It was a dream come true for Saeed Ullah, who came to Karachi from Quetta to meet his favorite Peshawar Zalmi players on Friday during Pakistan Super League (PSL) match.
While talking to the media he said, “I feel as if I am dreaming. I am so happy.” Saeed was invited from Quetta to meet his favourite players of the team Peshawar Zalmi at the National Stadium in Karachi. The Kings won the match but for the differently-abled fan who couldn’t walk, it was an experience of a lifetime.
He thanked Zalmi owner Javed Afridi for inviting him all the way to Karachi so he could meet his favourite stars. “Our fans live in our hearts and these special fans are really close to our hearts,” said Afridi. “Zalmi’s name and fame are all because of their [fans] prayers.”
The Lahore Literary Festival at Alhamra was launched on a beautiful day with thoughtfully presented sessions. For what you should be doing on Day Two of the three day event, the founder of The Writing Room, one of Pakistan’s only writing studios that offer creative writing workshops, Mariam Tareen tells us about what sessions you should be attending.
10AM -11AM: HALL 2: Mining Conflict: Writing on Life in a Turbulent World
This session is the best of what LLF has to offer. When else can you expect to see Nigerian writer Oyinkan Braithwaite (author of My Sister the Serial Killer) and Sri Lankan writer Romesh Gunesekera (author of Suncatcher) with our very own Bilal Tanweer (author of The Scatter Here is Too Great) and debut writer Ayesha Baqir (author of Beyond The Fields, a novel set in Southern Punjab) speaking about writing novels today? This stellar foursome is sure to bring some fascinating discussions to the stage about the writing life and the similarities between our turbulent worlds specifically from a shared non-Western viewpoint.
11:15AM-12:15PM: HALL 3: The Modern: Bombay to Karachi: Exploring art and collectorship post-independence
I always try and catch a panel about art at the LLF, and I especially love a panel about the subcontinent’s shared history. Moderated by Salima Hashmi (painter, curator, professor), the panel includes South Asian art specialist and curator Nour Aslam (who was a former head of sales for Bonhams auction house in South Asian art department), artist and art historian Samina Iqbal, and Zehra Jumaboy of the Courtauld Institute, who specializes in contemporary South Asian art. Even if you don’t much about art (like me), you’re bound to learn a lot from these experts.
Lunch Break
For lunch, head to Solli’s Pizza and try any one of their quirkily-named, handmade pizzas – Eat Pray Love, War and Pieces of Pepperoni, and Crazy Rich Asians – for a delicious and comforting meal. Depending on how brightly the sun is shining, get yourself a Cappuccino or a chocolate ice cream from nearby Costra Nostra as a pick-me-up before the next session. But before you head there, make it a point to stop by at the bookstores in Hall 1. The organizers have made sure ALL the books being discussed at the festival are available. If you’re lucky, you can get them signed by your favourites.
1:30PM–2:30PM Book Launch: My Sister, the Serial Killer
After Orhan Pamuk, I think the biggest surprise of the LLF this year was Nigerian author Oyinkan Braithwaite, the Man Booker Prize longlisted author of My Sister, the Serial Killer. “Sibling loyalty comes under pressure in a Lagos-set debut that mixes crime, love story and family saga,” says the Guardian. I feel that Nigerian writing, similar to Pakistani writing, is having a moment. Most importantly, it’s stepping out beyond what is expected of it by a Western audience, and this book is a big part of that. In her own words, “What I see happening is I see people experimenting more, which, you know, I’m really grateful for because I think Nigeria has been known for literary fiction quite a bit. But now we’re seeing a lot more sci-fi. We’re seeing a lot more crime. We’re seeing fantasy. We’re seeing all sorts of things that – not that they weren’t there before, but they weren’t there in these numbers. So it’s definitely an exciting time.”
2:45-3:45PM Hall 1: Book Launch: New Kings of the World
Fatima Bhutto is back again this year with her latest book – New Kings of the World: Dispatches from Bollywood, Dizi, and K-Pop, for which she travelled the globe, exploring cultural movements arising from outside the Western world. Reporting from Istanbul, Dubai, Beirut, Lima and Seoul, Bhutto argues that the global dominance of American pop culture has come to an end, overtaken by Bollywood films, Turkish television shows (dizi), and Korean pop music (K-pop). The book is intelligent, thoughtful and entertaining as I am certain this session, moderated by Fatima Arif, will be too.
4-5PM: Bigotry Brigade: Where is India Headed?
