The Express Tribune Magazine - September 20

SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

Notes Transcendence Of

The youngest generation of a qawwal family remains devoted to its 700-year-old legacy

SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

Spotlight

Cover Story

A fresh start

Notes of transcendence The 34th generation of a qawwal family remains devoted to its purist legacy

Three months living in a Hawaiian rainforest planted the seed for an organic food startup in Pakistan

19

28 Interview

The good food fight

Punjab Food Authority’s Ayesha Mumtaz is the one person restaurant owners don’t want a visit from

39

Travel

In the land of milk and honey Delicious food, centuries of history and unbeatable hospitality — what’s not to love about Jordan?

35 Regulars

6 People & Parties: Out and about with beautiful people

44 Reviews: Art, books, movies and TV

50 Positive Pakistani: From cancer to can do

Magazine Incharge: Dilaira Dubash. Senior Subeditors: Sanam Maher and Ali Haider Habib. Subeditor: Komal Anwar 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

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Meher Najeeb launches her salon in Karachi

Zainab Pasha

Fehmeeda and Maryam Maskatiya

Saira Yousuf

Meher Najeeb and Saba Ansari

6 SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

Moomal Shaikh and Neelofer Pirzada

PHOTO COURTESY CATALYST PR AND MARKETING

Asma Mujeeb and Afshan Soorty

PEOPLE & PARTIES

PHOTO COURTESY CATALYST PR AND MARKETING

Iman

Mahin and Jehanzeb Safinaz and Sadaf

Maheen Karim Seemi with her daughter

8 SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

Sabriya and Shehla Chatoor

Kiran Khan

Amir Khan and Faryal Makhdoom

Pepe Jeans London launches its A/W15 pre-collection in Lahore

Aimen Khan

Nimra Haroon and Mehek Amir

10 SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

Ifran

Ameena Qayyum

PHOTO CREDITS FAISAL FAROOQUI AND THE TEAM AT DRAGONFLY

PEOPLE & PARTIES

PEOPLE & PARTIES

Asad Nawaz and Nurzia Khan

Kinza

12 SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

Fatiha

Saad Javed Akram and Anum Javed Akram

PHOTO CREDITS FAISAL FAROOQUI AND THE TEAM AT DRAGONFLY

Bushra Rabbani

A Fresh START Three months living in a Hawaiian rainforest planted the seed for an organic food startup in Pakistan TEXT AND PHOTOS BY JEHANZEB CHAUDHRI DESIGN BY NABEEL KHAN

In November 2011, I quit my job as an account executive at a multinational company in Chicago, got on a plane and landed on the island of Maui, Hawaii. I would spend the next three months farming on one of the most beautiful tropical islands in the world with absolutely no idea about farming, and I would be living in a tent in the middle of a rain forest. This was part of a program called World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) — for five hours of work, five days a week, I got free housing, free food and the opportunity to explore the island.

SPOTLIGHT

T

he farm I worked at was run by a humble family tending coconut trees and harvesting papaya, pineapples and various other delicious fruits. There were 16 of us working on the farm, from different parts of the world, and we were all there for different reasons. We lived mostly off the grid but had access to the Internet, electricity and most living amenities.

We drank filtered rain water, exchanged our fruits for other items from neighbouring farms and if we wanted, we could visit the city, which was only a hitchhike away. The farm made money by selling its produce and smoothies off the side of the road, with a little smoothie shack on the road to Hãna Highway. I was living in paradise: no stress, no 9–5. It was during my time in Maui that the farming bug entered my system and I learned the value of self-sustainability.

I returned to Chicago in February the next year, and over the next six months I decided to go to Pakistan and start my own farm.

This never happened, and here’s why: finding resources in Pakistan was, and still is, a nightmare. So I took a slight detour and started up my first venture, called laborforce.pk. While living in Chicago, I could search online for any worker that I needed. For instance, if I ran an online search for a plumber, using my zipcode, I’d get at least 10 highly rated plumbers to choose from. They would visit my home, fix the problem and provide after-sales service. In Pakistan, on the other hand, if I needed a plumber, I would have to rely on word-of-mouth to find someone reliable. With Labourforce, we aimed to end this reliance and represent low-income employees online.

While setting up Labourforce, I enrolled at the Institute of Business Administration in Karachi to undertake a Masters in Computer Science — something my 10th-grade self would have never fathomed. My educational background until this point had been in the liberal arts, but I then ended up specialising in Wireless Sensor Networks and Data Science (which is a combination of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Big Data).

Labourforce gave me my training wheels and was a precursor to another 20 venture, one that focused on a niche SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

I would spend the next three months farming on one of the most beautiful tropical islands in the world with absolutely no idea about farming, and I would be living in a tent in the middle of a rain forest

industry — food, particularly premium quality fresh produce.

Using the development structure of Labourforce and the idea to connect low-income workers with the market, we aimed to connect farmers directly with the consumers.

We live in an agriculture-based economy, but we don’t enjoy the fruits of our own labour — literally.

Thus Mandi Express was created and I eventually — albeit with detours — arrived at my original goal, formulated during my time in Hawaii. Our growth was slow. For two months, Mandi Express only received one order and that too from a friend. But within four months, we had sales upwards of 200,000 and we are expanding every month.

A dislike for sales got me to quit my job in Chicago, but I learned that sales skills were crucial to my two new ventures. When you are starting off, it is imperative to sell your

vision. You will find yourself giving sales pitches to your first few employees, to your early suppliers, and even your parents. Without the ability to persuade, to speak succinctly, and communicate the value of the product, no entrepreneur can be successful.

