Basant: Only festival where people come together

by Sher Ali Khan and Aoun Sahi

The News on Sunday: How can we make basant safe?

Yousuf Salahuddin: To start with, you have to ban motorcycles from Saturday night to Sunday evening because a majority of accidental deaths have been of motorcyclists.

Secondly, there are two companies manufacturing these dangerous strings. The issue is not kite-flying or celebrating the festival; it’s about the deadly string. Children are buying these strings regardless of the danger these put their lives in. So, the manufacturers should be held accountable.

Thirdly, aerial firing has to be stopped. This was done during Shabhaz Sharif’s last term. If he gives the stick to the police, this can be regulated.

Sports for Life

Two men are working to promote leadership and improve education standards through reintegration of sports into school curriculum.

While the rest of the world continues to mix both sports and education to grow well-rounded individuals, Pakistan continues to lag behind in its attempt to reinvigorate its education system.

Two crusaders by the name of Nawab Ashiq Hussain Qureshi and Amir Bilal have been working together to promote organized sports at school level. Bilal is the founder of an organization called the Sports Development Foundation, and Qureshi, who lives in Lahore and is a member of the Pak Veterans cricket team, founded the organization Sports for Life. Their paths crossed and so far their resolve to promote sports in educational institutions has not wavered.

Explore the walled city of Lahore and its historic gates

By Tariq Maqbool

Lahore is the capital of Punjab, the most populated province of Pakistan, and is known as one of the ancient cities in South Asia with its rich historical and cultural heritage.
The early history of the city is cloaked in obscurity and it is pretty difficult to establish exact date of its foundation. It was a town of not much importance in the first and second century of Christian era and was ruled by Rajput princes. In the eighth and ninth century, it became the capital of a powerful Brahman family, who, in the tenth century, were invaded by Sabuktagin and his son Mahmud Ghaznivide. For the next eight centuries, Lahore was ruled by different Muslim dynasties and served as the capital of Ghaznivides, Ghorians, and Mughals from time to time. At the onset of the 19th century, the Sikhs ascended to the throne of Punjab and Lahore was made the seat of government. Shortly after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839, the British defeated the Sikhs and took over their domains. It served as the capital of the undivided province of Punjab until 1947 under the British rule and after independence, it became the capital of the province of Punjab in Pakistan.

Lahore Ring Road Project

Owais Mughal

This is one topic I’ve been wanting to write about for a while now. But instead of me writing on it, we want to do an experiment here. We would like our readers to tell us what do they know about the project. I will then compile the information collected from your replies here and I am sure in few days we’ll have a treasure of knowledge on this project. This will test the power of our little blogistan where everyone contributes. Your participation is a key here. Try to send authentic information – suni sunaai pe naa jaaeN. The idea is that overtime this post will grow into a information storehouse on Lahore Ring Road Project.

Read the full post at Pakistaniat

Nadira Begum’s tomb – faded glory of Lahore

Saad Sarfraz Shiekh’s excellent article and photos

The tomb of Nadira Begum…

Finding Nadira Begum’s Tomb isn’t hard since its right next to Sufi Saint Hazrat Mian Mir’s shrine.

Nadira Saleem Banu was the wife of Mughal Prince Dara Shikoh, the ill-fated heir to Shah Jahan’s throne and the crown prince of his Indian empire.

She died in 1659, several months before Dara Shikoh execution, and was survived by two daughters. No sons survived thanks to Aurangzeb Alamgir, who got rid of all male threats.

Stories of Nadira Banu’s beauty and intelligence were famous throughout the empire. She was the daughter of Shah Jahan’s half-brother, Prince Perwez, and therefore Dara Shikoh’s cousin.

Her would-be husband Dara Shikoh was eager to marry her and had a good relationship with her throughout his turbulent life. He never remarried, in spite of the common Mughal practice of persistent polygamy and overflowing harems. Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtaz Mahal, Dara’s mother, arranged the marriage when both Dara and Nadira were teenagers.

Dara Shikoh’s sister Jahanara Begum got along with Nadira quite well, as reflected by her involvement and interest in Nadira’s wedding and her closeness to him.

Lahore High Court issues notices to 28 water supply companies

Raza Rumi

I am posting this news item from the Daily Times. Thank God that we have the judges taking stock of the critical issues facing the public. The unregulated and greedy companies are selling sub standard water, medicines and milk. W urge the Court to pursue this matter in public interest and get to the point of achieving ‘complete justice’ .

Justice Mian Saqib Nisar of the Lahore High Court (LHC) issued show cause notices to 28 bottled and mineral water supply companies in Punjab that have not had their licences renewed for the last two years. The judge also asked the companies to explain why their units should not be closed and granted one-month to those companies which had licences expired in 2009. The judge also directed that his orders be conveyed to all water bottling

From Delhi to Lahore: the other side of the border

Here’s a post that readers might enjoy…

I landed in Lahore and my friends were waiting outside the airport for me. I was scared for sure because I was alone in Pakistan. I could not believe I was in Pakistan. The country I heard so much of. I could not say that it was like Delhi because it was too small as compared to Delhi but at the same time, it made me feel I was in India. Whenever I saw billboards I used to feel no I am in Pakistan. I thought every girl would be in burqa or cover their head but to my shock nothing was like that. At 1 am, I started my journey for Islamabad but I felt Lahore never sleeps. I never saw Delhi ISBT to have so many people there at 1 am. Biggest shock came when I saw a bus hostess in luxury bus at 1:30 am. I never imagined that an Islamic country would allow that.