Kashmiri writer, Dr. Nitasha Kaul
I usually choose sessions about books to sessions about politics, but I must make an exception here. This panel includes: historian and author Audrey Truschke (she wrote a biography of Aurganzeb) who is very vocal about human rights abuses in contemporary South Asia; Kashmiri novelist Nitasha Kaul (author of Residue and Future Tense); and Iranian-American professor of Middle Eastern Studies and International Affairs and author Vali Nasr, whose most recent book, The Dispensable Nation, deals with the implications of the Obama administration’s foreign policy on American strategic interests. (From 2009 to 2011, he was also the foreign policy adviser to President Obama’s administration.)
The sessions end at 5PM and since there is a PSL match in town, it’s best to leave as soon as possible to beat all the traffic. The weather promises to be sunny with patchy clouds and a truly wonderful day for sun and literature.
Lahore’s annual literary festival returns this weekend (Feb 21-23) at the Alhamra Arts Centre with writers flocking to the historic city of literature and culture to discuss all things literary, political, historical, environmental and cultural. In a ‘post-truth’ age where social media storms have taken over all kinds of debate, this weekend is one where ‘big’ ideas will be discussed (in person; not on twitter — we can’t wait for that real engagement) promising to be provocative, exciting and engaging.
Orhan Pamuk
If you’ve read the Turkish writer, Orhan Pamuk, or our very own treasure I.A Rehman’s writings, they often tend to navigate socio-political complexities by giving a voice to the silent and silenced and telling their stories. You’ll be able to listen to both Pamuk and I A Rehman, including an amalgam of the brave and the fearless speak of their experiences and their art. LLF is like that about conversation, ideas and thoughts: it’s the Woodstock of the mind as Bill Clinton had once described the Hay Festival.
So here’s what you need to do on the first day of the LLF:
11AM-1PM: HALL ONE: Opening ceremony followed by, My Name is Red: Ahmed Rashid in conversation with the recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature Orhan Pamuk
It’s going to be a full house at the opening ceremony so come early to get good seats
Our recommendation is definitely do not miss the opening hour of the festival: one of the brightest stars in the literary galaxy, Nobel literature prize winner, Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk will be in conversation with journalist Ahmed Rashid (also a long-time patron of LLF and author) discussing his novel, My Name is Red. Be warned as an avid Pamuk reader he doesn’t write for everyone drawn to the elaborate book covers that his novels might demand. But when he laboriously and sumptuously explores the soul of Turkey in his many novels with aesthetic finesse and ingenuity, you’ll find yourself between moments of being enthralled and educated. Just for those who are yet to read Pamuk’s My Name is Red, a four hundred pager, it is a riveting story about the threatened Westernisation of Ottoman pictorial art and a murder.
TAKE A BREAK:
Liberty books and Readings will have stalls at the event
After Pamuk’s session, you’ll have time to take a break, get a coffee or even a quick lunch at various restaurants that’ll have their stalls at the Alhamra. If you’re an out-of-towner, we recommend trying the food at Delish, Cost Nostra and Nairang cafe. (An insider tip for book buyers: bookstore stalls at the venue could run out of popular fiction so we’d suggest a quick visit to Readings, The Last Word or Liberty Books before LLF begins if you’d like to stock up for book signings)
2:30PM-3:30PM: If you’re interested in global political changes, Vali Nasr, an American-Iranian writer and a former senior advisor with the US State Department (2009-2011) under ambassador Richard Holbrooke will be on a panel with Pakistan’s former representative to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi and Turkish journalist and writer, Kaya Genc. Nasr was at LLF in 2014 and visits Pakistan regularly for lectures and literature festivals. However, we recommend that you attend the session on Pashto mushaira, celebrating the legacy of poet Rehman Baba, which might prove to be fascinating insight into a not-so-often discussed part of Pakistani culture.
Author Vali Nasr speaking at The Asia Society
3:45PM-4:45PM: Five sessions to choose from. If you’re interested in the state of the media in Pakistan and the changing landscape for journalists who continue to report without fear and favour, a session with former Herald and Newsline editors and the indomitable human rights activist, IA Rehman will definitely interest you (also I will be moderating that session so come and say hello). If I wasn’t moderating, I would have enjoyed checking out an illustrated discussion with British travel writer, Justin Marozzi. He will talk about his book Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood. There doesn’t seem to be a moderator for that session so it will be interesting to see the author discuss his own book in what is described as an ‘illustrated talk’.
Justin Marozzi in Libya
All sessions end at 5 PM to beat the PSL traffic so end the day by looking around, meeting with like-minded people and having a cup of tea on what is expected to be a warm and cloudy day.
The Current’s special contributor, senior journalist Razeshta Sethna, spoke to Razi Ahmed, the founder of the Lahore Literary Festival about the ethos behind the fest and the challenges overcome in making it successful for the past eight years.
