London vs Paris

As you may have guessed now I do like comparing things. It’s a bad habit, but hey, you guys asked for bakwaas, now here, have some.

There are some things in life that are incomparable and some of those I value deeply. Everything else in-between however, is subjected to my comparing.

About the two cities, I’ve now buzzed around both, thus I deem I qualify in order to make a comparison. So, let’s start shall we?

To be perfectly honest, aside from the language difference, there is hardly any ‘visible difference’ between either city. They share a similar general landscape (buildings), climate and a very similar metro/underground/subway system. There’s a similar cosmopolitan feel and a beautiful blend of people from all over the world. Ok, so the touristy places are distinguished like London’s Big Ben and Buckingham Palace etc and Paris’s Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe, yada yada. Oh, and the cuisine! Of course, food, but even that depends on what kind of food you’re looking to eat, I suppose, if like me and the BFF you’re going to dive on fast food, then that omits any differences in cusine too.

However there are some differences worth noting down:

Men:

It’s a fact, the men in London are gay, most of them are anyway.  I’m serious. I’ve visited London about three times now with my female friends and have really made an effort with my appearance each time. Oh, and by the way ‘making an effort’ isn’t necessarily about roping in men – actually honestly, that’s never truly my reason for taking care of my appearance* – but I’m completely treated like I’m invisible in London.  I fail to elicit even a blink! Are they blind? Do they even know who I  am? How rude. I could just swear they’re all gay!

Men aside however, people in London never make eye contact with you and come across cold and snobbish. There’s generally a very ‘tense’ atmosphere. I suppose it is one of the hubs of the world’s financial activity, maybe that contributes to the busy and ‘tense’ factor.

There’s a famous unspoken rule about the London Underground too and that’s never to make eye contact (let alone speak) with fellow passengers on the tube.

Now, Paris, is the complete opposite. The men (and women) were so open, welcoming and friendly it was touching. It’s so not what I was expecting. I was used to the arctic bitch factor of London. I was literally treated like a princess. All that attention does have its negatives though and for the first time ever I got unprecedented attention from men, me, more than my friend (which she wasn’t very happy about). There’s a certain point where it’s all really flattering (or in my case, embarrassing) but beyond that point it’s just perverted, and there were a few unsavoury ‘incidences’. luckily other people in my vicinity interfered and kind of rescued me. Girls, don’t forget to pack the pepper spray. Even then though, I didn’t feel so threatened by him, I felt I could easily have outsmarted him and ran, but I suppose I should never underestimate these things. But it’s like instinct with some people, with some guys in the past, I’ve only to have recieved so much as a look and I’ve felt so shaken and violated and permanently traumatised.

I think the worst time though was was when I split up from my friend whilst shopping at the Champs Elysees and we agreed to meet a certain shop, I was crossing the road and bumped into two American tourists who then began to follow me calling out ”voules vous couche avec moi”. Like I don’t know what that bloody means? I didn’t say a word, just ignored them like I hadn’t heard them and tried losing myself in the crowds but they followed me around for atleast 20mins, even following me into a shop, where I sought help from the big, burly security guard there. He finally put an end to it. Phew! Just be careful girls.  Remember, men in Paris, whether they’re tourists or locals, are quite unashamedly keen on women. When I told the girls at work about the latter incident, they were surprised I hadn’t turned on my heel and yelled: ”Oye, I’m from Manchustuh! And I’ll deck yuh’s!” They would have ran in the other direction quicker than lightning, never to bother me again. Haha! That sounds right actually. Seedy Americans, honestly.

Then there was another thing that happened which was really, really sweet, I’ll blog about that another time though.

Fashion:

Parisians dress very casually and minimalistic. Quite unlike how urban folk dress in England, but one thing’s right though, they may even look boring but Parisians never seem to look tacky. I truly envy them for that.

In England people are generally a bit more expressive when it comes to fashion but at the same time not all of these fashionable folk can carry the look off, on a whole, they risk looking very, very tacky.

It was a gay guy in the Kenzo menswear boutique who I was speaking with who actually instigated this whole London vs Paris debate thing. He was a Frenchman completely enamored by London over Paris, because of the ‘flamboyance’ and ‘E…’ damn, what’s that E word he used… Can’t remember now. Anyway, he’s gay, Londoners are gay too, so of course – that’s his spiritual home.

