June 7, 2003

An authentic cultural experience

There is always something special at Park Towers Shopping Mall. This time they arranged Mehran Festival from May 23 to June 1, 2003 to project the rich cultural tradition of Sindh highlighting its music, art and fashion. Secretary Information, Government of Sindh, Mehtab Akbar Rashdi inaugurated the festival on May 24, 2003. A special folk dance was also performed to pay tribute to the rich music of the province.

The festival was divided into distinct areas each highlighting a unique aspect of the province. The whole Mall was decorated with Ajrak, Sindhi accessories and balloons. Various activities were conducted inside and outside the Mall to portray Sindh’s rich cultural heritage.

Craftsmen sitting in a hut displayed the art of turning clay into articles of utility and objects of art. Beautiful glazed and unglazed pottery goblets, vases, dishes, boxes, tea sets, long necked decanters, etc. were produced and exhibited by the craftsmen. Kids also tried their hand at making articles from clay. Beside this, village women showed their skills at weaving cloth with beautiful and colourful Sindhi embroidery at the exhibition. Handbags, bed sheets, candles, chadars, susi clothes were appreciated a great deal by visitors.

Woodwork displayed in the Atrium was also a treat for the eyes. Each piece was exquisite in design and workmanship. An ardent buyer could choose from a variety of unique items including village jhoolas, chair, sofa sets and other woodworks. Other stalls of Sindhi sweets and sindhi dresses also took the crowd by storm.

In connection with the Mehran festival, a fashion show for kids was also arranged on Sunday, May 25. Students from various renowned schools of Karachi including Army Public School, D.A. Degree School, DHA Model School Phase IV, St. Josephs Convent, The Educational Centre and Clifton Grammar School participated. Visitors enjoyed the breathtaking performance by kids. Children performed on traditional Sindhi songs. A special theme song Ho Jamalo was performed by DHA School as a tribute to the rich music of the province.

Besides these, a variety of Sindhi cuisine were served at the Food Court. Lucky draws were conducted on a daily basis, the final draw was held on June, 1, when this authentic cultural experience came to an end.

A christmas carol

The Lahore American School captured the spirit of Christmas in May by taking Charles Dickens classic novel, A Christmas Carol, to stage. Performed brilliantly by the 7th graders, Dickens’ Christmas Carol sounded quite different in the Americanized accent of the students. Their confidence on stage could easily be compared to the experience of veteran stage performers.

Unlike the local theatre of Lahore, the Lahore American School’s multi-tiered hall had a technically superb audio system, which was not brutal to the audiences’ sensitive ear-drums. Coupled with that were stage props, making it difficult to imagine that A Christmas Carol was, after all, a performance by young school children. In playing the lead role of the tight-fisted, misanthropic, Ebenezer Scrooge, Ali Dahir showed remarkable acting skills, speaking out his lines without a single nervous moment. The ease with which he carried his character showed no signs, if any, of stage fright.

The American School had obviously put in a lot of effort to turn it around from being simply an amateur production. Even the costumes, designed by Saira Qizilbash and the light and sound management by Umer Butt, showed how the school had taken the production of A Christmas Carol seriously.

Since its first publication in 1843, A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens has been taken to the stage, television and movie screen worldwide. But one of the reasons why it resounded successfully with readers and audiences alike was the author’s natural ability to present a story about the condition and misery of human beings at Christmas time — a time of showing compassion and consideration. Besides emphasizing the humanistic values of Christmas, the novel paints a deplorable condition of England of the mid-nineteenth century.

Like many other works of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol revolves around the stinginess of one character capable of putting people out of their misery and grief, but not having the will to do so. Ebenezer Scrooge is one such character in this book that is indifferent to a festive occasion like Christmas and is neither bothered about what people think of him. His life’s foremost concern is to accumulate wealth, be it fair or foul is something he has never allowed to weigh on his conscience. A Christmas Carol is a reawakening of Ebenezer Scrooge’s soul to his past, present and future, giving him a chance to revisit his life, to change it and to become a better human being. In Scrooge and the spirits that visit him, Dickens tries to highlight the importance of human association, taking a new meaning if backed by a generous character.

Charles Dickens story of A Christmas Carol is a kind of fable, not only about nineteenth century Londoners, but about the world as a family that is responsible for creating its own evil and goodness. The author’s narration might be dark and dreary, but it concludes with a silver lining. Shehar Bano Khan

Belt promotion test

The United Taekwondo Academy held the 17th Belt Promotion test recently at the Jahangir Khan Squash and Fitness Centre, Karachi.

The event was organized under the supervision of Chairman UTA Master Khalil Jibran, President Laique Sultan and General Secretary Ashfaq Ahmad and executive members.

Around 70 students participated in the test and were promoted to a higher level after performing well in different categories. Some of the students managed to achieve a double promotion as well, whereas others received shields for best discipline, best performance, best student, highest attendance and other categories.

The chairman and the president of UTA distributed awards amongst the successful members of the academy and appreciated the organization’s efforts.

The academy instructors who supervised the event included Shaikh Imran Sarwar, Jawed Khalid, Junaid Khalid, Farhan Yousuf Thanvi, Mohammad Ali, Noor Mohammad, Abdal Hassan Kasi and Jamshed Butt. M. Iqbal

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