Cowasjee narrates his versioin of the (in)famous Zardari signature story at Mazar-e-Quaid. Simply love his last line. We shall now have a spelling-minister.  “Now, back to this September 12 when I went to the Mazar and asked the keepers to let me have photocopies of what had been written by the September 11 visiting ‘dignitaries’ in the visitors’ book. I was given copies of remarks recorded by the president, the Sindh governor and the Sindh chief minister. Subsequently, on September 14, I wrote in my column: Read more

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Found at Nando's Clifton

Image Credit In the Line of Wire

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Eid Mubarak !!

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Throughout this Ramzan i have been wondering where all the people of Karachi are? There has hardly been any traffic on the roads during the evening hours, except for after midnight when everyone suddenly throngs the roads and everything gets jammed from 12 - 2am.

Therefore I was quite pleasantly surprised yesterday when i visited a Bayan at Gulistan E Anis by Dr Shuja and found the whole place jammed to the hilt. There was no place to sit and cars were parked outside for miles. After Dr Shuja explained the verses of the Quran he was translating for all, I got talking with a few “regulars” and found out that apparently Karachi has had a lot more people flocking to these darses and religious gatherings throughout the month. In fact one of the people I spoke to even mentioned an issue with mosques having no more space for people who want to sit in “Eitikaf” during the last 7 days of Ramzan as all of them are full.

This is obviously a good thing because Ramzan is meant to be a month of prayer and forgiveness but I still got the feeling that due to the economic and security situation of our city a lot more people are turning to religion.

When one finds no help from earthly sources one turns themselves to the heavens I guess. Speaking of turning to heavens the full moon party will be on shortly in Karachi and in all other cities of Pakistan in the form of the Roohate Hilal guys looking for the moon in our skies. Which begs the question, why are so many ill sighted people on the Rooh ate Hilal committee anyways, all i see on this committee are people with thick spectacles and portly stomachs. Plus they can never agree on when Eid will be and normally every city in Pakistan has its own eid.

Well whenever it is i certainly hope it is a happy one for all, Eid mubarak Karachites & the entire team at KMB!!!!

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 Haseena is my cousin’s old maid. Yesterday, hours before Aftaar she is frying The Pakoras while I in the kitchen stand over the chopping board with a knife in my hand and a packs of imported carrot, olives, radish, cucumber, chilies, and other food items. i am chopping, dicing and preparing them for the salad, snakes and dip sauces (Chathnee and Raita) to be served to over a quarter hundred close relatives for Aftaar and dinner.

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Nazim Karachi Mustafa Kamal gave a detail interview to daily Ummat. Point of interest was different issues related to city and development work and its status. Read here

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Takht-e-Mughlia

Chef Zakir has become a sensation with his cooking show on Masala TV. Few days back I discovered that he owned a restaurant, which was doing rather well. After inquired about its reputation, I found good reviews and decided to check it out with friends.

What I discovered was something delightful, worth the price and ideal for a family/friends gathering. “Shaan-e-Mughlia” is the name and it boasts open air spacious lawn, truckloads of finger-licking food just as Chef Zakir cooks it. The ambiance, greenery, structured and spacious seating arrangement was surely a breath of fresh air.

The place is running on sheer word of mouth, people referring other people. Without much advertising, it is heavily pre-reserved and crowded. So, a good idea would be to call in and reserve before you show up. Also, there is a long waiting list to avail the ‘takht’ seating.

More in Pictures:
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Dr Awab is currently live on Samaa TV in Faisal Qureshi’s “Ankahi” ( a ver good program for all especially youth). Topic for today’s discussion is Voice of Pakistan. The program will discuss issues currently we are facing in political context. It would be great if someone could record it since many (including myself) are not able to watch it. It would also be great to know the views exchanged in the program. The other guest would be Mina Kidwai. Here is one link to watch it live if you are in office and not able to watch in normal way.

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It’s been announced by the Federal Government today that there would be three public holidays from October 1 to 3 (Wednesday to Friday) on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

This would ideal for the people who have Saturdays off but what about the ones who don’t? Comments?

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Sindh Police has setup reporting centers near crowded & shopping areas of Karachi.

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Karachi is fast running out of space, mainly grounds, parks etc. and turning into an oven of heat, dust and smoke. Corrupt builders with the help of political masters and gov. officials are eating it like anything. I have been posting for a long time on this unplanned (call it evil planned) development that has no head, no toe and definitely no brain. Last week I went to Saddar and found this open space [ZOOM OUT view ] (that might have been for a ground or park for local population) has disappeared. I heard that empress market is being shifted here. Well if this transfer is done in proper way, fine. Else i see no sense in cleaning EM and making life hell for this locality. The sewerage, water, electricity and other problems that will emanate from this shift will start showing its ugly head in coming years. Anyone, any idea on this?

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People who surround you, your relatives, your friends, people who serve you and people who almost go unnoticed but they still have an impact on your life are the people who reflect your own image for you to recognize.

An Exhibition titled “mien” by Dr. Altamash Kamal, of portraits evoking a vast spectrum of emotions, sentiments and thoughts, celebrating delicate bonds and shedding light on the grim realities of life opened on the 18 of September, 2008 at the Canvas Art Gallery in Karachi.  

The magnificent portraits featured at the exhibition comprise of noted personalities of the country who have made a vibrant impact on our society, some near and dear ones of to the artist who have touched his soul so to become a vital part of his personality, people who almost remain unnoticed but play a vital role to define us for who we are and people who are suffering just because we have failed to look upon them and recognize them as fellow beings.

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Burning of garbage along the Korangi Expressway continues despite repeated complaints by the residents of Qayyumabad and Akhtar Colony.

The citizens complained that Jamshed town officials burn solid waste and garbage at an open space adjacent to the Korangi Expressway, instead of shifting it to proper dumping sites.

“We face problems because of dense clouds of smoke and harmful gases emitting from the burning litter in front of our homes,” the citizens complained. Motorists and commuters traveling on Korangi Expressway also face difficulties, as a large portion of the road remains engulfed in thick smoke.
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According to this news report gov. has approved 51 projects including the KCR. This project is pending for last 30+ years now and before we see it on ground GOD knows how many more years the public in karachi will suffer. “The KCR project is expected to be executed in three years at a cost of Rs52.372 billion with a foreign component of Rs39.257 billion. The 50 km railway project will have 21 underpasses and overhead bridges and 23 stations in the city. The Circular Railway would carry 700,000 passengers daily through 246 trains.”

Other : urbanpk

Image : Adnan Zafar

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NAPA [Wikipedia] was slowly becoming a good center for performing arts and this latest development will surely hurt this vibrant industry.

The Sindh government has directed the National Academy of Performing Arts to vacate the Hindu Gymkhana within three months. According to sources, in its notice to Napa chief Zia Mohyeddin, Sindh culture secretary Shams Jafrani has accused the institution of violating the agreement signed between the arts body and the government under which the gymkhana was rented out to the academy.

Source Dawn

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