The Express Tribune Magazine - November 16

November 16-22 2014

Under

the knife Karachi’s voracious appetite for meat and those who feed on it

November 16-22 2014

Feature

Reclaiming lost space The Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop is making a comeback

Cover Story Under the knife Inside Karachi’s slaughterhouses

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Feature

A gateway to history Every piece of old furniture has a story to tell and Abdul Ghafoor Khudaybirdi is determined to preserve them

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36 Regulars

6 People & Parties: Out and about with beautiful people

40 Reviews: Music, movies and art

46 Tech: Censorship on Facebook

Magazine Editor: Sarah Munir and Senior Subeditor: Dilaira Dubash Creative Team: Essa Malik, Jamal Khurshid, Munira Abbas, Mohsin Alam, Omer Asim, Sanober Ahmed & Talha Ahmed Khan Publisher: Bilal A Lakhani. Editor: Kamal Siddiqi For feedback and submissions: magazine@tribune.com.pk Twitter: @ETribuneMag & Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ETribuneMag Printed: uniprint@unigraph.com

Saadia Oberoi and Laaleen Khan

Roba Bashir and Simbal Khan

6 NOVEMBER 16-22 2014

Ambassador Javier M Carbajosa Sánchez hosts a soirée to celebrate Spain’s national day in Islamabad

Isbah Hassan and Shazia Bashir

Cristina von Sperling and Tariq Afridi

PHOTOS COURTESY MARIA ADIL FOR FLAIR/ROCKVILLE MEDIA

PEOPLE & PARTIES

PEOPLE & PARTIES Gillian Wake

Anjali

Alena

Rose Maria

8 NOVEMBER 16-22 2014

Lars with a friend

Tina Nunn

PHOTOS COURTESY MARIA ADIL FOR FLAIR/ROCKVILLE MEDIA

Sobia Mustafa and Sara Walid

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Agha Rafiq and Sirajuddin Aziz

Shireen Saleem, Arjumand, Huma Mir and Nawab Kaifee

Brian Heath and Ashraf Wathra

Dr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig and Ishtiaq Baig host a reception in honour of new US Consul General Brian Heath at their residence in Karachi

Ikhtiar Baig, Jahanara Khan, Ishtiaq Baig, Zeba Bakhtiar, Zoya, Yasmin Mirza, Tahir Khan, Muhammad Ishtiaque and Imran Baig

10 NOVEMBER 16-22 2014

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Corporate & Marketing Communications hosts a dinner for Nestlé Pakistan’s management team in Karachi Humaira Ashar. Nadia Omer and Midha Fatimat

Arshad Zubairi, Faisal Rana and Samra Maqbool

John Davis, Asma Khalil and Moazzam Ali

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Ronald Stieger

Pervaiz Ghias. Naveed Khan and Asif Jooma

Syed Jawaid Iqbal and Shahnoor Ahmed

Waqar Ahmed, Jerjees Seja and Magdi Batato

PEOPLE & PARTIES Ania Fawad and Hajra Hayat

Hashim and Sobia

PHOTOS COURTESY BILAL MUKHTAR EVENTS AND PR

Nazim Shahzad and Bilal Mukhtar host a get-together to celebrate the opening of House of Ittehad in Lahore

Fatima Saif and Amber Liaquat

Zainab and Zara Raza

Faria and Mehar Gillani

14 NOVEMBER 16-22 2014

Sonia Nazir, Xille and Kashif

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Uzma and Juggun Kazim

Sonia and Aasim

Sadia and Fatima

Monica Paracha and Maliha

16 NOVEMBER 16-22 2014

Nazim Shahzad and Yasmeen

Uzma and Hammad

PHOTOS COURTESY BILAL MUKHTAR EVENTS AND PR

Madiha Qaiser and Sarah Raza

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Shumaila and Anam with a friend

Eram Khan and Nosh Shah

PHOTOS COURTESY REZZ PR

House of Ittehad opens its flagship store in Islamabad

Faree, Kanwal, Sajedaa and Maiza

Sania and Samia Saifullah

18 NOVEMBER 16-22 2014

Mado, Naveen Saad and Hina Muneer

PEOPLE & PARTIES Mrs Saleem and Sarah

Muflea and Samiya

PHOTOS COURTESY REZZ PR

Rabya and Mani Saleem

Sameer and Sania Baig

Sadia Khawaja and Nosheen Aamir Sa

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Rachel and Cybil NOVEMBER 16-22 2014

Nadia Ali

Under

the knife Karachi’s voracious appetite for meat and those who feed on it TEXT BY SOHAIL KHATTAK PHOTOS BY ATHAR KHAN DESIGN BY TALHA KHAN

There is one golden rule at the two slaughterhouses in Karachi — the animal should walk into the facility. If it falls or falters on the way, it will be sent back. This is the principle which governs the thriving meat business in the city that officially consumes at least 1,200 cows and buffaloes and around 3,000 to 4,000 smaller animals, such as goats and sheep, on an average each day. There is, however, a long arduous process that these animals go through before they end up as a succulent piece of meat on your plate.

