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The canvas of life Before my marriage, I saw a very strange dream. I saw that I was holding a brush and playing with colours, drawing a beautiful landscape. At that moment, my grandmother, a...		US unilateralism over time What is wantonly happening in the international arena for the last 11 years (1991-2002) is almost unprecedented in the annals of known history....
Invisible window Pursh was constantly looking at the awfully bare wall of his small cubicle. I watched him helplessly. We are half-brothers. It was after ages that I was allowed to see him...		Of country clubs and golf games With the city getting more and more congested, some drive out to the Arabian Sea Country Club during weekends. Of course, you have to be affluent or be their friends to...
Leading a double life I was by now thoroughly absorbed in my work in PIA and had been transformed from a cricket-person to an airline-person. Even the news that Justice A.R. Cornelius had been replaced...		Is fashion convention? The horizontal stratification of the pyramid called society has resulted in people who want to be at the top of it, resorting to fashion. They seem to forget that when they...
LAHORE & BEYOND: The night of kites Not even a master mathematician could have counted the kites in the sky on Basant night in Lahore, as they outnumbered and overshadowed even the stars. The sky was clear blue,...		There’s no need to surrender! THERE happened to be a serious crisis in the family of Humera, who was in her early 20s with a Masters degree to her name. Her parents were not prepared to...
Cairo: a voyage of discovery Labyrinthian structures stacked upon each other. Curving streets running off endlessly into tangential stretches. Open vistas, greens spaces, mini-parks set untidily amidst the tangled network of humming roads. A wide main...		Pearl of the Gulf BAHRAIN is a country with a rich history and a very progressive vision for the future. It is an intensely Islamic nation, which is also very proud of its ancient past...
His legacy shows the way Neither the vagaries of the inclement weather nor the hardships of the vast, inhospitable continent could dampen the free spirit of the European settlers who made America their home in the...		Comforting the bereaved WHY one mourns or laments the death of a near and dear one with such overpowering feelings as to make him or her shed tears for a long time to come...
Alpha Bravo Charlie IT was a beautiful subtropical winter’s morning. We were cruising westwards at about 8,000 feet. In a few minutes we would be beginning our Instrument Approach to land on Runway 09...		Theatre of the absurd The term ‘theatre of the absurd’ was first used by Martin Assilin, who defined absurdity as something which refers to the futility of existence and preposterousness of man in this immense...
Muslim politics just before ’47 History is not only a record of events, but also an account of causes and motives. Pakistani readers and even writers are adept in ignoring the weaknesses of their mentors and...		Melody of Firaq The credit for projecting Firaq’s significance as a poet for the first time goes to Niaz Fatehpuri, although I have never been able to understand why Niaz rather highlighted ‘UP ka’...
POINT OF VIEW: Bittersweet basant memories AMIDST the Basant festivities, I feel sad to rememberer those of my friends and contemporaries who have lately passed away in quick succession. In fact, prior to the Basant season, we...		The fate of our women gymnasts In Pakistan, where men overwhelmingly dominate every fillip of life, the emergence of women from rural areas as gymnasts, otherwise normally ignored in sports, came as a welcome surprise when Marium...
THROUGH THE COVERS: A bad start, but miles yet to go THESE are early days at the World Cup in South Africa, but there have already been a few sparkles on and off the field. The Shane Warne incident was as explosive,...		DIFFERENT STROKES: PM’s package will change things WHILE the result of the National Hockey Championship came as no surprise, for a WAPDA victory was always on the cards, the great news came in the package that was announced...
Badly needed public toilets Recent press reports have drawn attention of the City Government to the lack of public toilets in shopping areas and other public places frequently visited by families, particularly by women and...		NEWSMAKER SHANE Warne truly has the knack of picking up the spotlight both on and off the field. If that needed any proof, it was duly delivered within a day of the start of the World Cup, which he had already announced was to be his last appearance in the One Day version of the game....