OCTOBER 11-17 2015
Feature Cover Story
‘Sing for all you’re worth’
Addicted to gutka? That might have something to do with where you live
A musical programme helps Indian and Pakistani artists pursue their passion
Chew on this
16
24 Spotlight
Mind the gap
One organisation connects out-of-practice female doctors to women with no access to healthcare
35
Interview
A balancing act In the thick of the glitz, actor Shamyl Khan keeps infamy at an arm’s length
31 Regulars
6 People & Parties: Out and about with beautiful people
38 Reviews: TV and Movie 41 Travel tips: Lessons from wanderlust
Magazine Incharge: Dilaira Dubash. Senior Subeditors: Sanam Maher and Ali Haider Habib. Subeditors: Komal Anwar and Aesha Munaf Creative Team: Jamal Khurshid, Essa Malik, Mohsin Alam, Talha Ahmed Khan, Hira Fareed, Maryam Rashid, Eesha Azam and Sanober Ahmed Publisher: Bilal A Lakhani. Editor: Kamal Siddiqi For feedback and submissions: magazine@tribune.com.pk 4 Twitter: @ETribuneMag & Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ETribuneMag Printed: uniprint@unigraph.com
Kaukab, Dr Laila Rajput and Rais
UK Association of Medical Aid to Pakistan organises a get together to raise charity money Behjat Tahir and Maha Ali
Sadaf Abbas, Syed Ibne Abbas, Akmal Khushi and Farah Khushi
6 OCTOBER 11-17 2015
Erum Masood
PHOTO CREDITS SHAHID MALIK
PEOPLE & PARTIES
PEOPLE & PARTIES
PHOTO CREDITS SHAHID MALIK
Shivani and Gautam Kumar
Fawad Khan
Feryal Khan
8 OCTOBER 11-17 2015
Yasmin Karimi
Noreen Khan
Aziza Shah and Kristiane Backer
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Anum
Hafsa Haseeb
10 OCTOBER 11-17 2015
Tara Uzra Dawood and Nighat Misbah
Basma Khan
Wajiha Khurram
PHOTO CREDITS FAROOQ USMAN
Masarrat Misbah and Dawood Global Foundation host an event on make-up in Karachi
Sara Ali
Fouzia Khan
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Kainat Abro
Naheed, Irum and Shaheen
PHOTO CREDITS FAROOQ USMAN
Nadia Patel
Saima Khan, Sadia Wahid, Masarrat Misbah, Rehana Moinuddin and Muna Aamir
Shafaq Zainuddin
12 OCTOBER 11-17 2015
Massarat Misbah’s Mother
Sobia Idress
Yusra Tufail
PEOPLE & PARTIES
PHOTOS COURTESY MEDIA MATTERS PR
Designers showcase their talent through Bank AlFalah Rising Talent Platform
Sarwat Gilani
Usman Qaiser, Mehwish Javed, Mariam Agha, Saad Ali, Hisham Malik, Rizwan, Anwar Ali and Aly Mustansir
PHOTOS COURTESY ZENITHOPTIMEDIA
L’Oréal Professionnel hosts the launch of Blonde Studio in Pakistan
Tanzeela Hashwani
Julie Marechal with Models
14 OCTOBER 11-17 2015
Syeda Mazia
‘Sing for all yo FEATURE
A musical programme helps Indian and Pakistani artists pursue their passion BY HIRA AZMAT DESIGN BY SANOBER AHMED PHOTO CREDITS: ORA DEKORNFELD
16 Violinist Tatiana Silver Hargreaves, horn player Jeremy Thal, and Imran Fida. OCTOBER 11-17 2015
you’re worth’ sang frequently at his college’s musical events, and at wedding receptions for a trifling sum. Around this time last year, a friend of Imran’s from college told him about the Dosti fellowship and residency programme in the US, designed for Indian and Pakistani musicians. The application was online, and Imran didn’t have personal access to a computer, much less the Internet. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have been able to fill out the multiple essay-style application, because of his rudimentary English. His friend filled out the application for him; Imran’s sole contribution to the application process was the accompanying video. “Sing,” his friend told him. “Sing for all you’re worth.” So, he sang for his friend’s cheap cellphone camera, and was shocked to learn a few months later that he’d been admitted into the programme. Still deeply skeptical, Imran admits laughingly now that he thought it was a scam, especially once the organisers asked him to pay $70 for his health insurance, an almost prohibitive sum for him. On his friend’s insistence, he paid it, but remained unconvinced, even after speaking to somebody from the US embassy. It wasn’t until he received his airplane ticket in the mail that it hit him. The four weeks in the US that followed was a period Imran describes as “lifeChris Marianetti, co-founder changing”. Dosti programmeme This year, Dosti held its very first residency. The idea behind the programme is simple: to use music to help collectively build healthy communities and a more peaceful world. The Indian subcontinent remains fractured, with its constituent nations beleaguered by mutual mistrust, despite tremendous cultural commonalities. Dosti aims to bridge just this fracture, with the most powerful tool in South Asia’s cultural arsenal: music. Music has always enjoyed cross-border popularity, whether it’s poetry-turnedsong in the form of emotionally resonant ghazals loved equally in both countries, Bollywood music that managed to make its way into Pakistan on pirated, black market cassettes even when deemed illegal, or Pakistani pop music icons becoming 17
Many people in the audience came up to us with tears streaming down their cheeks, thanking us for the experience and for our music
The first performance by the Dosti Music Project at the Timucua Arts White House in Orlando, Florida, in March this year.
