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Tag: India

  • Pak vs Ind: Are you ready?

    Everyone is sitting in the same room, some very close to the TV as if they can control things by sitting close to the screen. Some outside the lounge to avoid the visuals, responding only to the audio cues. Some trying to change fate by doing tasbeeh. And some holding a chappal permanently pose an imminent danger to either the TV screen or to the people around them. Because if things went south, the chappal will go north. And who even has the mental presence to timely register the oncoming chappal? I mean who even cares whatever the world is coming to when Pakistan is playing against India in a World Cup match?

    This is how this grand event has been witnessed in my family. This is how it has always been. I am sure this is how it is for every cricket-obsessed home in Pakistan and perhaps even across the border. The historical fact that Pakistan continues its tradition of losing to India in grand cricket events gets completely lost on us whenever we have to face India. Even the people who have given up on cricket and believe it is a personality trait to say “I don’t watch cricket anymore” metamorphose overnight and become senior cricket analysts on match day. They are kind of annoying but we, the cricket enthusiasts, let them be part of our world as it is Pakistan playing against India.

    From jingoist expressions to “what a ridiculously talented Indian team is”, the emotions vary among people but the focus remains the same: win against India. Thrash them. Humiliate them. None of these events happen in the World Cup but the sentiments remain the same. Every match against India becomes an opportunity for the Pakistani team to rise from the ashes. I mean, they aren’t even in ashes though but you get what I am saying, right? It is an opportunity for the revival of faith in this country for at least one week. The entire country goes into a trance. You go to a local grocery store, tandoor or even a random corner of the street, all you would hear is, “Fer, tayaari ay?” (Are you ready?). I have been a regular witness of analysis at tandoor shops where they don’t have a TV and solely rely on radio commentary on their phones. You can easily get away with stealing things at shops with TV because the shopkeeper will be lost on the screen. Their positivity is contagious. Their josh and daleri are difficult to find anywhere else. It gives you hope even when Pakistan has to score 70 runs off 2 balls to win the match. It’s insane, I know.

    In an attempt to keep my josh under control, I remind myself of Pakistan’s defeat against India in the quarter-final match of the 1996 World Cup. The Bangalore Defeat, I call it. I can still recall the pain of that defeat. I remember locking myself in the bathroom and crying uncontrollably. I felt for the first time that this is it. No more cricket for me. That loss still haunts me whenever the Pakistan vs India discussion begins. I often find myself recalling this truly tragic loss even during conversations that have nothing to do with cricket. For instance, I had amazing seafood in Karachi and I was like, “Glad I had it as Lahore doesn’t offer much taste,” followed by my internal scream, “Haan but we didn’t win against India in 96. Who is gonna fill that void?”. Do you understand the gravity of this loss yet?

    And now that we are set to play our first match against India in the T20 World Cup 2021 edition, that same loss has taken over my life and I am looking forward to the 190th attempt to fill that void by winning against India. The odds are against us, the world is against us, and even we are against ourselves as we keep playing the dinosaurs in our team but nothing could be against our josh for this game. We are gonna give it our best. We will forget what the petrol rate is for 12 hours. We will forget how we love Rohit Sharma or Kohli. We will forget how Shah Rukh Khan is the best thing to come out of India. And of course, we will forget that the notification for DG ISI hasn’t been released. We will remember just one thing. Cricket.

    Hope in Babar Azam, pride in Shaheen Afridi, love for Rizwan, and faith in Haris Rauf to not bowl the death overs. Over to you, Team Pakistan. You might not have done it before but you can do it now!

    As for Kohli, I love Anushka more.

  • Married 45 years with no child, 70-year-old woman gives birth

    Married 45 years with no child, 70-year-old woman gives birth

    A 70-year-old woman in Indian Gujarat has given birth to a baby boy after conceiving through In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment.

    As per reports, Jivuben Valabhai does not have any ID to prove her age, but she said that she has seen 65-70 summers till now. The couple had been married for 45-years but could not have children.

    They approached Dr Naresh Bhanushali, who runs the Harsh IVF Centre in the area, after finding out about the procedure through relatives.

    “The couple came to me a year ago. Initially, we were reluctant to do this because of the woman’s age. But they were anxious to have a child, so we decided to go ahead,” Bhanushali told Anadolu Agency.

    “Her blood pressure was high and we had to deliver the child via C-section in the eighth month of the gestation period,” Dr Bhanushali added.

    “We had a team of doctors including a cardiologist, a physician on standby — anything could have gone wrong because of her age but she was fine and gave birth to a healthy baby.”

    The woman might get an entry into the Guinness book of world records for being the oldest woman to give birth to a healthy baby.

  • Explore Anupam, the man who brought life to Pakistani migrant Ali in ‘Squid Game’

    Explore Anupam, the man who brought life to Pakistani migrant Ali in ‘Squid Game’

    Netflix’s Squid Game is the talk of the town these days and there is one more thing about it which has grabbed the attention of people, especially Pakistanis and that is the Pakistani migrant Ali Abdul, originally played by Anupam Tripathi, based in South Korea is from Delhi, India.

