face 2 face with terrorism

Terrorism takes away lives, unfortunately counted in numbers ” 100 dead, 200 injured“. We all stop for a second to see the flashing “news alert” on tv and then move one with our lives.

No one cares that these were 100 living people who are no more alive and who bothers about their loved ones. Loved ones who are living but their life is taken away! Loved ones who are so suddenly snatched away from them! They are emotionally shaken and worries of an insecure future (for women) do not let them mourn in a poor country.

200 injured gives a little relief and we thank Allah that these precious lives are saved but in what condition are they? Without a limb? half blown up? injuried all over? which may take months and thousands of rupees to heal. Who will support their families in the mean time? Who will pay for their medical expenses?

People who come face to face with terrorism, either they have lost someone or are physically injured go through mental turmoil. I just read the feelings of a husband who lost his wife in suicide bombing in the United Nations World Food Program country office in Islamabad. I am speechless….

He writes….

Reality (by Tahir Wadood Malik)

the call called me out
and i ran.
a scene of chaos
before me i saw
no one familiar
no one known
pell-mell running feet
stopping all from going in.

a hand held my arm
i looked at a face
worn and sad
she is taken from here
to the medical centre
or the hospital
hurry sir
he said.

i turned and ran
the medical centre was near,
first there i thought
and walked briskly
a voice called out
i turned
the medical centre sir
she is taken there.

a hop and i was there
running to the steps up
when another voice called
sir here
turning i saw him pointing
he came close and said
be strong sir
and turned his face.

down the slope i went,
entering a small room,
packed full with people
smelling of antiseptic,
gurneys covered in white sheets
a doctor looked at me
i took your name.

she looked at me
sad and sorry
pointing to the nearest
white sheet, she walked to it.
i stood as if riveted to the floor
is she gone i asked
she nodded,
and held the corner of the sheet.

leaden feet one after the other
just three steps
to see your face
drained of life’s color
the smile gone
nothing to give me hope.
just an endless dark tunnel,
with no light at the end.

you had left the world
you had left me, who you said
was your world,
i was left
without a thought
without any idea of next.
looking at your white face
closed eyes, look at me i said.

did you smile?
did you know i was standing there?
did you feel the tear
that fell on your cheek?
did you feel my hand on your face?
could you feel my willing you to wake?
or was it all cold, all dark,
and finished for you?

i stood there,
suddenly tired and racked with sobs
no one to hold me
no one to console me
no one to say hush
all alone.
not even you to say i am here.
together we will overcome.

and then the haze
people coming and going
a leg lay on the table next to you
supposedly of the bomber
people came and looked at it
no one bothered about us
but that leg was it for all then.
and i was frozen in pain, anger and angst.

ormalities
ambulance ride
people gathering
crying.
wailing
intruding in my feelings
despair, grief, anger,
and a loss infinite.

rituals,
more people,
waiting for the inevitable
arrivals
more and more
but where in all this are you?
lying cold and unconcerned in a bed
draped in a white coffin

i looked at you
wanting you to smile
wanting you to open your eyes
desperation
wishing for the noise of the wails
beating chests and prayers
to wake you
from the depth of death.

but your face
serene, calm
without worries at last
fresh like the morning dew
not even lines of any hue
eyes closed,
even the white cloth,
pale against your skin.

and they came also
who had not come before
all standing
some silent
some crying
all sad
all lost
no words no actions enough.

and then it was time
picking you up
one on each of the four posts
reciting the oneness of god
who had taken you from me
so cruelly,
still being exalted and called to succor,
knowing i had but to suffer.

and then the prayers,
and a ride to the last resting place
a pit dark and dreary
i shuddered
you would hold my arm
even to step a step up
and this was so much down!
how could i hold you now?

and it was all over
dust to dust
prayers
consoling words
a dirge
another prayer
dispersal
how could i leave you?

but i did leave you
alone
in a pit covered with fresh dug soil
put on there with my own hands
my prayers mixed with the rest
a feel of death, a pain, a void,
in my heart
where you lived.

and food was served
people forgot death
food, the source of life
for the living was being taken
no one bothered to say
sorry
the food was important
my loss was reality and not.

and then they left
leaving me to my self
my thoughts
my feelings
my emptiness
my fight with my god
my forlornness
and my grief

and good too that was
for there was too much
going on in me
fears
feelings
remorse
thoughts
nostalgia

and the night passed
just as you had passed from this
to another world
just as i had passed
from a happy man
to a sad being
wondering why
this had come to pass?

but then life reared its head
wanting to extract its pound of flesh
not wanting to wait for the next
but wanting me not to rest
and i shrugged
and i looked
and i picked up the shackles of life
and i went to put my shoulder to the plough.

