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SCEI: A Haven for Little Angels – Interview with Saima Haq
We generally tend to be quite unaccommodating of people with special needs because our society preprograms us to snub everything that’s even remotely different from the ordinary. Special Children’s Educational Institute (SCEI) is one such school that not only helps parents of challenged kids deal with the harsh reality of their child’s disability and other
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Pehla Qadam… towards a better Pakistan
Pakistan’s devastating floods in July of this year brought many well-intentioned NGOs and charitable organizations to the forefront. Some of them enthusiastically collected cash donations during the initial days, but slowly began to peter out and fade away when it was time to actually get down to the hard work. Other individuals and organizations, however,
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Education for a Buck
Surjani Town is one of those places in Karachi that you intrinsically hear a lot about but never really visit because you just don’t know where it is. Or what you’ll do when you get there, for that matter. I found my reason to visit the neglected neighborhood in the form of Amal-e-Danish, a charity
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L’Arche de Veronique
In a society where humans have to constantly fight tooth and nail for their rights and welfare, a woman who has literally devoted her life to the well-being of wounded and abandoned animals in Karachi sounds nothing less than angelic. What’s more fascinating in a way is that Veronique Ahmed isn’t Pakistani. At least not
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The Dawning Diva – an interview with Saima Mohsin
It’s shortly before twelve o’clock on a Sunday morning inside the Depilex at Khadda Market in Karachi. A passel of fervent beauticians are busy doing what they do best while I chitchat with amiable Akku aapa, the day’s hair and makeup connoisseur. Overseeing the details is Mohammed Ali, Andleeb’s assistant and general factotum for the
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Taxila – 2,400 years of glory
When you talk about Pakistan’s culture and heritage, you talk about Taxila, one of the ancient capitals of great Gandhara which lay glorious between rivers Indus and Hydespes from 600 B.C. to 600 A.D. Today Taxila is perhaps one of the greatest archeological sites in Pakistan, consisting of three equally remarkable cities just 35 kms
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Playing at the Heartstrings – an exclusive interview with Pakistan’s no.1 music band
I remember four years ago when I first met Strings for an interview shortly after they’d landed a coup by singing Na Janay Kiun for the soundtrack of Columbia Tri-Star’s Spiderman. It was the first time a Pakistani music band’s name was being taken alongside a Hollywood blockbuster’s and their remarkable feat did all and
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Rubina Ashraf – Small Screen Royalty
There are a few people in Pakistan’s television industry who have literally gone out and dedicated their lives to the small screen and its development and Rubina Ashraf’s name is without the slightest shred of doubt right there at the top of that list. Having captivated her audiences with potent depictions of women from just
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Nur Ali – Beyond the Bumpy Track
Nobody can meet Nur Ali without being completely intimidated by the guy’s incontrovertible charm and good humor. At 32 he doesn’t look a day older than 26; he’s courteous as the next gentleman, resilient with a cause, and quite amazingly oozing with joie de vivre at a time when his fans would have easily been
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Magnificent Multan
After almost a decade after I had last traveled in a Pakistani train and promised myself that I would do it every year because I’d absolutely loved the experience, I found myself settle down in an air-conditioned Tezgam Express berth with my best friend and tour companion amid much nervousness and anticipation. We were nervous