Know your food chain Officially, there are two slaughterhouses in Karachi — the City Abattoir Cattle Colony in Landhi and the New Karachi slaughterhouse — which are also referred to as kamailas. While both slaughterhouses are primarily run by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), the Landhi slaughterhouse is being run by a private contractor — the Multix International Corporation — for the past 15 years. Under the contract, KMC receives 60% of the collected revenue while the rest goes to the private firm.

According to Dr Ashfaq Ali, the KMC director of veterinary services, the abattoir in Landhi, spread over 31 acres of land is the largest in the country and employs 130 KMC personnel. The New Karachi slaughterhouse, which is much smaller, takes up only two acres and has 30 staff members.

Both the kamailas are closed on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays to

The city consumes at least 1,200 cows and buffaloes and another 3,000 to 4,000 goats and sheep on an average each day

A 10-wheeler truck carrying buffaloes is entering the Pehri ground where the buffaloes will be unloaded. control the shortage of animals in the country. The Landhi slaughterhouse, from where most of the meat is supplied to markets and retailers, works in two shifts. The night shift, in which buffaloes, cows, goats and sheep are slaughtered, operates between 12am to 9am. The day shift, which only deals in buffaloes, operates between 12pm to 6pm.

Meanwhile, the New Karachi slaughterhouse only operates during the night.

Perhi. “If a buffalo or cow gives milk [whose market value is] less than its daily food expenditure, it must go to the slaughterhouse,” explains Muhammad Moosa, a resident of Sajawal who works at a cattle farm near the abattoir. Moosa and his three other colleagues milk 300 cows and buffaloes at the farm, three times a day. “The owner cannot afford to keep the animal if its milk production drops. It just has to go,” he says.

Where do the animals come from?

Both slaughterhouses procure their supply from all over the country, mostly from Punjab and Upper Sindh, which arrive in trucks carrying up to 35 cows and buffaloes at a time.

Within walking distance from the Landhi abattoir is the Perhi Ground where the animals exchange hands from the vendors to the traders who buy the stock to be slaughtered.

The market is set up twice every 24 hours — in the evening before the night shift and early in the morning for the day shift. The traders who buy these animals then hand them over to the local marshals who look after the animals until the gates of the kamaila open.

The nearby cattle farms also sell their animals at the

Animals arrive at the cattle markets near both slaughterhouses from all over the country, mostly from Punjab and Upper Sindh, in trucks carrying up to 35 cows and buffaloes at a time.

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Mini-trucks waiting outside the slaughterhouse to transport the meat pieces to Clayton Market, Guru Mandir.

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Vendors sell animals to buyers. The transaction takes place at Perhi Ground. The market is set up twice every 24 hours — in the evening before the night shift at the slaughterhouse and early in the morning for the day shift.

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The traders who buy these animals then hand them over to the local marshals who look after the animals until the gates of the kamaila open.

There are two government-run slaughter houses in Karachi, the City Abattoir Cattle Colony in Landhi and the New Karachi slaughterhouse.

Both are run by KMC. Any meat slaughtered outside these two slaughterhouses is illegal.

Slaughter and examination When the gates are opened, people take their animals inside the slaughterhouse after paying the governmentprescribed fee of Rs65 for each buffalo and cow and Rs13 for goats and sheep. “Although healthy animals are slaughtered in the kamaila, there should be some veterinary doctors to examine the animals,” suggests Mohammad Ahsan, who gets five buffalos slaughtered daily. A medical examination of animals and meat is a pre-requisite according to the KMC by-laws. However, Dr Ali shares that there are only two doctors stationed at the city abattoir in Landhi — one for each shift — whereas there should be at least 12 of them. There is no post-slaughter examination of the animals either.

Similarly, since there is no laboratory at the slaughterhouse, the vets take liver and blood samples of randomly selected animals for examination at the laboratory in Bhains colony during the outbreak of a virulent disease.

The room where the actual slaughter takes place is a long, wide concrete hall with steel pipes fixed along its pillars that help the kamaildar or head-butcher and his assistants chop the animal into four pieces. The pipes have strong iron hooks on which legs are hung to be washed. The KMC provides an

There is one golden rule at the two slaughterhouses in Karachi — the animal should walk into the facility. If it falls or falters on the way, it will be sent back

A loader washing chopped meat with water inside the slaughterhouse.

annual licence to butchers for a nominal fee of Rs100, most of whom have acquired the skill from their forefathers. The kamaildar charges Rs200 per cow or buffalo, a price that can be reduced to Rs150, depending on the number of animals that are to be slaughtered.

“It takes 10 minutes to slaughter the animal, peel off its skin, and cut it into four pieces,” says Sohail Qureshi, a butcher at the kamaila. After the slaughter, the KMC employees stamp the meat with a special ink in three different places, marking the meat as legal and fit for human consumption. These stamps increase the market value of the meat and relieve the businessmen from paying bribes to the police on the way to the market.

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Inside the kamaila is an ante-mortem yard where the staff claims the animals are examined before being slaughtered.

