Culture

Creators of the hit television series “Ainak wala jin” from the mid-1990s announced on Wednesday their plans to revive the show for another series later this year. The show, of which the hallmark was the depiction of wizardry and magic in a light and comic manner, was aired between 1993 and 1996 to an audience that ranged from children to youth, as well as older viewers. Characters such as “Zakoota”, “Bill Batouri” and “Nastoor” became...

Ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan, passed away at a local hospital in Karachi on Wednesday. Before illness ended his career he was already hailed as the king of ghazal, and a man who had revolutionized the art form forever. His life and work marked an era of traditional ghazal style that many say, has ended with his demise. He was plagued by lung, chest and urinary tract disorder for over a decade, and the illnesses had taken away his voice and career,...

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy made Oscar history late Sunday, as she became the first Pakistani to win the coveted award for her documentary film Saving Face. Chinoy’s triumph is, rightly, being celebrated with much vigour and the country’s prime minister has announced the highest civilian award for the filmmaker. The film, which beat competition in the form of documentaries based on Japan’s deadly tsunami and the Iraq war among others, is the story...

Shoaib Akhtar has done it again. He is the centre of attention, managed to invite some controversy and started a debate that perhaps did not even cross the minds of cricket fans. “I think players like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid weren’t exactly match winners to start with, nor did they know the art of finishing the game,” Akhtar said on the eve of his book launch in India. The auto-biography titled “Controversially Yours” is Akhtar...

Born in 1911 in Sialkot, Faiz Ahmed Faiz became one of Pakistan’s most prominent and beloved poets of all time. Faiz lead an interesting life from the very beginning – his education included religious studies from the age of four when he began memorising the Quran, attended the Scotch Mission High School while at the same time, learnt Persian and Arabic, taught as a lecturer in Amritsar and then enrolled in the army and served for five years. Faiz...

Decades after films such as Armaan and Doraha were released, the debonair Waheed Murad remains a treat to watch. An exceptional actor who had a screen presence that his leading ladies envied, Lollywood’s quintessential chocolate hero died 26 years ago today. The early death of this educated and talented actor and producer was one of the major blows to an industry that now lies gasping for air. Murad was born on October 2, 1938, in Karachi and news...

A legendary poet like Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984) needs no introduction. In Pakistan, where one authoritarian government has made way for another since 1947, Faiz’s person and work is largely known as a symbol of resistance. In his poetry, he represented the people’s longing for freedom and democracy and became a source of inspiration for those seeking to build a just society. Faiz began his career as a lecturer in English at Amritsar,...

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, died of cardiac arrest on Thursday, but his musical legacy is here to stay. He released 13 No.1 singles, won 13 Grammy Awards, put out Thriller, the biggest selling album of all time, and sold 750 million records worldwide. His repertoire is sheer genius, each album breaking new musical ground, innovating new musical styles and setting the tone for a generation. Is it possible, then, to have a favourite Michael Jackson...

Dawn.com invites its readers to debate current topics on this forum. Sufi Islam has recently been coming under attack across the country. A number of shrine caretakers in Sindh have been mysteriously murdered. Last week, in Buner, Taliban militants locked down Pir Baba’s shrine and continue to guard its entrance. Last month, Sufi mystic Rehman Baba’s shrine in the outskirts of Peshawar was bombed by militants. What explains these assaults on...

Dawn.com invites its readers to share their memories of April 4, 1979, in this forum. Thirty years ago, the nation awoke to learn that ex-Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had been hanged in Rawalpindi’s central jail. Although most Pakistanis were expecting Mr Bhutto to face severe punishment, no one was prepared for what happened at 2:00 a.m. on April 4, after all the mercy petitions made to General Ziaul Haq were rejected. Gruesome details...