Shrines of Sufia

Darbar Hazrat Shah Walayat is located in Mohella Ali Pura opposite to State Life Building, district Gujrat, Pakistan. Darabar Sain Remat is located at Chiryawala Sharif. Darabar of Mian Muhammad Bukhish a well know Punjabi Poet is located near Sarai Alamgir. Darbar Bab Jangu Shah is located at Malhu Khokhar Where annual Eid fairs are held which exhibits special Punjabi culture. Dr. Muhammad Sharif Kunjahi, a famous Ponjabi poet also belonged to Kunjah Distt Gujrat, Pakistan.

The Jalal Pur Jattan City is a step forward in time, with latest modern houses. Tomb of Hazrat Khawja Sana Ullah at Kula Chour and darbar Qazi Sahib are located in the nearby mohella. Darabar Hazrat Miran Syed Yahyaha Tirmazi is one of the oldest grave yard in the round about located in center of the village Raniwal syedan at the top of mud built hill, as well as one of the best examples of traditional mud built shrine. Many efforts had been made by followers to build it with concrete but every time failed. However, compound wall of Darbar is built entirely of bricks. Thousands of non Muslims accepted Islam with the efforts of Hazrat Miran Syed Yahyaha Tirmazi During the attempts of Mehmood Ghaznavi over India.

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A Reluctant Poet

It is never easy to write about someone whom you know very intimately, especially after his or her death. To pen down memories spread over years in a few hundred words is not the only problem you confront – with each word you write, a sense of loss encompasses you. The void created in your life because of the absence of that single individual somehow becomes the greatest reality of the world and life loses all its meaning, at least temporarily, for you.

Writing renowned poet and literary scholar Salahuddin Mahmood’s obituary, who died August 22 this year, I experienced this problem. He was the third leading literary figure whom we lost last month after Safdar Mir (Zino) and Taufiq Rafat. With his inherent goodness of heart and sophistication of manners, Salahuddin Mahmood had made a distinguished place for himself in the hearts of all his acquaintances. It would not be wrong to say that you just had to meet him to experience his cultured demeanour, which reminded one of his Aligarh upbringing, and become one of his admirers.

In fact, the Aligarh influence on his personality was the first thing you noticed either while conversing with him or reading his poetry. Born in 1934, Salahuddin Mahmood belonged to a very educated family. Muhammad Umaruddin, his father, was a philosopher of international renown. He also remained the Head of the Department of Philosophy and Psychology and Dean, Faculty of Arts, Muslim University, Aligarh. His mother was also a highly educated woman and was also taught by Bertrand Russell when she went to England for higher education on a scholarship.

Salahuddin Mahmood had hardly turned 15 before he had completed the voluminous epic of Talism-e-Hoshruba, thanks to his maternal grandfather, Professor Khalil Ahmad, who was among the most shining students of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Though he was an engineer by profession, his interest in literature and love for books grew so much with time that for the last many years he owned the best, biggest and most well-kept library in Lahore.

Before moving on to his literary achievements, I would like to share a few personal memories with the readers. He was one of the closest friends of my father and I got acquainted with him at a very early age. But, my real relationship started with him after I started taking interest in literature. Thereafter, followed a unique association in which, I feel, he was always at the giving end.

His first gift to me was a set of three books by Latin American writer Jorge Louis Borges. After this, followed seven volumes of Talism-e-Hoshruba and the occasion was nothing but publication of one of my articles which he found quite interesting for my age. At the same time, he started sending me a copy of all his latest writings, which were mostly poems. Later, after I started doing translations, he motivated me to translate a complete book and also arranged a publisher for me. To add to all this were numerous cards on occasions like Eids and New Year. I am sure I was not the only one for whom he had done so much; he would have surely extended such favours to many.

Salahuddin Mahmood was a poet. It is unfortunate that he never published a collection of his poems, except for a thin leaflet, Kashf-e-Qarz Alwajood, which includes ten ghazals. Probably, this is also the major reason that he did not get the recognition he deserved as a poet. The other reason was that he never aligned himself with any literary group as he considered them crutches. “I have never felt the need to present myself before people by using the crutches of a literary group,” he had said during an interview.

Salahuddin Mahmood started writing poetry at a fairly young age. One of his poems found a place in Saqi, leading Urdu literary magazine of those days edited by Shahid Ahmad Delhivi, when he was just 14. But, it was only after 1963 that he people started knowing him as a poet. It was for the simple reason that before this he confined his poetry to himself.

Salahuddin Mahmood was one of those few people who did not choose poetry; it was poetry which chose him. He believed that good poetry could not be written by intention as it was a matter of inspiration. “The moment of inspiration is like a flashing of lighting which can be preserved only by someone having pure sensations,” he used to say. As far as his own poetry was concerned, it was purely inspirational in essence and revolved around a mythical innocence which he aimed to preserve as he felt it was fast departing us. He tried to recreate the first impression of his senses which had the greatest influence on him. It could be said that through his poetry, he sought his childhood spent at Aligarh and tried to immortalise it.

Salahuddin Mahmood also remained associated with Savera, which was perhaps one of the best Urdu literary magazines, as Editor for almost ten years. He edited some memorable issues of Savera in which some of the best modern Urdu literature was published. He used to give paintings to short story writers asking them to write whatever came to their mind after watching them. Many of the stories written in response were the best by those writers. The paintings were published along with the stories and added to the beauty of the magazine.

He was also a translator par excellence and rendered the works of many important Western writers and poets like Herman Hesse and Jorge Louis Borges into Urdu. For the last 30 years, he was busy translating the Holy Quran into Urdu and had completed about 50 percent of it. Hopefully, somebody would take the initiative and complete this venture. To the surprise of many, despite all his learning, he was a deeply religious person. His travelogue of Haj, Khak-i-Hijaz kay Nigehbaan, which gained immense popularity among the religious circles, bears testimony to this.

Salahuddin Mahmood also contributed a lot to the Urdu prose. He can be rated among one of the best contemporary prose writers of the language and his essays on Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Muhammad Salim-ur-Rahman can be presented as a proof of this. Reading his prose is an unique experience as it has a poetic flavour. He was a genuine research scholar and Majmooah Rajinder Singh Bedi established him in this role.

The book of over 1,400 pages is a compilation of all the important works of Rajinder Singh Bedi. Every page of the book speaks of the devotion with which he undertook this gigantic task – it took him two years just to collect all the works of Bedi. It was followed by Majmooah Mirza Azeem Baig Chughtai, a similar work on the author in four volumes (Novel, Short Story, Novelette, Daastaan/ Mazmoon/ Drama). These works are surely more than enough to keep his name living in the Urdu literature. These days, he was busy compiling a similar book on the works of famous short story writer Rafiq Hussain.

Salahuddin Mahmood’s loss to Urdu literature may not be noticed in all its implications at present, but time will surely prove how important his presence was. In fact, such sensitive human beings and thorough gentlemen are the essence of every society, and a loss in their number hints at the ensuing decay. The only way to preserve them is through their writings.

