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Transcript: A book review
“I need more freight trains if I’m going to take care of things quickly.”Sifting through shelves in one of the many little bookshops dotted around the Soho / China-town area of London one can find any...
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Growing wings in a bus
The girl standing in the women’s section among more men than women in the morning rush hour had been, with all the force of indoctrination, prior experience, and will, pretending as if nothing just...
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No excuses for these deaths
That children suffer from malnutrition and die in India is not a big-font story anymore. But when 23 children being fed in a government scheme die, it makes news. And, when it made news, the Bihar...
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This is what happens if you give up your honour
-Illustration by Khuda Bux Abro.“Sardar Hashim Khan weighed his spear and spurred his horse. The beast galloped towards his daughter. Even before the spectators could understand what was happening, the...
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Four reasons why PTI could not change our political culture
Many enthusiasts of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf are disappointed that the tsunami could not happen. The more considerate analysts, however, think that tsunami or not, the party has done well. It has risen...
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The wonderland of wood
For whom the bell tollsThe 16th day of April in 1853 is special in the Indian history. The day was a public holiday. At 3:30 pm, as the 21 guns roared together, the first train carrying Lady Falkland,...
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The untapped blessing of hydropower
Hydropower is the cheapest way to generate electricity today and hydroelectric power provides almost one-fifth of the world's electricity. Pakistan is, of course blessed with an abundance of renewable...
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On black and white and conspiracy theories
When I was a teenager growing up in Karachi during General Zia’s time, I used to believe that armed revolution was the only solution to the woes of the world. I used to try and convince my school mates...
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In the time of madness
Strange, surreal times are here. The sounds of silence are echoing through the alleys of apathy. Ostensible orators are thumping the pulpits pointlessly. The glass of gray matter molded through...
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A nation of news junkies
-Photo illustration by Eefa Khalid.Sitting at a desk in Dawn’s newsroom, you tend to hear many things; from nonchalant discussions about Alastair Cook’s facial expressions, to the very serious matter...
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Putting Aakash within the reach of Pakistani children
When it comes to what children can dream to achieve, the sky (Aakash) should be the limit. But this may not be possible with disease, hunger, and poverty robbing children in the developing world of...
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An election
After completing my O LeveI from the Karachi Grammar School in January 1983, I joined Saint Patricks Government College (aka St. Pat’s) in March 1983. Situated at the heart of one of Karachi’s busiest...
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Humsaaya: Our young generations and us
-Illustration by Khuda Bux Abro.My neighbour lives beside me under the same shade. There was a time when we used to live under the same roof as one family, like brothers. But then came the hate-filled...
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The doctor brides
It used to be that she only needed to be fair, from a good family, charming, and pliable. Now it seems the perfect bride for the darling son of this or that family – must also be a doctor. Gone are the...
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Weekly Classics: V for Vendetta
A dark allegorical political thriller, V for Vendetta charts the rise and the beginning of the fall of a fictional totalitarian regime in England that aims to suppress all dissent in political and...
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The father of taboos
Being young and being a woman can be a handy combination, especially in my line of work.I wear jeans and shalwar kameez with equal comfort and frequency. I do not use any make-up or perfume at work. I...
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The demon-haunted world: A book review
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -Carl SaganYou know when something is so good it starts to burst out of your skin? You just want everyone around you to be a part of it in some...
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How we ran away from home yet we miss it so much
On his first day as the village imam, Mullah Nasruddin climbed his elevated seat, looked at the congregation and asked: “Do you know what I am about to tell you today?”“No, we do not,” the worshippers...
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Rear window on the Qutub Minar
-Photo courtesy of Archaeological survey of India.Having the Qutub Minar peer at you from the car’s rear view mirror as you drive to office is just what the doctor ordered for the morning. All around,...
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In pursuit of clarity
Dear Parliamentarians,I write to you in the hope of assisting you in a rather arduous task being assigned to you by the PTA. If recent reports are to be believed, the Pakistan telecommunication...
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