It wasn’t lights, camera, action but lights, camera, tweet/blog! At Kohinoor Hall of Regent Plaza on 28th May, 2010 in Karachi, the first of its kind Annual Blog Awards were organized by CIO and Google. Most of the KMB bloggers were present at the event either as nominees or part of the organizing committee (special mention of Rabia Garib) that has now become a stepping stone for the blogosphere of Pakistan.

The first Blog Awards received 207 entries for 41 defined categories, which were judged by 14 industry experts. Welcoming around 300 guests that not only included nominated bloggers but tech gurus and industry specialists whose input made the evening intellectually riveting.

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May 14th 2010, Multi/Interdisciplinary Research Interest Group at AKU-IED hosted a session by Ms. Rumana Hussain which happens to be her birthday as well. The discussion was based on a brief overview and her experiences of writing her book ‘KarachiWala: a sub-continent within a city’. The book celebrates the diversity of the city ranging from ethnicity, religion and occupation; and equally a test of how much familiar are you with your chosen city, at least for me.

Related news stories and reviews: Karachi Metblogs, Dawn Blog, Daily Times

The book captivates the spirit of change by which Karachi breathes. The writer humbly stated that she is neither a sociologist nor an anthropologist but it is only her interest in people and the city which drove the project. The most difficult process was the making contacts and accessibility of people and the most rewarding were the interesting stories that came from the elderly and low-income groups, not due to their misery but of cultural richness. The 330 pages covering various stories accompanied by hundreds of photographs is a testimony of the time and amount of hard work that have gone into this piece of art.

Some interesting features about the book that caught my attention are,
• the inclusion of traditional and progressive families of same ethnicities;
• a contrast in urban landscape with respect to socio-economic groups;
• inclusion of few legends, festivals and customs;
• maps that trace various movements (an amusing example would be route of a person on his cycle for selling fish, population growth or anagrams of ‘what we are and what we speak’ ),
• inclusion of street children, jogis(nomads) and pathans living in deras
• assimilation of intra-diversity in specific religions (I didn’t knew that we have Tamil Christian families in our city though have see people of Goan origin very often but I still thought that the Christian population only comprised of Punjabi converts).

A very relevant question was posed about the sense of belonging with the city because there is a constant influx of migrants who are living in this geography but would choose their villages over Karachi. Does Karachi really belong to someone when most of its dwellers are migrants having multiple-identities? This was very-well reflected by the speaker that whoever lives here and gives back to the city has a claim over city. We all are Karachiwalas at the end of the day.

In my personal opinion, the book can serve as a role-model for issues related to pluralism. It radiates humanistic approach and is sensitive yet non-judgmental in its advocacy. Whenever we talk about diversity of our country in main-stream circles, we always limit our talks to provincial diversities and thus raise voices of different claims and rights of these provinces but what we need to embrace is that we are much more than provinces and each minority needs to be given the due its deserves, most importantly the respect.

The book can be ordered from http://jaal.org

Ps: I saw her during an interesting show on state of literature and reading habits in The First Blast on DawnNews channel where she also talked briefly about the book but thanks to AKU-IED, it was an interesting experience to not only know more about the book but also the experiences of the author during the process of documenting it.

And so i ask the same question i.e “Who is taking over the city and who is this committee?”

[Image : DAWN Blog]

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has issued order register another case against the National Highway Authority (NHA) and other relevant contractors in Shershah bridge collapse case. Hearing the suo motto case about bridge collapse, the chief justice severely reprimanded the police and inquired what progress was made during these many years in the case. The CJP ordered that another case should be registered against the National Highway Authority (MHA) and concerned contractors. In addition, the chief justice ordered the police to arrest the people involved in showing negligence.

[image: Mudsi]

Sometimes children bring such sanity of things that leaves adults speechless. I felt the same, when I went to the KGS organized blood donation camp “Lifeline” today. Win hearts, give blood, save lives. (more…)

What is the ultimate Karachi shopping experience? Some say Park Towers…. No. The Forum?  Not really. Those places are too small to be worthy of being named the “Ultimate”. Once upon a time however, it used to be the Saddar area. Most especially, the Elphinstone Street (current Zaib-un-Nissa street) where you would find most upmarket and good shopping outlets in Karachi. But that was also the days of yore. For our current day and the recent past, the reigning position has consistently been occupied by the Tariq Road. This has most definitely been a go-to place for all sorts of families and all sorts of people to buy all sorts of things apparel related. For easily about two decades Tariq road has occupied the top spot on the Karachi shopping scene. And very rightly so. It is a bazaar-cum-market-cum-mall where you can find the best deals, the best bargains, the most variety and the most seasoned material. Could you say its Karachi’s Oxford Street or İstiklal Avenue? ummmm……