Struggling through his degree in Urdu literature at a public college in Lahore, Imran Fida never imagined being able to pursue his life’s passion — music — full time. While he was too intimidated to learn formally from him, singing was nevertheless something he’d picked up from his father Ustad Fida Hussain, a well-respected but impoverished musician. Well-known among those who loved his rich, soulful voice, Imran
OCTOBER 11-17 2015
The 2015 Dosti fellows were a truly diverse set: four Pakistanis, four Indians, and two American musicians.
The programmeme’s greatest achievement has been the creation of an incredible network of musicians who are continuously working together to affect positive change locally and globally playback sensations in the Indian film industry despite strained political relations and barriers to cross-border mobility. By creating a positive template of cross-border, people-to-people cultural collaboration between Indians and Pakistanis, with participating American musicians, the founders of this programme hope that such change can also happen at the political level. “There’s something so incredibly powerful about modeling these realities, seeing their existence within the wordless laboratory of the artists, for example the positive collaboration between two politically-divided nations,” explains Chris Marianetti, the programme’s co-founder. “Once it exists here, at this level, its transition into society at large becomes suddenly possible.” Dosti co-founders Jeremy Thal and Chris Marianetti are both highly accomplished musicians and music teachers. Jeremy routinely records and performs with the likes of indie rock heavyweights Neutral Milk Hotel and The National, and Chris’s work as a producer and composer has premiered at the International Gaudeamus Competition, Merkin Concert Hall, Massachusetts Museum of Modern 18 Art, among others. They are both owners of the company OCTOBER 11-17 2015
Tatiana Silver Hargreaves is a violin player from Oregon. Found Sound Nation, through which they have done work similar to Dosti all over the globe: working in collaboration with music festivals around the world, and working with prisoners, and underprivileged youth in inner-city schools. Why South Asia? I ask. Chris laughs: “For the last 10 years, I’ve been living in Jackson Heights, a predominately South Asian neighborhood in New York. So, I guess you could say I’ve been courting these associates for quite some time.” The 2015 Dosti fellows were a truly diverse set: four Pakistanis, four Indians, and two American musicians from a wide variety of traditions, ranging from Sufi singing to beatmaking to avant-garde jazz. Dosti begins with a threeweek residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, focusing on methods of collaboration and workshops with local schools & community organisations, and culminates in a week-long tour with performances and social engagements throughout southeastern United States. This year, they
change locally and globally. The most gratifying aspect of the programme is to be a witness to the connections and lifelong friendships that have developed as a result, and seeing in person how music can bring people together, and how learned practices are being sustained after the programme. “Natasha Ejaz (from Islamabad) is hoping to create a music education initiative in her city that addresses the needs of older music traditions while exciting young people about music. Surojato Roy and Mirande Shah have been collaborating to work with disadvantaged kids in Kolkata. Bilal Khan (from Karachi) has a dream of creating a spinoff musical festival like Dosti for Indians and Pakistanis to continue collaborating,” Chris tells me. Surojato Roy is a percussionist, specialising in tabla, from Calcutta. The Dosti fellows describe the duration of the programme as a period of intense, immersive musical collaboration. “The Dosti fellows became like family to me and by the end we were calling each other bhai, chacha, mama, etc,” says Tatiana Hargreaves, an American violinist deeply influenced by Appalachian music, and one of the Dosti 2015 fellows. ”As a result, the music we created came out of a place of deep friendship and love. And I think you can hear it in the music.” Like the others, she describes it as an experience that has Dosti begins with a three-week residency in Florida, focusing on methods of collaboration and left an indelible mark. “I’m workshops with local schools & community organisations. still discovering new ways in s at South by South West, the largest music festival in the which Dosti has impacted my life every day. Whether it’s a world. For Chris though, the most enjoyable performance free improvisation that has elements of a raga I learned, or was a show they played in a little town in Florida called New whether it’s meeting someone else from India and Pakistan Smyrna Beach. “Our audience at this particular concert was, and connecting because I was a part of Dosti, or writing a for lack of a better description, mostly elderly white folks, new composition with Dosti in mind.” many of whom had never seen these instruments and by These days, Imran is busy scouting rural Punjab for most accounts heard music from these regions of the world. talented local musicians on behalf of Dosti and facilitating After the concert, and in particular a rousing tabla solo by their applications. He left his job to travel and participate Surojato Roy from Kolkata and deeply moving ballad by in the programme. When I ask him about his employment Imran Fida from Lahore, many people in the audience came prospects, he tells me he’s been offered a job, but didn’t take up to us with tears streaming down their cheeks, thanking it up. After the validation and acknowledgement he received us for this experience and for our music. It was touching to in the US, he feels he can make a career out of his music. see people with no connection to this part of the world, or Before, he was content with a day job that had nothing to do culture, be so greatly moved by this music.” with music, but now, he says, his heart only wants to sing. For the founders, the programme’s greatest achievement has been the creation of an incredible network of musicians 19 who are continuously working together to affect positive Hira Azmat is a full-time freelancer, part-time poet. She tweets @caustichazmat OCTOBER 11-17 2015
Multiple paans are often packed in a single package for consumers.
