KUSC Runs on Dunkin!

Karachi United Schools Championship has signed an MoU with Dunkin Donuts for the ongoing matches. MoU was signed on 22nd December, 2017 at Dunkin Donuts Shaun Circle.










(P.S The ball honestly looks so cute. I might just steal it)

The lucky draw took place which decided the fate of the schools (leaders and followers).

This board shows the exact total number of teams and from which school or college they belong to. There are a number of well-known schools participating which includes Karachi Grammar School, Nixor College, Southshore School, Army Public College (saddar), Cedar College, Beaconhouse School System, Foundation Public, Habib Public School, Indus Academy, Alpha College and Karachi Public School along with a number of other known schools and colleges.

The matches are ongoing and it has already been a kickass start.

And here is a picture of the beautiful trophy.
We wish all the best to the teams. May the best team wins.
BREAK A LEG BOYSSS!!!

And heeeey, don't forget to grab a glass of quick Alaska ONE and ONLY from Dunkin Donuts!! CHEERS.


Congratulations to DD and KUSC for a playful and fruitful collaboration! #KUSCRunsOnDunkin !! *hoot hoot*

The Evolution of Pakistani Drama Industry

Source: Google Images 

 A number of artists ruled over the Pakistani cinema for many years. If we go back in 1990s the content of Dramas that was broadcasted on TV screens was way more appreciable and comprehensive than it is now. And what could be the reason for it? I believe we are running out of sensible Scriptwriters and Directors who are unaware what would be the appropriate or societal-reflecting story or at least an awareness bringing campaign. Nevertheless, we are not exactly empty handed because you still would see just a few good content dramas. Back in 90s on the scale of 1-10 I would rate 9, now seeing the declination I would rate Pakistani Dramas around 4/10. Let me take you back in 1990s where the Pakistani dramas were highly demanded and then you too will agree to my points.

Dhoop Kinaray was an extremely popular and most viewed drama of that time. The gorgeous Marina Khan and Rahat Kazmi eventually became favorite on-screen couple of the audience right after a few episodes were on aired. It was written and directed by the two most talented personalities Haseena Moin and Sahira Kazmi. With good content, it had comedy, romance and drama in it which tremendously entertained everyone. 

Another audience-favorite Tanhaiyaan which was aired in 1985 got really popular because of its content. In this for the very first time they showed two young hardworking sisters taking up the working-lady roles and running their own business and making a living by their own right after the death of their Parents when they were left in debt. This was again written by the genius Haseena Moin when Marina Khan was in the cast yet again alongwith Behroze Sabzwari and Yasmeen Ismail. What a beautiful combination!! Since people could not get over it so Tanhaiyaan - Naye Silsilay was back in 2012.

While I talk about the old dramas it would be very unjust if I neglect my favorite most Alpha Bravo Charlie!! Yes we all loved Shehnaz Sher (I secretly still admire her). Can we a little obsess over Pak Army here? Wellllll...why not. When we talk about Captain M.Kasim Khan (Gulsher Khan - the cutie), Captain Abdullah Mehmood (Kashif Kirmani) and Faraz Inam (Faraz Ahmed), how can we forget the sacrifice Gulsher made and all the melodramas happened in between. 

Mera Kaam Batao Main Kya Karun Main Kisko Khaun!! Now comes the one that entertained my childhood and gave me fantasies of Jinn being so nice and handsome. YEP...you got me. Ladies and Gentlemen, Ainak Wala Jinn of course!! I hated Bil Batori because she had a scary laugh and everytime she used to come on screen I used to hide under our TV lounge sofa (I could fit in there back then ...i was just a kid). Zakoota and Hamoon Jadugar were still bearable. 

These are just a very few that I have named specifically. There are many more incredible dramas like Parchaiyaan, Alif Noon, Khuda Ki Basti, Ankahi, Aangan Terha, Kaanch, Taleem-e-Baalighaan and many many more. 

These dramas were informative in a true sense of entertainment and limited episodes. However, I feel like it gets really boring if anything has been dragged more to most from 14 to 100 episodes. That is not entertaining because the writer loses content and focus, the story looks fake and you lose your audience. Dramas are a basic source of entertainment for Housewives especially and needs realistic content. A few dramas were a pain to watch and lost its audience somewhere in between. Ye Zindagi Hai was so dragged that I doubt if anyone watched it. Honestly, I believe dramas these days are repeatedly playing the unrealistic content that is actually manipulating half of the population. For example in xyz drama the girl runs away with her boyfriend and lives happily ever after then comes back after years and everyone is rich because YOLO. Similarly, rich husband and poor wife results in taunting sasuraal and zalim saas. And, A likes B but B likes C since the parents do not agree so B marries A but never liked A so runs away with C after getting married to A. Like I am extremely sorry but that does not make any sense to me. We need to inject sensible content in the minds of people because half of the people start imitating their favorite characters so we should either create story that helps is spreading awareness in the minds of people or make something entertaining. 

