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Journey of the heroine IN critics’ opinion, the journey of the ‘heroine’ in world literature begins from biblical times. Biblical figures such as Eve, Virgin Mary, Esther, Ruth and Jezebel were the first ones to be depicted as heroines....		Women: meek or misunderstood? OUR state-run TV channel and private television channels have one thing in common: all of them show stereotyped images of women....
Death of an old lion THE old lion was lying static on his bed. His eyes were closed. Except for occasional gasping no limb of his moved. A lad in his early teens was sitting on a wooden stool near his bed. His eyes were fixed on the old lion. He appeared worried and perturbed....		A shameful practice RECENTLY, HSC and SSC examinations were held at various educational institutions of Karachi....
Between black and white THERE are certain questions that spring to my mind regarding quite a few TV advertisements of bleach creams. Do they speak the truth? Do these creams and lotions really change the...		Alternate dispute resolution ALL of us want to take part in decisions that affect our daily lives. When a conflict takes place at a government office or among family members, people try to reach...
NET-CLIP: Cell-savvy vs cell-bores IT was very quiet inside the seminar room where the lecture was taking place. As the speaker went on with his speech, the serene environment was suddenly interrupted with the ringing...		Beware, dam-makers DAMS are built to control floods, to store water for hydropower, supply for agriculture, industry and drinking purposes. However, they are not all that good. Many questions have come to the surface regarding the seemingly good image of dams....
Believing in the system With the departure, last week of Dr Shazia Khalid, who was raped in the remote Balochistan town of Sui, to the United Kingdom, a stark reality is one again facing the...		The place to be SURROUNDED by sea and set in an archipelago, the capital of Finland, Helsinki offers you an exciting city vacation in beautiful surroundings, a diverse cultural life, architectural gems and quality shopping opportunities....
Women power CREATIVE, innovative, productive, committed, talented, artistic, dedicated, emancipated superlatives and adjectives seemed insufficient to describe the high profile women, present under one roof at the opening of the International Conference on...		Asthma via a changed lifestyle COOKIES, colas and candies, once considered special treats by some and looked down by other as reeking of western influences, are now becoming everyday snacks, replacing fresh and dry fruits....
HOT SEAT It is the love of music that has engaged the famous musicologist, S.M. Shahid, in an effort to preserve and chronicle the music of the subcontinent. At the same time he...		Urdu ghazal as poetry and song THE Muslim tradition of writing and singing Urdu poetry in South Asia reached its peak with the decline and fragmentation of the Mughal Empire into petty principalities, the best-known of which was the statelet of Avadh, with its capital at Faizabad, and later Lakhnau....
CHAPTER FROM HISTORY: Remembering a leader ON April 4, 1979, the first democratically elected leader of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, fell prey to dictatorship and lost his life. Bhutto, also known as the Quaid-i-Awam (leader of the...		POINT OF VIEW: Giants of Urdu literature A TRICKY question: which are the poets that deserve to be counted as the ‘greats of Urdu poetry’? The recently held Urdu Conference at Islamabad made the query a bit...
A memorable encounter When a man of the match award is announced, it is almost mandatory to preface the prize giving with the usual cliche that it was a very exciting and closely contested decision....		An exciting series THE recently concluded Test series between the arch rivals, with its twists and turns, ended on a very high note for the Pakistanis. After going, one down, in the second Test...
THROUGH THE COVERS: A Test victory at long last AT last a Test victory for Pakistan! It could not have come at a better time and under happier circumstances. Against India, in India; nothing beats that combination. It was emphatic,...		‘Unity, faith, discipline’ for whom? GENERAL Pervez Musharraf’s latest overdrive to his people is to follow their Quaid’s golden rule of unity, faith and discipline....
Gone haywire With reference to the article Gone haywire (March 13), it’s true that sometimes people misguide you and in the end, you suffer a financial or some other material loss. But I...		NEWSMAKER Everyone of any consequence takes advantage of their positions at one time or the other. And as long as they are on the right side of the forces that matter, nobody bothers about it. But once the winds change, so do their fortunes and the skeletons start peeking out from the cupboards....