Technorati Tags: Allah, life, love, News, terror, terrorism, tv, US, victim, WHO

Atiqa Odho

I would like to add one more beautiful and amazingly accoumplished lady of Pakistan to the list of  ”Beautiful, Ageless Women.”

Atiqa Odho:Actress/host

I remember her playing a stunning middle class wife in PTV play “Nijjaat”. She played the role impressivley. Now after so many years we  see her taking interviews of the top personalities of Pakistan. Her ability to ask the right question at he right time and that too in a lively manner made the show popular at Geo tv. The sparkle in her beautiful eyes and the glow on the pretty face hasn’t changed a bit. She is a successful enterprenuer and owns “Odho Cosmetics”.

Beautiful, Ageless Women

Ageing gracefully is one thing but the new age ‘ageing gracefully’ as far as women are concerned, is not ageing at all. Instep takes a look at five beautiful and stylish women around us who have managed to defy time. The candles on their birthday cake may sing another story, but there are no tell tale signs as far as their looks are concerned. They are an inspiration…

Zeba Bakhtiar

Zeba Bakhtiar: Actress

Who could have forgotten the rosy cheeked and youthful Zeba Bakhtiar from Randhir Kapoor’s Rishi Kapoor starrer Henna or the Syed Noor film and Adnan Sami starrer Sargam? She was vibrant and beautiful in all senses of the word. But if you have forgotten what she looked like back then, it’s not a problem because she looks exactly the same today. Zeba is just as ethereally pretty and her calm disposition reflects very well on her creaseless, ageless skin. Zeba has gone through personal ups and downs in her personal life – her marriage to Adnan Sami Khan, the long drawn out divorce and custody battle for their son Azaan that followed – but none of it shows as far as her looks are concerned. The Quetta born Baluchi beauty is certainly someone to look up to.

Reema

Reema: Actress

Reema’s come a long, long way since she stepped out in her debut film Bulandi as a fresh faced Lollywood actress to today, when she’s a director of two films, a Lux girl and a Pakistani icon in her own right. And while she’s committed some terrible, terrible fashion and style crimes along the way – most of which can be attributed to the inherently low budgets Bollywood films have – Reema now looks drop-dead gorgeous. At the Lux Style Awards last year, her flawless makeup and jewellery free look won her a definite ‘thumbs up’ from the style police (c’mon, there’s a mental style police officer in everyone’s head!). She looks the same in her current advertisement for Lux (styled by Nabila) and even in her appearances on television shows. She has finally fit into the part of a movie star and honestly, can you even guess now how old she is? It really is a remarkable 180-degree turn!

Babra

Babra Sharif: Actress

Everytime we look at images of Babra Sharif, we’re left astounded: how does this ‘80s icon look so very, very young?She is the ageless queen, whose versatility on the small and silver screen has never gone unnoticed. She knows how to carry herself, whether it is a sizzler performance at the Lux Style Awards (2005), countless style shoots that create fantastical memories or her rare but striking appearances.

Babra Sharif is no stranger to the spotlight but as her years have increased, she has gotten more stunning and that too without a hint of narcissism – a quality that never fails to impress. Unlike Lollywood divas, Babra tends to stay away and when she does return, it is always on a spectacular note. This woman can defy age like no other.

Maaheen Khan

Maheen Khan: Designer

Maheen Khan is a one-woman guide for how to dress in an age-appropriate yet alluring manner: except as the years have gone by, it’s been harder to tell just how old Maheen is! She still looks absolutely fantastic, and is always the epitome of understated elegance. In her signature black and white wardrobe and pixie haircut, Maheen Khan proves why growing older doesn’t have to equal to letting go of yourself and looking frumpy. She’s truly defying age and no one can deny it: which is why she walked away with the Best Dressed Woman nod at the recent TRC/Ensemble show. May we all age so very gracefully!