    Tripathi was born in New Delhi on November 2, 1988, where he played a slave in a stage production of Spartacus. From 2006 to 2010, Anupam engaged himself doing theatre in New Delhi itself. He started his training in singing and acting in the year 2006.

    He actually wanted to join the National School of Drama in New Delhi. However, he then moved to South Korea in 2010 to be part of the Korea National University of Arts after he received the Arts Major Asian scholarship.

    Although initially, he had to face a few difficulties adjusting to the cultural and language differences of South Korea, over time he learned Korean and even became fluent in the language in a span of 2 years.

    The 32-year-old actor made his acting debut with the South Korean film Ode To My Father in 2014. And the movie happened to be the fourth highest-grossing film in the South Korean cinema ever.

    He was also seen in numerous Korean TV shows and films such as Descendants of the Sun, Hospital Playlist and the last one before Squid Game was the 2021 film Space Sweepers.

    The turning point in the career of Anupam Tripathi is certainly his appearance on Netflix’s biggest debut series.

    Anupam, who was overwhelmed with the name and fame he has been receiving after playing Ali in the Korean series, took to his Instagram handle recently and shared his gratitude.

    He wrote, “It feels like a dream “, No words to express my gratitude to the people all over the world, who all are loving and blessing Ali and Squidgame. Thank you to all. Keep watching and keep blessing.”

    His mother and brothers are proud of his success but but Tripathi could not share his success with his father, who passed away in 2017.

    Meanwhile, Tripathi will be completing his post graduation degree in acting at the Korea National University of Arts by 2021.

    Squid Game which was released on September 17 on Netflix and has become the biggest original debut series on Netflix. It has recently achieved the feat of topping the list of Netflix’s Top 10 shows in 94 countries worldwide.

  • Uncle distributes free petrol to celebrate birth of niece

    Uncle distributes free petrol to celebrate birth of niece

    A petrol pump owner from the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh announced that he would give away free petrol to celebrate the birth of his niece.

    According to The Indian Express, the pump owner, Deepak Senani’s sister gave birth to a baby girl on October 9 in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district. After getting the happy news, Senani announced to give away free petrol.  

    Talking to the Indian media, the girl’s uncle said: “When the idea came to my mind, I was afraid that people might think it was an advertisement for my petrol pump, but I later shook off the idea and gave customers extra petrol as an expression of happiness.”

    Read More: Man snatches woman’s earrings to fund birthday party

    Senani said that he noticed that more customers came between 9-11am and 5-7pm, so “I decided to provide 5-10% extra petrol at that time.”

    According to the report, Senani gave 5% extra fuel to those who bought petrol worth Rs100, while 10% extra petrol was given to those who bought petrol of Rs200-500.

  • Pakistan Navy thwarts Indian submarine’s attempt to enter Pak waters: ISPR

    Pakistan Navy thwarts Indian submarine’s attempt to enter Pak waters: ISPR

    Pakistan Navy has once again thwarted an attempt by an Indian submarine to enter into Pakistani waters.

    The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the incident took place on October 16, adding that the Indian naval submarine has been prematurely detected and tracked by the PN Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

    “During the prevailing security milieu, a strict monitoring watch has been kept by Pakistan Navy to safeguard maritime frontiers of Pakistan,” says the ISPR statement.

    The ISPR pointed out that this is the third incident of its kind wherein an Indian submarine has been “prematurely detected and tracked by PN Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft”.

    “The recent incident reflects the deplorable Indian machinations vis-à-vis the commitment and resolve of the Pakistan Navy to defend maritime frontiers of the motherland,” said the ISPR. 

  • Indian retailer Fabindia withdraws Diwali ad after backlash from Hindu groups

    Indian retailer Fabindia withdraws Diwali ad after backlash from Hindu groups

    Indian retailer Fabindia, which sells home furnishings, furniture, clothes and food, has withdrawn an ad about a new Diwali line after backlash from right-wing Hindu groups, reported BBC.

    Social media users accused the ad of using Urdu — a language spoken by many Muslims in India — to celebrate a collection for the Hindu festival of Diwali.

    #BoycottFabIndia trended on Twitter in India on Monday after Fabindia called Diwali “Jashn-e-Riwaaz” (celebration of tradition) in a tweet. Following the tweet, many social media users called for a boycott of the company, claiming that the Urdu phrase had been used to hurt sentiments of the Hindu community.

    A spokesperson from Fabindia told the Times of India newspaper that Jashn-e-Riwaaz was not its Diwali collection.

    The tweet, which went viral on Monday, said: “As we welcome the festival of love and light, Jashn-e-Riwaaz by Fabindia is a collection that beautifully pays homage to Indian culture.” The tweet has since been deleted and the ad has also been withdrawn.

    Fabindia’s deleted tweet

    This is not the first time an Indian brand had to withdraw ads following backlash from right-wing Hindu groups. Last year in October, popular Indian jewellery brand Tanishq had to withdraw an advertisement featuring an interfaith couple after a right-wing backlash on social media.

    A recent advert by clothing brand Manyaavar featuring Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt in a wedding attire also caused a social media furore. The ad, which appeared to question an old tradition (Kanya Daan), received widespread backlash as it was seen as an attack on Hindu wedding rituals.