General attitudes:

Friendly, very warm as I’ve already mentioned. Always willing to help, well in my case anyway. They actually went out of their way to help me out. Like many times when I asked for help with directions they actually walked us halfway to our destination. Sometime they’d approach us themselves if we looked a little lost. Or one teenager, I remember when we asked him for directions and about two blocks down we amost took the wrong turn and he ran to catch up with us, down those two blocks, out of breath, he then proceeded to walk us to the place we wanted to go before turning and going back the way he was originally going.  Anything, anywhere, whatever, they helped us out. I’m truly indebted to these people. Wait till you hear the other story about that ’sweet’ incident too. You’d be awestruck.  Oh wait, how can I forget about the old owners (brothers) of Cafe Istanbul, a few doors away from our hotel. We ate there every night we were there and sometimes during the day. They really treated us like princesses. They’d be so happy to see us whenever we walked in and then they weeped when we bade them farewell. Sniff! I’m feeling the compulsion to return already.

Then there’s the return of the caring attitude when it comes to protests and things. I heard that Paris holds many a street protest/rally, quite frequently. I was there for roughly 6 days and only got to witness one protest and that was one against the Tamil Tigers. I noticed how strangers off the street no matter who were quite respectful to the cause and either joining in or being pleasant enough to at least enquire about the cause and help themselves to flyers. Everyone just looked so interested, whether it was some European, Asian Oriental, African or Arab, whoever.

One can’t even dream of either the former or latter attitudes being present in the mindset of the Londoners. They simply don’t have any time to spare a thought, apparently.

Accessibility:

As I said in the photos post, everything is just so within reach. In London it’s as if you can only admire things from a distance. It’s all cordoned off and manned by security personnel at certain parameters. Boo!

Whereas in Paris everything’s seemingly just so open and within your reach.

To be fair, at the time when I visited London to do the touristy things like London Eye (it’s so crap!) and River Thames cruise, it was really busy and during the summer at peak time. Despite having pre-booked tickets, we still had to wait about 2hrs to board on each attraction. Those tickets weren’t exactly cheap either. Really didn’t enjoy it.

With Paris it was a relatively low fare and didn’t have to wait as there was hardly a queue to go up the Eiffel Tower (still, we didn’t go, as we opted for a refreshing stroll around Parc du Mars and some ice cream instead. That and the fact that my friend’s scared of heights) and then there was the River Seine cruise which was a low fare and again hardly anybody queuing and it was a really relaxed and stress-free experience.  Yippee!

The Pakistani cuisine dilemma:

This was my first time visiting France, in case you were wondering. I recall watching ‘9os TV show Gulls and Guys and the part when Junaid Jamshed (pre-mullah makeover era) visited Paris, there was a Lahore Food Street style place which served Pakistani food. It was my mission to find this place. Thanks to my friend S’s research skill, she found it. It’s called Passage Brady and it was only a 5 minute walk from our hotel in 10th Arandissement. Perfect! But, no make that a BIG BUT, there was no Pakistani food. It was Indian food only. Now there is a difference between these two cusines (and I’m glad to know that French people reportedly know and appreciate the difference). Besides we couldn’t eat there anyway as the meat used wasn’t necessarily halal. I would have been happy with vegetarian but then, maybe I’m still a little narrow minded, as I wasn’t entirely comfortable eating in a place where everywhere my eyes rested was a picture or statue of the Hindu gods. Sorry, but I’m being honest when I say I didn’t feel very comfortable. We left Passage Brady and finally found a Halal eatery run by Muslim Indians from Delhi. The food was a-ok.

You see there’s a reason we were looking specifically for Pakistani food, let’s ignore the bias with my being a Pakistani myself; honestly who can dispute the superior yumminess of Pakistani food? Who? No one! My experience in Saudi Arabia (well mine and a group of Pakistani-food-loving Moroccans experience alike) substantiated the true value of wholesome, authentic Pakistani food.

Be wary though, a lot of Indian eateries in Paris claim to serve ‘Pakistani food’, well they don’t, it’s a rip-off ploy.  We tried in vain to find a Pakistani place but ended up eating at Cafe Istanbul anyway (their stuff was gorgeous too and I’m craving it so bad now).

Our prayers were finally answered on that day were shopping at the Champs Elysees when we spotted a tall man dressed in Pakistani attire; a white salwar kameez, a mirrored Balochi style waistcoat and the pagri and all that jazz, holding up a placard reading ”Authentic Pakistanais Cuisine” (ok, so all of it was written in French). Upon approaching him he led us into a mall leading to the restaurant. This time I wasn’t taking any chances and asked the men there (they were all old ‘uncle’ types, ok? No ideas please) – whereabouts they’re originally from, we only took a seat when they replied Lahore. And then, we feasted on cheese filled naan, a fingerlicking, yummy mixed grill, saagh aloo, parathay and mango lassi, yum yum yum YUM! Then when we got the bill at a ridiculous 65 euros (!), we came straight back down to earth!