The animals fit for slaughter are then slaughtered by the kamaildar or head-butcher and his assistants. The kamaildar charges Rs200 per cow or buffalo, a price that can be reduced to Rs150, depending on the number of animals you slaughter. It takes 10 minutes to slaughter the animal, peel off its skin and cut it into four pieces.

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The labourers who load the meat on to the transport vehicles, rinse it with clean water before hanging it onto mini-trucks and Suzuki vans. The loaders charge Rs200 per animal and are responsible for loading at the abattoir and unloading at the market.

The Clayton market is the main meat wholesale arcade in the city. Meat from the day shift reaches it at approximately 2:30pm. The New Karachi slaughterhouse and the night shift of the City Abattoir Cattle Colony in Landhi directly supply meat to retailers across the city, The market closes for business at around 5:30pm when the meat reaches the shops who sell it to consumers.

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Almost five hours after the animal has been slaughtered, the meat reaches the shopkeepers from where it may be purchased by consumers. The side-products, including the intestines, stomach, siri paye (legs), blood, bones and fat, is sold inside the abattoir. Each item has its own dealers, including skins.

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COVER STORY The wholesale market and its butchers

Meat slaughtered outside the two government-run slaughterhouses is illegal.

The practice, however, continues throughout the city due to the inefficiency of the local police and pressure exercised by political parties.

Loading and transportation The labourers who load the meat on the transport vehicles, rinse it with clean water before hanging it onto the minitrucks and Suzuki vans and charge Rs200 per animal. The meat is usually hung because it helps improve the flavour by allowing the natural enzymes to break down. Once upon a time, the KMC ran its own refrigerated vehicles. Now, they have been replaced by simple trucks run by private transporters. There are 35 mini-trucks and 13 Suzuki vans in the abattoir to transport the meat. The trucks leave the abattoir at a prescribed time and reach the market in less than an hour. “All the vehicles leave the abattoir at the same time so that the meat reaches the market at the same time and prices are maintained,” says Ali. Almost five hours after the animal has been slaughtered, the meat reaches the shopkeepers from where it may be purchased by consumers.

The side-products, including the intestines, stomach, siri paye (legs), blood, bones and fat is sold inside the abattoir. Each item has its own dealers, including skins.

Collectively, these side-products sell for Rs8,000 per animal.

“All these side-products are already sold before the animal is slaughtered,” Ali elaborates. In the end, only the dung is left behind, which is flushed out with water. KMC sweepers stationed in the drainage canal push it along the drainage channel with their spades and direct it towards the sea.

With the end of each shift, the slaughterhouse is taken over by the sweepers who clean up thoroughly before the next shift begins. Nevertheless, the conditions in which these employees work are appalling. For instance, even though there is enough supply of water to the abattoir, the labourers and butchers drink and bathe in the same water that is used 30 to rinse the meat.

NOVEMBER 16-22 2014

The Clayton market is the main meat wholesale arcade in the city. Meat from the day shift reaches the market around 2:30pm, where it is eagerly awaited by hundreds of scavenger birds and flies in addition to the wholesalers and shopkeepers. Though the official price of meat is set by the KMC, there is a slight difference between the price of meat with white fat and that with yellow or reddish fat. According to the businessmen at the market, buffalo meat is sold at Rs8,000 to Rs10,000 per mund (40 kilogrammes). Meat of a young bull can fetch up to Rs11,000 while the most coveted meat, that of a young cow, usually sells for over Rs12,000 per mund.

At this market, the slaughtered meat is rid of unnecessary fat and bones and also squared into smaller pieces for the hotels. The fat is sold for Rs1,500 per mund and has its own dealers. Each dealer at the Clayton market has his own stall where the meat is hung off the hooks for processing.

“We pay Rs6,000 to the government annually for each stall,” says Ikram Qureshi, who followed his father into the business and has been running his stall for the last 25 years.

“There is, however, no system to clean the market and we do it ourselves. Every butcher has to clean his own stall and the area in front of it before leaving the market every day.”

Ikram and his peers supply the meat to retailers and roadside establishments across the city.

A loader carrying a leg-piece to load it in the mini-truck.

A mini-truck loaded with heading towards the wholesale markets.

Loaders tying meat pieces in a Suzuki van.

Each butcher is paid Rs1,200 per week and most work for more than one dealer. The market closes for business at around 5:30pm once the meat reaches the shops who sell it to the consumers. The New Karachi slaughterhouse and the night shift of the City Abattoir Cattle Colony in Landhi directly supply meat to retailers across the city, including those at Saddar’s Empress Market, Laiquatabad No 2, Soldier Bazaar and Sitara Market in Ranchore line.

Illegal slaughter and pressure meat Despite the ban on slaughtering animals outside the two government-run abattoirs, hundreds of animals are slaughtered across Karachi on the streets and at cattle farms, mostly during the night. In Bhains Colony, horses and donkey carts can be seen pulling loads of animals with sliced

throats. KMC officials, who are responsible for controlling the practice, admit to this blatant violation of rules and blame it squarely on the local police and political parties.