My Parents were hooked to Bulbulay which has a lot of comedy in it. Moreover, I personally liked Takay ki Ayegi Baraat and Dolly Ki Ayegi Baraat series and Saima Chaudry was very hilarious! 

Now coming to the sensible content dramas. I have a list for that too!! (Aaj puri tayari k saath aai hun)

Source: Google Images 

A list of good dramas including Mosam, Dil-e-Muztar, Durr e Shehwaar, Mata-e-Jaan, Pyaare Afzal, Chup Raho, Firaaq, Daam, Maat, Man Mayal, Doraha, Bashar Momin, Khaan, Mera Saayen and a few in the following.

So, I am going to start when the heartthrob and eye-candy of Pakistan Fawad Afzal Khan started making his mark. Daastan was dramatized by Samira Fazal based on the novel Bano by Razia Butt. It tells the story of Indian Subcontinent during the time of Partition and the struggles Muslim League went through, the incidents and happenings took place in between that time period. A very beautiful serial! 

One of the basic reason why dramas with good content are ignored is because nobody highlights them more often. An exclusive serial reflecting the negative side of media and journalism directed by Shahid Shafaat having Ayesha Khan and Humayon Saeed in the cast. Ayesha Khan played the role of a journalist who was an illicit daughter of a politician. Humayon Saeed's acting skills should be given a great round of applause, he played a negative role of the owner of a TV channel who portrays to be a good person but in real he is a KAAFIR!

 Let me shed some light on the beautiful serial with a beautiful cast! Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan became yet another favorite on-screen couples and had a very good chemistry. Humsafar was directed by Momina Duraid and Sarmad Khusat based on a novel written by Farhat Ishtiaq. It sounds like a typical saas bahu saga but it shows the reality of class differences and trails of a married couple life. After this drama Farhat Ishtiaq's work got more recognition and the on-screen couple became favorite not only in Pakistan but in India, Turkey and USA!!

While we talk about entertainment not to forget the dramas that created awareness about certain taboos that our society hold such as rape, child abuse and rights of transgender people. Udaari and Khuda Mera Bhi Hai created a HUGE impact in the minds of people which I believe is a victory itself! We should have more dramas like these. The cast was incredible and Ahsan Khan recently received LUX Style Award for his performance in Udaari. I believe lessons and messages should be delivered through entertainment and dramas now that most of the public follow. 

Last but not the least, I just want to give a shout out to one more drama that impacted my life and the way I see things now. Sheher-e-Zaat - journey to find God and thyself. I absolutely LOVED the concept and story and why not? After all it is based on the novel by very intelligent Farhat Ishtiaq directed by the genius duo Sarmad Khusat and Momina Duraid. Mahira Khan played the role of a girl who explores herself and God. Its a beautiful novel and drama and glad that it was broadcasted. 

So Ladies and Gentlemen, you may agree or disagree to my opinion in certain ways but whatsoever this is what I think and your opinion is highly respected and appreciated. The evolution of Pakistani Dramas has been bumpy in the midst but that does not mean we do not have stories or bad writers. There are many, they just need a little recognition and encouragement by the public.

The 'Sense and Sensibility' of Judgement

They say Every Face Wears a Mask which I believe is somewhat true.
We are given only one life and in this life we come across different people belonging to different ideology, race, language, religion, caste and personality, hence not everyone's frequency can match ours which is why we have difference of opinion, ideas and way of perceiving things. When someone's frequency does not dance along with ours we jump onto conclusions and at some point start disliking him or her. There where we go wrong because we JUDGE wrongly.
Now, the word JUDGEMENT has many aspects. There is a difference of talking about societal issues and speaking on them AND pointing out any individual and question their deeds. We often confuse these two things which itself is ignorance.

To make it simple and clear let's say person A has illicit relations with person B which is unacceptable religiously and otherwise. Now person C just got to know about it and definitely disliked and questioned it so he started talking about it with person D but person D on the other hand thinks its okay because its their life therefore, let them live theirs and you live yours. Person D knows its wrong but he does not jump onto conclusions that whether or not person A and B deserves to be hated because he believes one should hate the SIN not the SINNER. But person C started having grudges against person A and B and if often seen talking about this with others. So what do you think who is better person D or person C? And who do you think you are? Are you a person C who is now being judgemental or person D who does not like to interfere in other's life? Think about it and analyze which category is good and which is bad. 