During the initial stages, I had to learn how to reach out for help. I have always considered myself to be very independent but you cannot build a business alone. I was fortunate enough to have a number of mentors who guided me and helped me find resources.

With most jobs that I have had, I have either quit or been fired. I didn’t have a long-term career growth plan attached to most of these jobs. I have always faced criticism about my views on entrepreneurship and the thousands of ideas that I have discussed with my friends and family.

Most people don’t like to take risks, but I’ve learned that these risks can bring great satisfaction. Today I work a lot more than anyone I know, but it gives me joy. With experience, these risks can be minimised — for instance, early on, I hired a childhood best friend who turned out to be a slacker, but I learned very fast that hiring the right people and setting the right tone at the start is crucial. Every start up requires its own mix of skills and faces unchartered territory, which means making a lot of blunders. The rule of thumb is not to make the same mistake twice.

We drank filtered rain water, exchanged our fruits for other items from neighbouring farms and if we wanted, we could visit the city, which was only a hitchhike away

Jehanzeb Chaudhri is the founder and CEO of labourforce.pk

Make it work Persevere

Experiment

Perseverance comes when you are passionate about what you are doing. You will need this.

Work out the feasibility of the product beforehand, target a particular market and then talk to the target customer to truly understand the ‘pain points’ or problems.

Entrepreneurs create opportunities for themselves by offering solutions to pain points.

Read The Lean Startup. The best thing I learned from it is to experiment and fail early. Learn from your mistakes, optimise and then experiment again. Do this quickly and without putting too much capital in right at the start. This way you can validate your ideas before digging into your life savings. Most people think they’ve stumbled upon the secret sauce and if they talk to anyone about it their idea will be stolen. That is mostly not the case because execution is a lot more important than just an idea.

Do the numbers

Be picky

The numbers never match up, but if the numbers are negative you know that there’s no future here. If they are very positive, get them checked by a professional and then rechecked by another. This gives you more confidence and something to test your hypothesis by.

Don’t listen to every bit of advice you get but pick and choose from an arsenal of perspectives. In Pakistan, everyone’s a critic and a so-called expert. Don’t let bad advice get you down.

Find the pain point

21 SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

Notes Transcendence e Th

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Of

-ye 0 0 ti s 7 to d e t o dev a qaww s n i al family rema ED ARE B Y A L LY

IRA ADNAN | DESIGN BY H

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“A performance of qawwali is something that we take very seriously,” says Ghayoor Ahmed, the principal singer of Ghayoor Moiz Mustafa Qawwal and Party. “It is more than just singing for us because we have to make sure that our rendition is accurate and faithful to the original tenets of

Fareed Ayaz & Abu Muhammad performing at Nizamuddin Auliya’s Dargah in Delhi. PHOTO COURTESY: FAREED AYAZ

qawwali. We have to uphold the tradition established by our ancestors.” The tradition Ahmed refers to is certainly one that needs to be revered and preserved. His forefathers have faithfully practiced the art of qawwali for more than 700 years. This month, Ahmed and his compatriots — the sons of beloved qawwals Abu Muhammad and Fareed Ayaz — made their debut in America.

Delhi Ke Qawwal Bachon Ka Gharana Qawwali predates Islam and has existed in various forms — samaa, zikr, and chanting among others — for at least 18 centuries. It is, in essence, the integration of spiritual, philosophical, religious, musical and poetic elements to create a vehicle that facilitates the spiritual connection of participants in the performance of qawwali — the mehfil-esamaa — to the Creator.

The practice of qawwali, in its primitive form, gained popularity in South Asia as musicians, ascetics, clerics, mystics, philosophers, scholars, and Sufi saints moved to the region from Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and several other countries. The Thirteenth Century poet, musician, statesman, and philosopher Amir Khusrau created the current form of qawwali and defined the requirements and rules for its performance. He developed a rhythmic cycle of eight beats, the qawwali taal, to be used specifically in 30 qawwali.

SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

The cycle is as follows:

Qawwali Taal

Amir Khusrau composed a number of qawwalis, using raags that he had created himself as musical scales. These included Aiman, Ghaara, Hijaaz, Mujeer, Saazgiri, Sarparda and Zeelaf. In order to ensure the proper education, development and propagation of the newly formalised form of qawwali, Amir Khusrau trained a group of 12 young musicians in the art of qawwali. Miyan Saamat Bin Ibrahim was the leader of the group that came to be known as the Qawwal Bachay. The school of music thus established and followed by the scions of the 12 musicians is known as Delhi Ke Qawwal Bachon Ka Gharana.

Ghayoor Moiz Mustafa Qawwal and Party represent the 34th generation of the gharana. “We are direct descendants of the very first qawwal in the world,” says Moizuddin Haydar proudly. “Our ancestry can be traced back directly to Miyan Samat bin Ibrahim. The great musician, Miyan Taan Ras Khan, who was the court musician of Bahadur Shah Zafar, was one of our forefathers as well. Our family has practiced, preserved and conserved the tradition of qawwali established by Amir Khusrau in the Thirteenth

We are direct descendants of the very first qawwal in the world.

Our ancestry can be traced back directly to Miyan Samat bin Ibrahim Moizuddin Haydar

Munshi Raziuddin Qawwal — Grandfather of the members of Ghayoor Moiz Mustafa Qawwal & Party. PHOTO: ONLINE Century for more than 700 years. We are devoted to maintaining the purity and original form of qawwali.”