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Date: Sunday, January 31, 2010
Time: 7:30am – 9:30am
Location: MEET OPP. ESPRESSO COFFEE SHOP ON SHAHBAZ near intersection of SHAHBAZ and HAFIZ
Facebook RSVP : 9th Critical Mass Karachi Bike Ride

Starting from Intersection of SHAHBAZ & HAFIZ, DHA VI, going up SHAHBAZ towards ITTEHAD for a bit, turn left on to COMMERCIAL AVE and crossing BAHRIA, ascend the short hill on 2nd Street up to MOMIN, travel along MOMIN and down the short hill to the Saudi Consulate intersection. From here we proceed briefly on SHAMSHEER, turn left on 9th Street and then right on to MUJAHID and then down the hill at the back of Khadda Market, across SHAHEEN. Turn left on 15th Street and then down the long hill on B5th Street. From here we take 21st Street back to MUJAHID and proceed down it to Seaview and then along BEACH Ave to Village Restaurant. Here we turn left on to ITTEHAD and ride up to HAFIZ and head back to our starting point at SHAHBAZ.

First Part is a little windy and undulating although more downhill than up, the second half is straight and flat.

Since we will be on the streets this time we urge you that all children are accompanied by a riding adult, and that they have helmets on.

So after a long hiatus where I was away from the city or generally pulling an ostrich to try to avoid the horrors of living in this city, the warrior inside me suddenly woke up today and I logged on to Metblogs to see what was going on… Surprise of surprises! I am still on the blogroll! So I think I will resume my blogging activity where I left off, in hopes that I will end up doing this city a little better by speaking about things rather then keeping to myself or hiding. So here goes…

Today’s tirade is about the Gizri flyover. This flyover has been under construction since God-knows-when…. actually since over the past two and a half years. In this meantime, CDGK started and finished about a gagillion flyovers all over the city. Whereas, the DHA and the Cantonment board… slowly and steadily… kept hammering away at their only masterpiece – the Gizri flyover.

Since it falls on my daily route, I had been wishing and hoping that it would be opened soon so it could help the bottleneck that is the Punjab-chowrangi to Altamash hospital road, and then lo and behold — it seemed like the flyover had been completed by November. However, only now did the long wait for its final opening started. Maybe the DHA was waiting for some Big Thing to come open it, however that never materialized and we kept on waiting and waiting and waiting.

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Weekly Readers Club in Karachi, is a voluntary, non-profit, informal group committed to the promotion of reading culture in Karachi.

The club has been regularly hosting book discussions every week on one book or another, I was introduced to this club by Mubeen Sirhindi back in October and am guilty of not being able to attend any of their weekly meetings but feel this is a great community service for the people of Karachi. If you are interested in being kept updated of the activities of this club join their mailing list which they update regularly every week and be a part of the group activities. I also will hope and promise to keep KMB readers updated of the latest book review on a regular basis as well – Generally all book lovers are welcome

The Colonial Present: Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq - Derek Gregory

Description: In this powerful and passionate critique of the “war on terror” in Afghanistan, Palestine, and Iraq, Derek Gregory traces the long history of British and American involvements in the Middle East. He argues that the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11 activated a series of political and cultural responses that mapped a profoundly colonial perimeter of power. The Colonial Present traces the connections between political, military, and economic power – the grand strategies of geopolitics – and the spatial stories told by the lives of ordinary people. It also shows the intimate connections between events in Afghanistan, Palestine, and Iraq. Packed with empirical detail, and shot through with arresting arguments, The Colonial Present is indispensable reading for anyone seeking to understand a world riven by a war on terror that is also a war of terror. (Quoted from Amazon.com)

Date: Friday, 22th January 2010
Time: 18.00 to 19.30 hours
Venue: Shah Jehan Auditorium,
SMF Centre,
ST-3, Block – 4, Clifton, Karachi.
(Foundation Public School Bldg., On 26th Street, DHA,
Near Abdullah Shah Ghazi Mazaar)
http://www.readersclub.com.pk

Karachi will host its first ever FIFA Youth Gaming Tournament on 20th December 2009, where teams from different educational institutes will participate in an intense gaming activity to prove their football-gaming skills. The twelve hours long event will be based on knock-out format. The winning teams will play the first round, second round, semi finals and the final match.

The FIFA football game is a very popular among the youth and will be played in two categories individual and a team of two, on PlayStation3 with pre-defined rules & regulations for the competition to avoid any issues later. Students from all participating institutes and gaming lovers from the age group 14-28 will be attending the event to cheer their favorite teams to victory and participate in the variety of other activities organized for the audience.

“The prime motive of organizing the event is to engage our youth in constructive and competitive environment and to provide them an opportunity to feel the FIFA spirit before the upcoming FIFA Worldcup 2010” stated Mr. Irfan Basit, brand manager Mountain Dew, the main sponsors of the event.

The event is expected to attract youngsters and football lovers alike and will provide a unique experience to watch and enjoy football in Pakistan.