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Lounge Loves
By Sahar Iqbal
Weaved to perfection! Baahir, the leading outdoor company offers a complete range of Rattan furniture made in Pakistan. They have a reputation for superior quality manufacturing at accessible prices. With an array of designs in a multitude of colours, the furniture is perfect for all your outdoor needs. Baahir products are available in leading cities such as Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar with their standalone stores complete with after-sales customer care. For more information check out www.baahir.com https://www.facebook.com/BaahirOutdoorLifestyle
Proactiv Acne Solution and Combination Therapy System Proactiv Acne Solution is the world’s number one selling Acne Treatment System, and is now available in Pakistan. The Combination Therapy System has ingredients which gently exfoliate your skin, unplug your pores, attack acne causing bacteria, and sooth inflammation.
Lawn collection by Mahnoush Premium lawn brand Mahnoush brings forward a new lawn collection for the summer being exhibited at Saleem Fabrics Lahore, from March 13 onwards. Having first launched in 2010 and spearheaded by entrepreneur Arjumand Amin, Mahnoush is a niche brand, which has fast gained renown for exceptional fabric quality and inspired design sensibility. With their summer 2012 collection, Mahnoush will introduce nine unique designs in two colour variations. This year’s palette includes vibrant summer colours as well as softer colour tones, thereby catering to diverse tastes.
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Interview
Zara Shahjahan Redifining Chic The best part of being Zara Shahjahan is the people whom I live and work with. Surrounded by people who love you and your work is inspiring in its own way
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By Ayesha Nasir
ara Shahjahan can easily be called the queen of chic. The young Lahorebased designer has been creating waves with her stunning prêt wear. She is now on a roll with big plans for the new year ranging from launching a agship store in DHA Lahore, and sketching for a variety of lines to expanding internationally, turning Zara Shahjahan into a global brand.
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Q. When did you start designing? I started designing clothes in college but professionally in 2004. Q. Growing up, what influences do you feel most affected your sense of style? I started making my own clothes when I was very young only because I didn’t like what was available in the market but it’s my friends and family who made me realise that I actually had a talent for this. Q. Do you feel a fashion school education is necessary for a designer? Education is important for all fields but experience is far more important. Q. Do you remember the very first outfit you ever designed? It was a mustard coloured Kurta with Afghan pattis. It became so popular that all my friends have worn it at least once. Q. Your prêt line has completely swept the market and is considered a summer essential for all women. When did you decide to start focusing on prêt? My focus was always prêt and when I started work that’s all I used to make. I came into bridals and formals later. Q. Your peacock and bird motifs are extremely popular; what inspired this collection? In my FW 2011 collection there was a tunic inspired by the polo shirts you see all boys wearing in Pakistan. It was a pun on the lack of fashion and just brand imitation. And that’s how this whole fashion of having brooches on the shirts started. Q. Do you feel councils are important for promoting one’s brand? I think PFDC has been the biggest push to the fashion industry of Pakistan. The fashion industry has completely changed in the past five years and the council has everything to do with that. Q. What do you enjoy most about being Zara Shahjahan? The best part of being Zara Shahjahan is the people whom I live and work with. Surrounded by people who love you and your work is inspiring in its own way
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The richness of Pakistan’s culture and diversity of fashion here is amazing. Being a very small country I think we have a lot of talent
Q. What inspires you about Pakistan’s fashion industry? The richness of Pakistan’s culture and diversity of fashion here is amazing. Being a very small country I think we have a lot of talent. Q. What disappoints you about Pakistan’s fashion industry? Vendors are extremely unethical; government provides no help; investors are still hesitant; buyers take no risks and want the designers to put everything on line.
black and white person.
Q. What colour palette is your favourite? It changes with every season but I’m a
Q. What are your expansion plans as far as your brand is concerned? This year my attention is towards my retail outlet. After that we will be opening up in Karachi, Islamabad and Faislabad. Q. If you could dress up any celebrity in Pakistan, who would that be? I like celebrities but it’s the everyday woman I love dressing.
Q. We saw an adorable picture of your daughter wearing Zara Shahjahan: have you ever thought of launching a line for kids? Yes I have that in the pipeline. Q. Given how popular your pret line is, have you ever thought of expanding into the retail sector? Inshallah, my store is opening soon in Y Block Defence.
Q. If you could dress up any Hollywood celebrity, who would it be? I make eastern clothes. I think Natalie Portman would look amazing in eastern clothes. Q. Is colour blocking still in? Colour blocking is still in fashion and might stay for a year or so. Q. Where are shirt lengths going: are they becoming longer or shorter? All lengths can look good, depending on how you wear them.. Q. What’s the new colour for a bridal outfit? Always red. Q. What would you wear to a formal dinner? Jeans with a formal top. Q. What would you wear to a casual lunch with friends? Jeans with a cotton top. Q. What would you wear when picking up your daughter from school? Jeans with a t-shirt.
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Style Savvy
Leopard Print Craze
Leopard prints are the latest craze in the local street fashion and you can get your hands easily on some fabulous pieces
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By Nadia Farooq
ave you recently noticed people around you supporting leopard prints? I did and it made me do a market survey. Leopard prints are the latest craze in the local street fashion and you can get your hands easily on some fabulous pieces. The best part is that they are not classic coloured prints but range from pink, black and grey to peach, black and white. Here are a few pieces you can surely indulge in this winter! • Leopard pumps Leopard pumps as well as Leopard stilettos are totally in. Some fabulous ones have been done by Jimmy Choo. Wear any such shoes with a single colour outfit and let it do the magic. Plus they are great under the sun and as well as for a night out. • Leopard shirt pieces The shirt pieces available in the market are also unique in style with embroidered and bordered prints. With a lot of choice you can choose from a bold leopard print to a subtle one according to your taste. • Leopard shawls Shawls are available in all colours (jackpot!).This is where creativity counts as you can adjust them according to your own style. I found many girls pairing up leopard print shawls with single coloured sweaters and jackets. • Leopard bags The texture of these bags is to die for! They are available in all styles and clutches as well. The best ones are short handbags and they are even available in little pouches. • Leopard nail art Even if you are not the biggest fan of animal prints you can still try it on your nails. Make them sparkle with nail art patterns and get as wild as you can with the leopard print craze!
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By Nadia Farooq
n winters all types of skin get dry. Dryness rips the skin off its natural oils dehydrating it and exposing to elements like sun and wind. I am not a big fan of using moisturizing creams as they have their side effects so I will share with you some secrets through which you can prevent dryness of skin. and soft skin. Try these prevention remedies and you will surely avoid dry skin in winters. 1. Avoid caffeine and smoking. They act as diuretics. 2. Increase your water level. Drink up! Make sure to drink at least eight glasses of pure water a day. 3. Add a tablespoon or so of almond olive, or hazelnut oil to your bath water after you’ve soaked for about five minutes. By soaking first, your skin gets plumped up by the water, then by adding the oil, it will seal in the absorbed moisture. 4. Avoid long, hot showers and baths, especially during cold weather, as they dehydrate the skin. Warm showers and baths for a short duration, though, are beneficial to dry skin. Also, limit bathing or washing your face to once a day, usually right before you retire. 5. When outdoors, cover your exposed skin be it cold or windy. If skin is not covered with clothing, petroleum jelly should be used for protection. 6. Prepare a face mask by mixing together a teaspoon of honey, ½ a teaspoon of olive oil, one egg and a few drops of rose water. Apply this face mask twice a week.
Dryness rips the skin off its natural oils dehydrating it and exposing to elements like sun and wind
7. If using cleansers and face wash it is absolutely necessary to massage your face with olive oil before using these items. 8. Consume more of fresh fish, flax seeds, herbal tea and food items that contain vitamin E for a healthy look and softer skin. Try these prevention remedies and you will surely avoid dry skin in winters.
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Hair care
The girl with the curls By Nadia Farooq
There can be romantic curls, bouncy ones or beachy ones as long as they have volume and shine they are fashionable
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ead straight Ironed hair is long gone and it has been replaced with the exact opposite- curls. There can be romantic curls, bouncy ones or beachy ones as long as they have volume and shine they are fashionable. You can curl hair using curling irons and rollers and then there are the girls with naturally curly hair. In this article I bring styling tips for both curly and straight hair. Let’s start with hair care for naturally curly hair. Unkempt curly hair can get frizzy and dry where with proper care it can be beautiful and stylish. I share the following tips which are extremely effective from my personal experience. • When in shower apply five drops of olive oil to your hair ends (Don’t apply to the roots) and rinse with conditioner after two minutes. This will leave the ends soft and bouncy. • Wash with cold water. Cold water helps making hair shinier, locks in moisture and reduces frizz. • Use a shampoo that doesn’t lather. Lather can add frizz or cause dryness. • Brush wet hair as little as possible, as brushing causes static. Use a wide-toothed comb or better yet, your fingers, to detangle wet hair. Binding wet hair into a tight pony is a curly hair care no-no, and can cause split ends in the middle of the hair shaft. • Throw away those hair dryers and let your hair air dry, this will reduce the frizz and also prevent heat damage. Get out those curling iron girls, now comes the top three curly hair styles to try out Curly half do Back comb in the front or style side bangs with half of the hair tied up behind. This look can be both formal and casual. Beachy waves You can get beachy waves from a flat iron by curling it around a strand of hair. Add hair accessories to it and you have an evening style. Curly side style It’s modern and chic, just pull the curls to one side and use bobby pins to keep them there. The front can be braided or backcombed.
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Film
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The plot is simple yet gripping till the end. A few scenes are extremely spinechilling and even while sitting at a theatre you are bound to jump out of your skin once or twice. The pace of the film was slow but goes well with the running time
By Saman Asif
or all the die-hard fans of Daniel Radcliffe, who wanted to see him outside a Harry Potter film after December folks, the wait is over! ‘The Woman in Black’ is a simple yet classic ghost story set in the 18th century. It very successfully employees all the tools that can send chills down your spine. The film starts with three young girls playing with their porcelain dolls in their attic nursery and then suddenly jumping off the window to death. Daniel (Arthur Kipps) being the protagonist of the movie plays the role of a melancholic solicitor whose wife dies during child birth and is drowning under financial pressures. A warning is given to him by his superiors to deal with the legal matters of a spooky mansion, in a remote English village, as the last resort to save his job. Arthur leaves his young son with his nanny and starts the mission, not knowing what that threatening mansion has in store for him. Eel Marsh house was owned by a deceased couple whose adopted son, Nathaniel died in an accident. The minute Arthur enters the house, he is haunted by spirit of a woman dressed in black. While reporting this case to the local police station he witnesses the death of a young girl. He also befriends Sam Daily (Ciaran Hinds), a rich landlord, who tells him that such sudden and uncalled for deaths of children take place every now and then. At Sam’s place, Arthur discovers a secret. Arthur leaves for the mansion avoiding the unwelcoming town people who stop him from going there. While looking for clues, Arthur comes across countless letters full of vengeance that indicate that Nathaniel was in fact the birth child of his mother’s sister Jennet Humfrye. Why did Jennet write those letters? Who was that woman in black? Why did the locals associate her with the death of children? Why was Sam so supportive of Arthur? What made the children kill themselves? And what happens to Arthur in the end (which I feel was a big shocker), for this you have to see the movie yourself! Now let’s talk about how well the actors have done or should I say how well Daniel has done! Because most of the other actors hardly have any part to play, barring Ciaran Hinds and Janet McTeer. They have done justice to their small roles and made their presence felt. But it is Daniel who steels the limelight and proves that he can carry a film on his own. In spite of having very few dialogues in most of the scenes, he hypnotizes the audience with his expressions. The movie has many plus points. The plot is simple yet gripping till the end. A few scenes are extremely spine-chilling and even while sitting at a theatre you are bound to jump out of your skin once or twice. The pace of the film was slow but goes well with the running time. So be it a busy weekend or an overloaded weekday, you can easily relax and rejuvenate yourself in one and a half hour. Business wise, not only did the movie do stupendously well, as was expected, but also won critical acclaim. To conclude, watch it at the cinema if you are an ardent Daniel Radcliffe fan and prefer horror movies that have less bloodshed and brutality. And if you are a slow burner, then wait for a month, get the DVD and watch it at home!
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Art
Anna Molka’s long-forgotten ‘Tariq’s Invasion of Spain’
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By Shazia Mukhtar
nna Molka was born to Jewish parents, in London, UK in 1917. Her mother was Polish and father was a Russian. She studied painting, sculpture and design at St. Martin School of Arts, London. She
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converted to Islam at the age of 18 in 1935, before marrying Sheikh Ahmed in October 1939. The couple moved to Lahore in 1940-41. Although her marriage was over in 1951 yet she lived in Pakistan with her two daughters. She was awarded Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, for her services in the field of fine arts education in the country. Professor
Emeritus Anna Molka Ahmed set up a department, which has now become a center of excellence for fine arts in Pakistan. At the time of Independence, there were only five or six Muslim students in the art department, and Anna Molka Ahmed went from one college to another, seeking students for the
Contrasting colours and dramatic light animate the scene and its significance, and visibility of every single detail in an evening setting stands enhanced
arts department and thus was able to introduce art courses in the Punjab University. Her students are now famous artists in the country and many of them are playing their role globally. She breathed her last in 1994. Her large oeuvre spans half a century, dating from her student days in London, 1937 to her death in 1994. Her works include landscapes,
figural compositions, portraits, and monumental paintings on the themes of war and religion. Many of these have been sold and found their way to homes and public buildings in Pakistan and abroad. One such ‘long forgotten and unnoticed’ work by Anna Molka, Tariq’s Invasion of Spain has recently drawn my attention. It is a huge, 3x12 feet,
canvas. The work was commissioned in 1958 by Sheikh Mohammad Jamil, owner of Crescent Paints Pvt. Ltd., who himself suggested its size and subject. It was executed during the summer vacation by Anna Molka with the help of two former students, Anwar Afzal and Nasim Anwar. Since then, no art critic or art-lover has ever mentioned or written about it. I realized its presence
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by a black and white photograph of the original work in an album owned by Tahira Ayaz; Anna Molka’s younger daughter that she has maintained for the record of sold and commissioned works. For the last three years, as I was hunting for Anna Molka’s lost works for my Ph.D. thesis. I tried to locate this painting but to no avail. Out of the blue, somebody forwarded the information that this painting has been on display for the last thirty years, now in a dilapidated state, in the foyer to Hall No. 1, at Lahore’s Alhamra Art Council. After this completion, this painting for twenty two years hung in the residence of Sheikh Mohammad Jamil till his death in 1980. However, the painting never could be appropriately adjusted to home environment because of its huge size, and his son, Farooq Jamil eventually decided to give it to the Alhamra Arts Council. This painting has been hung on the left-side wall near the staircase. It can not be noticed by anyone going upstairs looking ahead of
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them and if at all they happen to turn their heads to the left the painting would evade them as it is way beyond eye level. It neither bears the artist’s name nor is executed in her signature style thus hangs there unnoticed and ignored. The historical event depicted, refers to the conquest of Spain in 711 CE. Musa ibn Naseer, the governor of South Africa during the reign of the Umayyad ruler Abdul Malik ibn Marwan sent a fleet of ships carrying soldiers with horses and camels under the command of Tariq ibn Ziyad to conquer Spain. They disembarked in the evening at the base of a huge rock situated at the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea to the south of Spain. It was connected to Spain by a two-mile long causeway. This rock was later named Jibraltar, (Jabl al-Tariq “the Rock of Tariq”), in commemoration of the first Muslim Commander who hoisted the Islamic flag in Spain. After landing on the rock, Tariq ibn Ziyad ordered his soldiers to burn all the boats they
had used to navigate their passage of the Mediterranean and gave his memorable speech, “You have no other way. The enemy is before you while the ocean is behind. The only way of survival is to advance and conquer!” Led by their valiant commander those 10,000 North African Arabs defeated the Christian army of a 100,000 men. With this landmark victory the 800year long, magnificent Muslim period in Spain commenced. In this artwork, the central area is highlighted behind the rock to emphasise the silhouetted figures mounted on three horses on top of the rock, specifically of Tariq ibn Ziyad, the commander leading the other two. He is addressing his men while his right hand holding a sword is held high in a rousing gesture. After the address, the boats are set on fire as the parade of an army is entering into the enemy’s territory from right to the left in the foreground and merging in the far distance. Anna Molka has very obviously consulted images from European and Islamic sources while working on vistas for detail. Arab costumes, war weapons, horses and camels, meaningful groups and their gestures, the rocky landscape, and above all, maintained a remarkable balance in the whole composition. The work shows the artist’s efforts in synthesizing historical information about the event and her painterly skills. By the late 1950s, Anna Molka had already been practicing vigorous brushstrokes laden with thick impastos for her works in a European style. Realizing the demand of the subject, for the most part, she has chosen thin applications of colours with a fine and delicate brush to delineate all the details. But she takes freedom with the treatment of sky, flames and smoke, and tides by applying broad and agitated brushstrokes. She has used contrasting colours and dramatic light to animate the scene and its significance and to enhance the visibility of every single detail in an evening setting. To appreciate its artistic details in a panoramic composition, it is worthwhile to visit Alhamra Art Gallery for a detailed personal look.
Books
Avicenna’s Logic
Taking a lead from al-Farabi, Avicenna conducted an elaborate inquiry into the question of being to distinguish between essence and existence
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By Syed Afsar Sajid
bu ‘Ali al-Husayn ibn Sina (980-1037) is better known in the West by the Latinized name ‘Avicenna’. He is one of the most distinguished philosophers of the golden age of Islamic tradition that includes al-Farabi and Ibn Rushd also. Avicenna’s successful reconciliation between Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism along with Kalam, led Avicennism to be considered as a distinctive school of Islamic philosophy by the 12th century AD. His philosophy is in effect an attempt to ‘construct a coherent and comprehensive system that accords with the religious exigencies of Muslim culture’. His influence in medieval Europe spread through the translations of his works first rendered in Spain. His impact in the Islamic world was immediate, leading to what Prof. Yahya M. Michot (b.1952) termed as “la pandemie avicennienne”. Besides philosophy, Avicenna’s other interests and contributions lie in the fields of medicine, the natural sciences, musical theory, and mathematics. The instant book forming part of the Studies in Islamic Philosophy series
Title: Avicenna’s Deliverance: Logic Translation and Notes by: (Dr.) Asad Q. Ahmed Published by: Oxford University Press, Karachi Pages: 191; Price: Rs.575/February 26 - March 03, 2012 I 47
Besides philosophy, Avicenna’s other interests and contributions lie in the fields of medicine, the natural sciences, musical theory, and mathematics undertaken at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, is intended to present ‘a complete scholarly translation, commentary, and glossary in a modern European language of the logic section of Ibn Sina’s very important compendiumal-Najat (The Deliverance)’ and thus afford an overview of his logic to those readers who do not comprehend Arabic. (Dr.) Asad Q. Ahmed, the translator, is himself an eminent scholar of Arabic and Islamic Studies currently engaged as an assistant professor at Washington State University in St. Louis, USA. (Dr.) Syed Nomanul Haq, the General Editor of the series, has penned its foreword. According to him the present work tends to complete its rite de passage after publication of the works on other noted Muslim philosophers like Farabi (872-950), Ghazali (10581111), and Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328). (Dr.) Tony Street, an illustrious Cambridge researcher on Avicenna and post-Avicennian theologians and philosophers, has written an erudite introduction to the book commenting on Avicenna’s link to Aristotle’s (384322 BC) Organon (a collection of his six works on logic viz., Categories, On Interpretation, Prior Analytics, Posterior Analytics, Topics, and Sophistical Refutations), his logical innovations, and post-Avicennian Arabic logic. Acknowledging Avicenna’s latter departure from
Aristotle in his fully developed logical system, he concludes thus: ‘In short, if we want to be able to include Arabic logic in the exciting work on premodern logics going on today, the only way to do so is to go back to the point before Avicenna sundered the Arabic tradition so decisively from Aristotle. Only by referring to works like The Deliverance will we be able to proceed in integrating the study of Arabic logic into the modern project of writing the history of logic.’ Taking a lead from al-Farabi, Avicenna conducted an elaborate inquiry into the question of being to distinguish between essence and existence. The latter’s ‘consideration of the essenceattributes question may be elucidated in terms of his ontological analysis of the modalities of being; namely impossibility, contingency, and necessity’. The two subjects Avicenna is stated to dwell on longest are modal logic/ syllogistic (implying premises modified by ‘possibly’ or ‘necessarily’) and the theory of Demonstration. Avicenna was of the view that ‘the fact of existence cannot be inferred from by the essence of existing things, and that form and matter by themselves cannot interact and originate the movement of the universe or the progressive actualization of existing things. Existence must, therefore, be due to an agent-cause that necessitates, imparts, gives, or adds existence to an essence.’
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The translator’s preface to the book highlights the methodology employed by him in accomplishing the onerous task of translation of The Deliverancere relying on the Danishpazuh and Hunt 534 manuscripts as his sources. The translated version incorporates as many as 150 topics configured as it were in the Avicennian system of logic. The language (of translation) is free from any syntactical ambiguity/conceit likely to interrupt an adequate grasp of the text by the reader. As a ‘diachrnoic subject of study in various madaris’, this translation is sure to benefit those who with little knowledge, or a smattering, of Arabic, would wish to approach and learn about Avicenna’s logic.
The language (of translation) is free from any syntactical ambiguity/conceit likely to interrupt an adequate grasp of the text by the reader
Recipe
Ranch Chicken By Sadiya Babar
Ingredients
Method
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves 1/4 cup ranch dressing 1/3 cup dry bread crumbs (plain or garlic flavoured) 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil 4 baby carrots 3 florets of broccoli 4 potato wedges
• Dip chicken into dressing, then coat with bread crumbs. • In a 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 12 to 15 minutes, turning once, until outside is golden brown and juice is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. • Serve with sautéed vegetables. February 26 - March 03, 2012 I 49
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