By: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

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History Personified

In 1938, the New York-based Institute of Current World Affairs awarded 23-year-old Phillips Talbot a fellowship with a mandate: visit the Indian subcontinent and learn abut the intricacies of life there. Till 1950, he graphically recounted the build up to Indian and Pakistani independence, and the early experiences of the new states, in the form of several letters to the Institute. This experience also afforded him an opportunity to meet with almost all the great politicians of the time, from Gandhi to Jinnah and from Nehru to Liaquat Ali Khan. He stands out among his contemporary historians on account of the fact that his can be termed the most objective analysis of those turbulent days. A journalist to the core, soft-spoken and refined Talbot was the India correspondent of the Chicago Daily News in 1946. In this capacity too, he attended almost all the major events – even if they entailed travelling by foot or riding a bicycle – leading up to the Indian subcontinent’s partition. However, the most striking thing about his personality is his good memory. Even at 93, though he looks slightly younger than that, Talbot can recount at length events that took place almost seven decades ago. It would not be an overstatement to say that not only did he see the history being made, he personifies it. Talbot, who is currently the president emeritus of The Asia Society, USA, also served as US ambassador to Greece from 1965 to 1969. His books include South Asia in the World Today (edited); India and America: A study of Their Relations (co-authored with S I Poplai); India in the 1980s; and An American Witness to India’s Partition. In 2002, the Indian government awarded Talbot the Padma Shri. The News on Sunday got an opportunity to interview him during his recent visit to Lahore.


Mustafa Nazir Ahmed: In which US state were you born and from where did you get your education?
Phillips Talbot: I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1914. I grew up mainly in the Middle Western state of Wisconsin. I went to public schools in Wauwatosa, a suburb of that state’s largest city, Wisconsin. My father, a civil engineer, was a corporate executive who became the director of research of his manufacturing company. Our family lived comfortably till my last year of high school, when in the depth of the 1930s Great Depression my father’s job was eliminated when his company nearly collapsed. Getting to college in 1932 would have been an impossible dream but for an invitation by my grandfather, a professor of engineering at the University of Illinois, to live with him and enrol in that institution for graduation. My grandfather’s ideas and work ethics made a big impression on me.
MNA: Which subjects did you study at college?
PT: I studied political science and journalism, rather than my family’s traditional subject, engineering.
MNA: Why did you choose to study journalism?
PT: I got interested in journalism because of the freedom of expression it allowed, though I became the ‘black sheep’ of a family of engineers.
MNA: Did you get a job after your graduation?
PT: Getting a job in 1936 was not easy, as the country was experiencing the bottom of Great Depression. However, I was lucky enough to be employed as a local reporter by the Chicago Daily News, then that city’s leading afternoon paper.
MNA: How did you become a foreign correspondent then?
PT: After I started my career in journalism, my interest in the world beyond America’s shores grew, in part as I realised how much of the glamour in journalism rested in its foreign correspondents in London, Rome, Berlin or elsewhere. When I tried for such an assignment, my editors told me, accurately, that “I was too young and too green” to be considered. The lucky break came when Walter S Rogers, director of the New York-based Institute of Current World Affairs, visited my newspaper and described the Institute’s desire to stake someone to India studies as part of its overall commitment to increase the pool of American knowledge of what we know call non-Western peoples.
MNA: Considering that you only 23 at that time, why were you chosen for that assignment?
PT: The Institute of Current World Affairs judged that, in view of the immense variety of Indian life, the fellow to be chosen for that assignment might well be a young journalist –in others words, a generalist accustomed to study and write on different dimensions of a broad topic. Another reason was that an expert was not required, as the purpose was only to present a picture of the Indian society at that time.
MNA: Were you interested in India too?
PT: Frankly, no. I grew interested not because the subject was India, about which I was ignorant and had no prior information, but because I believed this exposure in one country might set me on the road to becoming a foreign correspondent.
MNA: What was the perception of the US and the ordinary Americans about the Indian subcontinent at that time?
PT: The Americans, barring a few scholars and academics, knew nothing about the Indian subcontinent or its inhabitants till then. In fact, the British resisted the involvement of Americans, especially in the field of business, in their most valued colony, which was coloured red on the map as part of the British Empire. Another reason for this lack of knowledge was that no American had written an account of the Indian subcontinent till then and there was no major group of Indians living in the US at that time. The only Americans who had some exposure to the Indian subcontinent were Christian missionaries or, in exceptional cases, businesspeople. In comparison, China was much more accessible to the US and Americans at that time. The US media also covered only a few important political leaders like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, plus a few maharajas. The Institute of Current World Affairs was actually formed after no expert on India could be made available to then US president Woodrow Wilson to advise him during World War I. The overall ignorance of the Americans about the Indian subcontinent was also one of the main reasons for sending me to this part of the world.
MNA: So you were sent to India straight away?
PT: No, the Institute of Current World Affairs wisely decided that I needed some scholarly discipline on India before being plunged into that land. With American offerings available, I was shoe-horned into the one-year academic programme offered for Indian Civil Service (ICS) probationers at the London School of Oriental and African Studies.
MNA: How was that experience?
PT: In that year (1938-39), about half the probationers were British (all expecting full careers in India) and half Indian. During our year together, our small group had contacts with a wide variety of British and Indian officials, politicians, journalists and other people. A dividend of that year in London was that I had classmates whose assignments in the following years placed them in many of the Indian provinces that I visited.
MNA: What were your first impressions of the Indian subcontinent?
PT: I spent most of my time in the Indian subcontinent before the British left. When I first arrived in India, the Raj was very much firm and on top of things, especially after the 1935 Government of India Act. Most of the British ICS officers expected to spend their whole life here, as it was not in their remotest thinking that they would have to leave one day. As far as I am concerned, my main concern was to learn about India. I discussed this with a number of people and they suggested that I take one slice at a time. So, my first two years in India (1939-1941) were broadly divided between Muslim and Hindu settings. The Muslim experience included a term at the Aligarh Muslim University, which was India’s leading centre of Islamic academics and politics; followed by a community study in a rather isolated village in Kashmir. I also attended some major political meetings, including the All India Muslim League’s Lahore session where it formally adopted the goal of a separate country for Muslims. During my second year, I concentrated on Hindu settings, with stints at a Vedic Ashram in Lahore, Rabindranath Tagore’s Shantiniketan centre, the Konaikanal Ashram in south India and Gandhi’s ashram, Sevagra. I also did a couple of urban community studies in Lahore and Bombay (now Mumbai).
MNA: Did you anticipate that the British would leave India one day?
PT: No one anticipated that, as the politics functioned under the conditions set by the British. However, after the World War II, British bankruptcy became clear – India became a creditor to the Great Britain rather than a debtor. The British estimated that they needed 60,000 soldiers to subjugate India, but they did not have the enough human resources at that time. It was then British prime minister Clement Attlee, who came to power after pro-imperialism Sir Winston Churchill, on whom the reality dawned and who brought about a fundamental shift in the prevalent British thinking. Had it not been for Attlee, the decolonisation of the Indian subcontinent might have been a generation or two away. One must remember that the independence of India and Pakistan were one of the most crucial developments of the twentieth century. Though the centuries-old imperialist system was destined to end anyway, it was the independence of India and Pakistan that kick-started the process of decolonisation. The French, Spanish, Portuguese and the Belgians only followed suit the British as far as granting independence to their respective colonies is concerned. In short, this was the period of transition from imperialism to nationalism.
MNA: But why did the British leave the Indian subcontinent much earlier than they had announced?
PT: By the time Lord Mountbatten became the governor general of India, the law and order situation was already deteriorating. The forces of the British and the nationalists came at loggerheads. On the other hand, communal problems were on the rise. The situation became so worse that Hindu police could not control mobs of their community and the same was true for Muslims. This forced the British to leave earlier than announced.
MNA: How were the relations between Hindus and Muslims in the pre-partition days?
PT: In most of the places, they lived in complete harmony. However, there were occasional riots even in otherwise peaceful cities like Lahore.
MNA: Do you think that the creation of Pakistan was the right decision?
PT: No one foresaw that the partition would be so violent. To the contrary, Muhammad Ali Jinnah believed that the partition would reduce tensions between Muslims and Hindus. In fact, a number of proposals were floated in this regard. A prominent leader of All India Muslim League shared with me as many as eight different geographic plans for the new country. Similarly, another idea was to divide the Indian subcontinent along ethnic lines and have as many separate countries. The people of south India also wanted a separate country for them and even chose Dravidistan as its name. The people and leaders of Kerala also wanted it to be a separate country, as did the Nizam of Hyderabad.
MNA: Did you anticipate the separation of East Pakistan?
PT: Yes. Many important Indian leaders, including Muslims, believed that the idea of Pakistan was not feasible. They even argued that room should be left for Pakistan to rejoin India whenever it feels like doing so. However, the general impression was that the eastern wing of Pakistan will rejoin India in a matter of a few years, while the western wing might take longer.
MNA: Whom would you go for if given a choice – Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah, Patel or Bose?
PT: Gandhi was the conscience of the Indian National Congress, very different from other political leaders of the time. Nehru, on the other hand, was an idealist. He gave India the gift of 17 years of solid leadership, established institutions and built a foundation for his country. Jinnah could have done similar for Pakistan had he lived on longer. Coming to Patel, many people believed that he was the better choice as India’s prime minister than Nehru – he was the one who brought many princely states into India’s dominion. However, he was tough against Muslims as well as Pakistan. Bose, on the other hand, was a maverick, a real intellectual.
MNA: Do you believe in the theory of clash of civilisations?
PT: No, as it misses the point of conflicts we have observed. Religion is used as a point of identification by a political group only at times. Basically, all the conflicts are political in nature and they have nothing to do with either religion or culture.
MNA: Does this mean that the US should bring about a change in its ongoing policy?
PT: Why not? We have entered a new phase of world history. As a result of globalisation, new economic powers like China and India are restructuring global patterns. Therefore, even a great power like the US should adjust its policies to take into account the interests of the nations that are on the rise. There is no room for unilateralism, either by the US or any other country, in this era of globalisation.
MNA: Has Lahore changed since you last visited the city?
PT: A lot. The new construction is obvious. I was astonished to see the new airport, which is not only very modern but also very attractive. Also, the city seems to have expanded a lot. During this visit, I found myself more in unfamiliar places than the familiar ones.