CHEW Addicted to gutka ? That might have something to do with where you live BY SAMEER MANDHRO | PHOTOS BY ARIF SOOMRO | DESIGN BY HIRA FAREED
Along the coastal belt of Sindh and Balochistan lurks a formidable foe. Gooey or dry, powdered or chunky, gutka in Pakistan is available in many forms and appearances and it is nowhere as widely consumed as it is in the southern parts of the country. Although the substance was banned by the Sindh government in 2011, doctors estimate that around 10 million people consume different varieties of gutka in the country today, indicating a sharp surge in demand over the last 10 years.
The origins of this addictive concoction made from betel nut, choona and tobacco are unclear.
The origins of this addictive concoction made from betel nut, choona and tobacco are unclear. Some believe it came from Hyderabad, while others trace it back to Karachi. “Chewing tobacco like paan wasn’t part of Sindh’s culture before Partition,” says Dr Fateh Mohammad Burfat, a professor at the Sociology Department of the University of Sindh. It was then that paan crept into the region. But something happened during the 1971 war: paan’s popularity diminished and gutka began to take over. Soon it turned into an immensely lucrative business, turning the penniless into millionaires. “Gutka-making started in Ibrahim Hyderi after 1971,” claims Chairman of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum Mohammad Ali Shah. Shah says the late Ustad Jhando made gutka for the first time in Sindh, following the war. This prompted fishermen to switch from paan to gutka, which was cheaper and stronger. In the early years of its rise, gutka was restricted to a handful of major cities like Hyderabad, Thatta, Mirpurkhas, 26 Kot Ghulam Mohammad and Karachi. Now, one can find OCTOBER 11-17 2015
it nearly everywhere. From cabins to factories, makers are churning out their own brand of gutka. “If you have contacts within the police, you can earn a lot of money within a few months,” explains Abdul Ghafoor, a resident of Tando Allahyar, of the business. “It’s controlled by a mafia and selling gutka openly is not possible without the support of the police,” he alleges. Haji Mohammad, who has been addicted to the substance for enough years to remember, says people can be quite picky about the product they consume. “A user of a particular ‘brand’ will not prefer another due to the taste. I have to stock up when I leave my area,” says Mohammad, adding that he spends Rs130 a day on gutka. A gutka-maker from Badin says the profession is not difficult, but can be a tricky one at times. Officials need to be appeased to ensure a smooth supply of betel nut from bigger cities like Karachi and Hyderabad. “If you are smart in your dealings, you can be a very wealthy person,” he says with a smile. Paan-selling cabins would soon go out of business if it
He sees the trend spreading to upper parts of the region at an alarming pace. “It was not so common before 2008. Now, there is no way to stop the menace. I fear it will be uncontrollable in the coming years. Mohammad Yousaf, a resident of Seerani city, some 24 kilometres from Badin and 18 kilometres from the Arabian Sea, says it is the atmosphere that compels a person to consume gutka. Where he lives, no one considers consuming gutka a bad habit, not like smoking hashish or taking heroin anyway. “People don’t even smoke cigarettes in front of their elders, but use gutka openly.” He adds that some people understand how unhealthy gutka is and try to discourage others, but its overarching popularity is no match for such little opposition. Sultan Adam, a native of Sindh, says his consumption increases when he goes to areas near the sea, such as Ketti Bunder or Ibrahim Hyderi. But he does not feel the need to use gutka when he visits Islamabad or Lahore. “I just don’t need it in the upper parts of the country.” Adam cannot really put his finger on what it is about being near the sea that triggers this desire to consume gutka, but he cites availability as one of the major factors. “It’s expensive to use tobacco products imported [from India]. Gutka is cheap and easily available everywhere.” This observation is validated as one travels to the upper parts of Sindh. Although many consumers can be found in Jamshoro and Hyderabad, and even as far as Hala and New Saeedabad, the use of gutka is not nearly as pervasive as it is 27 in lower Sindh and Balochistan.
According to the chairman of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, gutka was made for the first time in Sindh by the late Ustad Jhando in Ibrahim Hyderi after 1971
A user of a particular ‘brand’ will not prefer another due to the taste.
wasn’t for selling gutka. “No one will come to you if you don’t sell gutka or other chewable tobacco products; you will earn nothing,” says Saleem Bhai, who runs a cabin in Karachi. Beside the locally made mainpuri and maava, cabins also sell packaged chewing tobacco products smuggled from India, such as Pan Parag, Gaj Guru, Ali Baba, City and JM among others.
The coastal factor
Mohammad Ali Shah says 90% of fishermen consume gutka.