Q) What’s the overall ethos/or underlying theme for LLF this year?
LLF is a civil society initiative which stands for intellectual stimulation and honouring Lahore’s rich literary and cultural traditions. It is an entirely private event, with no government support, run for the city of Lahore as a free and open-to-public event.
The popular Hall One where all the big sessions take place
Q)In the past eight years, LLF has come a long way despite the challenges, so what’s been the hardest one you’ve had to contend with and why?
LLF has faced hardships which are common to many platforms in places like India and Bangladesh too. It is collective teamwork, indeed, coupled with a strong mission to serve and contribute to the society that have enabled the team at LLF to surmount the challenges.
We have over eight years of LLF honoured the great Pakistani writers and poets, including, among others, Intizar Hussain, Bapsi Sidhwa, Abdullah Hussein, Zehra Nigah, Amjad Islam Amjad and Asghar Nadeem Syed.
Q) What sessions will you be going to this year? Your top three picks?
All.
*LLF will commence on Friday Feb 21st at the Alhamra Arts Center on Mall Road,
The three-day event, culminating on February 23, 2020, will continue its tradition of hosting eminent writers, historians, artists and opinion makers from Pakistan and abroad with over a hundred speakers and 63 sessions.
This year’s festival will include Pakistani author Fatima Bhutto, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Orhan Pamuk, Oyinkan Braithwaite, who was long-listed for the Man Booker 2019; author Musharraf Ali Farooqi, who will launch his latest book, The Merman and the Book of Power; novelist and poet Nitasha Kaul, who has written on the plight of Kashmir in Modi’s India; and Adrian Hayes, who will launch One Man’s Climb, a book about his journey to reach the summit of K2.
Markets that depend on Chinese imports are running out of supplies as production in China hasn’t resumed due to coronavirus fears.
Electronics importers in Pakistan are concerned since most of the supplies they imported from China are almost finished. This includes mobile phone hardware, accessories and spare electronic parts.
The market has responded to the lessening supplies by raising prices. LCD screens for mobile phones that cost between Rs900 and Rs1,000 now cost Rs1,800. Supplies are also running out.
A 30% price hike has been recorded for mobile accessories but so far, there are enough supplies for a month.
A notification by New Asia International Electronic & Digital City, said the delay was “in order to ensure the health and life safety of merchants and customers”.
Many business-to-business dealers are concerned as supplies were to resume on February 22, which they say would have lightened the demand pressure. Instead, they received messages from their suppliers in China saying that the goods would be delayed indefinitely.
One of the importers said, “I think we will not get any supplies now until March 6. That, too, if we are lucky.”
He facilitates all types of imports, including garments, jewelry and electronics. He said that even now the production units in China have not reopened as coronavirus fears are rampant.
“People are still concerned and production units are empty in China as the virus has not been contained,” he said.
He also said that a phone brand with a customer base in Pakistan has totally run out of its phones since all its assembly units are in China.
A Pakistani expat, who works as a salesman in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has won a 2020 model of the luxury Bentley Bentayga V8 worth millions of rupees in the Dubai Duty Free (DDF) raffle draw.
According to Gulf News, Anjum Ashraf of Karachi won the luxury vehicle worth millions (Dh1 million or Rs45 million) at the DDF draw held on Tuesday, February 18.
His winning ticket number 1676 was picked from the series 1747, announced DDF — the company responsible for the duty-free operations at Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport.
Ashraf earns Dh7,000 (around Rs300,000) as a salesman. Needless to say that he is excited with the win. “I still cannot believe it,” he happily shared.
In a similar bid, an Indian man named Jagdish Ramnani, 42, became the latest million dollar winner at the DDF draw along with Nazeerunnisa Fazal Mohammad, 37, hailing from Hyderabad who won an Aprilla Dorsoduro 900 (motorbike).
Mohammad, who is currently working as a software engineer, has been regularly buying the DDF tickets and she bought her winning ticket on January 10 online.
“I have been trying my luck for the million dollar series, hopefully it will be soon,” she said.
Pakistan has been declared the world’s most affordable country to live in, while Bangladesh is the most expensive country in South Asia and Switzerland the most expensive in the world.
CEOWORLD — one of the world’s leading business magazines for high-level executive professionals and business leaders — has declared Pakistan the world’s most affordable country to live in, followed by Afghanistan, India, Syria, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tunisia, Dhaka Tribune reported.
Source: CEOWORLD
Meanwhile, European countries were prominent on the list of most expensive ones. Of the top 20 nations, nine were in Europe, five in Asia, one in North America and Africa each, two in the Caribbean and two in Oceania.
Norway ranks second in the list of the world’s most expensive countries to live in, followed by Iceland, Japan, Denmark, Bahamas, Luxembourg, Israel, Singapore and South Korea.