A debut in America Ghayoor Moiz Mustafa Qawwal and Party comprises eight musicians: two are sons of Abu Muhammad Qawwal and six are sons of Fareed Ayaz Qawwal, arguably the greatest qawwal alive today. The ensemble is known for an unwavering fidelity to the form originally developed by

Amir Khusrau. “We have always resisted the urge to dilute and modernize our qawwali,” says Muhammad Shah.

“Experimenting with qawwali is not for us,” adds Taimoor Akram. “Fusion is for others to dabble in. Our allegiance is to the qawwali invented by Amir Khusrau. It is our sacred duty to preserve the art of qawwali in its original and most pristine form.” This reluctance to experiment, however, is exclusive to the younger lot. Fareed Ayaz and Abu Muhammad featured in Coke Studio, known for its fusion of folk and contemporary music, back in 2011.

Ghayoor Moiz Mustafa Qawwal and Party recently made their debut in the United States of America, with an allnight performance of classical qawwali in Dallas, Texas.

“It was important for us to perform ancient qawwalis composed by Hazrat Amir Khusrau and other masters in this mehfil,” says Zarar Ahmed. “The event was attended by musicians, musicologists and poets from both India and Pakistan. It was an honour for us to perform for the highly knowledgeable and discerning audience. It was necessary for us to perform qawwalis that best represent the tradition established by Amir Khusrau and illustrate the unique qualities and characteristics of the Qawwal Bachon Ka Gharana. We also had to strictly maintain fidelity to raag and taal because of the knowledge of the listeners.

We were anxious but confident before the performance which was undoubtedly a daunting, but ultimately a very fulfilling, experience.”

The forms of qawwali can be defined both in terms of poetry and music. In terms of poetry, bhajan, geet, ghazal, hamd, kafi, manqabat, marsiya, and naat are popular forms of qawwali. Amir Khusrau developed six musical forms.

These are the gul, khayal, naqsh, qalbana, qaul and tarana. The forms of dadra, saadara, thumri, tirwat and a few others have been added to the repertoire of qawwali over the centuries.

In accordance with custom and tradition, Ghayoor Moiz Mustafa Qawwal and Party began the mehfil in Dallas with a hamd, which is in praise of God. The qawwali was recited in the Bhairav raag. The raag is immensely popular in Hindustani sangeet, the music of Pakistan and Northern India, and was borrowed from Carnatic sangeet, the music of Southern India, where it is known as Mayamalavagowla.

The raag is deeply rooted in Hindu mythology and named after Lord Shiva, one of the main deities of Hinduism.

The genuine, but somewhat ironic, pleasure of listening to a song in Allah’s praise composed in a raag named after a Hindu God was a veritable illustration of the secular nature of qawwali.

The hamd was followed by the tremendously popular Manqabat, Man Kunto Maula, in praise of Hazrat Ali (RA).

The qawwali is performed by virtually all qawwals from 31 SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

COVER STORY Pakistan and India and is always sung in the prescribed raag, Shudh Kalyan, a melodic scale that uses all seven musical notes, five in aarohi or ascent, and seven in amrohi or descent.

The spiritual and religious nature of the qawwali, along with the heartfelt rendition, had the attentive audience in a state of rapturous ecstasy. Many were moved to tears by the end of the qawwali.

“An ensemble of musicians cannot perform a qawwali alone,” claims Ghayoor Ahmed.

“The audience is an essential and equal participant. The goal of qawwali is to deliver the message of Sufi love. This cannot be done if there is no one to receive the message.”

The audience in the mehfil was equally in love with the qawwals and, in observance of tradition, showered them with hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in nazar throughout the performance. The host of the mehfil has to initiate the ritual of nazar. The giving of nazar before the host is bad form and a sign of poor upbringing.

Dargah of Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi.

A midnight raag, Malkauns, is said to attract djinns and spirits when rendered correctly at the right time

Munshi Raziuddin, Fareed Ayaz and Abu Muhammad in performance. PHOTO COURTESY FAREED AYAZ

A rare form of qawwali One of the most interesting qawwalis recited in the mehfil was a naqsh set to raag Aiman. The naqsh, along with the gul, are obscure musical forms that are known to only a handful of musicians. These virtuosos jealously guard their knowledge of these rare forms of qawwali and typically do not perform them in public settings. The evening was special for the musicians who sang a leisurely naqsh and, in a rare gesture of magnanimity, allowed listeners to record the 35-minute long rendition.

Another rare item performed in the mehfil was Kangna. The song was performed by Fareed Ayaz and Abu Muhammad Qawwal in Season four of Coke Studio and used by Mira Nair in her feature film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, in 2012. Kangna is actually a saadra in raag Malkauns. The saadra is a song sung in dhrupad style, an ancient form of Indian music, and set to the 10 beat rhythmic cycle jhaptal in madh lay, or medium tempo. A midnight raag, Malkauns, is said to attract djinns and spirits when rendered correctly at the right time. The performance by Ghayoor Moiz Mustafa Qawwal coincided with the midnight hour and had a unique magical and ethereal quality to it. It left the audience simultaneously enthralled and entranced.

The musicians performed a number of qawwalis in

the mehfil which concluded, according to custom, with a masterly rendition of rang. The qawwali was written by Amir Khusrau in praise of his spiritual master, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. The song has retained its original lyrics, tune and structure for more than seven centuries.

