8 I August 26 - September 01, 2012
10 I August 26 - September 01, 2012
12 I August 26 - September 01, 2012
14 I August 26 - September 01, 2012
16 I August 26 - September 01, 2012
18 I August 26 - September 01, 2012
20 I August 26 - September 01, 2012
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32 I August 26 - September 01, 2012
Health
Watch out for Rhinitis! By Ahsan Raza Firdousi
D
o you s u f f e r f r o m n a s a l
congestion? An itchy nose? Or uncontrollable bouts of sneezing, water y itchy eyes, or runny nose? These are among the most common symptoms
in someone suf fering from allergic rhinitis. Although not t aken as a serious heal th problem, there tends to be little awareness in family phy sicians in terms of distinguishing it from, say, the common f lu or even Asthma. As regards to the public in gener al, hardly anyone seems to know that allergic rhinitis
34 I August 26 - September 01, 2012
even exists. The symptoms being r ather common, people tend to confuse it with regular allergies, and r ather few realize that allergic rhinitis can have unpleasant consequences such as sinusitis, migr aine and asthma. Also known as Hay fever, Allergic Rhinitis occur s when the
immune sy stem overreacts to par ticles in the air that one breathes in, and is allergic to them. Such par ticles are called allergens and are responsible for triggering the allergy. Some of the most common allergens are pollen from trees, gr ass and other
Being as it is a commonly occurring disease in Karachi, it’s time people count Allergic Rhinitis as a potentially serious health problem that can be easily avoided by learning which allergens affect an individual and then taking the appropriate action
plants (outdoor allergens). Some people have allergies to dust mites which are a ver y common symptom in our context as there is so much air pollution and dust in K ar achi. Other allergens include animal dander, cockroaches, ‘minor’ things at one’s workplace such as wood du st and chemicals etc (indoor allergens). People allergic to pollen are somewhat luckier than those allergic to indoor allergens such as dust mite s as the latter may have symptoms nearly all the time (perennial or year-long allergic rhinitis), ultimately resulting in sleepless nights and restless day s and negatively impacting one’s per formance at work . One’s quality of life would suf fer in any case if this par ticular condition is lef t untreated: lost school day s, lost work day s, lost ‘fun’ day s with family and friends, not to speak of the additional burden on mother s especially when a child is laid low with health issues. There are a few ver y ef fe ctive medications available for treating allergic rhinitis: the f ir st step in this direction is to consult a doctor. The treatment a doctor prescribes usually depends on factor s such as the patient’s age. For ef fective treatment one should provide an accur ate histor y of one’s symptoms; noting all allergens one reacts to is cer t ainly not a dif f icult t ask! Another ‘must do’ for patients is to tr y and avoid the allergens that cause Allergic Rhinitis; it is
impossible to gener alize as ever y individual may have his or her own set of such allergens. Keeping window s open for ventilation, ensuring car pets and cur t ains are cleaned frequently, are all steps that can be t aken to ensure a clean environment. Being as it is a commonly occurring disease in K ar achi, it’s time people count Allergic Rhinitis as a potentially serious health problem that can be easily avoided by learning which allergens af fect an individual and then t aking the appropriate action. However, for some of the af fected people, medication in the form of an antihist amine or in combination with a decongest ant might still not provide relief from symptoms of nasal allergy and have the issues of causing drow siness, lethargy, etc. For such patients, intr anasal cor ticosteroids could be the ef fective medication. Cor ticosteroids work by blocking inf lammation and irrit ation of the nasal membr anes and reducing the ocular symptoms which accompany it. Intr anasal cor ticosteroids are highly ef fective in preventing and relieving nasal symptoms associated with both early and late-phase allergic responses. Once identif ied, therefore, treating Allergic Rhinitis and its symptoms is quite simple, but it’s best to consult a doctor so as to have the condition diagnosed professionally and to get the most appropriate treatment prescribed.
August 26 - September 01, 2012 I 35
Recipe
Roasted Lemon
Herb Chicken
Directions:
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 (3 pound) whole chicken 2 lemons 2 tablespoons olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine the seasoning, salt, mustard powder, garlic powder and black pepper; set aside. Rinse the chicken thoroughly, and remove the giblets. Place chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons of the spice mixture inside the chicken. Rub the remaining mixture on the outside of the chicken. Squeeze the juice of the 2 lemons into a small bowl or cup, and mix with the olive oil. Drizzle this oil/juice mixture over the chicken. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours, or until juices run clear, basting several times with the remaining oil mixture.