OCTOBER 11-17 2015
COVER STORY
Killer on the road
When senior dentist at Civil Hospital Thatta Dr Shayam Kumar started his career 16 years ago, there were only two to three cases of patients a month with mouth cancer attributed to the use of gutka. Now, that number has spiked considerably. “Around 100 mouth cancer patients are reported in a year from Thatta alone. Twenty-nine cases were reported from Thatta hospital in just April this year,” he shares. “Every family in Thatta consumes gutka. They consume gutka more than they consume food. They can’t give up the habit now,” says Dr Kumar. What is more ominous is that a large number of these patients are women and children. Since gutka is so readily
I don’t brush [my teeth]. Actually, I can’t. It hurts my gums and they start to bleed. Sometimes, I feel like eating something delicious like biryani, but I can’t Zulfiqar Ali, gutka addict
Since gutka is so readily available, teenagers and at times even preteens fall into its addictive trap.
available, with the government not particularly interested in stemming its supply, teenagers and at times even preteens fall into its addictive trap, he adds. The health problems that come with consuming gutka make for a high demand for dentists in Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Tando Allahyar, Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad, among other cities of Sindh. “I hardly get any time for my family and friends. The hospital is always crowded,” says Dr Kumar. It is a painful addiction, he warns. Consumers face multiple ailments including abdominal diseases. “They can’t even brush their teeth properly,” he says. Zulfiqar Ali, with his red-stained teeth, agrees. “I don’t brush [my teeth]. Actually, I can’t. It hurts my gums and they start to bleed,” he laments. He doesn’t even feel hungry like he normally would. “Sometimes, I feel like eating something delicious like biryani, but I can’t.” Yet, he cannot kick the habit. “I don’t feel good when there is no gutka in my pocket.” Dr Kumar says gutka consumers lose their sense of taste over time. They can’t eat any spicy food due to blisters in their mouth. Moreover, a lot of people go to sleep with gutka in their mouths. This not only poses a fatal choking hazard but also aggravates the negative side-effects of consuming gutka. The sight of red-stained bed sheets and clothes isn’t one for sore eyes either.
Social steer
Paan-selling cabins would soon go out of business if it wasn’t for selling gutka.
Dr Burfat blames parents. He says children often emulate their parents after seeing them consume gutka. Depression, economic conditions and lack of recreational activities also steer the youth towards tobacco, he adds. “No one considers it a bad thing or a harmful habit,” he says, lamenting the apathy of religious and educational institutions in discouraging consumption. Sociologists agree. They say it is the government’s job to launch awareness campaigns and impose stricter regulations to ensure an effective ban on gutka. Health is the most apparent casualty, with mouth cancer being the most common cancer after breast cancer in Pakistan. However, there are cosmetic concerns too. Paan and gutka users have painted their cities red. The walls of nearly every building in a city like Karachi have paan and gutka stains on them, and the crevices of buses and other public vehicles are chockfull of the sticky residue. Unfortunately, as it stands, there is little reason to believe gutka is going away anytime soon.T Sameer Mandhro is a Karachi-based reporter for The Express Tribune. He tweets @smendhro OCTOBER 11-17 2015
29
INTERVIEW
A
BALANCING
ACT
In the thick of the glitz, actor Shamyl Khan keeps infamy at arm’s length BY ALLY ADNAN PHOTOS BY OMAIR MIRZA DESIGN BY SANOBER AHMED
One of television’s busiest actors and successful model Shamyl Khan has been making waves in the industry for the last 12 years. He is known for his dashing looks and his impressive acting. He started off his career with Syed Noor’s famous flick Larki Punjaban (2003) opposite Saima Noor. The success of his debut led to a string of hit serials and films to his credit. He is currently starring in three television serials and has a feature film slated for release this year. In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, Khan speaks about his career, the craft of acting, his love for books, life on a farm and upcoming projects. You have been in film and television for more than a decade now, and have had considerable success in the industry. Greater fame and success outside Pakistan seems to have eluded you. Why is that? In recent years, the success and stature of Pakistani actors has come to be
Actor Shamyl Khan.
INTERVIEW determined by work done abroad, especially in India. This is rather unfortunate, because actors should be judged primarily on their acting talent and histrionic ability. However, I do think that working on an international project can be a great opportunity if an actor secures interesting roles in prestigious productions. I want to work abroad but only for a genuinely good film, like Bajrangi Bhaijaan. I have been offered a few roles in international productions but did not accept them due to personal and professional reasons.
(Top) A poster of Shamyl Khan’s debut movie in 2003 opposite Saima Noor. (Right) Shamyl Khan is an avid reader who believes that e-books take away the romance What were those reasons? I am very attached to my family and prefer projects that do from reading. not keep me away from home for more than a couple of weeks at a time. This is typically not possible with international projects. The second, more important issue is my pride as a Pakistani and a Muslim. One of the projects I turned down was a Canadian production that required a protracted kissing scene and partial nudity. Quite a few Indian films display anti-Pakistan sentiments and several international ones portray Islam in an unfavourable light. I do not want to be a part of such productions. You are one of the busiest actors in Pakistan and usually have more than one serial on air at any given time. How do you manage to work on so many projects simultaneously? Working on multiple projects has become a financial necessity. Actors’ fees in Pakistan have improved in recent years, but not enough. A lot of hard work, perseverance, patience and drudgery goes into succeeding as an actor. Fortunately, I am a disciplined person. I request shooting spells that are longer than one or two days, so that I don’t have to be in a new project every other day. I also prepare for each shooting day from the moment I wake up till the time I reach the set, trying to arrive fully prepared for the shoot and remaining in character. How did you get your first break in acting? It was pure chance. I was in Lahore for basant where I met veteran film-maker Syed Noor at a party. We started talking about acting for films and he asked me to send him some photographs, which I did. A few months later, I decided to follow up on them, only to find out that he had been looking for me. I visited him in Lahore a few days later and signed a contract for five films with him. What was working with Syed Noor like? I enjoyed working with Noor Saab. He is intelligent, patient and a master of both the technical and creative aspects of film-making. Working with him was a true learning experience. He taught me about direction, cinematography, production, editing, scriptwriting and much more. He is a complete film-maker and one who shares his 32 vast knowledge generously. OCTOBER 11-17 2015