A little further down in the list, there is the United States (US) at the 20th position, the United Kingdom (UK) at 27th, Saudi Arabia at 57th and Russia at 82nd.
The rankings are based on five major metrics — cost of living, rent, groceries, eating out and purchasing power. To identify the world’s most and least expensive countries to live in, the magazine collected and reviewed data from dozens of studies, numbers of consumer price index, cost of living index and numerous national and international media reports.
The data was then compiled into an index, using the notoriously expensive city of New York City (NYC) as a benchmark. New York was given an index score of 100. So a country with a score higher than 100 is more expensive than New York, while below signals less expensive.
Organisers of the Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) — an international literary festival held annually in Lahore — have responded to claims of blocking over Twitter the academics and journalists who “criticised” or “contradicted” the event due Friday (February 21).
“No amount of education [or] money can evolve these illiberal liberals, so rich and entitled that they cannot stand the idea of anyone contradicting them. Kingmakers basically because they have money and clout (and enough alcohol to ply all of Lahore’s elite),” wrote journalist Sabahat Zakariya after being blocked by the LLF over the social network.
No amount of education money can buy can evolve these illiberal liberals, so rich and entitled that they cannot stand the idea of anyone contradicting them. Kingmakers basically because they have money and clout (and enough alcohol to ply all of Lahore’s elite). pic.twitter.com/KdXqq3sTMO
She, however, wasn’t the only person to be blocked by the LLF on Twitter.
Sad that the organisers of #LLF are so averse to any criticism even when it comes from academics in their own city. Little hope for constructive engagement with these folks. 🙄 pic.twitter.com/rKJRZbL5Ng
“Constructive criticism is always great and we greatly welcome it,” read a statement issued by the LLF to The Current.
“Anybody who may have in the past made unreasonable or inappropriate remarks may possibly have been blocked to help the organisers steer clear of digression and focus on our passion for literature,” the statement read further, adding it was also possible that the blocks were from last year.
LLF:
The eighth edition of the annual LLF is set to commence on February 21, 2020, at the Alhamra Arts Center, Mall Road.
The three-day event, culminating on February 23, 2020, will continue its tradition of hosting eminent writers, historians, artists and opinion makers from Pakistan and abroad with over a hundred speakers and 63 sessions.
Free and open-to-the-public, this year’s event will feature, among others, Oyinkan Braithwaite, who was long-listed for the Man Booker 2019; author Musharraf Ali Farooqi, who will launch his latest book, The Merman and the Book of Power; novelist and poet Nitasha Kaul, who has written on the plight of Kashmir in Modi’s India; and Adrian Hayes, who will launch One Man’s Climb, a book about his journey to reach the summit of K2.
The full slate of panels and participants for the three-day event is available here in PDF format
A patient at King’s College Hospital in London has played the violin while having brain surgery.
The medical team asked Dagmar Turner, 53, to play the violin to ensure parts of the brain that control hand movements and coordination were not damaged during the surgery.
Ms. Turner was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2013.
The committed violinist, who plays in Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra, was worried the surgery would result in the loss of her ability to play. Her tumour was located in the right frontal lobe of her brain, close to an area that controls the fine movement of her left hand.
Professor Keyoumars Ashkan, the consultant neurosurgeon at King’s College Hospital, came up with an idea to operate and reduce the risk.
The brain tumour specialist holds a degree in music and is an accomplished pianist and shared Ms. Turner’s desire to save her musical skills.
Before the surgery, doctors spent two hours carefully plotting her brain to identify areas that were active when she played the violin and those responsible for controlling language and movement.
Ms. Turner played the violin while her tumour was removed, while closely monitored by the anesthetists and a therapist.
TikTok nearly took another life as a young boy in India was lucky enough to escape from being crushed under a moving train.
The boy was recording a Tik Tok video while jumping off a moving train but lost his balance. He luckily survived the fall from the train and moved away from the tracks.
After the incident, Indian Railways took to Twitter to issue an advisory against boarding and deboarding a moving train. It read that the boy was lucky enough to survive the fall this time but may not be lucky for a second time around.
The tweet asked people to avoid such stunts and also stop others from making such videos. They asserted that life is invaluable and should not be endangered for a stunt or a video.
TikTok is a video-sharing social networking application that is used to create short lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos.
This is not the first time that youngsters have risked their lives to make TikTok videos to get high views and likes.
Earlier in January, a teenage boy had lost his life after a revolver accidentally went off while he was shooting a TikTok video in India’s Uttar Pradesh village.
TikTok has over 500 million active users worldwide. The app had already crossed 1 billion downloads last year.