It is believed to have the power to result in the corporeal manifestation of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Sufi saints and the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) himself, for those who are spiritually enlightened. The qawwals and the audience both stand up during the performance of rang in respect of the saints who may present themselves in the mehfil. Fareed Ayaz and Abu Muhammad Qawwal joined their sons in the recitation of rang which ended at the crack of dawn.

“It is customary to end concerts of music at the time of the Fajr prayer,” says Moizuddin Haydar. “Since, the goal of the Dallas mehfil was primarily to present qawwali in its original form, in accordance with tradition, we made sure that we followed the well-established, but occasionally disregarded, customs, rituals and traditions of a chishtiya mehfil-e-samaa.”

Ally Adnan lives in Dallas and writes about culture, history and the arts.

He tweets @allyadnan SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

33

TRAVEL

In the land of milk and honey

Delicious food, centuries of history and unbeatable hospitality — what’s not to love about Jordan?

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY SYEDA RUMANA MEHDI DESIGN BY SANOBER AHMED

40m descent at Wadi Zarqa Ma’in.

As soon as the airplane touched down at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, I knew things were about to get very tricky. I had made the decision to show up in a country I knew nothing about. Here I was, accidentally bumping my luggage cart into people at the airport, staring at them when they loudly exclaimed, “Yallah, miss, Yallah!”, and wondering what on earth ‘Yallah’ meant. ‘Yallah’ mixed with ‘Wallah’ and I wondered, how would I survive five weeks in a place where I couldn’t tell the difference between the two most frequently used words in the Arabic language?

Thirty minutes from Mount Nebo exists a field of dolmens.

ATRAVEL dolmen is a single chamber megalithic tomb which was often the last abode of kings

View from Mount Nebo.

It turned out that I had no cause for concern. Arab hospitality is to die for. From being plied with steaming cups of Turkish coffee and delectable baklava to having my plate heaped with delicious mansaf (a traditional Jordanian dish of lamb) I was treated like royalty in every home I visited.

As I was living five minutes away from the market town of Madaba, I was able to visit the glorious tourist attractions that this wonderful country has to offer.

The promised land

Mount Nebo is a ridge in Madaba, 817 metres above sea level.

It was here that Prophet Musa (AS) was granted a view of the land of Israel and even today, Mount Nebo provides a panoramic view of the ‘promised land’. In fact, on a very clear day, the tower of Jerusalem is easily visible from this vantage point. According to some religious beliefs, Prophet Musa (AS) is said to have been buried here. A monastery built near Mount Nebo contains the first mosaic map of Jerusalem.

Madaba is a city frozen in time. Thirty minutes from Mount Nebo exists a field of dolmens. A dolmen is a single chamber megalithic tomb which was often the last abode of kings. Although most of the dolmens here have crumbled 36 due to natural causes or have been destroyed due to modern SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

construction, some still remain. The hike to the dolmens is relatively easy and the stone structures provide a timeless feel to the vast mountainous terrain. Some of the structures are said to have been built by Prophet Musa (AS) himself in order to protect the tribes from enemies.

The stuff of silver screen legends

Two hours away from Madaba lie the desert castles in Azraq.

These castles speak of the grandeur of the Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad empires and of Arab legends such as Lawrence of Arabia. At Qasr Azraq, standing in the very room where Lawrence of Arabia plotted to conquer the land gives you a rush of adrenaline and the intricately painted wall murals here give an insight of the day-to-day transactions of the previous generations.

Near Qasr Azraq is the Azraq oasis, which was said to be the largest oasis in the world until it dried up. The Nabateans and the Romans were attracted to the area because of its strategic importance as the oasis was the only source of fresh water within 4,600 square miles of the desert of Azraq.

What’s left of the mighty oasis is a pond that is home to the Azraq killifish, an extremely rare breed that originated here.

Next up on my itinerary was the Hashemite Kingdom

of Jordan – a mountain climber’s dream. The enthralling and adventurous Wadi Zarqa Ma’in near the Dead Sea is a challenging yet fun rock climbing experience, and the hike offers a 35-metre and 40-metre descent through waterfalls.

This day was one of the most memorable days of my life - I tripped on rocks, fell in a stream twice and screamed my lungs out during the rock climbing sessions. The scars on my hands and legs were a painful yet exotic reminder of the gorgeous canyon that I had the pleasure of traversing.

set off towards one of the hiking routes. On our way, we ran into local families that still live in caves in Petra and ended up having tea with them. One of the families even offered me a present! About an hour later, we had reached one of Petra’s highest points and had a bird’s eye view of the marvelous red sandstone structures before us.

From the cosmopolitan city of Amman to the archaic city of Petra, Jordan is a country of love and warmth. Even as it wages war with the Islamic State – King Abdullah of Jordan has called the country’s battle with the militants “World War 3” – Jordan is not a hub of terrorism. It is the land on which Prophet Essa (AS) and Prophet Musa (AS) walked. It is the country that is home to dolmens that are thousands of years old, and mosaics and churches that have been here for centuries. It is a haven for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and a preserver of the glorious Arab culture.

Jordan taught me the essence of life, the true meaning of cultural relativism, the beauty of peace, poetry and the art of living life under any circumstances. My Arab friends taught me that life is a dolmen that can be conquered by doing cartwheels, but above all, they taught me that life is all about living in the moment.

