comforter, cushion or lampshade should suffice.

Turn up your game by installing multiple sources of lighting in your bedroom, such as pretty lamp shades or dimmers for different kinds of setting. The light should complement the furniture of your room and jive with the mood you are in or hope to be.

How often do we fall asleep with our phones in our hands? Few people would know this but the blue light from our phone screens actually mimics daylight, thereby messing with our brains and prevents us from falling asleep. Also, bacteria from our phones tend to transfer to our faces when we use them in bed. Disgusting, isn’t it? You can keep as many electronics as you please, so long as your phone is as far away from the bed as possible.

Psychology has proved that when the human brain sees clutter, it begins to feel anxious, messed up and cluttered as well. Give yourself and your mind a break and tidy your bedroom up. You will be surprised by how much extra storage space you have when all your possessions are placed in an orderly fashion.

Dust mites are everywhere, especially our beds. Get a vacuum and pick up the thousands of dust mites that are probably germinating in your mattress. Or perhaps, wash and change your linens every week to keep your bed fresh.

Design by Hira Fareed SOURCE: MARIECLAIRE.COM