“In every area, animals are slaughtered in the backstreets but we can’t take action because the police do not cooperate with us,” complains Dr Ali. “Sometimes we confiscate the animals and meat, which is later sent to philanthropic institutions or to the zoo, after examination. He narrates the example of a raid at Anda Mor where their team found themselves surrounded by armed activists of a political party.

Pressure meat is also associated with illegal slaughtering, but all the butchers in the market and the smaller shops prefer to keep mum about it. According to Ahsan and Sohail, the butchers who slaughter their own animals in the streets, put water pipe into the urinary ducts of the animal and let it absorb the water. “The water increases the weight of the meat by up to 40kg in a single animal,” he explains. “More often than not, the water in such cases is contaminated and the meat becomes harmful for humans.”

“We slaughter the bachiya (young cow) ourselves, but we have to hang a leg or two transported from the kamaila to show the police or deputy commissioner who sometimes raid the shop,” shares a local butcher at Keamari, on the condition of anonymity. He, however, denies selling pressure meat or the meat of sick or dead animals, saying that they only slaughter the animals in the street to meet customer demands. It is no secret, however, that as long as the city has a steady appetite, legal and illegal sources who feed on it will not sleep on empty stomachs either. T Sohail Khattak is a correspondent for The Express Tribune Karachi desk.

He tweets @razakhattak.

NOVEMBER 16-22 2014

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FEATURE

world Performing Arts Festival 2007 at Alhamra Cultural Complex Gaddafi Stadium Lahore.

Reclaiming lost space After a long hiatus, the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop is getting back on its feet

By MoMinA SiBTAin DESiGn By SAnoBER AHMED PHoToS CoURTESy RAFi PEER THEATRE woRkSHoP

Performing arts have always found a home at the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW) in Lahore. Since its launch in 1974, the space has been a nurturing ground for a wide range of cultural activities including vibrant puppet shows, film and drama festivals and performances by local and international artists. But things took an unfortunate turn following a series of bomb blasts that took place during their annual World Performing Arts Festival (WPFA) in 2008 and outside Peeru’s café in 2010. As the security situation in the country worsened, the festival became a shadow of its former glorious self. Crowds shrunk and the events became smaller. Things went further downhill, when the group was accused of embezzling funds allocated to them for a project by the USAID. Most corporate sponsors pulled out their financial support, except the Norwegian government who sent a team to audit the company’s books but did not find anything. This year, however, the RPTW ventured back into the realm of mega-scale festivals and focused on winning back their audiences from the yesteryears.

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FEATURE “The festivals never stopped,” says Saadaan Peerzada, the chief operating officer at RPTW. “A lot has changed in Pakistan, both politically and culturally, but we have kept ourselves alive through it all.” Alena Peerzada, director programmes and operations at RPTW elaborates that the strong foundation of the company has helped them regain their courage, return to mainstream venues and put on shows the way they used to. However, having helped her family rebuild the company for the past 13 years, Alena is well-aware that putting RPTW back on the cultural map is not merely about putting on a show but also involves coordinating with government agencies and the bureaucratic chain of command.“The current army operation has diverted attention from the arts,” she says. Previously, a No Objection Certificate for an event could be obtained from the Governor House but one has to contact the Chief Minister now to get the same things done. “The point of the matter is that the police are scared of taking action in large crowds these days and we’ve had to overcome all these hurdles,” she says.

Having operated in a complicated country like Pakistan for over three decades, however, has taught the RPTW a thing

or two about survival. As governments changed and the space for art continued to fluctuate, they learnt to navigate the waters accordingly. “Our government never stopped anything nor did they support it,” says Saadan. “They have played a very dormant role but we feel that now is the time they [should] take a more active role. They have the funds but are not willing to spend them on the arts.”

But until that happens, RPTW has decided to be the master of their own destiny. Last year, they organised a Sufi festival at the Alhamra Arts Council in Lahore to test the waters and gauge if people still had an appetite for what they had to offer. “It was the overwhelming response that allowed us to come out with a bang this year,” says Usman Peerzada, the chief executive officer of the group. Along with overwhelming support from the general public, the artist community also stepped up to support the institution that has kept art afloat in the country for many years. “When people have grand visions there will always be opposition and there will be guns pointed at them,” says veteran dancer Nighat Chaudhry, who credits RPTW for giving dance in Pakistan an international platform says. “But since they

Traditional Giddha Performance from Amritsar at the wPAF 2007, in the open air theatre at Alhamra Cultural Complex Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

have supported the arts and artists all their lives, it’s our turn to support them now.” Choreographer and dancer Wahab Shah, who has been with the group since 2006 feels that the barriers that RPTW has had to face have been part of the deal for everyone who has tried to do things differently in Pakistan and portray a positive image of the country. “But what they don’t realise is that the arts cannot be stopped and it is the same resilience that has made it possible for Rafi Peer to make a comeback this year,” he adds.

Saadan believes that RPTW’s comeback has been timely since the public is bored of dharnas and political strife and needs an outlet. “Hence, this year we have brought back all our festivals at the same time, not only in Pakistan but also in India. We want to show the world that Rafi Peer can withstand all storms and come out stronger,” he says. T

kamaliya from Ukraine Performing at the wPAF 2006 in the open air theatre.

krishan Lal Bheel from Sindh performing outdoors at the wPAF 2007.

