Personal Political: Dear Abhijeet, please come to Pakistan

Posted on November 9, 2010 by beenasarwar

Yes, we do have theatre in Pakistan. Sania Saeed in 'Mein Adakara Banoongi'. Many other listings at http://www.danka.com.pk/

My monthly column Personal Political in The News on Sunday (Political Economy section, as ‘Going beyond ‘nothing’ in Pakistan’) and in Hard News, New Delhi

Good music too: Zeb and Haniya. See their interview at http://bit.ly/zebhania

Oct 24, 2010 Personal Political

Going beyond ‘nothing in Pakistan’

Beena Sarwar

“There is nothing in Pakistan,” said the Indian playback singer with finality. “They have no auditoriums, no facilities, there is nothing there. Everything is here (in India).”

Another example of the misconceptions about Pakistan, I thought, waiting to respond. The playback singer, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, and I were participating in a talk show for NewsX TV in New Delhi. Participating from a hired studio in Karachi, I could hear, but not see, the others.

When I tried to reply to this comment, the Indians couldn’t hear me, although I could still hear them through my earpiece connected to a phone line. I was no longer on air. NewsX had booked a live uplink from Pakistan for 20 minutes, which was over. Symbolic? Continue reading →

Filed under: Pakistan-India | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Personal Political: Plays and books, not bombs

Posted on March 12, 2010 by beenasarwar

Pakistan's foremost sculptor Shahid Sajjad at the Retrospective exhibition at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi, Feb 2010

My monthly column for Hardnews, India, also published in The News on Sunday, (March 7, 2010)

Feb 25, 2010

Beena Sarwar

“New Karachi literary festival hopes to turn page on bombs,” trumpeted a headline in the Independent, UK.

Inspired by Jaipur, the festival in March “may not turn the page on the bombs,” as Siraj Khan, a Boston-based Pakistani commented in an email, “but it is very inspiring. In my recent 7-month stint in Karachi, I saw and felt this breath of fresh air myself. This has not happened overnight and it’s not just the new crop of writers who are turning the tide.” Continue reading →

Filed under: Pakistan | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

%d bloggers like this: