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A closed mind The distinction between madness and sanity is not only fuzzy, but sliding too. Pascal has rightly observed that ‘men are so necessarily mad that not to be mad would amount to another form of madness’....		Madaaris & terrorism: do they go together? I am a student of class IX. Before coming to Pakistan, I spent eleven years in England, studying in some of that country’s finest schools. However, all that was over when...
Suicide is not painless Sometime back, a young MBA from the town of Sheikhupura made headlines. However, the reason for him being noticed was not that he had achieved any greatness. In fact, Akhtar Ali,...		When cows come home THE cow. What a unique and wonderful creature. Sacred to one, burger to another. The cow has appeared in many aspects of our life (especially around the time of Eid-ul-Azha) and...
When the NAB chief came visiting It is not often that one gets to see the NAB chief in Karachi, or hear him in person. Of course the very corrupt and those who defaulted on their loans...		Two faces of the same picture CALCUTTA provided no logistical problem. I took a PIA flight to Dhaka and then PIA again to Calcutta. The last time I had visited Calcutta was in 1944, and I had...
Feel good, look good Almost everyone wants to look good and smart. Many people spend a lot of money on beauty aids to improve their appearance. But you what, there are a a few beauty...		Raging remarks “ Don’t you know how she is?” You might have heard this apparently harmless remark, most probably in a female gathering. These stinging words are aimed at some unsuspecting,...
Return of the baton-charge Baton charging of protesters seemed to have gone out of fashion. That alas, is not to be. Ugly practices die-hard and this one had a shameful revival in Lahore’s life last...		Land of enchanting valleys Ancient Udhiyana, the place we know as Swat today, is a picturesque tourist resort in north of Pakistan. Udhiyana literally means a ‘garden’ and Swat, undoubtedly, looks like a garden too....
Spring in the wilderness A wiff of cool breeze sneaking through the half-open window of the car brought me back to consciousness; it was hard for me to open my sleep-laden, almost glued eyelids. We...		Phantoms of liberty and its victims Last week we carried the tale of Qaiser Rafiq, who was one of around 2000 Pakistanis waiting to be deported by the US. Here are some more tragic cases:...
Friends and sweethearts She’s exuberant company. She laughs at all your jokes, she’s properly sympathetic when you wallow, displays an unnerving, yet flattering knack of reading your mood swings. She is a chocoholic, abhors...		Fishing for a living It was my fifth day on the stinking, heaving fishing boat. The wind was blowing at almost gale force. The old boat creaked and groaned as it pitched and tossed in...
Foundation of the British Raj It is intriguing but an import question in the history of India, that how and why British acquired political power in India so smoothly and easily?...		Turbulent past Through the ages, Muslims have been perceived as a militant people. They are ready to die and kill at the slightest provocation. And their religion, Islam, is held to blame for...
POINT OF VIEW A critic who refuses to die I have before me the latest issue of Mukalama, Karachi, and am going through the section devoted to a discussion on the late Mohammad Hasan Askari. Is it not significant that...		Re-building squash Complacency has brought Pakistan squash to a disaster. After ruling the world of squash for nearly two decades, courtesy the two Khans, Jehangir and Jansher, Pakistani players now have to play...
Wiping out migrating birds Every year, at the onset of winter, millions of migratory birds, from the cold north, move into warmer climates. In Pakistan too, a major population of migratory birds come from Russia,...		THROUGH THE COVERS: Houston proposal is a difficult task THE double-wicket tournament recently held in the American state of Houston is yet another indication of cricket going places. It all started, if I remember it right, with six-a-side competition in...
Shistoo pistoo kunkur Please don’t be mystified by this mystifying title, and be rest assured that the above words are neither a Dutch expletive, nor a Mandarin oath, nor even a Zulu battle-cry. A...		NEWSMAKER YET another high-profile dissident case was finally settled last week by the powerful but somewhat controversial Chinese judicial system....