How did you learn to act? I believe I was born with an innate acting talent and polished it over the years by observing other actors and taking an interest in understanding disciplines such as screenwriting, directing and editing. I also read a lot of books about the craft of acting and various acting techniques, like practical aesthetics, by authors such as Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, Viola Spolin, Meisner and Stanislavsky. You do not seem to be a fan of modern communication methods. I have a love-hate relationship with social networking and electronic means of communication. Even though they are convenient, they lack the personal touch. They have made our attention spans shorter and robbed our generation of writing and reading skills. There is no way to avoid them but one needs to use them in moderation. It is nice to be able to send a personal letter or an Eid card once in a while. Tell us about your experience of living on a farm. I love nature. People may not realise this, but life on a farm is full of pleasures – breathing fresh air, listening to the sounds of birds and animals, basking in the sunlight, eating fresh organic food, and enjoying the peace and quiet. I have an emotional attachment to my farm. I study scripts on my farm in a manner that is not possible in the city. I can study the character I play without interruptions. I can take my time to understand the motivation of characters, the development of the story, the delicate nuances of the script, and the mise en scène of each scene. You gave up a promising career in the world’s largest oilfield services company when you took up acting. Have you ever regretted that decision? No. I have been treated well in show business. I have received a lot of respect, recognition and love as an actor, for over a decade, and have never regretted my decision. What are your current projects? I am currently working in three television serials and a feature film. I play a patriarch in Qaus E Qazah who commands tremendous respect in his community but is a failure as a husband. Kissa Kursi Ka is a hilarious comedy about a young man who inherits nothing but 26 chairs from his wealthy grandmother. He sells the chairs off not knowing one had a hidden chamber full of diamonds and valuable gems. In Akeli, I play a brother who is extraordinarily protective of his younger sister whom he loves. I am also working in the upcoming feature film Revenge of the Worthless which tells the story of the 2009 Swat insurgency. The film marks the directorial debut of actor Jamal Shah and is being made with the support of ISPR and USAID under the banner of Hunerkada Films. Ally Adnan lives in Dallas and writes about culture, history and the arts. He tweets @allyadnan
A poster of the 2011 movie ‘Son of Pakistan’ starring Shamyl Khan.
33 OCTOBER 11-17 2015
Mind the My story is the story of many women out there who grapple with their identities after they are married. Some of us are unable to comprehend our status not only within our families and societies, but find our self-image and individuality becomes a tad hazy after we sign on the dotted line.
One o r betwe ganisation e b docto n out-of-p ridges ga ra p r to hea s and wom ctice fema e le lthcar e BY SARA KHn with no a URRAM ccess | DESIG
N BY M ARYAM PHOTO RASHID S COU RTESY DOCT HERS
The idea for doctHERs — a digital health platform that connects female doctors with patients — came shortly after I conceived my baby. During my first trimester, I was on bed-rest and I was scared — did this signal the end of my medical career? I obsessively wondered, “Will my professional life come to an end now? How is it fair that I should have to choose between my child and my work?” While the world of medicine is where my heart found its beat, its true calling, I was given the impression that if I prioritised my work, I would be neglecting my child. “Am I being an ungrateful mother?” I questioned.
An orientation session for residents of Hijrat Colony in Karachi, home to more than 250,000.
A staggering 80% of all medical school graduates in Pakistan are women, yet only 25% put their education to practice due to socio-cultural constraints This is a conundrum that many female doctors in Pakistan face. A staggering 80% of all medical school graduates in Pakistan are women; yet, only 25% put their education to practice due to socio-cultural constraints. Additionally, 95% of women living in poverty cannot access affordable care and qualified doctors. And so, I asked myself, what if we bridge the gap between female doctors culturally constrained to work and marginalised women who lack healthcare? I have always been drawn towards social innovation, public health and policies that can bring change at the mass level rather than at an individual level, and preventive health care that can change the health status of our society. This interest found root the minute I started practicing medicine. I was part of the tertiary care units at Civil Hospital, Liaquat National Hospital, Jamal Noor Hospital and Lyari General Hospital in Karachi for more than two years. I have always believed that women and men should have equal access in professional opportunities and public services. After working in the public sector in Pakistan, I realised that women are heavily disadvantaged, both in their access to the workforce (and meaningful positions within the workforce) as well as their access to affordable, quality healthcare. It became a particular passion of mine to correct these two major market failures in Pakistan and I decided to leave my personal — and lucrative — medical career behind to focus on this issue at a systemic level. The change wasn’t easy; I faced severe criticism for changing my career path from a settled clinician to a career of uncertainty. Being a wife, a mother and a social entrepreneur is not an easily accepted phenomenon in our society. Working on my own company was extremely challenging as there are no fixed working hours, no days off, and no sick leaves as you are solely responsible for the goals that you have set for your organisation. To tackle these challenges 36 and handle the expectations of those around you is difficult, OCTOBER 4-10 2015
particularly as people do not always understand what entrepreneurship entails and it is challenging to explain and convince them of your cause. However, I made it my mission to prove my critics wrong and that kept me going despite the hardships. Here’s how it works: using mobile and Internet-enabled technologies/video conferencing, doctHERs connects female doctors with urban and/or rural patients, aided by a nurse at the patient’s end. For instance, Rania, a member of doctHERs, trained as an OB-GYN and was forced to quit her career after marriage. Via video-conference from her home, Rania is beamed into a clinic in a slum area of Karachi. She works in tandem with a trained nurse and examines her patient of the day. While the trained nurse can carry out antenatal tests (fetal heart monitoring and ultrasound), Rania is able to see all results simultaneously via her monitor. Without doctHERs, Rania would not have been able to work outside her home — let alone in a slum area —
What if we bridge the gap between female doctors culturally constrained to work and marginalised women who lack healthcare? while the nurse does not have the training or skills needed to run diagnostic tests independently and the female patient would have been at the mercy of quacks or at risk of suffering medical complications. On May 11 this year, doctHERs launched its first clinic in a slum located next to Quaid-e-Azam International Airport
An orientation session with students from Karachi’s Model Colony, where doctHERs’ first clinic was set up.