36 I August 26 - September 01, 2012
Review
A poetic tribute and a Punjabi collection By Syed Afsar Sajid
T
wo different books form the subject of this review. The first Bayad-e-Safwat Ghayur is a versified tribute to a valiant national hero, Safwat Ghayur who was a highly dedicated police officer and a martyr to a supreme national cause. The second Hijr Na Chithya Jaaway is a collection of poet A.H. Atif’s Punjabi verse. Bayad-e-Safwat Ghayur Safwat Ghayur (1959-2010) was the scion of Peshawar’s Nishtar family – Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, the stalwart of the Pakistan movement, being his real paternal uncle. His father Sardar Abdul Ghayur was a career diplomat and served as Pakistan’s envoy to various states. Safwat joined the Police Service of Pakistan in the year 1981 and rose to Commandant Frontier Constabulary. As an intrepid but conscientious police officer, he always led from the front in the ongoing war on terrorism and was martyred in a tragic suicide blast in Peshawar on August 4, 2010. No better homage could have been paid to the departed soul than the celebrated English poet Ejaz Rahim’s, who studied him closely in ranks while serving as chief secretary in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: “In a period of diminishing idealism and waning morale in the domain of public service, he remained a shining example of character, commitment and courage. In his lifetime he loomed larger than life. His martyrdom turned him into a legend.” The book in hand carries the Hindko,
Pashto, Urdu (verse translations) and English (original) versions of some thirty-one commemorative poems on the late hero composed by Ejaz Rahim. Sultan Fareedi, a popular Hindko/ Pashto poet and educationist from Swabi district, is the author of the Urdu and Pashto versions of the poems while the Hindko translation has been rendered by Muhammad Zia ud Din, a noted Hindko researcher and general secretary of the Gandhara Hindko Board Pakistan, Peshawar. Muhammad Zia ud Din, Ejaz Rahim and Dr. M. Hafizullah, VC, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar have written the introductory remarks appended to the book. In the words of Dr. M. Hafizullah, Ejaz Rahim has handled the tragedy of Safwat’s
38 I August 26 - September 01, 2012
Bayad-e-Safwat Ghayur By Ejaz Rahim, M. Zia ud Din, and Sultan Fareedi Publisher: Gandhara Hindko Board Pakistan, Rampura Gate, Peshawar Pages:178; Rs. 400/-
martyrdom ‘in an entirely different way’. He goes on to say: “This book is a result of his soliloquy – his musings, presumed discussions with ‘Safi’, extrapolations from the ordinary and extraordinary flight of fancy. The book has many facets – whereas the poet seems to be mourning at times but in fact it is more of igniting new candles of hope and optimism for the coming generations.” The translations into Urdu, Hindko and Pashto seek to transmit the message to a broader circle of multi-lingual audiences to enable them to apprehend and appreciate the ‘universal truth’ and seek inspiration from it. The original theme and essence of the poems seems to have been duly preserved in them. Hijr Na Chithya Jaaway Altaf Hussain Atif aka A.H. Atif is a noted poet of Punjabi from Faisalabad. He also chairs a literary organization namely PunjabiSevak in town. The book in view is a maiden verse collection comprising a few of his nazm and mostly ghazal and carries introductory notes by popular Punjabi writers and poets Dr. Yunus Ahqar, Prof. Riaz Ahmad Shad and Anjum Salimi. They have appreciated the poet’s approach and style in verse besides his grasp of the craft of versification. The genre of Punjabi ghazal is relatively younger in origin as compared to its sister genres. Its evolution could be traced to the middle of the past century. It does bear a discernible impress of the verse of the classical Punjabi poets like Baba Farid, Shah Hussain, Sultan Bahu, Bulleh Shah, Waris Shah, Khwaja Ghulam Farid, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, and Peelu side by side with that of the romanticists and moderns namely Diwan Singh, Ustad Daman, Prof. Mohan Singh, Amrita Pritam, Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, Sadhu Singh Hamdard, Tufail Hoshiarpuri, Munir Niazi, Ahmad Rahi, Sharif Kunjahi, Hazeen Qadri, Shiv Kumar
Batalvi, Fakhar Zaman, Afzal Ahsan metaphorically reiterates the vacuity of Randhawa, Najam Hussain Syed, human desires, ‘hijr’ being a symbol of Shaista Nuzhat, Sughra Sadaf, Anjum this daunting alienation. Salimi, and others. To sum up, Atif’s verse is a viable Technically the ghazal is a collection combination of poetic verve and artistic of couplets embodying a single theme or thought. The first two lines rhyme with skill --- nostalgia, introspection, and each other which in turn rhyme with an impalpable streak of melancholy the fourth, sixth, eighth, tenth and so being its constitutive ingredients. Thus on. Atif faithfully follows this prescribed hopefully the book in hand will attract pattern in his ghazal; nonetheless his Punjabi readership for the pristine themes are quite unconventional. He quality of its form and content. does not merely sing of the pleasures or pangs of love, his object is life in its abundant variety, and perplexity too. The grief in his tone is plainly ascribable to the adverse socioeconomic situation he as a commoner (along-with a myriad of his ilk) is placed in: Aalhnay vich vi panchi nu hun khair nahi disdi / Hun tay raakha aap shikari hunda janda. It reflects a quasi-modern sensibility pivoted on an emotive perception of the widening chasm between dream and reality, desire and fulfilment: Sadhraan nay us shaakh day waangon / Jis ton pat bhrohay hunday. The nazm (kavita) of Atif Hijr Na Chithya Jaaway seems to concord By A.H. Atif with the tone and Publisher: Punjabi Markaz, Koocha Muhammadi, tenor of his ghazal. Sultanpura, Lahore The poem bearing Pages:128; Price: Rs.150/the title of the book
August 26 - September 01, 2012 I 39
28.What is your motto? If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more; youre a LEADER!
Arsalan and YAhseer
40 I August 26 - September 01, 2012
1.What is your idea of perfect happiness? A day spent with family, lots of food and no cell phones!
14.What do you consider your greatest achievement? I set my goals and never lose focus before I achieve it.
2.What is your greatest fear? Success changing me.
15.If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be? I’ll want to be Arsalan and want the same life back!
3.Which historical figure do you most identify with? It’s a bit hard to say, never imagined this question coming my way! Haha. I once played Liaquat Ali khan in a school play. 4.What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? I am an extremist! If I work, I am so lost in it that I am not able to give time to my family. I’d love to learn how to balance work and family better. 5.What is the trait you most deplore in others? They lie and are very fake! 6.What is your greatest extravagance? A night in Paris. 7.What is your favorite journey? Work to Home :) 8.What is your greatest regret? No regrets! 9.What or who is the greatest love of your life? My Family, my wife and a celebrity I won’t name 10.When and where were you happiest? I’m always happy Mashallah. After our debut show at KFW’11 when my mom kissed my forehead and my younger sister said she’s proud of me - I felt like the king of the world! 11.What do you dislike most about your appearance? My eyes whenever I see lots of food 12.Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Several actually. First one is: Are you getting my point? Second one: Wow, what a hideous outfit! 13.Which talent would you most like to have? Selective amnesia - forget as soon as something bad happens.
16.What is your most treasured possession? My family. 17.What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? When I run out of ideas. 18.Where would you like to live? A bed and a roof anywhere in the world would do! 19.What is your favorite occupation? Really depends on the situation! But I have always given doctors most regard because they are the only people besides God who can make your health right! 20.What is your most marked characteristic? I dream big and give in my 100% to achieve it! 21.What do you most value in your friends? Trust, Sense of style and honest criticism. 22.Who are your favorite writers? I love reading fashion blogs and other fashion writers in the world. For eg: Jessica Quillin, Erin Weinger and Rebbeca Lay are my favourites these days! I love reading romance too though. My favourite definitely has to be Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen and Honor’s Splendour by Julie Garwood. 23.Who is your favorite hero of fiction? Indiana Jones and Clark Kent! 24.Who are your heroes in real life? My father and my eldest brother! 25. What are your favorite names? Sarah, Hina, Minahil, Mohd Ali and Tanya. 26. What is it that you most dislike? Lies! 27.How would you like to die? A quick pain free death!
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42 I August 26 - September 01, 2012