Upcoming Rafi Peer Festivals this season:

1. Saanj, Lahore Amritsar Festival 29th November, 2014 2. Craft Fare 8th and 9th November, 2014 3. international Mystic Music Sufi Festival 4th December, 2014 (Islamabad), 6th and 7th December, 2014 (Lahore), 17th January, 2015 (Azad Kashmir) 4. national Dance Festival 13th and 14th December, 2014 5. international Film Festival 25th to 27th December, 2014 6. national Folk Puppet Festival 21st to 24th March, 2015

Momina Sibtain is a fashion and lifestyle correspondent for The Express Tribune.

She tweets @MominaSibtain

navtej Johar from india performing live at the wPAF 2008.

Theatre performance from Czech Republic at the wPAF 2007.

Music night 2006 at the wPAF in the open air theatre, Alhamra Cultural Complex Gaddafi Stadium.

FEATURE

A gateway to history Abdul Ghafoor Khudaybirdi is preserving Pakistan’s history of carpentry one piece at a time TExT And PhoTos by sA’AdiA KhAn

Tucked away in one of Islamabad’s treedotted lanes is an unusual furniture shop that has taken up the task of preserving and recreating the opulence of the Mughals and Maharajas. The showroom’s exterior conceals a place that is almost like Aladdin’s cave, replete with wooden treasures. Inside, the courtyard has stacks of aquamarine, turquoise and green wooden doors, a gateway to the history and culture of a region where the art of carpentry is gradually losing audience.

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Each piece of wood in the showroom, with its distinct tone, texture and grain, has a story to tell and Abdul Ghafoor Khudaybirdi is the man who brings these tales to life. Born to a farmer in the early ’60s in Afghan Turkestan, Khudaybirdi was one of seven children. He would often accompany his father, who herded horses, camels and sheep, on trips across the border to Peshawar, Pakistan.

When war broke out in Afghanistan, Khudaybirdi was sent to Turkey to complete his education. At November 16-22 2014

Left: Carpentry enthusiast Abdul Ghafoor Khudaybirdi who rescues and replicates old furniture.

Above: inside one of Khudaybirdi’s workshops in islamabad which is stacked with unique pieces of old furniture.

the age of 18, he moved to London to study business for three months where he found a partner and began importing carpets from Turkey and Pakistan, frequently visiting both regions to ensure quality control. When Khudaybirdi decided to relocate with his parents to Islamabad, his commitment to preserve heritage, especially the craft of carpentry, took the form of multiple carpentry workshops and a showroom.

The quality and beauty of Khudaybirdi’s furniture is testament to a region steeped in history. “All the ironwork we use in our pieces are original, they have not been manufactured by us.

We acquire all our material from houses that are being demolished in rural areas of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,” says Khudaybirdi. He also rescues pieces that have been carelessly scrapped — including a chair made from 100-year-old wood

Each piece of wood in the showroom, with its distinct tone, texture and grain, has a story to tell 37 November 16-22 2014

FEATURE — and restores them to their original form. “People are moving towards modernity and they do not value these pieces for their historical value. But we do.” He recalls an instance when he was requested to appraise the original woodwork, including windows, doors and door frames, of a mansion located in Gujrat by the proprietor who intended to demolish the house. Khudaybirdi requested him to preserve the building as a part of the area’s heritage and eventually walked away courteously.

“None of these pieces can be made again,” Khudaybirdi states after pausing to glance at the numerous beautiful items crammed into his office.

“No one has the craft or craftsmanship [to do this anymore]. We train painters and [woodcarvers], but it [is not] the same [despite] following the same procedure,” he explains, using the example of Kashmiri pashmina, embroidery and hand woven carpets. “In Central Asia and Turkey, people are more inclined towards synthetic materials now, but we can try,” he says, adding that craftsmanship

Right: inside Khudaybirdi’s only furniture shorwoom in islamabad that is replete with wooden treasures. below: Khudaybirdi’s trains craftsmen to follow the traditional method of woodcarving in order to preserve it.

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The future of this furniture is limited. Pakistan has little to no tourist industry and the middle class is very small. I think 20 years from now, it will be a rarity to acquire any such items from the rural and tribal areas Carpentry enthusiast Abdul Ghafoor Khudaybirdi

is a legacy that should be passed on from one generation to the next.

The process of recreating and restoring is long and arduous as some pieces are big, up to six feet by four feet in dimension. Khudaybirdi has four workshops in Islamabad, two in Peshawar and one in Chiniot. When asked if he would consider moving his showroom to larger premises, he replies quite adamantly, “No, this is my only showroom. I will keep this until I am in Pakistan.” His ultimate dream, however, is to establish a museum or cultural centre to preserve and showcase some of the doors and original pieces of antique furniture that he has reclaimed and revived.

“The future of this furniture is limited. Pakistan has little to no tourist industry and the middle class is very small. I think 20 years from now, it will be a rarity to acquire any such items from the rural and tribal areas,” Khudaybirdi fears. While deforestation, urbanisation and industrialisation are major worldwide concerns, Pakistan’s forest resources, in particular, are shrinking rapidly.