Make it
Eyes on the prize: Be true to your
vision and mission, and never deviate from your goal.
Find a mentor:
Always be eager to learn from experienced people in the field. I wish we had mentors who could have guided us when we started out.
Never accept‘no’: Don’t take
‘no’ for an answer and always think of three alternative solutions to your problem.
Find the right team: Create a
great team that shares your motivation and passion. Be smart in choosing those who will work with you.
Stay focused:
Be focused on your operations, never fear to prototype and beta test.
doctHERs’ second clinic was set up in Karachi’s Hijrat Colony. In two months here, doctHERs remotely connected more than 400 patients with doctors.
in Karachi known as Model Colony. Here, a population of over two million people used to be served by three qualified doctors — and only one of these doctors was a woman. To date, more than 1,200 patients have been examined at the clinic so far, which comprises a mini-pharmacy, a family planning lab, a test collection point and tertiary care referral services, as well as basic OPD services. Our second clinic was set up in Hijrat Colony, where a population of more than 250,000 people live. Here, women are largely deprived of affordable healthcare access. In two months, doctHERs remotely connected more than 400 patients with doctors. Seven women from the colony were examined during their pregnancies and have had safe deliveries under the supervision of doctHERs staff. The numbers are gratifying, but it has not been easy reaching out to so many people. When we started out, we were interacting with different communities — residents of Hijrat Colony, for instance, are tribal Pashtuns — and we had to learn to engage with them and explain the concept of doctHERs to them so community leaders would get on board. I had to learn the art of storytelling in order to get our message across to thousands of people, to show them a vision they can believe in. I have never doubted the merits of this project. I believe doctHERs is the future of digital health care delivery in Pakistan and the doctors involved in the project are a beacon of hope for thousands of women who fear they have to sacrifice years of education for socially acceptable roles. And if millions of marginalised Pakistanis can receive quality health care while young female doctors rework or tweak these socially acceptable roles, that sounds like a dream come true. Sara Khurram is the co-founder and project director of doctHERs. You can find doctHERs on Twitter @DoctHERs OCTOBER 11-17 2015
37
THE RISE AND FALL
OF ESCOBAR Narcos takes you inside the world of the drug lord who made more money than he knew what to do with BY SARAH MUNIR
Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar’s story is a tough one to tell. Because how do you tell a story that has already been told so many times (through multiple mediums) and still make the viewer feel like they are discovering something new about the man? And how do you do justice to Escobar’s many eccentricities without romanticising the lust for violence and power that accompanied them? Netflix’s new 10-part series Narcos, however, manages to strike a chord on both counts. Set in 1970s Colombia — just as Escobar and his men are realising the immense amount of money that can be made by selling cocaine to wealthy Americans — the show remains historically accurate, yet, entertaining at the same time. It narrates Escobar’s story through the eyes of Steve Murphy, a DEA agent sent by the United States to tackle the drug problem that had spiralled completely out of control in a short period of time. What follows is a gripping insight into one of the world’s most powerful criminals who would stop at nothing to get what he believed is his rightful share of money, control and power. Even though the show is centred around Escobar, who has been covered extensively, each episode feels fresh as it not only humanises the protagonist but also pays equal attention to those caught in the whirlwind of his affection, vengeance and fear. The strong character development of all the stakeholders involved — from an incoming president to a fearless cop and an ambitious journalist — allows the viewer to see the chaos in Colombia at the time through multiple perspectives. 38 Medellin at the time was a battleground between the good guys OCTOBER 11-17 2015
and bad guys but the show takes no sides. Instead, it pays attention to contextualising the multiple stories that were intertwined with the rise of the drug cartel. For instance, it familiarises the viewer with the corruption, institutional failure and socio-economic inequalities that create space for men like Escobar to become (self-proclaimed) guardians of the underdogs. It also allows you to see the bad guy that lives in every good guy (and vice versa) and how quickly the very line that separates the self from the enemy can be blurred, if pushed too far. The entire cast’s acting is top-notch but Brazilian actor Wagner Moura, who gained 40 pounds and learnt Spanish to humanise Escobar’s character, deserves special mention. Moreover, interspersing original news footage from the time within shots and sticking to Spanish for a generous portion lends an authentic feel to the show. The show’s only shortcoming, in my opinion, was the toning down of mass assassinations and violence that gripped Colombia on Escobar’s watch, which, in certain instances, made Escobar appear a lot more relatable than he was. The series has already been renewed for a second season and even though there will be no unexpected twists in the plot, it will definitely be worth the watch. Rating: Sarah Munir is a freelance multimedia journalist based in New York. She tweets @SarahMunir1
ELEMENTARY, DEAR BROOKLYN LORIT OMMOL ORROECUS Sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine explores love-hate workplace relationships and some classic cop fun NUDRAT KAMAL
