AN UNSUNG HERO, WHO SUNG FOR MANY...

By Mahtab Bashir
mahtabbashir@gmail.com
Islamabad

Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee...?-John Donne

Folk and classical music survives in Pakistan but at a very heavy price. Musicians and singers live in most difficult times. The state institutions that are meant to promote art and culture ignore them. The art councils and other such institutions remain indifferent to the issues of artistes. Many artistes have passed away in abject poverty while others live in conditions that are not fit for an artiste who is protecting our rich cultural heritage. Some of these artistes survive by performing across the globe in different festivals and concerts. Few are not honoured in their native land but win accolades for Pakistan in other countries, and few goes out of the scene without being noticed.

Few days ago, I chanced to visit Lok Virsa (my ex-office, where I spend 3 years working on a project named “Pakistan Monument” as Reserch Associate and Sub-Editor), for an official assignment covering ‘Wakhi Festival’ organised by Lok Virsa.

I stayed there in front of Heritage Museum’s gate, where youth were enjoying with traditional dances, on the tunes of melodious native songs of all 5 provinces. Being a frank person and initiator of breaking the silence, I went closer to the artists trio, who were singing - and found that none of the troika members is the same I left at Lok Virsa- two years ago.

I asked one of the member, “Tuwada tay sara group e change ho gia ay- Kithay gay nay puranay log saraay,” and he responded with a sarcastic smile. “O aik patla jia banda hunda si, Chimta wajandaa si, nazar nai aa ria aaj,” I made another question. “O- mastana ustad? O saab gi … ohnu tay faot hoyay poora saal ho chalia aay”, the man wearing Sindhi Cape, not only broke the silence but broke my heart in a one go. “Hein… o yar o Patla jia banda- dhooti panda si- mera khyal ay tusi koi hor samjh raay o, I said with the hope that the diseased is not the one, I’m asking for. “O aho saab gi, may samjh gia waan, o tay saal pehlay faot ho gi si, balkay aithay daftar which e hoya si, os din ohdi tabiyat bohat khraab si, asi tay bohat akhiya, jao baba, aram kar ja kay, par o nahi gia. Sham nu ohnay cholay tay chawal khaaday san, ohday naal ohnu badhazmi ho gai,” he kept on to narrate the whole story. “Fair thori deir bad ohno dil da attack hoya tay, mokay tay ee chala gia wacharaa, tay aay apni nishani chadd gia aay saday kol,” he said pointing to Chimtaa lying beside him. “Inna Lillahi Wainna Ilahi Rajioon, bohat afsos hoya ay gi. Saday naal tay ohdi bari yaari si. May aithay takriban 3 saal kam kita ay, tay khoob gap shup hundi si sadi- may to ohnu Hamid Ali Bela keh kay cherna saan, tay o bara khush hunda si. Allah Bakhsay,” I said. “Bus g, Rab da hokum- 4 bachay nay ohday, Cosmos walay ohday ghar paisy bhej rahay nay, 4-5 hazaar,” the man in shabby shalwar Qameez said.

Khadim Hussain was one such icon (icon for me), who will long be remembered for his mellifluous vocals and skillfully handling of “Chimta” that soothed the spirit of listeners sitting on furniture at the wide courtyard of Lok Virsa (Heritage Museum) where his voice with the amalgam of Chimta give me the delight of Alam Lohar and Hamid Ali Bela at one go.

I remember, whenever I finished off my officially work, I ran immediately out of the office, that was just adjacent to the space, this three member group engrossed in singing folksongs and ghazals, sometimes by demand of visitors, sometime by their own. And I always used to request skinny Khadim for “MAA-AIN NI MAY KINNU AKHAAN- DARD WICHORAY DA HAAL NII”... and he kept on singining with the fusion of Chimtaa.

Born and hailed in Faisalabad, Khadim joined Lok Virsa in 2004 before working for Capital Development Authority (CDA) for quite some time. Khadim left 4 children behind him to mourn over his death. May God bless his soul in eternal peace & give his remnants peace of mind. (RIP).