Let me give you an example from our daily life. Recently a lot of people were seen making fun of the term 'don't judge' and some memes got viral as well and we being trend followers did not hold back our tongues and played our vital role like always. When you talk about something wrong prevailing in your society you are basically NOT being judgemental because a good citizen will definitely do that. Any society can not be free of flaws and until or unless you will not speak about it, it won't end. When it comes to politics we have to think beyond so why not when it come to societal issues. Nobody will label you intolerant if you have the guts to speak your mind. 

But when it comes to individuals then I believe its not okay to decide whether they are a good person or not because of course you do not know what a person holds inside or what are his intentions. So both of these things are very much related and there is a very thin line between them. Only if we think about it sensibly.

There are three situations of judgement.

a) You have criticized a person and you are proved wrong there and then. (What is the point for all the headache then?)

b) You judged someone and it is proved right (Which rarely happens but if this is the situation its hard for the victim to digest how badly he or she has been x-rayed)

c) You judge someone correctly and the image of that person has been exploited in front of a number of people. (This is the worst thing one could do) 

Being given these situations one metaphor came into my mind that says a girl who covers her hair and body is like a wrapped toffee and a girl who does not cover is like an unwrapped toffee. Lol. What kind of logic is that? A society where the character of a person is judged by the kind of clothes they wear or by their appearances is a society that has failed to understand the meaning of freedom, let alone to be implemented. 

So, next time when you see a girl standing at bus stop in the middle of the night despite of judging her character, try offering help maybe? 

Comfort In Your Own Skin

Recently, a group of SZABIST students held this campaign by revitalizing Capri for a project that gives a message of feeling comfortable and beautiful in your own skin.

So, what comes in your mind when you hear the word 'beautiful' or a 'beautiful skin'? Fair, clear, transparent, free of acne, no facial hair and not even a single patch on your skin I suppose. Sadly, this world has changed the meaning of this word and everyone has created their different standards of beauty in their society or country. A little darker skin is considered less beautiful, wheat color is labelled as 'just attractive' and if you have a dark complexion then this world will not let you live by your own. A typical Pakistani standard of beauty is when they see you having a fair skin color and you are ugly if you have a dark complexion regardless of the strong personality you possess - SAD.

But my dear fellows the case is different here. Beauty is not something that we see, its something that we feel. Every inch of you is perfect, from bottom to the top. Imagine how boring this world would have been if God had created only one skin color of all of us BUT HEYY we all are different! We have different skin tones, color and texture. We are all made of different essence! So why do you feel bad about your skin color? Are you defaming God and His creativity? Well, if you have been crying over yourself lately then you really need to stop now because WHY would you let this world convince you that you are NOT worth it? Just because its stupid beauty artificial standards? Jump out of your bed today and be proud of your essence!

Fair, pale, wheat, dark, brown - every skin color is perfect and beautiful. You should whine if you had no color at all.. I mean you should be glad that you were not born green or blue (that would have been cool as well for green is to Hulk and blue is to Smurfs). So yesss! Just stop whining about how you look because you are absolutely perfect! Do not ever doubt yourself in fact carry yourself with confidence and prove others wrong by being yourself around them. With or without makeup, sleepy or fresh face, however you are dressed just let yourself know that NOBODY can bring me down because I AM BEAUTIFUL.
I have often come across girls who try to copy celebrities and in that case they start injecting capsules and injections in their skin just to look 'prettier'. So my darling, you do not need that at all. You just need a self believe. You just need to have faith in yourself and the day you will do it you would not need any actress to copy in fact you will be your own model!

Beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, colors and forms. And remember when you question about your physical appearance you are actually questioning God's creativity. Have a believe in yourself and make yourself realize that every breath you take today is a gift, do not spend your life hating yourself but loving and feeling comfortable in YOUR own skin! 

Shia Genocide in Pakistan over the past few years

Living in the 21^st Century has never been easy so far. They named it Islamic Republic of Pakistan yet the people who come under the fold of Islam face tremendous difficulties in following their Deen. 1400 years ago Muslims started dividing and that one pact was scattered into 70+ sects. However, people built their own rituals and religious gatherings to revive the events of the past (that left a major mark in the history of Islam) in the remembrance of some prominent religious personalities as a tribute to their sacrifices and patience. These specific people come under one sect, Shi’ite. In common language they are known as Shias which is a Persian word meaning: ‘followers’.