Oh! We also spoke at length with the uncle jees in Urdu about Pakistani politics and my Mush-loving friend joined in with the waiters as they did some Zardari-bashing, yawn. When they finally shut up I asked them about why it’s so difficult to find Pakistani food in Paris and why there are ‘fake Pakistani eateries’ etc. They replied that in terms of ‘desi food’  Paris is behind England by about a good 15 years.  Wow! Britons are very lucky. But in England Pakistani food is marketed as Indian food in most premium restaurants in order to sell. Completely opposite to the situation in Paris really.

So there you go then! Despite the food thing though, there was no real issue really in finding Halal food, there were plenty of Arab, Turk etc places everywhere really.

So, this is a no brainer really; It’s PARIS all the way!

Now these are my very personal experiences, views and I’m sure such experiences variate between individuals.

* How can a girl explain… It’s more like when you’re an old woman you’d want to remember yourself in your youth as a ‘vision of  loveliness’ or something (cough-cough).

Springtime in Paris II

Here are some more pictures of places I loafed around in the French capital. Apreciez.

Eiffel tower from a distance

Very apt eh? Seeing a giant billboard reading ‘Visit Australia’.

This was my first sight of the tower, just as we got out of the metro station. Can’t believe how excited we were at that point, we hopped, skipped and twirled our way towards the tower. Then we got ripped off mega by some roadside painters who insisted on drawing two ‘beautiful British ladies’ (don’t even ask how they guessed that – or how much they charged).

On closer view (one of those cliche type snaps – sorry Specs)

Gosh! Every picture has a story, I’d rather let you appreciate my amateur but effin’ brilliant photography instead. Stories can come later – I’ll dedicate whole posts to them.

Oh! But let me add, I loved the accessibility in the city, you can go up to things (i.e. the Eiffel tower) and hug them and nothing’s cordoned off or anything. It’s kind of a homely, cosy feeling. Love it.

Champs Elysees & a glimpse of the Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe

The above was taken whilst standing at the side of the road. I did take one closer up and at a central crossing area to get a better view, but then they look boring, this looks much better, I promise.

Some random statue, against the backdrop of a clear blue sky

This statue was right near our hotel. Sigh! I loved our hotel, we had a lovely adjoining balcony too. Could have spent a week just on that balcony. Not much a view as there was scaffolding up, but those builders had  hot model-looks and I did whistle at them once and held up my bottle of Orangina to them in a toast (those orange pulpy bits in Orangina can seriously mess up a girl’s head).

Please don’t laugh, my friend forced me to come here, honest-to-goodness!

I’ll just like to add; this place is seriously, seriously tacky! It’s strictly infants only. Still we managed to have a giggle or two.

A hot air balloon (no snidy jokes about me here please)

Exterior of Mosquee de Paris

The courtyard and prayer hall area is absolutely amazing here, unfortunately didn’t think to take any photos at the time as we were in a flurry about the Jumah congregation, which is very atmospheric by the way.

The masjid’s cafe

This was such a tranquil beautiful place. There were plenty of non-Muslims there too, leisurely soaking in the atmosphere and the sounds of birds chirping in the trees overhead (ok, now I sound like an OAP, maybe I should take up bird watching and stamp collecting).

This place transports you to some place in North Africa though (i.e. Morocco, Algeria or Tunisia) – which is exactly what it was made to emulate. I love all the attention to detail.

Another extension of the cafe, under canopy shade

The a la menthe – the cafe’s speciality

This stuff is yum but still pretty sweet, much more than I’m accustomed to – almost like a tea version of Rooh-e-Afza sans the rose extracts. Seeing this reminds me of this song of the same name, which also featured in the OST of Ocean’s Twelve.

The departures lounge at CDG airport

Au revoir Paris, till next time.

Sigh! That was fun.

P.s. There were much, much more photos than this and also more places we visited, but for privacy reasons I won’t be sharing those with you as those snaps feature me and the bestie quite prominently.

Springtime in Paris

It was always a wish of mine to visit Paris in the springtime, and I did, with my best friend. I really enjoyed it, but will do a detailed post on it and add more photos soon.

Thanks for all the comments folks, will get back to all of you.