Any form of revival and restoration, therefore, must be done now and fast. With Khudaybirdi not planning to retire for the next 15 years, there will always be a home for these abandoned pieces of priceless craftsmanship.

Sa’adia Khan is a freelance photographer based in Islamabad.

She tweets @IM_SaadiaKhan November 16-22 2014

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mUSIC

Little right, little wrong

The Voidz debut album is not meant to cater to a mainstream audience, and it won’t

By Sameen ameR

Side projects can provide musicians with an avenue to express themselves outside the confines of their main acts, and that is precisely what Julian Casablancas has done with his new group The Voidz. The latest musical venture by The Strokes frontman sees him team up with a group of eclectic musicians — guitarists Beardo Gritter and Amir Yaghmai, bassist Jake Bercovici, keyboardist Jeff Kite and percussionist Alex Carapetis — and take full advantage of this opportunity to create the eccentric Tyranny.

Helmed by producer Shawn Everett, the group’s debut album delivers a raw blend of punk and alt rock, giving up the more polished sound of The Strokes in favour of an experimental visage. The musicians explore interesting ideas that sometimes come together nicely and at other times collapse under the raucous musical avalanche that envelopes them.

Bathed in angst and disappointment, the first single ‘Human Sadness’ represents the album fairly accurately. The song merges some terrific musical moments with selfindulgent overtures to create an 11-minute opus that is definitely ambitious but perhaps overly so. When these elements are successfully put together — as they are on songs like ‘Where No Eagles Fly’, ‘Crunch Punch’, and ‘Dare I Care’ — the result is exciting. At other times, the output seems too laboured and unfocused. There’s a lot going on in these 12 songs. Furious guitars, angry drums and frantic synths frequently make an appearance as the tracks play with melody and chaos, often at the same 40 time. The effect falls closer to the industrial November 16-22 2014

kick of Nine Inch Nails than to the indie and garage sound you would associate with Casablancas, who also wrote or co-wrote each of the songs on this set.

Experimentation arguably is the best use for a side project, and on that front, The Voidz emerge victorious. Tyranny was clearly not made to appease fans of its singer’s main act, nor does it seem concerned with the opinion of his detractors. It showcases a band that intended to create something interesting, but it also leaves you with the sense that the musicians who made it were perhaps trying a tad too hard. Instead of cramming every idea they could come up with into these overlong tracks, the output could have been more pleasant and accessible if they had reined in the discordance, making the songs less busy and more coherent (although that sentiment probably undercuts the attitude on display here).

As it stands, Tyranny is an unconventional effort by a group that seemed too enamoured with itself. The songs fall on a spectrum that ranges from compelling to grating, although the response to it simply comes down to the listener’s preferences.

Even if you are a fan of The Strokes or enjoyed Casablancas’ solo album Phrazes for the Young, there is no guarantee that you will enjoy Tyranny. But if you are drawn towards music that is intriguingly weird, then you might want to give The Voidz debut record a spin.

Rating: Sameen Amer is a Lahore-based freelance writer and critic. She tweets @Sameen

More for rock’n roll fans

1

Phrazes for the young by Julian Casablancas

The first (and so far only) solo album by the lead singer of The Strokes, Phrazes for the Young saw Casablancas experimenting with ideas more freely while creating a short but enthusiastic set of alternative rock.

2

Comedown machine by The Strokes

3

Hesitation marks by nine Inch nails

The slickness of the indie rock band’s latest album, their fifth release overall, might leave you yearning for more rawness, but its diversity and well crafted melodies still make it an interesting effort.

The return of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails (who briefly hired Alex Carapetis as a touring drummer in 2005) saw Trent Reznor and co. come up with their intriguing, inventive eighth album, Hesitation Marks.

The Maze Runner, a dystopian thriller, is yet another addition to the lucrative young-adult film genre

By NomaN aNsaRi

It is no secret that Hollywood, like every other business, likes to milk a profitable idea.

Although superhero and fairytale films have raked in a large amount of money, the two genres are expected to reach saturation sooner rather than later. Other genres, such as cinematic adaptations of graphic novels and fantasy books, have already been exhausted too. With the success of Twilight and Hunger Games series, however, you can probably mark ‘young-adult (YA) fiction’ as the genre Hollywood is going to cash in on next. With countless bestsellers that target adolescents, young adult books certainly seem like a natural choice for Hollywood.

Director Wes Ball’s The Maze Runner, which adapts James Dashner’s eponymous book, is certainly one of the better YA books brought to life. It is for the most part a watchable film, especially if you were a fan of the TV show Lost, or the classic dystopian novel, Lord of the Flies. The film also — quite deliberately I suspect — carries shades from

The Hunger Games franchise.

Just like Lost, The Maze Runner grips viewers with its air of mystery. The film begins with the protagonist, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), waking up inside an elevator, unable to remember his name. Here, in a grassy field called ‘The Glade’ that is surrounded by grim walls, he meets other boys, including Alby (Aml Ameen) who is the leader of the ‘lost’ boys. At the celebration honouring his arrival Thomas learns that every month a boy arrives in the elevator with no recollection of who they are. But they do eventually remember their name and Thomas learns his after getting into a fight with another boy.