Mahtab Bashir

mahtabbashir@yahoo.com

Islamabad

03335363248

A HANDSHAKE, NOT A FISTFIGHT

By Syed Talat Hussain

Pakistan’s security establishment should have no problem in coexisting with a president who co-chairs the country's largest political party. They must admit that losing political calm in these crucial years is not an option

‘Coup’ is the most popular four-letter word in Pakistan these days. It is on everyone’s lips. An outright military takeover, a sudden political change, ouster of President Asif Ali Zardari, formation of a national government – all sorts of scenarios are being debated in all four corners of Pakistan. It is almost as if a military-backed change has become an inevitable, imagined reality. The only question that remains is its shape and form.

Seemingly what has triggered this flight of analytical imagination is the Supreme Court’s verdict against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). But at a deeper level, the issue is not about 17 judges’ judicial slant against a sitting government – the allegation that is so rife in the PPP’s inner circles. It is about a complete breakdown of trust between Pakistan’s powerful military and intelligence establishment and President Asif Ali Zardari.

The history of this mistrust is well known. It is born of the peculiar circumstances that threw up Mr Zardari as an accidental choice for the highest office in Pakistan. While the election of the president was beyond reproach and procedurally correct, concerns were common in the military establishment about Mr Zardari’s competence and qualification for the job. These in part related to his inglorious record, and in part his exceptional closeness to the American power brokers – something he did not hide, and in fact wore on his chest as a badge of honour.

But these objections were put aside under the pall of Benazir Bhutto’s murder. The single most important reason why Mr Zardari waded through the thicket of the establishment’s objections to his candidature was the feeling that this should pacify Sindh. The other reason was the assumption that Mr Zardari would not punch above his weight while in power. At that time there was little to suggest that Zardari would shake off his docility and transmute himself into a power centre dictating policy on national security matters such as nuclear weapons, India and even Afghanistan.

These assumptions were proven wrong. The first few months of Zardari presidency were defined by a monumental effort on his part to take charge and become the sole arbiter of the country’s fate. Like his predecessor, General Pervez Musharraf, he attempted to become Pakistan’s only window to the world, not realising that Pakistan’s geographical situation had become far more complex than to allow any one individual or institution to be in the driving seat of power. The gap between him and the military establishment grew wider. No effort was undertaken to mend the fences and create functional communication with the generals he constitutionally commanded but seldom called to find out how they looked at the country’s situation.

Failing to grab the reigns of complete power, President Zardari swung to the other extreme. He completely vacated the field of strategic policy-making. Now the situation is that while official appearances are kept, there is no love lost between the army as an institution and President Zardari as the head of the state. This dysfunctional relationship looks more ominous now that the Supreme Court of Pakistan considerably whittled down the constitutional protection available to President Zardari against criminal investigation. Jurists are debating the finer points of the apex court’s direction to the ‘federal government and other concerned authorities’ to restart mutual legal assistance proceedings in cases abroad, including Switzerland. There is little disagreement over the message of this directive: cases of kickbacks and money laundering against President Zardari are no longer taboo. These, like thousands of other proceedings in cases of corruption and other heinous crime, are to be revived.

A controversial president, mired in a deep personal crisis of credibility and consumed by the passion to hold on to what he believes is his right – i.e. a five-year term in office – is in charge of a country that is in the eye of the storm of a peaking global war against terror. This is where domestic politics becomes an extension of defence and foreign policy. In the coming days, the outcome of this mounting internal turmoil would be defined by the stresses of the war against terrorists at home, and the anticipated backlash of enhanced international operations in Afghanistan, some of which are bound to spill into Pakistani territory.

But therein lies the opportunity for President Zardari to save the day for himself. Pakistan cannot be internally unstable at a time when its borders are becoming hot. The US war being lead by Obama is as much about Afghanistan as it is about Pakistan. And if you hear Obama’s civilian and military lieutenants, it is more about Pakistan than about Afghanistan. Speaking before the Council on Foreign Relations, Richard C Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, was typically blunt about the cause of and the purpose of this war.

“It is obviously true that the people who did the [9/11] attack were driven east into Pakistan, and that is why we now talk about Afghanistan and Pakistan as an interrelated situation. And I will state right upfront that success in one country requires success in both. We will not be able to succeed in Afghanistan unless our Pakistan policy is equally successful. While the [US] troops are in Afghanistan, the hard core of our core enemy is next door,” said Holbrooke.

This means that Pakistan’s security establishment’s first preference would be not to lose domestic ground to political agitation and friction. There are only so many wars the Pakistan Army can fight; and those fought internally never produce clear winners and losers. Pakistan’s security establishment should have no problem in coexisting with a president who co-chairs the country’s largest political party. They must admit that losing political calm in these crucial years is not an option.