By: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

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Before the Deadline

The inevitable was fast approaching. As days passed, even the distant hope of Roman Ehsan’s recovery that some of us might have had faded into eternity. It was all too obvious that within days, if not hours, he would not be among us. All regular visitors to the Lahore Press Club (LPC) prayed for Roman in their hearts, but were hesitant to even discuss his condition with others – as if they had already submitted to the Divine will.
Roman Ehsan, who passed away on Feb 1 at the age of 43, leaving behind a wife, three daughters and a son, easily fell among the most popular of Lahore’s journalists. One rarely saw him disturbed or agitated; in fact, he would manage to make others smile even during the most testing of times. However, this was only one side of the picture. When the news of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination reached the LPC, he vented out his emotions as if he had lost a close relative.
After doing his Graduation from Govt Islamia College Civil Lines in 1986, he joined daily Jang as an apprentice sub-editor the following year. When daily Musawat, a PPP spokesperson newspaper, re-opened after Gen Zia-ul-Haq’s death in a plane crash on August 17, 1988, he was among the first ones to join it.
Before the October 1990 general elections, Roman re-joined daily Jang as a sub-editor. Soon, he was transferred to the reporting section, where he got a chance to work with the likes of Anjum Rashid and Hamid Mir. For the next decade or so, he worked as a special correspondent for the newspaper with the PPP as his beat. In this capacity, he cultivated close relations with the party’s top leadership, but never sought any personal favours. After the launching of Geo TV, Roman was among the first ones to join the channel. In 2008, he joined Dunya TV as bureau chief, but luck did not allow him time to oversee the channel’s launch.
Roman Ehsan’s close friends remember him as an excellent team player. “He remained positive even in the most adverse of situations. When we started our careers, our salaries were barely enough to meet the expenses. During this period of adversity, he helped us develop the habit of sharing with and caring for others,” says Rana Farid, a close friend of Roman who now works as news editor with a leading Urdu daily.
Coupled with his gracious nature and pleasant behaviour, team spirit made Roman a popular figure among journalists of Lahore. No wonder, he was elected as president of the Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ) in 1994. The same year, he was also elected as a member of the LPC’s governing body. However, designations hardly mattered for someone as well-liked and well-respected as Roman, who was known for adopting ideological stances on issues.
The scribe was witness to at least one such incident. When Bryan D Hunt, principal officer of the US Consulate, Lahore, assumed charge of his office about three years ago, he invited journalists to his place for discussion over hi-tea. Roman was the only one to dare disagree with the American official; he contested Hunt’s argument that all Pakistani political parties have rigged elections or have benefited from this practice. Having worked closely with PPP, his beat, Roman argued that the party had been the victim of rigging by the establishment in all general elections since 1988. It is important to remember that the PPP was in opposition at the time and most of the journalists present on the occasion hailed from then-Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi’s ‘chopper group’.
Roman had brain hemorrhage on Dec 28. Rana Farid tells TNS that he was unusually unhappy and angry a day before that – the occasion of Benazir Bhutto’s first death anniversary. Despite best of efforts to save him and the formation of many medical boards, his brain never showed any signs of recovery. His condition was so bad that many TV and radio channels aired the news of his death a week before he actually passed away. Throughout this period, the atmosphere of the LPC remained tense and gloomy, as everyone missed Roman’s company and prayed in vain for his health. In a way, the announcement of Roman’s death took his fellow journalists out of a state of shock, but only briefly!
By: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

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In Quest of the Ideal

“Tu sonah, terray kam vi soneh, sonah jeenvay savera
Main kojay, meray kam vi kojay, koja jeenvay hanaira
Main koja, main koj lukavan, her koey koj lukavay
Tu sonah kuon luk luk baithain, aeh gal samaj na aaway.”