As I left Jordan in the midst of a snowstorm, I remembered the powerful words of Ghassan Ghammoh, one of the many enlightened young men that reside here. He remarked, “Jordan is a place filled with history but also youth that is hungry for knowledge and real learning. They are beyond hospitable and are very interested in your story because they recognise the awe of human existence.’’

Syeda Rumana Mehdi is a sophomore studying Conflict Resolution at Bennington College, Vermont, USA.

The city of stone

Arguably, the most popular tourist attraction of Jordan is the city of stone, Petra. Situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, the city is half built and half carved into rock and is a labyrinth of gorges and passages. The moment you walk through the sik (a narrow passage leading to the city), you enter another era – that is, if you are not run over by the horse carriages racing through. Tour guides bustle about, giving advice to excited tourists about which trekking route to take and proficiently speaking multiple languages. One hears squeals of delight when the Monastery, Petra’s largest monument, comes into full view. After all, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was shot in this very place.

Pretending to be Indiana Jones, my tour group determinedly

Moses is said to have placed this rock here to protect his believers from attacks.

SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

37

THE GOOD FOOD

FIGHT Punjab Food Authority’s Ayesha Mumtaz is the one person restaurant owners don’t want a visit from

BY IMRAN ADNAN| DESIGN BY MARYAM RASHID

S

he makes restaurant owners break out in a cold sweat when she walks through the doors of their establishment. High-end cafes and restaurants, roadside hotels, and food factories: none have been spared. Punjab Food Authority (PFA) Director Operations Ayesha Mumtaz has recently sealed and fined scores of eateries for unhygienic conditions and substandard food across Punjab and the federal capital. And yet, the grub guard confesses she cannot cook.

Mumtaz took charge of the PFA just over three months ago, on June 1. She quickly earned a reputation for being an unforgiving officer. “My team and I have inspected over 6,000 eateries in this PHOTO CREDIT: SHAFIQ MALIK

Buns stored on a filthy rack at a bakery in Lahore with grime-covered walls.

PHOTO COURTESY: FACEBOOK.COM/PUNJABFOODAUTHORITYS

short span,” she told The Express Tribune. “I generally try to respect everyone, but when the PFA tries to seal businesses, people act rudely and try to flex their muscles. Then I respond to them in their own language, which they understand better,” she says, dispelling any reservations about her sternness being hyperbole. “No matter how big or small a business is, no one is above the law.”

Mumtaz hails from a middle income family in Lahore. After passing her Provincial Civil Services (PCS) examination, she started her career as a staff officer for the District Coordination Officer (DCO), Lahore. Serving later at several posts in different departments, including the home department, Mumtaz eventually found herself in charge of the Punjab Food Authority, a job she takes very seriously.

“People ask me, ‘What do you know about food quality? Have you ever cooked? Are you a food technologist?’ but it isn’t necessary to be a good cook or a food technologist to implement hygiene laws. The authority has a team of professionals which is qualified and trained for that purpose,” she says of the criticism she faces.

Mumtaz is visibly agitated when confronted by accusations that the authority is imposing fines without proper inspection. “Do you think you need to test food in a laboratory if it stinks? Do you think there is a need for a test if the freezers are rusty or have congealed blood everywhere?” She insists that when required, proper sampling is done in a laboratory before a penalty is imposed.

Mumtaz says her experience as the town municipal officer taught her to be tough. During raids at bus stands in Badami Bagh, Lahore, she faced some very hostile transporters. They would misbehave and refuse to comply, forcing her to deal with them with an iron hand. Now, after a 14-year career in civil service, she has earned the rather unceremonious reputation of being ‘the lady who does not listen to sifarish or entertain requests for favour’.

Yet, she doesn’t agree with the parallel drawn on social media and sometimes in official meetings between her and the fearless police officer in Bollywood smash hit Dabangg. “I try to be humble and soft spoken,” she says, adding a caveat that her job often warrants stringency.

So what is Mumtaz’s own kitchen like? For

When the PFA tries to seal businesses, people act rudely and try to flex their muscles.

Then I respond to them in their own language, which they understand better PFA Director Operations Ayesha Mumtaz

starters, she isn’t there. Her busy schedule leaves her with little time to cook, a responsibility taken up by other family members and domestic help.

She is especially grateful to her sisters, who look after her children in her absence. “I try to be a good mother, but only my children can tell you how good I am,” she says with a smile.

“It would be impossible for me to set new standards in the implementation of food regulations without the will of the political leadership,” says Mumtaz, appreciating the unfettered authority given to her by the government. She blames the casual attitude towards hygiene in the food sector as the root cause of all ills. “If someone does not know they should not use expired products or sell rotten food, they should not be in the food business.

The law is very clear, but the lethargic attitude towards hygiene is frustrating.”

However, with Mumtaz on the prowl, complacency is not really an option for restaurateurs. With the new law having been approved, any foul play in the food sector can land owners of eateries in jail for a minimum of three days to life imprisonment as food-related offences are now non-bailable. If you own a restaurant, Mumtaz wants you to know you’re playing with fire, in more ways than one.T Imran Adnan is a Lahore-based reporter for The Express Tribune.

He tweets @imran_adnan

Mumtaz blames the casual attitude towards hygiene in the food sector as the root cause of all ills.

PHOTO COURTESY: FACEBOOK.COM/PUNJABFOODAUTHORITYS

ART

Sophia Balagamwala-03 Red Sharifa Oil on Canvas 33 x 38 Rs40,000.