Workplace sitcoms have been the staple of Western television comedy since decades. Shows like The Office, and the recently concluded Parks and Recreation, have done great work in the genre. Not surprisingly, people behind these two shows have teamed up for Brooklyn Nine-Nine, another workplace comedy which goes a step further — this time the characters goofing around at work are detectives in a police precinct. Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) is an immature but talented detective at Brooklyn’s 99th precinct. Used to breaking rules and doing what he pleases, his life changes when a new no-nonsense captain, Ray Holt (Andre Braugher), takes over and tries to get the team in order. The other detectives are Jake’s best friend Charles, Amy (Melissa Fumero), a competitive overachiever, the tough and angry Rosa and the precinct’s resident sarcastic administrator Gina (Chelsea Peretti). Trying to keep them all in check is the tough, but fair, Sergeant Terry (Terry Crews). Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of those rare ensemble shows where there is no weak link — each character is hilarious in his or her own weird, specific way. Even Braugher, who starts out as the straightman foil to Samberg’s shenanigans, is eventually allowed to display his comedy chops. One of the standouts is Perretti, who’s quickly joining the ranks of funny ladies Mindy Kaling, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. The show’s premise as a cop-show-slash-workplace-comedy also works because it allows for a diverse range of situations which wouldn’t be plausible in an ordinary sitcom. The show is at its best when the characters are going about their detective business and solving crimes with hilarity. The most interesting thing about Brooklyn Nine-Nine is the way it uses its male characters to subvert traditional notions of masculinity and male heroes. Take Sergeant Terry, for example, who is a personification of the word ‘macho’. He is big and heavily muscular, does push-ups in his sleep, and can pick grown men up with one hand, but he is also very sensitive and emotional. Terry prefers a desk job and is afraid of going out into the field because he doesn’t want to die and leave his twin daughters alone. He is a responsible, nurturing leader who builds princess
houses for his daughters and bakes in his spare time, and none of this is passed off as insults or jokes at his expense. He also happens to be black; so, his character turns the “angry black man” stereotype on its head, splendidly. And then there’s Jake. Despite his childish shenanigans on the show, his jokes never devolve into sexist or racist grossness. Usually, shows can get away with nasty jokes by making their resident silly character crack them. This show does no such thing. Jake rarely crosses the line and explicitly distances himself from minor characters who hold racist and sexist views. Jake tries to cultivate a tough-guy, rule-breaking, lone wolf persona, but he is extremely respectful of his female colleagues. He defers to their authority when the occasion calls for it, and admits his mistakes when he’s out of line. Even in his will-they-won’t-they relationship with Amy, whom he has a crush on since the beginning of the show, he never goes down the incredibly sexist “I’ve been friendzoned” route. Overall, Jake isn’t the usual male cop hero we would expect. He is tough and good at his job but is equally goofy and vulnerable. Currently airing its third season, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is genuinely funny, showcases excellent chemistry between the cast and presents a casually revolutionary take on modern masculinity — what more could be asked of a sitcom? Rating: Nudrat Kamal is a Fulbright Scholar studying Comparative Literature at Stony Brook University. She tweets @NudratKamal
AS GOOD AS IT GETS Sicario explores the world of drug cartels with an award-worthy performance by Emily Blunt BY SCHAYAN RIAZ
With Netflix’s Narcos (a show about Pablo Escobar), Matthew Heineman’s Cartel Land (a documentary on a citizen uprising against the Mexican drug cartel) and now, Dennis Villeneuve’s latest picture Sicario, South America and South American drug cartels in particular, have re-entered the cultural consciousness in various forms. With such material, where there is a war against something, be it terror or drugs in this case, film-makers always run the risk of forgetting ethics and the people who are actually affected, in order to deliver a well-directed, action-thriller film. What a relief then that Sicario is not just that, but it’s a politically-aware film too. Emily Blunt has never been better. Here, she plays Kate Macy, a determined field agent, who is right at the centre of an FBI raid against a cartel house somewhere in Arizona. She has something of Zero Dark Thirty’s Maya, but Sicario is no slow-burn. The walls literally come down in the first 10 minutes, when a truck forces its way through the living room of a cartel house. The entire raid, as a set piece, is very well put together. It’s electrifying and horrifying in equal measure. And this is just a starting point. Macy and her team’s discovery in the cartel house leads to an even bigger mission; a special unit is set up to try and attack the actual source in Mexico. Men who couldn’t be more different to each other flank Macy on either side. There is the mischievous, quasi-leader Matt (Josh Brolin), who irritates our heroine but is also responsible for getting her onto the team. Then, there is the titular sicario (the term is Mexican slang for “hitman”), Alejandro (Benicio del Toro), who is quiet and calm. There is something deadly about him, but despite being a man of few words, he has a certain fondness for Macy. Not in a romantic way, but rather a paternal one. In turn, Macy is perhaps a touch too idealistic and naive, never sure of whose side Alejandro is really on, or not realising when she is just being used for certain strategic moves by Matt. Technically speaking, Sicario is as good as it gets. Joe Walker’s editing and Roger Deakins’ cinematography enrich the proceedings considerably and their names should respectively come