This quartet explains poet-cum-spiritualist Sultan Mahmood Ashufta’s theory of life in the most befitting manner. Both as a poet and spiritualist, he endeavours to create a relationship between the creator and the creation and explore exact nature of the Divinity. Thus to formulate a opinion about his personality separately as a poet and spiritualist is impossible.
He strikes a wonderful balance between the two: while his poetry, mystical and spiritualistic in essence, revolves around the image of an ideal which is achievable and attainable, as a spiritualist he suggests ways of getting closer to that ideal. He firmly believes that this pursuit is the sole reason behind the creation of this universe.
Sultan Mahmood Ashufta has a multi-dimensional personality. He is city’s best reputed spiritual-healer. He writes a column on spiritualism for a monthly magazine along with answering questions regarding spiritualism for a weekly magazine. As the leading Punjabi poet and critic, he has contributed a lot to the uplift and enrichment of the language.
Although his stint in the films was not a very long one, he is rated among the best ever Urdu and Punjabi story, song and dialogue writers of the silver screen. He has also written some excellent plays and songs for the television and radio. As if all this is not enough, he is also the leading homeopath of the city.
What helps him in adjusting in all these different roles is his theory of life. He sees no distinction between his different roles as he believes that all that is present on this earth is inter-related and goal of every human being, whether knowingly or unknowingly, is the quest of the Divine.
He maintains that everybody is a mystic in his own right as he strives for perfection in his field. “A scientist enjoys an edge over a spiritualist in this regard as the latter starts his pursuit as a believer while the former starts his quest as a non-believer,” he contends.
He is in fifty-fifth year of his life. Telling about his family background, he informs that he hailed from a poor family which migrated from India well before the partition. He has to go to Saudi Arabia at a very young age in order to earn a living for his family.
It is for this reason that his formal education ended after matriculation but his interest in reading more than covered up for this shortcoming. He is of the view that reading broadens one’s horizon and vision. “Even a book written by a person of ordinary intellect teaches you something as everybody’s experiences of life are different from that of the other.”
While residing in the Walled City, Sultan Mahmood Ashufta spent his evenings at a roadside hotel near Bhatti Gate along with Late Saeed Jaffari and Late Allahditta Sabir, leading Punjabi poets of the period. “Although all sorts of topics were discussed in these sittings, the atmosphere had a literary touch. People from all walks and stratums of life used to visit us.”
As the place was a very crowded one (because of its closeness to the shrine of Hazrat Ali Hajveri), he got an excellent opportunity to observe different sorts of people and enhance his experiences of life. These experiences coupled with his stay abroad helped him in his later life both as a poet and spiritualist.
He was acclaimed as a Punjabi poet of immense talent after his poetry written during the 1965 war appeared on the scene. Critics of the calibre of Safdar Mir wrote extensively on him and introduced him to the people having no direct access to the Punjabi poetry.
Leading Urdu literary magazine Savera had a special section on his war poetry along with Safdar Mir’s article. The poems included Sucha Qalam (Faithful Pen), Savair di Azan (Prayer Call Of The Morning), Ik Buddah (An Old Man), Heer da Sajra Pyar (Fresh Amour Of The Heer) and Jang da Atharwan Din (Eighteenth Day Of The War). In September 1966, he came up with a poem Chhey Sitamber sey Chhey Sitamber tak (From Sixth September To Sixth September) which further established him in the role of a poet.
His stay in Saudi Arabia helped him in many ways as he spent eight years at a place having desert on one side and beach on the other. The two extremes matured him as a poet. In Saudi Arabia, he did a number of courses in Arabic and as a result, as Safdar Mir puts it, “his acquaintance with Arabic is just like as with Urdu and punjabi.”
He is candid enough to admit that he wrote film songs without inspiration and with the sole aim of making money out of them. But at the same time he claims that his poetry for films was also literary and he was never accused of copying or writing vulgar songs throughout his film career.
Although he has written a lot of prose in form of drama and criticism, he is yet to make his debut as a novelist and short story writer. “I think writing a novel or short story is no big deal for me, it is time restraints because of which I am unable to try my hands at them.”
Sultan Mahmood Ashufta held a long association with Ustad Damin and admires him both as a person and poet. “Ustad used to dominate mushairas,” he recalls, “and believed in one man show.” Other people who influenced his literature include great names like Safdar Mir, Khurshid Alam and Ghulam Ahmad pervaiz.
He is yet to publish a book of his poetry or articles on spiritualism and seems in no hurry to get them published although it is one of the major reasons he is still to be get the recognition he deserves. “I would rather like to spend the money on my children rather than wasting it on the publication of the book which will decorate only my drawing room.”
What distincts Sultan Mahmood Ashufta from his contemporaries is his knowledge of the Islamic cultural heritage which is depicted in his poetry in the full. On can say with complete confidence that he has single-handedly carried the poetic tradition of great Punjabi poets and promises to do a lot more.


By: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

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Defying Barriers [Aaliya Rasheed]

Aaliya Rasheed, a 26-year old dhrupad singer, is an aspiring example of how even amateur singers can perfect their skills by learning with strict training and discipline. Blind since birth, Aaliya is blessed with a tuneful voice. She gratefully used this gift of God by starting to learn music at the age of six. Later, she received training in music at the Sangan Nagar Institute of Philosophy and Arts (SIPA), Lahore, where Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan Sahib taught her. Appreciating her talent, SIPA’s founder, Barrister Raza Kazim, persuaded Aaliya Rasheed in 2001 to go to India for learning dhrupad – the oldest surviving style of medieval Indian classical music that has a rich devotional element. In India, she tool residence at the Dhrupad Institute of Bhopal, where she spent four years under the tutelage of the renowned Gundecha brothers. Since her return, Aaliya Rasheed has been performing at various concerts in Pakistan – such as the All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) – and has also performed twice in India; including what she terms her “most memorable performance”, held in Mumbai in March 2008. She currently teaches at the Musicology Department of the National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore, besides imparting musical knowledge to schoolchildren. The News on Sunday interviewed her recently on the sidelines of a concert held at the University of Gujrat. Excerpts follow:

Mustafa Nazir Ahmed: Were you blind by birth and how far did you study?
Aaliya Rasheed: I was blind by birth. In fact, blindness runs in my family and one of my cousins is also blind. I came to Lahore at the age of six from Dubai and took admission in a blind school in Allama Iqbal Town, Lahore. I did my matriculation from here. Because my family was in Dubai and later in Gujranwala, I had to live in a hostel with my aunt and uncle visiting me on weekends. Later, I did my Intermediate privately.
MNA: At what age did you start learning music?