Ashair Naeem-04 Pointer on Canvas 28 x 32 Rs45,000.

BRIGHTÊ YOUNGÊ THINGS A new generation of artists is celebrated in ArtCiti Gallery’s latest show

BY SHANZAY SUBZWARI | PHOTOS COURTESY: ARTCITI GALLERY

Karachi’s ArtCiti Gallery recently hosted an exhibition of six emerging artists, titled ‘Trendsetters’. The works of Rohail Ghouri, Ashair Naeem, Emaan Shaikh, Sadaf Ahmed, Sophia Balagamwala and Saher Shah provided unique insights into Karachi’s contemporary art scene.

Ashair Nadeem’s pointer on canvas pieces tackled a fairly common subject (women), yet were unique in their execution. In his pieces, the female figure was seen in a plethora of reflective and sentient poses, often overlapped, mostly with their head bowed down or faces hidden, perhaps mirroring their inner conundrums. The artist was possibly commenting on the strength women require to be able to live in a male-dominated world, or the inner strength they require to deal with the various roles they undertake in their lives. Nadeem’s technique displayed good skill, as his measured lines and careful pen 44 strokes assimilated to form imagery that seemed digitally generated.

SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

Often, it is unavoidable for artists to acknowledge major lifechanges or experiences in their works. Rohail Ghouri’s pointer and gouache on vasli paintings showed us the ‘jump’ in his journey from village life to urban culture, where he strives to find a balance between the two stark modes of living. This was done by combining 2D miniature paintings with 3D images of village life (rendered in lines), and an occasional overlapping of elements of the city (such as tiles and polished doors) rendered in gadrung (colour). Interestingly, like Ashair Nadeem’s work, Ghouri’s pieces also had the appearance of being digital.

Emaan Shaikh’s pieces displayed natural vegetation in graphite on paper. Shaikh’s attention to detail was mesmerising, as she meticulously rendered each leaf and stem, while addressing the softness and rawness present in organic material. Her paintings also reminded one of vintage Chinese landscape prints. Shaikh’s work

Sadaf Ahmed-01 Untitled Watercolor on Paper 12 x 16 Rs12,000.

brought with it a sense of peace associated with nature, while the overpowering array of leaves and strong barks displayed nature’s strength.

Sadaf Ahmed’s dreamy watercolour art was a result of her interest in the ethereal world. Bold splashes of colour, lines and forms merged together to comment on a number of profound ideas. Drawing spontaneously to tap her unconscious mind, Ahmed’s pieces explored cosmic images, inspired by the Hubble telescope’s solarscapes of the universe. In other works, the artist used the butterfly as a metaphor for change, metamorphosis, transformation, and ferocity — their fragility belies their strength as they migrate thousands of miles through challenging weather. Perhaps it is this contrast that the artist sees in her self, as well as in human beings in general. Ahmed also explored the ‘dream state’ in her pieces, which blur boundaries between reality and imagination.

Seher Shah’s gouache-on-vasli miniature paintings were rich in symbolism and skill, as well as visually delightful. By incorporating delicately rendered human hair as part of her artworks, Shah commented on the idea of ‘femininity’. To Shah, hair has a strong aesthetic value and is also associated with the nature of being a woman, often also ascribed as being a symbol of beauty. For this reason, she sees hair as something very treasured, secure, protected, and thus, often hidden. Shah often composed unrelated things with

Emaan Shaikh-05 Cloud Cover Graphite on Paper 17 x 20 Rs30,000

hair — for example, a braid intertwined with a hand-held mirror, hair sprouting from a grasshopper/cricket, and hair forming the horns of a bull. Is she thus commenting on the strength of a female and her act of often judging herself by her appearance?

Standing out from the rest in form and medium, Sophia Balagamwala rendered humorous, abstracted forms in her oil on canvas paintings. While the other artists’ works focused on realism to a great extent, Balagamwala painted adorable, roundfaced, mustachioed men with titles such as ‘Colonel Sharifa’ and ‘Ripemen’. Considering she had also painted a custard apple titled ‘Red Sharifa’, was the artist forming a strange hybrid of human and fruit in her works, thus commenting on gluttony, self-indulgence and voraciousness? Or did it contain political overtones? Nevertheless, her works had a strong Modernist appeal to them.

While ‘Trendsetters’ contained an eclectic mix of art that at first seemed too diverse to be put together under one roof, a closer inspection revealed that the works had common underlying themes, or were visually congruent. Seeing that the artworks were fresh and unique, it can be safely said that many of the participating artists will soon be the ‘trendsetters’ for the new generation of artists/artmovements.

Shanzay Subzwari is an artist and art writer based in Karachi.

She tweets @ShanzaySubzwari

45 SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

BOOK

Unlocking the world of Sophia Duleep Singh

Author Anita Anand narrates the untold story of a woman who lost everything to an imperialist agenda

BY TAHA KEHAR

Few historians have put a spotlight on Sophia Duleep Singh, the granddaughter of Maharaja Ranjeet Sindh. She is only remembered as an Indian princess while her contributions to the Indian Independence movement and the fight for women’s suffrage have been glossed over.

It is difficult to probe deeper into history and unravel hidden details about Sophia. Although her name appears in the Royal Archives, anyone who wishes to piece together the fragments of her life will need to know exactly what they are looking for.

Anita Anand — the author of Sophia — is not a historian.

