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Heritage vs globalization United Nations has declared 2002 as the Year for Cultural Heritage. In response to this proclamation, several programmes, projects and activities have been organized by the cultural...		Oppressed souls Domestic violence or harassment is a part of many households in Pakistan. And, it is the females who are usually at the receiving end in most cases of harassment....
Playing cards I just had my credit cards cancelled. All five of them! And I had to pay an insane amount of money to do it. But I’ve done it. I’m out of...		A dying vice-chancellor This note narrates the woes of a condemned vice-chancellor who is to die at the gallows for high treason. It did not happen long ago. It is a part of our...
Western diplomats play for safety The ranks of Western diplomats in the city are tending to thin down, and the visible consul-generals from the West are becoming too few, following their understandable security concerns. They don’t...		The innings of a lifetime Little did we realize as the two captains, Fazal Mahmood and Nari Contractor, went out to toss that this would be the last test match that the two countries would play...
The lost son It was 1943 and I was at Allahbad in British India. After finishing my FPSC exams, I had decided to go to Agra to meet my class-fellow, Salahuddin Ahmad, a second-lieutenant...		To marry or not to marry A close family friend of my parents, a proud bachelor past his middle age, recently announced that he has at last decided to get married. All his friends welcomed the brave...
Three-stage rigging With the filing of nomination papers for the national and provincial assemblies, one phase of the elections has been completed. But that hasn’t changed the atmosphere of allegations and clarifications. Leading...		Islamic cities—II An interesting debate regarding the issue of diversity or homogeneity of Islamic Architecture and urban form, took place between Dogan Kuban and Oleg Grabar. The occasion was the seminar proceedings of...
City of life The effect of every act of violence designed to dull Karachi’s glittering character, rubs off within hours and the city stands up again smiling. Its shine having acquired a brighter glow,...		‘Stop funding fascist Hindus!’ Hindu Americans keep away from fellow-Indian Shabnam Hashmi. They shun hearing tales of gore. Gujarat is too pesky a mention for these smooth-speaking dudes who sell ’secular’ India and its prime...
Clustered cities Planning and managing urbanization is one of the prime tasks of any government. Cities have rapidly bulged over the last few decades. Inadequate planning, lack of foresight and deviation from laid...		Mixed marriages When she met Adil, a young Pakistani from Karachi at her sister’s apartment, Zang Yi (now called Naheed), an energetic, table tennis champion from downtown Beijing never thought that her life...
The ineffectual angel Shelley exhaled verse as freely and naturally and freely as a flower exhales fragrance. He may not always have been the greatest of poets, but nevertheless, he was a poet. Rhythm...		Cognitive dissonance Most of us try to believe that we are reasonable, decent folks who make wise decisions, do not behave immorally, and have integrity. It is in between these kinds of behaviour...
CHAPTERS FROM HISTORY: The Muslim nationhood Several leaders, intellectuals and thinkers, from Sir Syed (d. 1898) down to Iqbal (d. 1938) had attempted to formulate a definitive statement on separate Muslim entity or nationhood, before Jinnah. But,...		POINT OF VIEW: A translator’s task can be exacting NEWS about Pakistanis coming from the US, Canada, England and the Gulf states, and highlighted in the literary pages of our daily press give us the impression that all those settled...
Trampling on players’ freedom When the protesting crowds of Paris asked for bread, the innocent Queen Antoinette replied, “Why don’t they eat cakes instead?” Perhaps this naive query of Queen Antoinette best epitomises how ICC...		THROUGH THE COVERS: ICC hardly has a case to fight WHAT fate has in store for the ICC Champions Trophy is not quite clear at the time of writing these lines. In simple words, it is a conflict of interests between...
Squash and our efforts In the not so distant past, Pakistani’s were considered rulers of the squash world. Jehangir Khan was its immortal king who was then replaced by Jansher Khan. However, even before Jansher’s...		It’s voting time again! “I said smile — you’re going to cast, and not cast away, your vote,” emphasized my good friend, the professor. A professor of what, that I could never know. “Cast is...
Diabetes in children: an emerging problem Diabetes is spreading across the world in epidemic proportions. World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that the people with diabetes, which numbered 150 million in 1995, would double to 300 million...		NEWSMAKER IMAGES of visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Dr Abdullah Abdullah embraced in a warm handshake with President General Pervez Musharraf made it to the front pages of almost all sections of the national print media....