Samina Peerzada

Samina Peerzada: Actress/Director

Director, actress and a film star like no other, Samina Peerzada never fails to turn heads, whether via Rafi Peer festivals, her public voice on issues of women, her appearance and vocal support for Karafilm Festival or just her love for all things films and theatre. But that isn’t the only attractive quality about Samina. She is forthcoming and she carries a signature that suits her and is enchanting all the same. She has made films in an industry where survival is always a struggle but Samina has challenged and done the unpredictable. And for that unfaltering spirit, irrespective of the years, Samina Peerzada continues to be an age-defying icon.

Technorati Tags: beauty, car, crime, G20, gel, geo, henna, house, interview, ISI, life, love, marriage, memories, News, NIH, office, oic, Pakistan, Pakistani, pakistanihousewife, polic, sharif, sin, STR, thenews, time, tv, US, walk, war, WHO, wife, Women

I think we have become closer to the people who live in far away lands, like I could not have thought of ever meeting or watching my school friends in life again. Facebook and likes have made it possible. I can search the name of my University friends and can find all the outsanding work they are doing anywhere in the world. But the question remains, are we closer to each other than the people of 80′s maybe. People living in the same house at times talk to each other only on the mobile phone let alone sharing some peaceful moments together.

I am comparing today with the time when one household or one neighbourhood used to gather around one tv set for 8 o’clock PTV drama and khabarnama.  Can we extract so much pleasure from watching a simple drama alone in our seperate bed rooms. Ours  houses have TVs in all the rooms plus computers. I think we are missing the happiness they got from each others company.

With our mobile phones ringing all the time, we are not present with the people physically sitting in front of us. Lets try to spend some time with our  family and friends  in a far off village with no mobile phone and electricity. I bet, we will be able to know each other more in 24  hours as compared to  spending a lifetime together. (with all these distractions!)

Technorati Tags: electricity, facebook, happiness, mobile phones, ptv drama, tv

mindset

I saw a few episodes of Dr Moiz Hussain’s programs on various TV channels and was inspired by the power of human brain. He talks about determination, power of thoughts, laws of attraction and over coming negative feelings through proper mind training and handling. I am amazed how interesting this field of learning is ! He truly calls it the fourth dimension, it seems like an invisible dimension with so much unseen power. We should all change our way of thinking and excel in life….

Technorati Tags: house, interesting, ISI, learning, life, NIH, Pakistan, Pakistani, pakistanihousewife, power, thoughts, tv, US, wife

Pick up any newspaper or switch to any TV channel or read any blog you will get the message that the whole country is being held hostage by this wave of terror. This is what these people want. They want to cripple our lives. Take away the energy and hope of a common man and the whole nation is glued to some form of media. If a blast does not get the amount of coverage it gets then their mission is not complete.

Don’t you think by spreading the news and rumors we are playing at the hands of terrorist?

Technorati Tags: media, newspapers, Pakistan, terrorists, tv

It’s worthwhile for parents to think about what role they want TV to play in their family. Its our duty as a parent to choose right and healthy activities for our children. Consider:

A great deal is known about children and television, because there have been thousands of studies on the subject. Researchers have studied how TV affects kids’ sleep, weight, grades, behavior, and more. it’s worth looking at what the research says when deciding how to manage television in your family.

Spending time watching TV can take time away from healthy activities like active play outside with friends, eating dinner together as a family, or reading. TV time also takes away from participating inthat require practice to become skillful. sports, music, art or other activities

TV viewing starts earlier than other forms of media—often beginning before age two. In recent years, TV, video and DVD programs geared to babies and toddlers have come on the market—and now even a cable channel for babies. We don’t know yet what effect TV-viewing by babies may have on their development. We do know that time spent watching TV replaces time spent interacting with caregivers and other children. Social interaction is critical to a baby’s healthy development.

Computers and television have pushed a generation of children towards violent behaviour, early sex and mental illness.

Technorati Tags: behaviour, cartoons, children, computer games, grades, Kids Health, mental illness, tv, violent behaviour, weight

Time for the media to step up

Ayesha Ijaz Khan

If ever there was a time to shun The New York Times, BBC or other mainstream sources of news, this was it. How were the attacks in Mumbai being covered in other parts of the world? If you live in London and have Sky TV, there are several options for finding out. So I began searching.

The Chinese television station simply didn’t cover it. It was almost as if nothing happened in Mumbai. The Russians did not dwell on it much. France 24, which is a very interesting channel in English, had a coverage of the event similar to British networks but for a shorter duration.

Press TV, which is a new Iranian channel, was a true disappointment. Their one-hour chat show, called “Hearts and Minds,” hosted by an American man in New York, was dedicated exclusively to the attacks in Mumbai and three “experts” sat on the panel. The Indian view was represented by an Indian gentleman.