Nevertheless, she has managed to peel back the layers of mystery surrounding the princess. At first, Anand’s interest in Sophia appears to be surprising. As a print and radio journalist, Anand could have easily opted for a more topical issue to write a book about. And yet, she chose to narrate the untold story of a woman who lost everything to an imperialist agenda but rose from the ashes to give a voice to the marginalised sections of society.

The choice is admirable but it cannot be the only yardstick to assess the merits of the book.

As expected of any history book, the focus remains on recreating the times rather than focusing on the subject. The initial chapters deal with the struggle faced by Sophia’s ancestors — her grandfather’s removal from the seat of power in Punjab, the early years of British colonialism in India and the impact it has on the Maharaja’s family. We meet Duleep Singh, the dispossessed heir, who falls prey to colonial intrigue and eventually finds the courage to rebel. However, by the time the attention turns to his daughter, Sophia, readers may find themselves overwhelmed by a plethora of political events and personal tragedies.

These minute details suggest that the author has meticulously researched Sophia’s background. They set the tone for the narrative and help create a connection with the protagonist. The discerning reader is advised to remain patient and persevere until a more 46 holistic picture of the princess begins to surface.

The best thing about Anand’s account is that it unlocks the doors and windows of the past in a subtle and effective manner. More often than not, we tend to forget the sheer magnitude of human suffering triggered by colonialism. Little is known about the struggle of Indian soldiers and the mistreatment of the ‘lascars’ in Britain.

Sophia Duleep Singh’s deep affiliation with these concerns has been presented in vivid detail. A majority of these facts have been completely ignored in history lessons at schools. As a result, readers may find the book to be a good opportunity to discover unknown traces of the past.

In a little over 350 pages she convinces readers that Sophia was pushed out of view because of her “prickly relationship with the establishment” and never gives them a reason to dispute this claim.

In fact, Anand’s narrative is based on accurate details that can be verified through the stories of others who bore the brunt of colonial rage. Queen Victoria’s munshi, Abdul Karim, comes to mind. The outcome is, without doubt, strong and compelling.

But above all, Sophia does not only salvage an Indian princess from the shackles of obscurity.

It gives the subcontinent a charismatic female figure to look up to — the region’s equivalent to Susan B Anthony.T

Taha Kehar is a subeditor at The Express Tribune’s Peshawar desk.

He tweets @TahaKehar

SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

Author Anita Anand.

ALL THAT GLITTERS We Are Your Friends taps into the psyche of young, self-made celebrities living on the cusp of anonymity

BY SCHAYAN RIAZ

Back in February, YouTube celebrated its 10th anniversary. The website has firmly established itself as the leading video content provider of our times. It is, for better or worse, the first point of contact for a range of topics, be it DIY matters or cuddly cat videos. And with YouTube, there come the YouTubers. No matter how one finds these online stars and their make-up tutorials, vlogs or follow-me-arounds, no one can deny the fact that they have amassed a devoted fan base, which regularly shares, likes and comments on their videos.

We Are Your Friends, a new film by firsttime feature filmmaker Max Joseph, is not about YouTube per se, but it is about that very generation of YouTubers, Snapchatters, Instagrammers and Viners who dream of making it big with their next video, picture, or six-second clip. One of them is Cole (Zac Efron), an aspiring DJ who lives on the wrong side of Los Angeles. He promotes nightclubs where established DJs perform with his best friends and he sees himself in their position, in the future. Luck is on his side as an older

DJ, James Reed (Wes Bentley), takes Cole under his wing to teach him the ins and outs of the electronic music scene.

What starts as a buddy-comedy (Cole and his friends — a budget version of Entourage) quickly morphs into a love triangle when Reed’s girlfriend Sophie (Emily Ratajkowski) takes centre stage and grows close to Cole.

Reed is an unfaithful, alcoholic has-been and with Cole, Sophie finds a kindred spirit.

Sparks fly and there is tension when Reed eventually finds out that his protégé and his muse are involved.

The film starts off with certain visually inventive touches that don’t really add anything to the story but are interesting to look at anyway. For example, a drug-fuelled hallucination of Cole done in rotoscopic animation is simply there because it looks cool, not because it is necessarily required for the narrative. This point sums up the film nicely because while We Are Your Friends is not a brilliant film, it taps into the psyche of these young, self-made celebrities, who live on the cusp of anonymity and

stardom (online, this is a fine line) and prefer flashiness to profundity.

The big takeaway of We Are Your Friends is that all three protagonists are on form here.

Zac Efron, who has through his last few films shed the High School Musical-image, anchors the film with a mature performance. For Emily Ratajkowski, who had a small role in Gone Girl and featured in Robin Thicke’s controversial music video Blurred Lines, this should lead to bigger and better offers. Wes Bentley is so underrated and here he plays a difficult role, which could have easily been botched by lesser actors, with aplomb.

And the title? It’s the characters speaking directly to their fans. To the millions of followers on their social media profiles (interestingly, some Vine celebrities also feature briefly in the opening act of the film) who become their friends merely by clicking the mouse and not through real-life interactions. Welcome to 2015.