AR: I started taking a fancy to music since childhood and listened to all sorts of music. In my school, there was a half-hour music class daily. My teacher was Master Alexander Neelam, who taught me the basics of music. He taught me how to top play harmonium, keyboards and dholak. Due to his training and the fact that I needed to listen to anything only once to remember it, I won many prizes for the school. I also participated in many television programmes, such as Mela. As a matter of fact, I still listen to all sorts of music, but perform classical only.
MNA: When did you decide to follow a career in classical music?
AR: After I did my Matriculation, the school where I was studying offered me the job of music teacher. Subsequently, I started working at the school besides pursuing my studies privately. In August 1999, I got an offer from Sanjan Nagar and was fascinated by the opportunity to learn classical music. In fact, Sanjan Nagar’s founder Raza Kazim listened to my singing and advised me to learn classical music. He made me quit the morning job and offered me a stipend more than double my salary. Raza Kazim also convinced my mother, who had apprehensions about my learning music. I spent three to four hours in the mornings at Sanjan Nagar, listening to music and practicing, while I studied in the afternoons and evenings. Meanwhile, I listed to sitar for the first time and slept during the performance. During this period, I met PTV producer Farrukh Bashir and this paved the way for my television performances. Meanwhile, I attended the APMC for the first time in 1999. Farrukh Bashir predicted that I would be performing at the event the next year. His prediction proved to be true: I performed Mirza Ghalib’s ghazal at the APMC in 2000 and won the first prize in the amateurs’ category. This was mainly due to Shabbir Hussain Jhari, who was my teacher at that time.
MNA: From whom did you get your initial training in music?
AR: At Sanjan Nagar, my regular teachers included Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan, Sara Zaman and Shabbir Hussain Jhari. In addition, I also got a chance to attend workshops by Indian artistes. Moreover, I learnt indirectly from many legends who were recording at Sanjan Nagar like Fareeda Khannum. I also got a chance to perform a ghazal of Farida Ji on harmonics.
MNA: When and how did you get a break in your career?
AR: I had not dreamt in my wildest dreams that I would be able to learn music in India, but I got such an opportunity in 2001. Through Raza Kazim’s contacts, I was sent to India to learn dhrupad from Gundecha brothers. I was the first Pakistani woman to learn dhrupad in India and that is why I also feature in the documentary titled Khayal Darpan.
MNA: Would you like to tell us something about the experience of learning music in India?
AR: When I went to India, the relations between Pakistan and India were not at their best; the Kargil incident was still on the people’ minds. However, my teachers – the Gundecha brothers – treated me as a family member during my four-year stay in India. Though there were problems (for example, I was not allowed to eat meat because my teachers were Jains by religion), I have many happy memories of the visit. For example, before my return to Pakistan, all major newspapers and TV channels interviewed me. A performance, which was attended by the then-Pakistani ambassador to India among others, was also held in New Delhi. On my return to Pakistan, many concerts were held in Lahore and Karachi.
MNA: Would you like to tell us about your most memorable performance so far?
AR: I had a chance to visit India twice after my first visit there. My March 25, 2008, performance in Mumbai was perhaps the most memorable, because more than 750 people were there to listen to me at six in the morning. During my second visit to India, I performed at Ahmedabad, Baroda, Calcutta, Bhopal and Mumbai.
MNA: Who are your favourite musicians?
AR: My favourite musicians include Nazakat Ali Khan, Salamat Ali Khan, Roshan Ara Begum, Fateh Ali Khan, Amanat Ali Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Parveen Sultana, Bhimen Joshi, Pandit Jasraj and Zakir Hussain.

By: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

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Celebrity Deth Toll Raised

One of the most iconic voices of the '60s Mary Travers (singer) (1936-2009) died at age 72 at a Danbury, Ct., hospital. She had battled leukemia for several years. Travers lived for many years in Redding, Conn. The 72-year-old Mary had been fighting leukemia since 2005 and eventually succumbed to the disease despite a bone marrow transplant. It is sad to see a true, long-lasting artist pass.

She survived by her fourth husband, two daughters, two grandchildren and a sister. Peter, Paul and Mary Perform 'Leaving on a Jet Plane'

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My Identity is Short Story Writing

Masood Ashar wants to be identified as a short story writer although his achievements as a journalist and translator cannot be ignored either. He refuses to determine his status among the modern Urdu short story writers, but says candidly “I think I write very well.”
Born in Rampur (Uttar Pardesh), 62 years old Masood Ashar migrated to Pakistan in 1952. By the time he came to Lahore, where his elder brothers resided, he had done his Graduation. He had started taking fancy to literature since his childhood because of the literary environment available to him.
“I developed interest in literature because of great Urdu poet Shad Arifi who was a friend of my paternal uncle, Rasheed Ahmad Khan,” tells Masood Ashar. “Shad Arifi was a progressive poet and used to receive a lot of books and literary magazines which he kept in our home. During my holidays, I read some of them and this is how I had my first encounter with literature. Literary sittings held at our home also helped me in developing a taste for literature.”
Hence, foundation of his association with literature was laid much before coming to Lahore. In fact, his early short stories were published in leading Urdu literary magazines like Adb-i-Lateef and Adbi Duniya, an achievement not less than remarkable for a novice. He also wrote some poetry during this period.
After coming to Lahore he decided to adopt journalism as a profession. After having a brief stint in one or two minor newspapers he joined Imroz, the leading Urdu daily of those days. Starting as a sub-editor, he became the editor of Imroz (Multan) in 1959. Why did he decide to become a journalist? “When I entered journalism,” he explains, “unlike now a days it was considered to be a mission. Only people having a literary background used to come in this field. I was interested in the journalism because at that time it was the only forum through which one could express himself.”
He had an eventful career in journalism. As he was the editor of a newspaper supposed to toe government’s line, he faced many difficulties especially after the imposition of Martial Law in 1977. “I was transferred to Lahore in 1978 as General Zia wasn’t happy with me. In 1984, I was dismissed because I was among those who signed a resolution demanding restoration of the democracy. I remained unemployed for about four years before being reinstated by the PPP government in 1988. After spending almost four decades in the profession I finally said farewell to it after Imroz was closed down in 1990, but I don’t regret the decision as literature had always been my first preference,” he tells.
Masood Ashar always remained associated with literature in one way or other. As a journalist, he covered literary functions, wrote book reviews and a regular literary column Yeh Lahore hai. Meanwhile, he also remained in touch with the contemporary fiction written all over the world. He made a comeback as short story writer after almost a decade in 1964. When asked why he took so long, he replied: “I never had much time to write because of the nature of my job.”
Interestingly enough Masood Ashar has not written a novel as yet but he has a genuine excuse for this: “Short story is the medium through which I feel I can express myself in a better way. It was also the most popular genre of literature when I started writing. Other than this, novel demands hard work and a lot of time. I started writing a novel many times but couldn’t complete it because of time constraints. The general impression one gets after reading Urdu novels is that they are written in a hurry and that is why they fail to compete with the novels written in other languages.”
Although Masood Ashar wants to be identified as a short story writer, he is certainly better known as a translator. Not only has he translated some very good literature himself but has arranged publication of some excellent books through Mashal, an NGO where he is presently employed in the capacity of editor.
“Mashal prepares various programmes and gets them financed. Its basic aim is to create awareness among the masses. So far, it has published some 40 books on human rights, social sciences, women rights, philosophy, educational philosophy, health, environment and literature. All of them have been translations but we plan to publish original books also. We also plan to set up a mobile library in the near future,” he informs.
When asked whether he is satisfied with the standard of translations in Urdu, his immediate reply was: “Not at all. Our professional translators leave things which they don’t understand. I would call it literary dishonesty. Similarly, publishers also don’t care about the standard of translation. They should have there own editors like in other countries for re-checking of manuscripts. Our translators don’t work hard also because they are under-paid. Mashal has enriched the language by publishing good and precise translations of foreign literature.”
“But it doesn’t mean that there is a dearth of good translators in Urdu. To name a few are Sheikh Salahuddin, Muhammad Salim-ur-Rahman, Intizar Hussain, Asif Farrukhi, Ikramullah and Ajmal Kamal. I would specially like to mention quarterly Aaj in this regard which has published some very good translations of Persian, Arabic and Latin American fiction,” he adds.
He agrees that a good English-Urdu dictionary is yet to be compiled: “The dictionary published by Maqtadra is very comprehensive but has a lot of mistakes. Then, it is devoid of a pronunciation key which is very necessary. I feel that there should also be a good Thesaurus in Urdu as writers often use wrong words in order to avoid repetition. A good Urdu-English dictionary is also very much needed. As such projects couldn’t be carried single-handedly, Maqtadra should take the responsibility and form a board comprising capable persons. The board should also regularly update these dictionaries as new words of other languages are making way in Urdu.”
Comparing Pakistani literature with that of other languages, he comments “situation of literature in Pakistan is not as deplorable as it seems. Keeping in view the taboos and restrictions in our society creating even this literature is an achievement. While writing one is afraid not to infuriate the government, clergy or even his family. Our author faces a lot of limitations. This is also a major reason why not many good novels are written in Urdu.”
He blames our educational system for the decreasing interest in literature. “Earlier, our educational system created an understanding of literature among the students. People used to discuss literature, a practice now confined to Tea House only. It is because of our educational debacle that Urdu hasn’t produced a genuine literati for at least last 20 years.”
When asked about what he considers to be the achievement of his life, he came up with the expected answer: “I have given some very good short stories to Urdu literature and that is why I want to be identified as a short story writer rather than a translator or a journalist. But my obsession to write a novel remains.”