The only way to escape The Glade is through an opening in the wall leading to the maze that mysteriously opens at sunrise and closes at dusk. Boys with the skills to navigate the maze are assigned the title of ‘Runners’ and they spend their days trying to find a path through the dangerous labyrinth. And those who don’t make it back to the Glade

before nightfall are never to be seen again.

While The Maze Runner is enjoyable escapism for the most part, it suffers from the typical trappings of a film based on a YA novel. For example, many of the characters appear as stereotypical caricatures that are instantly recognisable from similar works of fiction. Even the dialogues suffer from a lack of subtlety and the film is a little too obvious in its attempts at setting up a lucrative franchise. That said, The Maze Runner is at times genuinely tense and features a cracker of an ending that is almost good enough to forgive the more tedious bits. If you can sit through another film about young adults revolting against an autocrat, then The Maze Runner may be certainly worth a watch.

Rating: Noman Ansari is freelance writer and regular contributor to The Express Tribune magazine and newspaper. He tweets @Pugnate

It’s a trap: More from the same theme Lord of the flies:

Cube:

Dark City:

The movie is a cinematic adaptation of the 1954 William Golding novel about a group of schoolboys stranded on an island in a dystopian setting. Two films were based on the book; Peter Brook’s haunting 1963 version and a less faithful 1990 adaptation.

The former was an instant hit and went on to influence many other films.

The 1997 Canadian horror film polarised fans and critics alike. Viewers were turned off by the sometimes poor dialogue and comically wooden acting but gave filmmaker Vincenzo Natali's top markes for direction and an original premise. The film is especially recommended for fans of the Twilight Zone TV show.

Alex Proyas’s 1998 science fiction film left audiences guessing till the last minute and is beautifully shot featuring gritty landscapes and a deliciously dark atmosphere. The late film critic Roger Ebert was so fond of the movie that he labelled Alex Proyas his favourite for reviving the then struggling Batman film franchise.

ART

Let art be limitless Abu Dhabi Art’s ‘Beyond’ initiative introduces monumental pieces of art in public spaces

By ShAnzAy SuBzwARi PhoToS couRTeSy ABu DhABi ART

Post World War II, the so-called ‘centre’ of the art world shifted from high-end Paris to whirlwind New York. Various cities of the world, including Berlin, London, Los Angeles, Rome and Tokyo, emerged with steady art production and art festivals, thus sharing the status of ‘art capitals’. Over the last couple of years, however, it has been the Middle East, particularly Abu Dhabi that has initiated some exciting projects, such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, which are rapidly making it another addition to the art centres of the world.

Like the projects above, Abu Dhabi Art was initiated by the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) to bring together some of the world’s most innovative galleries, artists, cultural leaders and collectors from across the globe. It is now in its sixth year.

‘Beyond’ is one of its five exhibition platforms which aims to introduce art in public spaces.

This year, through a new annual selection of large-scale art installations, ‘Beyond’ is on display in public areas throughout the city for six months. It features works by 14 well-known artists, including Ai Weiwei, Subodh Gupta, François Morellet, Mohammed Kazem, Shilpa Gupta, Virginie Yassef and Sahand Hesamiyan.

Ai Weiwei is a politically charged artist 44 whose works revolve around pertinent issues, November 16-22 2014

Mohammed Kazem Directions (Circle), 2014 either from his native China or all over the world. These range from his issues with authorities in China to natural disasters. At ‘Beyond’, represented by Lission Gallery, he displays his widely-exhibited installation, Forever.

It features stacked and layered stainless-steel cycle frames that give different views from each angle and remind one of a production assembly line. It reflects a world embroiled in consumerism, where products are massproduced and eagerly sought by people to ‘fit in’. It also reveals a fusion of tastes today, where profit-making corporations exploit homogeneity of preferences. Wei Wei’s idea behind the installation, however, was more personal. He mentions, “The bicycle is an object we grew up with. Owning a bicycle was a luxury then, and everyone aspired to have a ‘Forever’ bicycle, which was the best Ai weiwei Forever, 2013

Subodh Gupta Et tu, Duchamp?, 2009/2010

brand at the time.” Inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s ‘readymades’ (ordinary manufactured objects that the artist selected and modified), and the familiarity of the bicycle world over, Weiwei looks at the changing landscape and attitude of people through this symbol. While ironically, the Forever bicycle is disappearing in China — increasingly replaced by polluting cars — the Western world is going back to this eco-friendly mode of transport.

Another Duchamp fan is Indian artist Subodh Gupta. With his sculpture Et tu, Duchamp?, represented by Hauser and Wirth gallery, he takes the ‘readymade’ to a new level. Inspired by Duchamp’s 1919 version of Mona Lisa — moustached, goateed and titled L.H.O.O.Q. — Gupta converts the painting into a huge bronze sculpture covered with black patina. Interestingly, this work ends up being an appropriation of an appropriation, as well as a direct engagement with works from art history.