Bhagat Singh’s alma mater: decaying but not forgotten

By Afnan Khan

LAHORE: Bradlaugh Hall, where one of South Asia’s most influential revolutionaries – Bhagat Singh – once studied is, today, the focus of a campaign to not only rescue it from disrepair but to rename it and other landmarks of Lahore after him. Named after the social reformist and radical member of British parliament Charles Bradlaugh, the college was built on October 30, 1900, to provide secondary higher education to students from all walks of life. In the decades following Partition, the institute has had its share of turmoil, according to residents of Rattigan Road who briefly recounted its history to Daily Times. Shortly after 1947 Bradlaugh Hall was used to store foodstuffs; it then found life as a steel mill up until the 1980s, when it reopened as a technical education centre, the Milli Technical Education Institute.

IPL bid has made my film ‘Lahore’ a soft target: Director

Calcutta News.Net – Monday 25th January, 2010 (IANS)

The snubbing of Paksitani players in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) bid has not gone down well in the neighbouring nation whose people are now venting their anger on the Internet at Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan’s upcoming sports film ‘Lahore’.

‘My film has become the soft target because of the IPL bid boycotting the Pakistani players. The timing has been unfortunate and a mere coincidence that our promo came out at this time and we are being targeted for that with hate mails in reaction,’ an upset Chauhan told IANS on phone from Mumbai.

‘Pakistani people are thinking that it is a negative trailer. But ours is a very balanced promo and I don’t think it should raise so many negative remarks from them,’ he added.

Pakistanis are slamming the film promo and predicting the film will be a ’super duper flop’.

‘I’ve just tried showing the sports rivalry and the condition of the players as in what they go through at that time. I hope their (Pakistanis’) perception changes after they see the film,’ said Chauhan.

Set against the backdrop of competitive sports (kick-boxing) in the international arena, it stars Nafisa Ali, Farouque Shaikh, Ashish Vidyarthi, Nirmal Pandey, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Saurabh Shukla, Sushant Singh, Kelly Dorji, Shraddha Das, Shraddha Nigam and Mukesh Rishi. Actor Aanaahad makes his debut with the film.

Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures India, ‘Lahore’ has been produced by Sai Om Films Pvt Ltd.

Releasing commercially March 19, it has already an international award — the jury award for the Best Feature Film at the 42nd WorldFest International Film Festival, Houston, Texas, where the world premiere was held on April 20 last year.

Chauhan puts forth another reason for receiving the hate mails.

‘It’s been a tradition that we’ve made Pakistan bashing films and we completely set to ignore that they are very fond of our films and watch it very passionately.’

Despite the negative reaction, the director is looking forward to a Lahore premiere for his film.

‘We want to have the premiere of the film in Lahore because it is the title of the film and plays a crucial part in the movie. It shows India and Pakistan in a new light. Though the cast and crew are a bit concerned about security measures but we are still trying to get the visas etc,’ he said.

URBAN TRANSPORT IN OUR SUB-CONTINENT : DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS

Vipul Thakore has contributed this post:

All large and expanding cities in our sub-continent have huge transport problems and there is not one standard solution. Without good and economic transport, our economies can not progress

In Indian capital  Delhi, Metro trains have been successfully introduced and the system is now slowly expanding. Similar Metros will be introduced in Bangalore, Chenai  and other cities in due course.

I think Pakistan authorities had some discussions with Delhi Metro Management for introducing Metro System in Lahore. I do not know the result.

I am detailing introduction of a different system, High-tec rapid bus services, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat State. It may be suitable for introduction in some Pakistani cities, with necessary ‘local’ adjustments.

All Pakistan Music Conference – Concert announcement

Our next Concert is scheduled for 6th February 2010 Hall II, Lahore Alhamra Arts Council.
It is Mr Hayat Ahmad Khan’s 5th Barsi.

The Artists are

Shujat Ali Khan Vocal
Beenish Parvez Vocal
Ustad Altaf Hussain Tafo Tabla (SOLO)
Zohaib Hasan Sarangi
Parvez Paras Harmonium
Ghulam Sabir Tanpura
Haroon Samuel Tabla

Dr Ghazala Irfan
Secretary General
The All Pakistan Music Conference
Res: 12-a, Block E-2 Main Boulevard
Gulberg III
Lahore 54662 Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-35763318/35873447
Fax: +92-42-35754702
E-mail: ghazalairfan
web site: www.apmc.info
Office Hours:(5:00 pm to 9:00 pm Monday through Saturday excluding holidays)

Lahore’s canal – alternative views

Raza Rumi

I am posting three insightful pieces on TheSouthAsianIdea Weblog that deal with the controversy over the construction of an expressway along the Lahore Canal. Whilst we support the Lahore Bachao Tehreek, it is important that all voices of reason should be reckoned for a full debate. I liked this part:

The bottom line is that it is not the case that there is no need for any new road construction at all. But smart urban growth requires that road construction be integrated into an intelligent plan that is focused on transporting the maximum number of people with the minimum number of vehicles at the lowest economic and environmental cost.