by: Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

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FEAR.LESS

Thanks to the Internet that leads users from one place to other. It is like moving in the unknown. And I like moving into the unknown.

Given my interests and quest to live fearlessly, I was lead to Fear.Less - a network of people who trying to live fearlessly and inspiring each other to take action against their fear. That is where I learned about 'Ishita Gupta' and followed her through her blog, Truth Ain’t Easy .

I started reading Ishita's posts in an effort to understand the persona who writes things like Fear.Less and Truth Ain’t Easy (what pithy titles. Why could I not think of them?).

Using her own words, “This blog (Truth Ain’t Easy ) contains my thoughts on truth. Life is school, and every moment is my teacher. I like it that way-in people, in news, in ideas. It keeps me on my toes. I’m doing big things in New York (that’s a reminder to myself that I’m here to do big things) in social media, marketing, writing, and blogging, and am learning tons about myself along the way. For me, truth isn’t relegated to one aspect of my life, it permeates into all things business, career, personal. Because living awake is important.” She is working with my personal favorite writer and marketing guru Seth Godin. That alone gives her one plus.

Check out her fear.less online magazine, coming out in the next month, which has many stories of overcoming fear from leaders in business and the arts. You're sure to leave inspired with tangible tools to overcome your fears!

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I am a born romanticist

“I am a born romanticist. Girls, trees, flowers and rains have always fascinated me,” claims 70-year old A Hameed adding with pride that “even before doing my matriculation, I thrice ran away from my home to explore nature’s beauty. I went to Rangoon, Colombo, Bengal, Madras and Bombay all alone without my parents’ consent. Memories of those days are still fresh in my mind and now I am living on them.”
It was not an easy job to profile a moody person like A Hameed. Being an introvert, it’s not very often that he agrees for an interview or a profile, but once he gets tuned up he even shares the account of his most vivid youthful romances with you. One feels that while relating them, he extracts a pleasure out of them. During our couple of hours long rendezvous in his study room, full of neatly arranged books on wide ranging subjects, I had a wonderful experience of peeping at the restless soul in him.
He was born to a Kashmiri family residing at Amritsar. He was named Abdul Hameed, but changed it to A Hameed in line with the tradition of those days. His mother wanted him to get education while his father had pinned his hopes on making him a wrestler, being one himself, allowing him to study only Persian. He wasn’t interested in both. Although admitted to school, A Hameed spent most of his time at Amritsar’s famous Company Bagh where he had his first encounter with nature. Meanwhile, he was taking regular lessons of Persian so that he can read out Sheikh Saadi’s Hikayat-i-Gulistan and Hikayat-i-Bostan to his father.
He took three extra years to do his matriculation, the end of formal education for him. It wasn’t due to his failure in exams but because once in eight standard and twice in ninth standard he ran away from his home. “I don’t remember what I used to do away from home. As I had no money, often I had to sleep hungry. People used to take pity on me and give me food and shelter,” he tells. “My English improved a lot while living in international cities like Colombo and Rangoon. I started reading romantic literature of the 19th century which has the greatest influence on my writings.”
Is literature his only love? The answer is no. “I try to extract nature’s beauty from all forms of art. A stroke of painter’s brush fills my heart with joy. I also take fancy to listening music especially Rabindra Sangeet (Rabindranath Tagore’s poems whole tunes are composed by himself) as it reminds me of the coconut trees, rivers, flowers and fragrances of Bengal. I listen spellbound to it.”
Comparing Wordsworth, Shelley and Keats, he comments that “Wordsworth is more close to nature but I like Shelley more as his poetry has more thought and he expressed feeling in a new style. On the other hand, Keats expressed human feelings and passion in a much better way although his poetry lacks thought.” Among novelists, Gorki and Chekov are his favourites.
“Rajindher Singh Bedi is the best Urdu short story writer in my view. He has Gorki’s affliction and Chekov’s realism, and can only be compared with Prem Chand. Personally, I like Krishan Chander the most and try to imitate him as he was also a great romanticist,” he confesses.
At the time of the Partition of the subcontinent, he was in Colombo. Soon after, he migrated with his family to Lahore where some of his relatives already resided. He wrote his first story Manzil Manzil in December 1947. “I used to write my diary, but had not written a story before. My friends Ahmad Rahi and Arif Abdul Matin, editors of Urdu literary magazine Adb-i-Lateef, convinced me that I can write one. Manzil Manzil, a true account of my romance with a girl from Lahore, was published in Adb-i-Lateef’s special issue of 1948.”
From then onward, writing became his only source of income. He wrote extensively for literary magazines like Savera, Naqoosh and Adb-i-Lateef. Within few years, he became a well-acclaimed author with many books to his credit. He also remained associated with the Progressive Movement. “Those were the golden days of my life. Lahore was the centre of culture and literary activities. In company of other literary giants of that era, I used to roam around all day. My final romance which ended successfully with my marriage in 1952 was also at its peak in those days,” he recalls passionately.
He attributes his success as a writer to the optimism in his works. “After the publication of my short story Aik Raat in Savera, its founder editor Chaudhry Nazir Ahmad told me that I gained popularity because people having fresh memories of clashes and riots find relief in my stories.” His first collection of short stories, Manzil Manzil, was followed by a novel Darbay. Next in line was a novelette Zard Gulab. Dhoop aur Shagoofay, another novel, followed pretty soon and further established him in the role of a novelist.
A Hameed wrote extensively during that period although he disowns most of it now. “I wrote all sorts of cheap romantic novels for fast and easy money. Now I regret that decision and consider it as the biggest mistake of my life,” he concedes. Since the 1970s, he has devoted most of his time to writing for children. More than 300 books of his popular Amber, Naag, Maria Series have already been published. He also wrote a series of adventurous novels popularly known as Commando Series. “It doesn’t mater whether it (Commando Series) has any literary importance or not, at least if offers something interesting to the readers. My literature for children not only carries a message, but also educates them,” he defends himself.
A Hameed writes his memoirs for an Urdu daily. The way he manages to recall and portray all the places and characters to perfection is remarkable. “God has gifted me with a wonderful memory. Whatever I plan to write comes before my eyes. Most of what I write is inspirational,” he claims.
A very humble reply came when asked about the achievement of his life: “My only achievement is that I have made an attempt to portray nature. I have tried to give a new dimension to it. Only time will determine my status among the romantics.” He dispels the impression that he is a narcissist: “I never rate my works very highly. People have created this false impression about me as I avoid meeting with them considering it a waste of time. Trees are my friends, every morning I spend some time in their company.”
“I know about my limitations. I know that how can I express myself in a better way. Why should I attempt at writing something of which I have no experience? Nor can I lie to my readers neither indulge in literary dishonesty,” came the sharp reply from A Hameed when asked hasn’t he restricted himself only to the account of his nostalgic experiences.
One may ask what is A Hameed? If I am to answer this question, I would say that he is a restless wandering soul. He wants to become a part of every particle of this universe. He loves every scene, every season and every manifestation of this universe. In his writings, this love shoots out like a spring flowing in mildly. His theme seems to be “to praise creation is to praise the creator.”

By Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

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An Optimist at Heart

Afrasiab Khattak is one of those rare species who believe in clinging to an ideology, come what may. Since the day he took a plunge into politics, the student uprising against Ayub Khan playing the catalyst, he has never budged from the principles he upheld. That is why among his peers, even die-hard adversaries, he has the reputation of indisputable integrity, which has earned him respect in a vocation which is infamous for pulling down the person on the other side of the fence. But remaining steadfast in a political world, where opportunism reigns supreme, has its own hazards, and Afrasiab has not been immune to those – almost 17 years in self-exile in Afghanistan, many years in gaol and a number of treason cases. He surely has enough to boast of!
Born to a middle class family in 1950, Afrasiab inherited interest in politics from his father, a supporter of Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s nationalist movement. His father’s library also played its part, making Afrasiab a die-hard nationalist at a pretty tender age. He had hardly crossed his teens when he joined Pukhtoon Students’ Organisation (PSO) – a nationalist, progressive party demanding an end to Ayub Khan’s dictatorial regime and abolition of One Unit. He pursued his interest in literature simultaneously, taking inspiration from his maternal grandfather, who was also a close friend of Allama Iqbal. “Dr Iqbal owed his interest in Pushto poetry to my grandfather and also wrote a poem, Mehrab Gul Afghan kay Afkar, on him,” informed Afrasiab.
After doing Masters in English Literature from Peshawar University (1971-73), Afrasiab studied law as he “”was not interested in doing a government job” and took more fancy to an independent profession. Meanwhile, he continued to take active part in politics. As a student leader of the Peshawar University, he enjoyed close terms with Dr Najeebullah, student leader of the Kabul University at that time who later became president of Afghanistan. PSO had merged into National Awami Party (NAP) after 1970 elections, when both its demands were met. Afrasiab, now in NAP, agitated against the Bhutto regime after it dissolved the Balochistan Government and the NWFP government resigned in protest.
“From here I started frequenting the gaol,” Afrasiab said in a sarcastic tone. When ban was imposed on NAP by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1975, he was among those 55 men who were charged with treason. After Zia-ul-Haq’s imposed Martial Law, he was released along with the others. “The Martial Law authorities wanted us to continue our campaign against Bhutto, but we declined their offer because our conflict with him was not a personal one,” Afrasiab informed. By that time, NAP had become National Democratic Party (NDP) with Sher Baz Mazari as its leader.
As NDP was in the favour of Martial Law, Afrasiab parted ways with it and formed National Progressive Party (NPP). “I was the General Secretary of this Leftist party, which strongly condemned the Martial Law regime. As a result, we had to face many hardships including imprisonment. I myself spent more than two years in gaol,” Afrasiab said. Later, he was acquitted but re-arrested only after a few days from Quetta. “I had addressed the High Court Bar and held a press conference. Summary military courts gave me two years in these two cases. I was released in June 1980,” he added. After spending some time in Pakistan, Afrasiab went into self-exile in Afghanistan.
But why did he chose to go into self-exile rather than continuing with his struggle for democracy within the country? “At that time, Zia-ul-Haq was making strategic relationships with the USA. Leftist politicians, who were against this policy, came under heavy fire from the Martial Law regime and plans were also made to eliminate them physically,” confided Afrasiab. “I came to know through some reliable sources that I was also in their hit list too. So, I left for Afghanistan thinking that my stay there would be temporary,” he continued. He was granted political asylum in Afghanistan as the revolutionary leadership there knew him personally. There, he devoted most of his time to academic pursuits like reading, writing, attending seminars, etc. Meanwhile, he also went to Berlin to do research on nationalist movements for a year.
Afrasiab also married in Afghanistan in September 1982. At present, he has two children – a son and a daughter. When Benazir Bhutto’s government came to power in 1988, she invited all those in self-exile back to the country. Availing this opportunity, he returned to Pakistan along with Ajmal Khattak and many others in January 1989. By that time, NDP and Mir Ghaus Bux Bizenjo’s Pakistan National Party (PNP) had merged into each other to form Awami National Party (ANP). Afrasiab joined it and was made a member of its central and provincial committee.
Afrasiab accepted the party’s decision to break alliance with PPP, but developed differences with its main leadership who wanted an alliance with Mian Nawaz Sharif’s Islami Jamhori Ittehad (IJI). “We opposed the alliance between ANP and IJI because it was unnatural and against our ideology,” he stressed. Consequently, Afrasiab left ANP to form Qaumi Inquilabi Party (QIP), biggest party of the Leftists in the country at that time which united the Left cadre of all the four provinces.
By 1990, Afzal Khan had also left ANP on the issue of IJI. Along with him and Lateef Afridi, Afrasiab formed Pukhtoonkhawa Qaumi Party (PQP), which went into electoral alliance with Pakistan Democratic Party (PDA) during the 1990 elections. He contested the elections from NA-10 (Karak), but lost it in a triangular fight. The same scenario was repeated in the 1993 elections, when he contested from the Pakistan Democratic Front (PDF) platform. During all these years, he remained an ally of the PPP in one way or the other (also a member of PDA’s central committee), as he could identify himself with the party’s ideology.
Afrasiab laments the fact that the PPP did deliver the goods as expected by the people. “While the party was in the opposition from 1990 to 1993, I tried to convince its leadership time and again that it should offer an alternate programme to transform the society. I talked of political and social democratization,” he said. “Unfortunately, nothing was done in this regard,” he regretted. When PPP came in power in 1993, Afrasiab publicly demanded that the party should do something to democratise and modernise the society. As no practical steps were taken to this end, Afrasiab “became quite disillusioned”.
