AFTER an exhausting day at the hospital, Dr Shaista Effendi relaxes by listening to light music. Although her taste in music is varied so that she enjoys Frank Sinatra just as much as she appreciates Michael Jackson and Nusrat Fateh Ali, she prefers to listen to instrumentals rather than vocals.
Says the doctor, “I enjoy orchestral music, and am particularly fond of the sounds of tabla and shehnai. I’m equally into Jazz and Soul, and mostly listen to music when driving or reading.”
However, Effendi also enjoys songs sung by old timers, such as the Bee Gees. Although she has no favourite songs as such, Effendi claims that there are many Pakistani ghazal singers such as Nayyara Noor, Asad Amanat Ali, Hamid Ali and Malika Pukhraj whose renditions she finds very soothing.
Among the Indian singers, the surgeon likes to listen to Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle, and says she enjoys their remixes as well.
Effendi claims that she watches an English movie in its entirety only if it grabs her attention. These days, she avoids watching them at home because of the “frightful” language. She rues: “There’s no family viewing anymore.” Hence, it is not surprising that Effendi’s favourite movies include some kiddy ones like Dr Dolittle, which she can watch with her children, and finds “spectacular”. In fact, Walt Disney films still rank among her pet movies and one of her all-time favourites is Swiss Family Robinson. She also counts Wuthering Heights as one of the movies she thoroughly enjoyed viewing. Among the relatively recent productions, she rates Braveheart and Primary Colours highly. About the latter, the plastic surgeon claims, “It left a profound impact on my mind.”
Although Effendi doesn’t watch Pakistani movies anymore, she remembers the time when she used to go for the “first day, first show” at the Drive-In Cinema. Her one-time favourite was Umrao Jan Ada. As for Indian movies, Effendi claims they put her to sleep. She laughs, “I begin to dose off if I have to watch them at a stretch. I can only see them a bit at a time. That’s how I saw Amitabh’s latest film, Baghban.” She concedes the film “had a lot to offer.” She also recalls the classic Palki starring Meena Kumari as a great film.
The doctor enjoys musicals as well and claims, “The Royal College of Surgeons, where I was studying, was right across the theatre district in London, so every weekend we used to watch shows and plays. My favourites include Cats and The King and I.
Shaista Effendi has been an avid reader since childhood. While Enid Blyton, Danielle Steele and Emily Bronte used to rank among her favourite writers once, she has over the years acquired a taste for many different kinds of writings. “Lately, I have been enjoying reading the Holy Quran and its various translations.”
She also enjoys Z.H. Lari’s political pieces and Yasmeen Lari’s books on architecture. Shaista is as fond of light reading in the form of Mushtaq Yusafi’s works and Ismat Chugtai’s novels, which she feels keep the mind diverted, as she is of biographies and historical books, particularly those on Pakistan’s history. Says Effendi, “I like to read books that improve my general knowledge and often pick up law books and political analysis to read. I also enjoy fiction, and my favourite writers include Sidney Sheldon, Jeffrey Archer and Tom Clancy. I am one of those people who must constantly be doing something. I can’t sit idle. If I don’t have anything to do, I’ll read anything I can get hold of, be it a Home & Garden magazine.”
AFTER an exhausting day at the hospital, Dr Shaista Effendi relaxes by listening to light music. Although her taste in music is varied so that she enjoys Frank Sinatra just as much as she appreciates Michael Jackson and Nusrat Fateh Ali, she prefers to listen to instrumentals rather than vocals.