At the same time, President Zardari should also carefully examine the state the country is in and make a businessman-like assessment of the options before him. Fake heroism borrowed from quotations sells well in party meetings. It has no place in level-headed politics. While his party seeks another crown of political martyrdom by playing the NRO victim, the fact is that Asif Ali Zardari has been a disappointment. But he can still hang in there if he changes the way he functions and what he brings to the presidency. If he is willing to do this much, it would not be a bad idea to have a meeting with his army chief to work out what can best be done to arrest this dangerous domestic drift.

The writer is a leading Pakistani 'Serious' journalist

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\12\24\story_24-12-2009_pg3_2

Courtesy DAILY TIMES

Dec 24, 2009

"EK DAFA VO YAD HAI TUMKO... bin batti jab cycle ka chalan hua tha ......."

A PAGE OF MY DIARY

By Mahtab Bashir
mahtabbashir@gmail.com
Islamabad

This melodious and very romantic yet nostalgic song from a movie called Ijaazat, written by Gulzar and beautifully sung by Asha Bhonsle is probably one of my all time favourite.

Mera kuch Samaan tumharay pas pada hay
Sawan kay kuch bheegay- bhegay din rakhay hein
Aur meray ik khat may lipti raakh padi hay
Vo raakh bhujaa do, mera vo samaan laota do

Ek dafa vo yaad hai tumko
Bin batti jab cycle ka chalan hua tha
Tumnay kaisy- nangay, becharon si acting ki thi
Hawaldaar ny ulta ik athanni dekar bhej diya tha
Ik chawanni meri thi, vo bhijwa do ...

116 Chand ki ratein, ik tumharay kadhay ka til
Gili mehndi ki khushbu, kuch Jhoot-moot ky shikway
Kuch jhoot moot ky waday bhi kuch yaad dila do
Mera vo samaan laota do .......

I have always been a fan of Gulzar’s poetry –ethereal, earthy and poignant. Particularly, in this song, he makes the pain of the lover come alive with his words, as a listener you cannot help but empathize with her. This song has a very nostalgic quality to it; it just transfers you into that 70s era. It is just the kind of song that you would want to listen to in a mushy, rainy day; while sipping tea and thinking about all the things you have lost.

Here are the lyrics to one of the most beautiful renditions of Asha Bhosle, of all times. I can listen to it again and again for n number of times.

Mera Kuch Saamaan Tumhare Paas Pada Hai
O O O ! Saavan Ke Kuch Bheege Bheege Din Rakhe Hain
Aur Mere Ik Khat Main Lipti Raat Padi Hai
Vo Raat Bhulaa Do, Mera Vo Saamaan Lauta Do
Mera Kuch Saamaan Tumhaare Paas Pada Hai

Patjhad Hai Kuch ... Hai Na?
O! Patjhas Main Kuch Patton Ke Girne Kee Aahat
Kaanon Main Ek Baar Pahan Ke Laut Aai Thee
Patajhad Kee Vo Saakh Abhi Tak Kaanp Rahi Hai
Vo Saakh Gira Do, Mera Vo Saamaan Lauta Do

Ek Akeli Chhataree Main Jab Aadhe Aadhe Bheeg Rahe Thee A
adhe Sookhy Aadhe Geele, Sukha To Main Le Aaye Thee
Geela Mann Shayad Bistar Ke Paas Pada Ho
Vo Bhijwa Do, Mera Vo Saamaan Lauta Do

116 Chaand Ki Ratain Ek Tumhare Kaandhe Ka Til
Geeli Mahendi Ki Khushbu, Jhoot Mooth Ke Shikwe Kuch
Jhooth Mooth Ke Wady Sab Yaad Karaa Do
Sab Bhijwa Do, Mera Vo Saamaan Lauta Do

Ek Ijaazat De Do Bas, Jab Isko Dafanaaungee
Main Bhi Vaheen So Jaungee
Main Bhi Vaheen So Jaungee …….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mjFCidDpcY

And ... today, when I listen to this song, I think of a crazy, effervescent and young Mahtab in me- madly hovering the cities of Lahore, and once Multan and a visit to The Lahore Fort, Badshahi Mosque, Iqbal’s tomb, Anarkali Bazaar, Fortress Stadium, clicking snapshots, Ice Cream, drops of rains, hot tea, waiting room of Daewoo Bus Terminals, warmth, cozy evenings, travelling and shopping all over, long walk along the roads, Asha Bhosle’s voice, the depth in the lyrics, pain which is sweet, … and everything romantic and beautiful slowly but surely haunts me head over heal!

MAHTAB BASHIR
03335363248
mahtabbashir@gmail.com

ISLAMABAD

HOW TO … BRUSH YOUR TEETH PROPERLY

"I am as old as my Eyes and Nose & a little older than my Teeth."

Most of us think we do a good job cleaning our teeth. But dentist Dr Phil Stemmer says many people don't, with 'potentially fatal consequences'.

'The state of our teeth affects the rest of the body, as bacteria there can get into the blood stream,' he says.

Bad oral hygiene has been linked to a range of serious health problems including heart disease and stroke.

Here, Dr Stemmer explains the proper way to clean your teeth:

* Choose a toothbrush with a small rounded head to get into all corners of the mouth without bashing your gums (which can trigger an ulcer). Make sure it's a medium bristle variety - any harder runs the risk of damaging the enamel.

* Don't brush your teeth straight after eating, especially after acidic foods such as citrus fruits, as the tooth enamel will have been weakened by the acid and you'll just brush it away. Either brush before breakfast - this helps to prevent dental erosion by coating the teeth with fluoride - or clean at least an hour after eating so that enamel will have hardened.

* Brush in short round movements moving across the teeth. Don't saw - running the brush backwards and forwards across the teeth - as this can wear away the gum. Make sure you include the margin between the teeth and the gums.

* Take two minutes to brush teeth to guarantee removing the plaque.

* Choose a toothpaste with fluoride, as this protects teeth against decay. However this doesn't mean fluoride-free varieties are ineffective. 'Efficient brushing, regardless of the toothpaste type, is vital to protect against gum disease. You can keep the gums healthy, even if your toothpaste doesn't contain fluoride.'

* Whitening toothpastes cannot lighten the teeth, they can only remove existing stains.

Courtesy MAIL

‘Dissident’ ulema rushed to hospital after eating 'toxic' Halwa

Hum Maulvi hein, Khaaty hein Din Raat Halwa

Bahaar ho kay Khizaan, La Ilaha Illallah

By Mahtab Bashir

ISLAMABAD: Dec 18, Nine clerics were hospitalised on Thursday after they ate ‘poisoned’ halwa.

According to details, some clerics decided to boycott the Ulema and Mashaikh Conference, saying they did not endorse the government’s stance on terrorism, jihad, drone attacks and the Taliban.

They had gathered at Abdul Ghafoor Haideri’s residence to discuss the conference. The guests were served the halwa when Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Mufti Muneebur

Rehman reached Haideri’s residence to take the “dissidents” into confidence over the draft declaration.

All of them immediately fell sick, however, Mufti Muneeb left the premises and fell unconscious when he reached the conference.

Meanwhile, according to hospital sources, the clerics are said to be in stable condition. Published in Daily Times, Dec 18, 2009

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\12\18\story_18-12-2009_pg1_10

GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF AN ENDURING APPEAL

PARIS: From the country that gave the world Brigitte Bardot and topless sunbathing comes a fresh expose of the human anatomy: man's enduring fascination with bottoms.

Large or small, pert or flabby, we've all got them, yet, since the dawn of time, buttocks have been seen variously as a source of inspiration and erotic desire, a taboo and a mocking V-sign at authority.

Now two journalists from France -- where else? -- want to get to the bottom of why the derriere casts such a spell and why it should be celebrated rather more than it is.

"If we looked at buttocks more," says Allan Rothschild, co-author of a new book called "The Hidden Side of the Bottom," "if we caressed them more, and if we made more drawings of buttocks, the world would probably be a better place than it is today."

While it's fair to say that caressing backsides seems unlikely to catch on as a driver for world peace, Rothschild and Caroline Pochon say the unassuming rear is getting a bum deal and deserves more attention.

As well as their book, they're also behind a television documentary on the Franco-German television Arte giving scientists, psychoanalysts, writers and artists their chance to wax lyrical on the subject.

It's all to a backdrop of depictions of the posterior through history, from stern ancient Greek sculptures to risque film extracts, posters, songs, poems and paintings.