I’m aware I’ve lost my blogging touch. Before I had nothing but ‘bakwaas’ to share with you folks and I did so diligently. I’ve since noticed a tremendous change in myself and I am at a crossroads right now. That also means I’ve so much to say but suddenly I don’t know how to say it. I don’t know how to word anything. I promise one thing though and that’s that I won’t give up on this blog just yet.

Psst.. Do you like my photography?

Some Eye Candy

I know, I know. I’m perfectly  aware of how bad things are these days and I will (hopefully, one of these days) stop being such a girl and actually start blogging my thoughts on something a little more substantial.

As in I’ll try my best impressions of a total whiney bloke who simply rants against the institutions and thus think he automatically qualifies as an ‘intellectual’ or something…

(I’m not joking, there is actually a blogger who calls himself ‘an intellectual’ on his blog description. Which, in my books is just as blasphemous as calling oneself ‘attractive’ and/or ‘golden rock-hard’.)

But, enough of that for now. Onto the eye candy I promised.

I love it when my superstar crushes appear in commercials. Some of these may be barrel loads of cheese, but let’s be honest: who cares about  content?

I’ll take three of each!- if it means I can get any of these dreamboats in the deal!

First up is French League (Ligue) player Youssouf Hadji in a Morroccan Bank Ad.  (Hadji is so underrated a player – when he scores your heart leaps up to your throat – he’s truly that good.)

Takeshi Kaneshiro – the actor in a cheesy but loveable (pun unintentional) Sony Erricsson ad.

And again in an advert for Sony Vaio, that he also composed the music for and directed himself.

Thierry Henry in that classic Renault Clio ad campaign. ”Aye Bobby what’s the French for Va Va Voom?”

And for Pepsi he outsizzles even Claudia Schiffer.

Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton’s (garish, tacky, blurgh!) Blason Jewellery.

I also recall a Zidane advert for Adidas back in ‘98 with Fatboy Slim’s ‘Right Here Right Now’ as the background score. Even the memory of it gives me goosebumps.

But then aside from adverts I also enjoy those quirky fan-made videos one can easily find in abundance on youtube;

Desmond of Lost, Johnny Depp and this gorgeous Takeshi Kaneshiro one (yes, him again).

Ali Azmat’s newest offering

What say you?

I say he just gets slicker and slicker, he can do no wrong as a musician, even his attempts at English are kind of good (I honestly couldn’t see what people’s problem was with ‘No More’, though Ali Noor has proved better in that field – not that I’m comparing – golly, I need to stop comparing).

I admire Zeeshan Parwez’s work on this too, it’s genius, and couldn’t fit the mood of the times any better.

I’ve also managed to get ahold of Kalashinfolk, finally (an original CD people – yay! And booo to piracy), lovin’ it so far, though I’ve yet to listen to it extensively in order to pick out the favourites. Social Circus was jam packed with absolutely gorgeous numbers like Mein (loves itttt!), Mungagan, Teri Parchaiyan, Yar mere yar and of course Na  re na! Waah!

I disagree with what some entertainment writers have been harping on about, that he is sitting back allowing this album to sell by just his name alone, well hey, it’s his choice and seriously if anyone can do just that, it’s him. At this stage in his career is he still needing to be self-gratuitous to sell?

Just for clarification; I’m still not fond of him as a person, simply as a musician.

Plus, Ali Azmat’s lover following is now officially epitomised by the one fan’s gushing exclamation;

” I loave u…trust me,,,, i wanna be ur indyan lol”.

Damn it! What’s a ”lol”? Help a girl out here!

p.s. In the vid, is that T-shirt a shout-out to Marxism, perhaps?  Not very chic!

God Bless the 80s!

This video above is a montage or simply a fan video I favourited on Youtube some months back. I found it whilst looking for clips from the Wong-Kar-Wai film ‘2046′. I’ll tell you more about this fantastic movie later, it’s the final film of a trilogy so it’ll take a while especially since it’s one of those films where every minute detail matters and adds to the story, the blink and you’ll miss it sort. Till then, the song used in this clip caught my attention, it’s a little unusual but pretty good. I did a little research and found it was a cover of an 80’s hit by Phil Oakley titled ‘Together in Electric Dreams’.

The lyrics really make sense to me (all apart from the ”electric” bit, dreams yes, but not electric) and why they were used in this clip with a focus on Faye Wong’s androidian character. I recall saying to people, both here on my blog and friends that ‘I felt like the android with delayed reactions in 2046′, well this is what I meant, because I felt so foolish for realising how much I loved someone far after I’d said goodbye to him forever, there was simply no excuse for my retarded behaviour with that person, that’s one thing I will always regret.

