People - 20

UNLIKE many children their age, 12-year-old Tariq Hussain Bacha and Zeeshan, 11, have never heard of pop stars Britney Spears or Avril Lavigne. But the two boys from Pakistan`s tough, tribal badlands are now child stars themselves, after selling thousands of albums of traditional songs at home and abroad. And their lives could hardly be [...]

Classical music buffs in town were treated to a rare and scintillating evening of vocal classical music at the Alliance Francaise Thursday evening. The star of the evening was a young woman, Marion Baglan, an opera vocalist from France. Even though most of the presentations were classical, there were some of the contemporary too. Baglan, [...]

Since partition, Hassim Hyder is the first player from across the border to play the entire Jaipur season. The talented player from Lahore is winning hearts at Jaipur these days. At 22, Hyder is a star of the Pakistan team and has played polo in over a dozen countries. But playing at Jaipur is a [...]

Multiple organs donation from a brain-dead girl has extended much-required lease of life to four renal-failure and cataract patients, making their Eid unforgettable, doctors said on Tuesday. Two blind people can see the light of day through the donated corneas and two young men can lead a normal life due to the kidneys gifted by [...]

Inspiration comes in the form of Sonny, a Pakistani gentleman who runs a mini-mart in the lobby of my office building. There are probably 1,000 people working in my building, and on any given day, at least 10 percent of us complain about our jobs. And though he has more to complain about than anyone, [...]

Pakistani music and especially ghazals are quite popular in Jammu. A Pakistani cultural troupe is slated to present a play in Jammu and Kashmir next week on Baba Bulle Shah, a 17th century Sufi saint who was revered by both Hindus and Muslims in his time. The troupe of 20 artistes, comprising qawwals and actors [...]

Pakistani band Strings that has featured in Spiderman-2, has a fan following in India too. Music has a greater influence than cricket, when it comes to improving Indo-Pak relations, believes Faisal Kapadia, lead vocalist of Pakistani band Strings. “In cricket one team wins and the other loses, while in the exchange of music concerts, it’s [...]

Umer Sharif’s name is synonymous with laughter. Known as the ‘laughter factory of South-East Asia’, the actor has legions of fans in Pakistan and India. His video plays and audio cassettes of his stand-up comedy shows are popular with Urdu speaking audiences all over the world. The actor has also written, directed and acted in [...]

Pakistan’s tennis prodigy Asiamul Haq Qureshi has signed a contract with international sportswear manufacturer Lotto. It may be recalled that Aisam is the most accomplished tennis player ever produced by Pakistan. In addition to being the most successful Davis Cup player of Pakistan, he has a long list of distinctions achieved during his illustrious international [...]

Two years ago Arooj Aftab was a middle-class Pakistani teenager living her life according to plan: She was working studiously under the watchful gaze of her parents to finish a two-year advanced-level degree in math and economics, and planning a sensible career in accounting. At the same time, Aftab was pursuing an interest that was [...]