"The attraction we have for buttocks is completely universal," Pochon told AFP.

"The notion of desire that's focused on that body part has been incarnated in every era and every culture."

It's a serious business, this study of the rump, taking in everything from art to spanking, physiology to gay porn.

An art historian compares Gustave Courbet's portrayal of the humble bottom to Rubens' well-proportioned women, while a French social scientist notes that the muscle that enables us to clench our buttocks is one of the most powerful in the body and helped allow Man to walk.

The documentary also relates the story of the so-called Venus Hottentot, a woman with unusually large buttocks and genitals who was working as a slave in Cape Town in the early 1800s when she was taken to Britain and then France.

There she was exhibited as a freak and, when the public tired of the show, was declared by scientists to be proof of their theory of the inferiority of certain races.

At first, Pochon and Rothschild were looking only to explain the obsession with the female behind. But they quickly found out men have a lot to offer as well, combining strength and vulnerability.

Rothschild says that a man's hindquarters "can be pretty, can sometimes be muscular and sometimes a bit flabby," and insists "it's a buttock that must be defended, must be shown, and that merits attention."

So they looked also at depictions of the male behind from Michelangelo -- who gave buttocks "a maximum of sexual and philosophical intensity," according to art historian Xavier Girard -- to 21st century gay culture via more than a passing reference to sodomy.

The bottom has also been cheekily utilised as a symbol of defiance against the established order of the day through mooning, or baring one's rear.

"It's a very political gesture to show your bum," noted Pochon, adding that "at demonstrations, you often see people pull down their trousers."

Quite. It may not have had much basis in historical truth, but Mel Gibson's ragtag army of Scots lifting their kilts in front of the wicked English was a highlight of his "Braveheart" epic.

It was the 19th century which accentuated the female bottom more than ever via the corset and its strangled waistline, said Philippe Comar, professor of morphology at the School of Fine Arts in Paris.

He said that century was the most sexist and misogynistic of all. "It's not surprising feminist movements sprang up at that time."

Courtesy AFP

BREAKING UP HURTS just like PHYSICAL PAIN

AFTER A MONTH... OF SPLIT!

Love really does hurt, according to scientists, who found that breaking up can cause physical pain. Researchers discovered a genetic link between physical pain and social rejection.

Muhabbat Mukhtasar bhi ho
To usko Bhool janay may
Umr sari beet jati hay!

Psychologists at the University of California in Los Angeles have discovered that the human body deals with emotional stress in exactly the same way that it reacts to physical pain - by releasing a natural painkiller.

Believe their findings suggest that the experience felt by people is the same regardless of whether their body is injured.

The researchers measured levels of a gene used by the body to regulating the painkillers.

Researchers collected saliva samples from 122 participants to assess which form of the OPRM1 pain gene they had and then measured how they reacted to different senarios.

First, participants completed a survey that measured their own sensitivity to rejection. They were asked, for example, how much they agreed or disagreed with statements like "I am very sensitive to any signs that a person might not want to talk to me."

Then the emotions of 31 people among the group were tested when they were excluded during a virtual ball-tossing computer game.

Prof Naomi Eisenberger, the study co-author, said this overlap of physical and social pain makes perfect sense.

She said: "Because social connection is so important, feeling literally hurt by not having social connections may be an adaptive way to make sure we keep them.

"Over the course of evolution, the social attachment system, which ensures social connection, may have actually borrowed some of the mechanisms of the pain system to maintain social connections."

The same portion of the brain that is responsible for the response to physical pain became activated as a result of social rejection, suggesting that, to our brains, emotions really can “hurt.”

Their study also indicates that a variation in the "pain gene" is related to how sensitive a person is to social rejection.

Prof Eisenberger said: "Individuals with the rare form of the pain gene, who were shown in previous work to be more sensitive to physical pain, also reported higher levels of rejection sensitivity and showed greater activity in social pain-related regions of the brain when they were excluded."

This is the first time that it has been proved that genes involved in physical pain are linked to mentally painful times like social rejection and breaking up with a lover, she said.

The findings back up a previous study by the University of Queensland that indicated that descriptions of the agony of rejection as like a knife being thrust into the heart are more than just metaphors.

Dr Geoff MacDonald said it is no coincidence that people across different cultures and languages use similar terms to describe physical pain and what it feels like to be rejected.

Courtesy Telegraph