up multiple times for next year’s awards. Deakins, who has previously worked with Villeneuve on Prisoners, is unmatched when it comes to authentically shooting a particular time of day. In Sicario, nighttime actually looks like nighttime and not just like an idea of it. A tunnel shootout sequence, towards the end of the picture, is worth mentioning for its pristine lighting. After Incendies received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011, French-Canadian Villeneuve has established himself as the quintessential genre film-maker in Hollywood. While his works haven’t always been flawless, he’s managed to work with great casts and crews. His Enemy is still mind-bending and dazzling on second or third viewing. Like many non-American directors before him, Villeneuve has portrayed the country very genuinely. Sicario certainly feels that way. At the beginning of the film, it’s unclear as to why Alejandro, this nonAmerican character, is an associate of Matt in the first place. Only during the climax, when the film entirely shifts its focus onto this outsider, do things clear up. It’s in these scenes, the last 20 minutes or so, that the film acquires true greatness. Perhaps, it took that outsider’s point-of-view to achieve that. Rating:
40
Schayan Riaz is a Germany-based writer who tweets @schayanriaz OCTOBER 11-17 2015
Lessons from
Wanderlust Be it roaming in Rome or gallivanting in Greece, here’s how you can make your Euro trip better BY SARAH KHAN
DESIGN BY EESHA AZAM
When I was in college, I realised that the one thing that really gives my heart a flutter and my mind a boost is travelling. If it’s a new location, my excitement is uncontainable. So, the moment I landed my first real job, I promised myself that if my savings gave me the go-ahead, I would visit two new countries every year. And luckily, since the age of 25, I’ve somehow managed to do so. A year or so ago, my husband and I realised we both had two weeks off but we hadn’t really planned anything. So, we began planning. Where did we really want to go? What was manageable? I started researching. It was to be the longest vacation we would ever have taken together and I needed it to be perfect. I began researching visas and locations that would be ideal in May and we decided upon Greece and Italy. The decision was based on the following factors:
TRAVEL TIPS 1.The visa to Greece was easier to obtain. 2. Italy is nicest in May. Less tourists (I would later find this to be a complete fallacy). 3. We felt like 15 days were too long for one country so we broke it up into two (this theory proved to be mostly accurate). 4. Both countries are close enough to each other to make travel easy, yet they offer a flavour that’s vastly different from each other.
So now that the countries were settled upon, we had to decide on which cities to visit. Athens and Rome were a nobrainer. But upon consulting, everyone began contributing their two cents. We received recommendations to check out the Amalfi Coast (which upon careful consideration, seemed too much of a trek), Positano, Milan and Tuscany in Italy. For Greece, we were told to check out Santorini, Mykonos and some of the smaller islands. The decision was tough. The contenders were strong. Finally, however, we came to a conclusion. The itinerary would be Athens, Santorini, Rome, Florence, Chianti, Pisa and then Venice. It seemed a bit of a stretch, but I was adamant to make it happen. We then had to book the hotels and transport. We learnt a lot, and I thought I would share some of the lessons here: Use Bookings.com and Expedia.com to book hotels. However, never book unless you run it by Tripadvisor and Lonely Planet. I find the reviews on these two to be much more relevant 42 and conclusive. OCTOBER 11-17 2015
When booking hotels, check the room’s square foot area, availability of a safe, free breakfast, proximity to train stations or main areas (whichever you prefer), and, of course, how secure the location is. We ended up in a room that had no windows (well, a window with a wall in front of it, which doesn’t really qualify as a window), which made the room very claustrophobic. It also didn’t have a safe, which is not feasible if you’re looking to leave your passport and money in the hotel.
Book all your travel in advance (before the hotels) but make sure you shop around for good deals. Since we were booking transport after finding the hotels, we were in a bind and ended up paying a lot more in flights and ferries because of the timing/day issues.
Ferries in Greece are a very good option because they are half the price of a flight. However, you have assigned seats and no free food. I was imagining something like a yacht, which it isn’t! It’s also quite bumpy so make sure you carry motion sickness medicines.
Try and travel light. I say ‘try’ because it’s almost impossible to travel for two weeks with just a carry-on. But try and eliminate stuff you can easily buy at your destination (example face wash, t-shirts, cheap flip-flops). With so much intercity and inter-country travel, it can be a bit difficult to cart around suitcases.
Make an Excel sheet to keep track of all the travel because it’s very easy to get confused with so many hotels and travel options.
A point I hold close to my heart: if you crave spicy food, carry some spices or spicy chips with you. The food can be pretty bland so you may find yourself craving something chatpata by the end of 15 days. I had chili-garlic sauce and some paprika in my purse at all times.
Seven cities in 15 days are very do-able. You can eliminate one if you really need to, but it’s manageable.
Watch out: 15 days is a long time. It could end up being expensive, a bit too hectic and you may end up feeling disconnected (from electronics/work) for too long. So you must decide: it can be a fun trip only if you are able to switch off and cut the apron strings from life for this long. It’s hectic and long, but once you get on that plane, it can be the best two weeks of your year. Sarah Khan is a writer and blogger. She tweets @sufipanda