Since then, Afrasiab is no more active in politics and gives more time to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). “I joined HRCP as soon as I returned from Afghanistan and became its Vice-Chairperson (provincial head for NWFP) in 1995,” he informed. When asked that keepings his Leftist inclination Isn’t it paradoxical that he is working for a NGO, a concept abhorrent to the Leftists initially? “No. A noble cause has no left or right. NGOs are a vital need of our society. I do not want to imply that they are a substitute for political parties – their activities are concentrated at micro-level and if the processes at the macro-level go in the opposite direction, they would also wipe out the work done on the micro-level,” he viewed.
Though Afrasiab is a practicing lawyer, he maintains that “his first love” is literature. He not only reads literature, but is also an Urdu poet of no ordinary merit himself. Talking of favourites, he said, “I like Faiz Ahmad Faiz the most among Urdu poets, while in Pushto I admire Ghani Khan and Rahmat Shah Sail.” Afrasiab also has a knack for languages. He is at home with Persian, thanks to his stay in Afghanistan. He also learnt a bit of German while studying in Berlin. Afrasiab is also interested in writing and has been regularly contributing a weekly column on social and economic issues for a local English newspaper since 1992. At present, he is working on a book on Afghanistan and Central Asia, for which he has “already accumulated all the relevant material”.
When asked about his favourite political leader, his immediate reply was Mir Ghaus Bux Bizenjo. All praise for the Baloch leader, he praised his political acumen in particular. Strangely enough, Afrasiab was not critical of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, despite the fact that he spent a good two years in gaol during his tenure. “I met ZAB before he came into power and was very impressed with his personality. I had high hopes that he would transform Pakistani society into a progressive and democratic one. But his personality was based on contradictions. While, on the one hand, he was impressed by the western political thought, on the other hand, because of his feudal background he had an authoritarian egoism, which later caused his downfall also. Anyway, ZAB’s style was populist and he knew how to communicate with the people. He was the master of galvanising the masses,” eulogised Afrasiab. “He was punished for his good deeds,” he lamented. Among international politicians, Afrasiab admires Gamal Abdel Nasser, Fidel Castro and Dr Najeebullah.
Commenting on the present situation in the country, the optimist he is, Afrasiab never once gave the impression that he has lost hope. Still, he minced no words to underline the need for a change. “I think there is a historic need for a new social and political change in Pakistan. Our landed gentry is being undermined economically, while the new elite has failed to find social recognition. The middle class is being squeezed both economically and politically, and should be brought in the mainstream politics to avert the crisis which faces us as a nation,” he opined. “To fill the political void, the enlightened middle class intelligentsia has to play a more positive role,” emphasised Afrasiab. Suggesting a solution, he concluded: “For a long-term solution, a liberal, progressive, democratic, broad-based party is the need of the hour.”

This article is written by Mr. Mustafa Nazir Ahmad

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Sania Khan [Activist]

In 2007, Sania decided to start participating in a lot of community work including volunteering at seniors homes, food banks, local mosques, and for political parties. Sania soon felt that the places she was volunteering were solutions for a much bigger problem. Sania felt that seniors needed a more dignified life and should be able to have means to live and survive comfortably in their homes. She felt that food banks were temporary solutions for a much bigger long term problem of poverty. Sania then started working for bigger organizations that tackled the bigger issues. After winning over the leaders of many of these groups they had pushed her to run politically in order to really have a platform to make the changes that Sania wanted to see. In 2008, Sania ran for the NDP in the area of Scarborough-Guildwood, in Ontario in the federal elections. Although Sania only had 3 weeks to run a full federal campaign because of the short election call and late nomination, Sania ended up receiving more than 14% of the vote of the area.

During Sania’s campaign, she was involved in many debates, and some even televised on some of the biggest Canadian networks. Sania had also done many interviews with TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines.

Twitter | Facebook | Blog | Website | Myspace | Email

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Megan Fox

MEGAN FOX has quickly become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after young actresses. She is a brainless piece of shiny studio equipment. If she can just get her niche in acting (basically finding herself) and challenge herself in roles that will mature & prosper her acting aptitude & efficiency then this girl will not be just another Jessica Biel or Jessica Alba but more of a Angelina Jolie (even though Fox hates that comparison) which the similarities are there. She's young, so she's has time to develop & evolve.

People are waiting for upcoming movie "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" that will release on June 24, 2009.

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Click to Client

I started my first business when I was 9 years old. It was a gift wrap selling business, and I used to spend hours flipping through the catalog and feeling the silky samples. I could tell azure blue from shocking red with my eyes closed. The business was a flop, but I learned three important lessons.

• Never hire your six year old sister as your assistant-even if she works for candy.
• Don’t make sales calls using the Yellow Pages.
• Your parents will only buy so much gift wrap before their customer satisfaction level drops.

The lessons didn’t exactly stop there. I went on to start and build 3 successful businesses, but nothing was greater than the thrill of marketing them online. What most people hated or didn’t understand (marketing), I loved. Go figure.

Since launching Click to Client, LLC (formerly known as After The Launch), I have helped dozens of companies leverage the internet to attract more clients and increase profits.

These days you can find me on the national speaking circuit (…speaking about online marketing and social media marketing), on Twitter, and on Facebook. And of course, working with our FABULOUS clients from my office in Dallas, Texas.

In my free time, I enjoy working (no, really, I am addicted to my work!), spending time with my family (this includes my puppy, Snoopy, a.k.a. the office mascot), reading (I read a book a day-no, I am not joking), and watching movies.

By : Shama Hyder

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