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How the Saudi recession is hurting Pakistani labour
The reality encountered by Pakistani migrants searching for secure jobs in Saudi Arabia is often bitter.
HEALTH: WAKE UP CALL FOR CALL CENTRES
While businesses benefit from call centres by knowing what their customers want, call centre employees face workplace
MARTIAL ARTS: THE RECORD SMASHER
It is no mean feat to break more than two dozen world records. Martial artist Rashid Naseem has done it through sheer
HERITAGE: IF THESE RUINS COULD TALK
South of the Makli graveyard, the Kalan Kot fort has stood for centuries. Is it a legacy left behind by Feroz Shah
EXHIBITION: DRAWING PASSIONS
Shazia Qureshi and Danish Ahmed offer a conversation on freedom through two diverse bodies of work
ARTSPEAK: MAKING WAVES WITH RADIO
We spent many a late night turning the dial on the radio to catch beautiful sad music from Radio Moscow; afternoons...
SMOKERS’ CORNER: THE EVOLUTION OF MOHAJIR CONSCIOUSNESS
Was the MQM simply engineered by Gen Zia or was there more to its history?
EPICURIOUS: THE PAKISTANI BLACK FOREST
A German import that came to the subcontinent evolved into a Pakistani mainstay
ADVICE: AUNTIE AGNI
‘I am constantly fat-shamed’
GARDENING: OF THE BARNA AND THE BEES
Take a pick from numerous indigenous tree species to make your neighbourhood green
THE FUTURE OF KARACHI’S SADDAR
The recent ‘anti-encroachment’ drive in Karachi has resulted in the loss of over 200,000 jobs as well as threats to the
SOCIETY: THE CULT OF THE EARTH MOTHER
Khawaja Amran near Chaman promises fecundity to devotees like many other hilltop shrines through millennia
HERITAGE: AS KARACHI CONTINUES TO VANISH
Despite a multitude of art lovers in the city, Karachi’s architectural heritage is slowly disappearing
CHESS: CHECKMATED IN PAKISTAN
Despite a great deal of interest in the game of chess in the country and despite playing competitive chess since the
EDUCATION: THE VILLAGE SCHOOL MASTER
Ishaq Masih and his rural school are an exemplary model of community resilience
EXHIBITION: THE GARDEN OF DELIGHT
David Alesworth elevates the garden from a common amenity space to an area of public responsibility
EXHIBITION: FOLKLORE AND FANTASY
Dua Abbas Rizvi’s ‘fairy tales’ exude nostalgia and a desire to break free from norms
FICTION: SUBALTERN AFTERLIVES OF PARTITION
A new collection of Punjabi short stories provides an opening to explore how Partition has lived on as an active memory
COLUMN: SOCIAL MEDIA AND POWER
In my last column I explored what happens to the five senses in a digital age via a reading of Mohsin Hamid’s Exit...
NON-FICTION: THE LINES OF OTHERS
A nuanced detailing of the tragedies and ordinariness of daily life on the Line of Control is also political commentary
FICTION: DISSOLVING IDENTITIES
Reissued after 40 years, a memoir-like novel still seems fresh and emotive, but its brevity cannot do justice to its
COLUMN: GHALIB’S UNEXPLORED VISTAS
There are oceans of writing in Urdu and Persian that haven’t been translated into other languages. A slew of...
FICTION: THE UNSUBTLE, METAPHORIC EVERYWOMAN
Cecelia Ahern’s collection of short stories has a great deal of whimsy, but is often too predictable and heavy-handed
BOOKS IN BRIEF
M.A. Jinnah: The Outside View Muhammad Reza Kazimi The veteran historian, a retired professor of the University
FICTION: ‘MY SHATTERED REFLECTION’
An English translation of a one-of-its-kind novel from Bhopal, once dubbed one of the ‘best untranslated novels’ in the
THE ICON INTERVIEW: THE ENIGMA OF REEMA
From clothes to the choice of roles in films and television, her brand endorsements to her philanthropic work and
FOCUS: GOING FOR ORIGINALS
Saad Hayat wants to steer the music landscape away from the current obsession with cover songs
THE GRAPEVINE
BRAVO ALI AFTAB SAEED This man never ceases to surprise us. Ali Aftab Saeed has of late impressed all and sundry with
CINEMASCOPE: SEE NO EVIL
Bird Box is an allegory of a reality for many parents on this planet, with the rest too blind to see it
SCREEN: NONSENSE AND INSENSIBILITY
Sunny Deol stars in a film that doesn’t know which way is up
THE TUBE
THE WEEK THAT WAS Ab Dekh Khuda Kya Karta Hai | Geo TV, Tuesdays 8.00pm Finally the saga of two brothers —
SOUNDCHECK: THE SOUNDS OF 2019
Starting the year off with these new releases in Pakistani music
SPOTLIGHT: HEART, MIND AND SOUL
Behind the scenes at Asim Raza’s Paray Hut Love
FOCUS: THE OTHER RED BIRD
Debutant director Kamal Khan’s first feature-length film is all set to be released this year
THE GRAPEVINE
ANGELINA IN POLITICS Ever since news about Angelina Jolie intending to enter politics broke, tinsel town is abuzz with
CINEMASCOPE: A CONFUSION OF TONE
Is Vice a biopic of former US Vice-President Dick Cheney, a satire or a spoof? Director Adam McKay can’t seem to make up
SCREEN: GOOD COP, BAD COP
Rohit Shetty’s Simmba is formula-filmmaking at its finest
THE TUBE
THE WEEK THAT WAS Tajdeed-i-Wafa | Hum TV, Sundays 8.00pm Fifteen episodes down, the story takes a sharp twist
SOUNDSCAPE: DIARY OF SERENDIPITY
After her recent marriage, Zebunnissa aka Zeb Bangash retraces her long and winding journey in music — from Zeb & Haniya
SPOTLIGHT: THE YEAR IN ENTERTAINMENT
A look back at 2018’s stellar moments and its disastrous ones, its glitzy triumphs and its inane failures and, of course
STREAMING: BREADCRUMBS FOR CINEPHILES
An Amazon TV series starring Julia Roberts in the lead role, Homecoming is a visual homage to noir filmmakers
A safari in Bali
When you are exploring a new place, it is best to keep an open mind and soak in all that you see and experience. ...
Mailbox
Karachi, the biggest city of Pakistan, is facing numerous problems including chaotic traffic, electricity outages
Poet's Corner
Poet's Corner
Movie review: Mary Poppins Returns
For over 50 years, people waited for her return but Mary Poppins doesn’t drop uninvited. She came back to save the...
Wonder Craft: Snowman in a jar
With chilly weather still outside, let us make some snowmen today. No, not the actual snowman made from snow, but...
Spotlight
Fans can go to any lengths to get close to their idols as some K-pop fans recently did on in Hong Kong.
The weekly weird
At least ten toads were filmed riding on the back of a python, called Monty, in a man’s back garden. Paul Mock filmed
Story time: A hundred years later
A warm breeze whipped my hair and rustled my suit as I continued walking towards the main east hall. I had come back...