Here are the three articles:

Lahore – A Canal Runs Through It

Lahore – The Wisdom of Jane Jacobs
Lahore – What is to be Done?

Pakistanis for Palestine

A Pakistani campaign of solidarity with the Palestinian people has just been launched in Lahore. As its first action of solidarity, the campaign calls on Pakistani academics and cultural workers, —artists, poets, writers, singers and filmmakers— to join the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel that is spreading around the world.
We are focusing initially on endorsing the boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions, as called for by the PACBI (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel). In the wake of the recent slaughter in Gaza in winter 2008-09, we oppose any kind of normalization of relations between Pakistan and Israel, including normalization of Israeli discourse about terrorism that masks the realities of occupation and the denial of human rights. We wish to send a message to the Palestinian people who suffer daily dispossession and denial of their rights to sovereignty, that Pakistani people of conscience support them in their struggle for justice and equality as men and women, children and youth, workers and the working poor. We are fully aware that Israel is aided by the economic and military might of the United States, and we oppose their imperialist designs and aggressions that are enabling violence and devastating the region. We call for an end to this violence and systematic denial of fundamental human rights.

TALIBAN THREATS ASIDE, THE SHOW GOES ON IN LAHORE

Despite the threats from Taliban, the show goes on in Lahore. Click on the link below to watch an interesting report about threats and difficulties faced by artists and theater workshops. Must watch:  http://vjmovement.com/truth/542

I’ve gone back to childhood in Lahore: Artist Krishen Khanna

In his new series of works, leading Indian contemporary artist Krishen Khanna has travelled back in time to his days in pre-partition Lahore, which today lies in Pakistan.

“They are mostly a recollection of events that I have seen in my early childhood – when tension between the British rulers and Indian freedom fighters was escalating,” Delhi-based Khanna told IANS in an interview.

The 84-year-old artist is preparing for a retrospective exhibition at the Lalit Kala Akademi Jan 23 to be organised by the Mumbai-based online gallery Saffronart.

Khanna has completed five large format oil compositions in monochrome, which he says are an extension of his memories of Maclagan Road in Lahore, where he lived in a cosmopolitan neighbourhood “with Parsis, Sikhs, Christians and Muslims”.

Behind Cooco’s with the bronze fountain

Behind Cooco’s with the bronze fountain, originally uploaded by Jahane Rumi.

I should thank Beena Sarwar for this contribution to Lahore Nama (Raza Rumi)

Welcome to the guitar school

Courtesy: Daily Times

By Afnan Khan

LAHORE: At a time when fear and insecurity have put an end to most cultural activities, one art form, speaking the universal language of notes and harmonies, is still very much alive and kicking. One of the places still keeping musical traditions alive while promoting more contemporary forms, is The Guitar School. The brainchild of seasoned guitarist Hamza Jafri, the school, located in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), has already had 55 students since it opened its door in June this year.

Ravail Sattar, one of the teachers at the school, believes in the undying power of music. “It is like a flowing stream that is unstoppable. You cannot hold it back forever, it will break through,” he says. He insists that neither extremists’ threats nor criticism from the government could deter artists from their calling. Many artists have recently been criticised for including anti-US rhetoric in their lyrics.

ANOTHER GRAND OLD MAN GONE

Dr Daniyal Nagi
The city of Lahore, grieves on the loss of another of the Lahore’s Grand Old Men.Birjees Nagi B.A.LLB was brutally murdered in his home in Johar Town on 8th Dec 2009.He was 77.Born in Amritser to Maulvi Ibrahim Nagi District & Session Judge, who had opted for Pakistan in 1947 despite lucrative offers and brother of Capt Jirjees Nagi Shaheed of 1965 war. Mr Nagi always upheld the traditions of his family,of integrity, boldness and truthfulness. Educated in Central Model School, Government College and Law College, he was a true intellectual and a true lahorite to the core. The generation of Ravians of 1950s might remember him as one of the Nagi brothers who were on the forefront in all sports and literary activities.

Lahore Bombings: Witness Audio Interview

Cross-posted from my personal blog

My cousin Usman was at ‘Moon Market’ in Iqbal Town last week when twin explosions went off. I asked him to narrate what he saw, heard and felt on that horrendous night. This interview is completely in Urdu, so I apologize if you can’t follow it. It meant a lot to me, since I was asking Usman to dig up the most troubling moments of his vibrant, youthful life so far, but I commend and salute him for being brave and recounting the events for the sake of sharing.

I’ll try doing an English transcript sometime. Excuse the slight sounds of kids playing in the back- my nieces are visiting.

AUDIO LINK: Interview with Usman Ghauri on the Moon Market Blasts

A ‘rescued’ statue on Cooco’s terrace

A ‘rescued’ statue on Cooco’s terrace, originally uploaded by Jahane Rumi.

courtesy: Beena Sarwar