Over the past few years Shia genocide has increased 75% in different areas of the world. Countries including Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen etc have been a victim so far.

Talking about our country Pakistan Shia killings have been increased over the past few decades after the rise of untrue fatwas and forceful imposition of rules due to which many become intolerant and things like these come into existence. From twin bomb blasts in Quetta to target killing of Shia scholars, yet NO compensation was funded by the government to the families of the victim because in this way the failure of the system would be declared.

On May 5^th, 2016 four Shia professionals got martyred D.I.Khan among which two were lawyers and two were teachers. This killing was accepted by Saudi funded notorious terrorist group AhleSunnat-Wal-Jamat (ASWJ) yet no action was taken against them. Basically, it has become a tradition here in Pakistan that whoever is a killer (terrorist groups specifically), when accepts his crime there is no technical step taken towards him and the reason is still a big question mark. Maybe because you need weapons and a large force of military to compete them BUT we do not lack these resources even. So is it fair if I go back to the times of Zia-ul-Haq and explain how and why these groups came into existence and why there is no certain action being taken against them? I THINK YES. The reason is pretty much clear to you and to me and to all of us then why we do not come forward and unzip our mouths?  Because everyone wants to live and nobody wants to die by the hands of tyranny, if our media starts a campaign against these ‘Enemies of God’ I don’t think they will spare any single individual dwelling in that country or state, which is one of the reasons we do NOT speak the truth.

 Situation got so crucial in 2013 that many Shia families migrated from Pakistan to different state or countries. To mention the incidents:

1. Abbas Town – March 3^rd, 2013 – about 50 people died and 140 were hurt physically. This area is dominated by Shia residency and not even a single Sunni body was found that proves it was only targeted to kill Shias and spread terror. In the summers of 2011 over 300 people died of the same area.

2. Alamdar Road – This too happened in the start of 2013 in Quetta. More than 90 Shias were martyred and 120 injured in a suicide bomb attack. After this incident, many protests were held in every nook and corner of the country. It was more like a wakeup call for people to stop dozing, open your eyes and see. And if you find it wrong then speak against it. 

3. Hazara Shia Killing – The most deadly incident in the history when families protested and sat on the roads of Quetta in front of the dead bodies of their loved ones. A number of causalities were reported.

So many other Muharram processions and Imambargahs are attacked because technically they are seen as Shia institutions and if I do justice to my words so I can say let us accept the fact that it’s not sectarian violence BUT only Shia genocide. Because honestly speaking can you calculate how many Sunni graves have been dug and there have been bombings during Taraweeh? NO. Because they have never been targeted, the only sect that comes under threat as soon as Muharram starts is Shiite.

A very well-known Shia scholar Khanum Tayyaba was heavily threatened by ISIS and ASWJ, as a result she had to migrate from her own country. She left Pakistan a few years back and is now a Canadian citizen. Organizations whose mandate is to kill Shia and other religious minorities such as Tahreek-e-Taliban (TTP), Sipah –e-Sahaba (SSP)/ Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LEJ), Jundullah, Jaish-e-Islam and other extremist splinter groups falling in the legal system. The reported number of Shia killings in past 7-8 years is more than 3,500 excluding the number of people who have been injured badly.

Shia genocide is on its peak not only in Pakistan but in every other part of the world where they reside their existence becomes a problem for terrorist groups. Here is a link to the website from where you can get further information about Shia genocide around the world.

http://shiapost.com/tag/shia-genocide/

All the information stated in this website is accurate with proof.

In conclusion to this, 2016 has been a better and peaceful year for Shias comparatively. Although there have been bombings in Imambargah but the loss was not too extreme. Strict security has been provided for jaloos and majalis now. At least, this country has taken it as a serious issue and has started working on it practically (rather than just changing their facebook profile pictures to black) to eliminate Shia genocide completely. Let us hope for a peaceful Muharram ahead. May Allah protect every Muslim be it Shia or Sunni. Peace!

Breast Cancer - FACE IT! FIGHT IT! CURE IT!

Cancer – Its not just a word but one complete cycle of life and death. Its not just a disease but endless pain which sometimes lead to happiness and sometimes sorrow. Its hard for people like you and me to understand the exact amount of pain because we have not been through it so maybe that is why sometimes we neglect this issue or maybe consider it less important to talked about.

Now when we talk about Cancer there are many times of Cancer that has been discovered, among which the most common type that has widely spread worldwide in women is ‘Breast Cancer’. After its discovery for almost decades it was not taken seriously because such an issue was considered as a taboo. Now why any disease would be considered as a taboo? What is so bad about it? Is it worse than deaths of people? The answer is very simple and straight to the point, just because the issue included private organism of a female body which is why people have always been hesitant to speak on this.