Rating: Schayan Riaz is a Germany-based writer who tweets @schayanriaz SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

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FUTURE TENSE A compelling TV show explores questions of morality in a post-apocalyptic world

BY NUDRAT KAMAL

There has been, in the last few years, an explosion of young adult dystopian fiction that coincided with the publication of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy. It is currently the most lucrative trend in Hollywood, and as with anything that becomes too popular, this trend has been met with eye-rolling and scorn. The idea is that this is just another formula that seem to appeal to the masses for arbitrary reasons, and that it will soon phase out, much like the vampire trend epitomised by the infamous Twilight series. But dystopian fiction, under the overarching umbrella of speculative fiction, has a long literary tradition and when done right, the genre can be a compelling vehicle to explore and critique the current power structures of society.

It’s easy to dismiss The 100 as simply another show about beautiful teenagers falling in love, with the dystopian setting as a backdrop to their usual drama. But from the very beginning, The 100 sets itself apart by its commitment to its premise. It is set 97 years after a nuclear war destroyed civilisation on earth and a draconian space station called the Ark is housing humanity’s lone survivors. But resources on the Ark are running out and in order to find out whether Earth is finally liveable, the Ark’s government send a group of teenage delinquents down to Earth to test the waters.

At the helm of the group are Clarke (Eliza Taylor) — whose mother is one of the leaders back on the Ark and so is a privileged member of its society — and Bellamy (Bob Morley), who belongs to a more subservient class in the Ark. Being situated at different sections of society has resulted in them having clashing views about leadership and governance, and watching them negotiate that and grow into their positions as leaders is fascinating to watch. Another thing the show gets right is its characters and their development, especially the female characters. Not only are these female characters complex and multidimensional, they drive the narrative of the show.

Moral ambiguity is baked into the very premise of the show: how ethical is it to send teenagers to what is presumably their deaths, in order to find a solution for the rest of the surviving people? Is it possible to do the right thing while also being pragmatic and proactive, and how do these two choices affect the kind of society you are trying to build?

The show continues asking these questions as it progresses — questions about morality, war, the consequences of violence and the cost of survival. Sure, other shows explore similar themes, but what sets The 100 apart is that its characters are mostly young people trying to figure things out, and as a result, they tend to grapple with moral complexities and grey areas in greater depth and through them, the show gives itself more room to explore these themes with greater nuance.

What is also refreshing about the show is its portrayal of violence. The 100 has its fair share of bloodshed, but it is very careful in never glorying in it, always framing violence as tragic and horrifying. The show takes the time to depict how violence takes a toll on the characters, and how that affects their subsequent actions. The 100 is also not afraid to make tough calls — there are several points during its two seasons (the third airs in 2016) where lesser shows would take the easy way out to have cleaner resolution, but the producers here are more interested in exploring messy consequences, which makes for much more compelling television.

Rating: Nudrat Kamal is a Fulbright scholar studying Comparative Literature at Stony Brook University.

She tweets @NudratKamal

positive

PAKISTANIS

From cancer to can do Gym owner Rubina Rehman not only defeated the deadly disease, she came back with a resolve to help others stay healthier

BY KOMAL ANWAR

Rubina Rehman has been the owner of Life Style Gym for over five years since her successful recovery from cancer.

C

50

ancer takes lives. But it can also strengthen the resolve of people like Rubina Rehman to make a difference in other people’s lives. In 1996, Rehman was told by her doctor she would need an urgent surgery to deal with her ovarian cancer. After being successfully operated upon, she embarked on a journey to open a gym called ‘Life Style’ in 2000. She now owns two branches in Defence, Karachi.

“My doctor told me the chance of a relapse lingers for five years after the cancer is taken out. So I went to the US and continued getting regular check-ups,” she says. Though Rehman dealt with the threat of a relapse, she quickly started gaining weight, putting her at risk of heart disease.

That is when she started taking her health seriously and joined a gym in the US to exercise regularly. “After returning to Pakistan in 2000, I saw a drastic change in myself and felt the need to continue exercising. However, due to the scarcity of gyms here, I could only do aerobic exercises. This prompted me to open a gym of my own.”

Of the many obstacles Rehman faced in her venture, she says procuring equipment from abroad was the biggest.

Customs authorities deliberately impose such high duties to deter people from getting advanced machines, she claims, adding that a gym should be comparable to a hospital for keeping people healthy. “I offer people a place to relieve their everyday stress and improve their fitness levels. The government should levy taxes on a place that is [striving to] improve the health of the people,” says Rehman. Threats from political parties for extortion money have been another SEPTEMBER 20-26 2015

PHOTO BY ARIF SOOMRO

concern, but she has resolutely refused to cough up money for unjust reasons.

Despite the tribulations, Rehman’s gym has become a popular spot for the health-conscious. Celebrities like Wasim Akram, Faisal Kapadia and actor Sami Khan visit her establishment regularly. Rehman attributes this success to her family and their support. “My husband has been an ardent supporter of mine and without his financial support I would have never been able to undertake such an expensive project.” Rehman says her 26-year-old son motivates her to work out regularly, which is why she manages to devote time to her household responsibilities as well as maintaining her physical routine.

Having observed gym-goers in the US, Rehman says women in Pakistan are more focused on short-term goals to reduce weight instantly, instead of looking at weight loss as a permanent change in lifestyle. Men, on the other hand, she says are more driven towards maintaining their fitness level and do not have weight loss as the only objective in mind. “I tell people to go slow and steady, as depriving themselves of food or adopting other unhealthy practices can have adverse long-term consequences.”

The cancer was thus a blessing for Rehman. It enabled her to not only transform her own life, but also the lives of others, giving people a platform to channel their stress positively.T Komal Anwar is a subeditor at The Express Tribune’s magazine desk.

She tweets @Komal1201