By making Duchamp’s version of the Mona Lisa his own, as well as monumentalising it, Gupta has taken possession of the idea of conceptual art and gives appropriation a new dimension. What’s also intriguing is that while the original Mona Lisa lies in the heart of the

Louvre in Paris, Gupta’s version is now on exhibition where the Louvre Abu Dhabi exists — another appropriation of sorts perhaps.

François Morellet’s work is characterised by clear geometric forms, which are usually described by seemingly factual lines. His installation Pier and Ocean, represented by Kamel Mennour Gallery, displays neon tubes in a room, distributed in two different line systems: vertical-horizontal and diagonal.

Morellet draws inspiration by Piet Mondrian’s drawing series, where the abstract sea consists of horizontal and vertical lines. Upon entering the room, the visitor views the horizontal and vertical, glowing neon lights and walks on a pier. The glowing lamps remind one of a calm sea, until an invisible sensor detects one’s presence. The second system of diagonal neon tubes is then switched on automatically, changing the impression of a calm water surface into a rough sea.

Sahand Hesamiyan’s stainless steel sculpture, presented by The Third Line Gallery, represents an object washed ashore by the waves. According to the artist, “The form, shape and position of the lines allows people to discover new perspectives by walking around it… Like an object drifting in from the sea that will be explored by people who find it, this piece is being brought to the ‘Beyond’ section of Abu Dhabi Art from far away, to be explored by yet another group of people.”

Mohammed Kazem’s Directions (Circle) displays a cluster of dates, timings and coordinates in white acrylic, aluminum and light-emitting diode light. Represented by Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, this piece is a reminder of our world that is continuously on the go, and how time and space influence our lives so completely.

Being presented together in Abu Dhabi at ‘Beyond’, all the installations influence and create dialogue with one another, thus, adding to their meaning. As a public art project, ‘Beyond’ is a great initiative and will do well to engage audiences from all over.

Shanzay Subzwari is a fine arts student.

She tweets @ShanzaySubzwari

François Morellet Pier and Ocean, 2014

November 16-22 2014

45

Keeping secrets in the Facebook age?

Which countries are controlling information on Facebook and why

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT DESIGN BY OMER ASIM

Censorship in Pakistan has increased exponentially in recent months. The number of removed pieces of content skyrocketed from 162 in the last six months of 2013 to 1,773 in the first half of 2014. According to Facebook, these requests were made by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and the Ministry of Information Technology under local laws which prohibit blasphemy and criticism of the state. T

1773

162

77

35

Requests for user data Content Restrictions

47.62

January-June 2014

126 July- December 2013

the social networking giant of “things that are illegal under local law” and the company removes the content accordingly, stated a Facebook spokesperson in a Mashable article last week. In certain cases, access to user accounts is also granted to countries according to the same principle.

Hence, some governments end up restricting and removing a lot more content than others based on its local realities, laws, censorship practices and interpretation of what benefits or harms public interest. Currently, India leads the list with restricting access to 4,960 pieces of content, followed by Turkey and Pakistan with 1,893 and 1,773 pieces of content removed respectively.

Here is a look at 15 of the 83 countries listed on the network’s third transparency report where information was controlled in the period January-June 2014 and the broad reasons for doing so:

Pakistan’s shrinking space

January-June 2013

Facebook recently revealed that censorship on the social networking site had increased by 19% between July 2013 and June 2014. Countries notify

116

35.34

Percentage of requests where some data was produced Note: Data for content restrictions January-June 2013 not provided.

Reasons for restrictions cited by Facebook AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA FRANCE GERMANY INDIA ISRAEL ITALY PAKISTAN RUSSIA THAILAND TURKEY UAE UK KUWAIT SAUDI ARABIA Requests for user data

610 63 2,249 2,537 4,559 111 1,869 116 0 1 153 6 2,110 4 0

60.33% 17.46% 30.24% 33.94% 50.87% 51.35% 49.28% 35.34% 0% 0% 60.78% 0% 71.68% 0% 0%

7 15 22 34 4960 15 3 1773 29 5 1893 1 9 1 7

Under local anti-discrimination laws.

Under local laws prohibiting Holocaust denial.

Under local laws prohibiting Holocaust denial.

Under local laws prohibiting Holocaust denial.

Under local laws prohibiting criticism of a religion or the state.

Under local laws prohibiting Holocaust denial.

Under local laws prohibiting hate speech.

Under local laws prohibiting blasphemy and criticism of the state.

Under local laws prohibiting content that promotes extremist activities and images of drug-use and self-harm.

Under local laws prohibiting criticism of the King.

Under local laws prohibiting criticism of the government and royal family.

Under local laws prohibiting criticism of the government and royal family In response to a small number of court injunctions.

Under local laws prohibiting criticism of the government and royal family.

Under local laws prohibiting criticism of the royal family.

Percentage of requests where some data was produced

Content restrictions

SOURCE: FACEBOOK TRANSPARENCY REPORT FOR JANUARY-JUNE 2014

46 NOVEMBER 16-22 2014