I have come across almost 5-6 families who lost their loved ones due to breast cancer and on the other hand I have come across more than 10 families who faced it and cured it. These families are a living proof of how human life is far more important than any other taboo or societal norm.

If we talk about breast cancer then it’s a little scary to know that the victim of this disease has to go through numerous and countless number of chemo-therapies and radiation treatments and believe me its eye witnessing painful. A lot of care is required and since it’s a tumor that has grown inside the breast so in that case, the respective breast of a patient is cut off to remove that tumor or lump.

 During this process while a women loses her physical shape of body, hair and becomes really weak, there’s another thing that she loses too – her self-confidence and self-love. She no longer feels beautiful and affectionate, there is a wave of self-pity inside her that constantly tells her how ugly has she become and how terribly she has changed both physically and psychologically.  In these circumstances the only support she looks for is her family. If she is a wife, her husband should be there. If she is a daughter her father should be there. If she is a mother then her son should be there. And why these men should be considered? To make her believe in herself again, to make her realize she is beautiful regardless the disease, to make her sure that she is going to be just fine in no time and they are in this together. A support, a hand to hold and a shoulder to cry on is all she needs to bring back her faith in life and beauty.

Let us join hand and tell our women that they are not alone in this. Let us talk about it and raise awareness among people for its not a taboo to save a life! One life can save one house. If we keep on considering it a taboo we will stop our youth from discovering more cures to such diseases. A disease is NOT a shame and must not be taken lightly. The moment you get to know about its existence, start your treatment without having any second thoughts. FACE IT! FIGHT IT! CURE IT!

You can not do it because you are a girl?

    

Almost every single girl living in a male dominant society has heard this sentence a million times. You can't stay out till late because you are a girl. You can not go abroad because you are a girl. You can not sit at dhabas with your friends and crack jokes because you are a girl. You can not laugh oh-so-loudly because you are a girl. You can not marry a guy of your choice because you are a girl. And so many other countless statements like this spare no girl even in 21st century. Its basically sad to know this gender discriminatory society in a country who holds Oscar Awards because of a girl. In a country where a woman was the first lady Prime Minister in the whole world. A country where thousands of girls are pilots and officers. A country where female literacy rate is increasing day by day. But is that all? Because Ladies and Gentlemen, we are talking about the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Alas! It is the country where hundreds of girls/female infants are raped brutally every single day and sadly the ratio here is increasing too.
My question is why a girl, a victim has to face all the consequences of any misfortune that is known or unknown to her? Why is the world so unjust? Let me give you an example of every day life a girl has to go through. Imagine an 18 years old girl walking on a street on her way to home and she is followed by a group of boys x-raying her body, whistling and passing inappropriate comments (Let me add here its very normal for a girl in the world of today). Then when she gets home all sweating in torture and nervousness, she is the one to be blamed because at the end of the day 'she is a girl'. Her mother will ask her to start wearing a Hijaab, her father will scold her because she should have covered because it is never a guy's fault and her siblings will taunt her and forget the society it has never been so fair.
Here I am not debating about how a woman is harassed or in what ways men are wrong or society is terrible. My only concern here is how a girl has to suffer about the things she has never done.
I believe there is nothing a girl can not do. The formation of both the genders is different and therefore, God has divided work between the two of them but that doesn't make any one gender superior over the another in fact, it should lead to equality. Equal rights socially, domestically, physically, politically, religiously and psychologically. Tell a girl she can not do something and I bet she will prove you wrong there and then.
I am very proud of myself being a woman and of other people of my gender who have made it more than just possible to prove their existence in patriarchal society. I am emotionally and spiritually strong. I stand for the rights of my gender not because its superior but because its the most neglected and overlooked issue in our society. I can go without or with makeup, formally dressed or in pj's whole day, read books and loves to cook. I demand equality for both the genders to empower them in all aspects of life, nourish and polish their future. Girls I just have one message for you, you are strong, independent and a very beautiful creation of Almighty. Don't let this world convince you that you're not worth it. Your father is proud of you, your brother brags about you, your husband loves you and your son adores you! You are Fatima Jinnah. You are Benazir Bhutto. You are Abida Parveen. You are Muniba Mazari. You are Arfa Kareem. You are Bilqees Edhi. You are the Oscar Lady! You are Me and I am You. Be proud of who you are and cherish your womanhood forever for the hand that ROCKS the cradle is the hand that RULES the world!