  • VIDEO: Muslim woman in India forced to remove burqa in public

    VIDEO: Muslim woman in India forced to remove burqa in public

    A mob in India forced a Muslim woman to remove her burqa in public, India Today reported.

    The video of the incident went viral on social media. The video showed a burqa-clad woman sitting on a motorbike, accompanied by a man. 

    A mob could be seen harassing the girl for wearing the burqa, after which she was forced to take it off. 

    “Take the burqa off, you are giving a bad name to the nation,” one of the members from the group could be heard telling the woman.

    The man protested when the mob asked the woman to remove her niqab (veil).

    “You have to take the niqab off as well,” one member of the mob said. The entire incident was recorded by the mob.

    As per reports, no case has been registered against the people yet. Two men were reportedly let off by the police after receiving a warning.

  • Senate chairman gets a surprise invite from India’s Lok Sabha’s speaker

    Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha, Om Birla, has invited Pakistan’s Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani to attend the Lower House’s Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) centenary celebrations in India, reports ARY News.

    Lok Sabha Speaker wrote a letter to Sanjrani. As per details, the letter states that the celebrations would take place on December 4, and Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi will address the audience.

    The letter adds that Sanjrani’s participation in the centenary celebrations would be an honour for the Lok Sabha Speaker.

    ARY News‘ sources say that consultations are underway regarding the participation of Sadiq Sanjrani in the function.

  • ‘ICC a politicised body, we need to reduce our dependence on it’: Ramiz Raja

    ‘ICC a politicised body, we need to reduce our dependence on it’: Ramiz Raja

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja has disclosed that 50 per cent of the board’s budget is based around the funds it gets from the International Cricket Council (ICC) whose “revenues are generated mainly from India”.

    Appearing before the Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial affairs on Thursday in Islamabad, Ramiz said it was time for PCB to reduce its dependence on funding from the ICC and start tapping the local market.

    “ICC is a politicised body divided between the Asian and Western blocs and 90 per cent of its revenues are generated from India,” the PCB Chairman said.

    Ramiz said the ICC had become more of an event management company and PCB would have to make its voice heard if it does not want a repeat of the cancellation of confirmed series by New Zealand and England.

    What New Zealand did was unacceptable because till now they have not shared any information with us on what led them to abandon the series in Pakistan. But they are now trying to reschedule the series, he said.

    Ramiz hinted of some good news regarding the postponed New Zealand series in a week’s time.

    He indicated that the New Zealand cricket board was working on a new schedule to tour Pakistan.

    Read More – Ramiz Raja ‘erroneously’ tweets about ECB chairman’s resignation, deletes later

    Senator Raza Rabbani suggested that Pakistan should now not play against New Zealand and refuse any series but Ramiz pointed out that this would not be possible as Pakistan was part of the international cricket community.

    The good thing is that they are working on something, which means they want to amend things with us, he said.

    The New Zealand cricket team had arrived in Pakistan on September 11 for the first time in 18 years to play three ODIs and five Twenty20 Internationals but left on September 19 without playing any match after their government and security agencies advised them to return home citing “security concerns”.

    Ramiz, in a candid briefing to the senators, also made it clear that he would unveil his plans for Pakistan cricket and the board in a week or 10-days’ time while in four weeks’ time he would have his team ready.

    Read More – New Zealand cricket chief open to rescheduling of abandoned Pakistan series

    “To me, it is simple if the national team cannot do well and win matches, it means that everyone in the board from the tea man to the top official have failed in their duties,” he said.

  • ‘We don’t see ourselves building our broad relationship with Pakistan’: US Deputy Secretary of State

    ‘We don’t see ourselves building our broad relationship with Pakistan’: US Deputy Secretary of State

    United States (US) Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, while speaking at an event in Mumbai, said, “We (the US) don’t see ourselves building our broad relationship with Pakistan and we have no interest in returning to the days of a hyphenated India, Pakistan. That’s not where we are, that’s not where we are going to be,” reports The Print.

    “But we all need to know what’s going on in Afghanistan. We all need to be of one mind in the approach to the Taliban. We all need to make sure that we have the capabilities that we need to ensure everybody’s security, including India’s, of course. So I am going to have some very specific conversations, continuing conversations that Secretary (Antony) Blinken has had (with Pakistan),” she added.

    Wendy Sherman is in Pakistan to meet officials during her October 7-8 visit.

    Sherman said that her trip to Islamabad is only for a “specific and narrow purpose”.

    Taking to Twitter, Sherman wrote, “I met yesterday evening with Pakistani National Security Advisor, Moeed Yusuf to discuss Afghanistan and areas of cooperation in the U.S.-Pakistan relationship.”

    https://twitter.com/deputysecstate/status/1446361767932801039?s=21

    Ahead of her visit to Pakistan, Sherman told reporters, “We seek a strong partnership with Pakistan on counterterrorism and we expect sustained action against all militant and terrorist groups without distinction.”

    “Both of our countries have suffered terribly from the scourge of terrorism and we look forward to cooperative efforts to eliminate all regional and global terrorist threats,” she said.