But there was no Pakistani representation. The other two panellists had little knowledge of what was going on and the host was consistently confused between Zardari and Karzai. At one point, he just referred to both as “Kamdari.”

This was quite a letdown, as I was expecting a channel along the lines of Al-Jazeera, which has excellent world coverage and has also covered the Mumbai incident very well and without bias. Al-Jazeera anchors like Ghada Al-Fakhri are good enough to compete with the best of the CNN and BBC journalists. And I would have thought that Press TV too would have tapped into the very large Iranian diaspora if it is to compete internationally. I would have expected experts like Sayyed Hossein Nasr, who are truly aware of issues in Kashmir and the Middle East, to have been commenting on the Iranian channel. But when I watched their world news it was quite evident that the restrictions imposed on this channel are enormous, not just in terms of content but also the dress code. “It’s like watching PTV in the eighties, only in English,” my husband said.

I flipped to the Indian NDTV channel, which is a good source for domestic Indian issues. But in the case of the Mumbai attacks, the less said the better. But what India is able to do through NDTV is give the world its point of view. Pakistan’s viewpoint, on the other hand, is only available on the “Specialist Channels” in Urdu. We desperately need a channel in English which beams along with the other international news channels. And unlike the Iranian channel, it must have reporters and anchors that are both aware of the issues and confident in English. If the few hours of Geo English and Dawn News that I have seen are anything to go by, I would say that we could very easily blow most of the other international news channels away. Our media is cutting-edge, often incisive and used to asking important questions.

But there is one thing that we will have to change. And that is our preoccupation with domestic issues. Of course, they are very important. But our media focuses almost entirely on them. There is very little international news available in Pakistan. And when it is made available, it often lacks perspective and is not presented in an exciting way. We talk about the US, UK, Saudi Arabia, or nowadays India, only because they have a direct impact on what is going on with us. Beyond that international coverage in our media is severely lacking.

As far as I know, we didn’t even try to send any reporters to Orissa in India when the Christians were being massacred. The only channel that had an in-depth documentary on this was France 24. We need to have an English channel presenting Pakistan and covering international issues on the world stage. This needs to be done on a war-footing.

Just as international news in Pakistani media is virtually non-existent, there is also a tireless obsession with western sources of information. Anchors on Pakistani television are addicted to Time, Newsweek, and the gamut of British and American papers. It would be nice if, for a change, they also focused on what papers in other countries are saying about Pakistan.

I did a rough search on this myself in the last few days and focused primarily on Muslim countries, which I thought may be more inclined to give the India-Pakistan news some perspective. From what I found, most Muslim countries suffer from a similar lethargy when it comes to covering international issues, often cutting and pasting stories from The International Herald Tribune and the like, instead of doing their own research.

Nevertheless, the editorial in The Jakarta Post was acceptable. It explained the Mumbai incident without bias, and then focused inwards, comparing the situation to the Bali bombing and how Indonesia can avoid such occurrences in future.

The newspapers of the UAE were a disappointment, with clear Indian bias.

Yet, the Bangladeshi newspapers gave me newfound hope. An opinion piece by Rahnuma Ahmed, in New Age was like balm on my wounded heart. I believe that Bangladesh is Pakistan’s most natural ally. My generation, which did not see but only heard and read about what happened in 1971, should be willing to extend the hand of friendship to our Bangladeshi brothers and sisters, to acknowledge them as equals in a partnership that can be beneficial to both countries.

There has been much criticism of the “war of words” that has taken place between Pakistani and Indian media in the past days. But sometimes I think that, had it not been for the war of words, we may have been confronted with the real thing. It’s important to get our story out there. Not just in Urdu, but also in English, for the world to hear. It’s also important for Pakistan to figure out how to pick friends. For too long we have been choosing allies on the basis of riches. America can give us aid; Saudi Arabia can give us oil. Choosing rich friends has made us a weak nation. It is about time we changed our policy and picked our friends, not on the basis of “common interests,” as Musharraf used to say, but of “common ideology,” an ideology that emphasises the equality and fraternity that Islam preaches, as opposed to the extremism and discrimination against women that is too often ascribed to Islam. In my view, Bangladesh would top our list of friends if this approach were adopted.

Coutesy-www.thenews.jang.com.pk

Technorati Tags: dawn, geo, media, News, Pakistan, tv