Back to the song, although the cover was what lured me in I’ve become a huge fan of the original, because of it’s 80s-ness (and Oakley is so jam hot!).

Maybe this is because I was born in the 80s but anything 80s related just gets me moving and instantly feeling great! Or does everyone feel the 80s was an infectiously feel-good era? I was too little to remember much of it, but I do remember idolising my next door neighbour, who was an air hostess for PIA and I simply used to adore her attire, big hair and wacky earrings, in fact she was lovely, I remember she used to paint my little nails and give me her old unwanted earrings, I always wanted to emulate her when I grew up, of course when I got into my teens in the 90s I would barf at the memory of her hair, makeup, clothes. Here’s an idea of what she was like;

In case you’re wondering it’s an image from Teejay’s, the designer from the 80s, he was behind Shehnaz Sheikh’s and Marina Khan’s fab wardrobe in Tanhaiyan.

I just love the 80’s – they seemed like such wonderful times, thanks to my older brother’s vinyl collections I’m also a big fan of Alexander O’Neal’s and Kashif’s music. Music aside, TV was great (remember A-Team?), both Pakistani and internationally (I’ve just remembered I also want to review Ehsas – starring Rahat Kazmi & Marina Khan – which is awesome), films were colourful and fun, even films like ‘Wedding Singer’ paying homage to the 80s make my day everytime and this song by Nelly Furtado (although the video is a letdown).

Also, since I’m on about the 80s, how can we forget the Pepsi Vs Cola wars? Although I’m not a Coke fan, I recall this scene from a film I first watched in my childhood and love the the way both the song and the Coca-Cola billboard adds to it;

But then Pepsi trumps it with a certain ambassador. Yes, she’s another icon! Or who can forget VS’s Pepsi Pepsi Pakistan? The very number that NFP’s repetitive bitching of made HIM the iconic critic he is today.

Yes, God bless the 80s!

And in case you’re wondering if I’m sat moping about over a lost love? No, not really, I’m just contemplating whether I should serenade him with Phil Oakley’s version of Electric Dreams, complete with retro dance steps or simply stalk him until he gives in (what wife and 3 babies?).

Picture of the Week | 4

We wear co-ordinated frilly shirts, sunburn, cheesy grins, hairy chests and big mullets – therefore we are!

A younger, uber-fashiony Imran Khan and unidentifiable furry object Sarfaraz Nawaz.

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A sight for sore eyes?

I have to say, he’s pretty hot. The First Lady however is not. What do you think of her outfit? It’s designer too. All I could honestly think seeing this was; ”wtf is she wearing?”

We may not get as many gaffes as per Bushisms, with this President but I’m sure his wife’s choice of wardrobe will be just as cringeworthily fun.

Credit: Getty Images via. Grazia Magazine

A Two-Shoe Farewell Salute to Bush

Shoes in the air people, who’s gunna miss Bush?

Ok, cliches aside, I just read via Press TV’s site that 73% of Americans don’t particularly love their former president. That’s pretty good actually, it perhaps demonstrates as well as the electoral results in November that the ‘ignorant masses’ are fizzling out in that country? Because face it, online polls always show disastrous results, be it any country, online is where the real ignorants come out to play, and is either non-reflective or scarily very reflective of how the masses of that country think. But yeah 73% Bush-haters – wow! Sounds like it’s a pleasanter place to visit now.

Here are some of the best Bush ‘testimonials’ from UK residents, Enjoy!

Today must rank as one of the greatest days the world has ever seen. Bush has finally gone as president of the US. The man was in the most powerful position to be held in the world but had a brain the size of a pickled walnut.

So apart from lying about WMD, bringing down a PM of Great Brtain with him, starting a war without the full agreement of other UN countries, being responsible for 1000’s of innocent Iraqi and Afghan dead and being the least popular president since Nixon not to mention the World Recession and countless body bags of US Marines, “marked return to sender”!
His odds of success were about as equal to that of trying to teach a chimpanzie Advanced Algebra!
He could always find a job as a Demolition Man after he leaves the Whitehouse, apart from that and after 8 years in power it’s time to ask the burning question! “Who was that asshole pretending to be a President”?

I think all the gaffs that Bush made, made him human,and not robot like; Remember fish and man can live together, Now stand back and watch this swing…….

Anyone who is dumb enough to wave at Stevie Wonder shouldn’t be president of the royal society for the blind never mind the US. Sorry Bush you won’t be missed good riddance you plonker!

The man is an Idiot.!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Poor politician, great comedian. Missed his calling.

I thought you needed a reminder of just a few of the Bushisms. You did say you admired the man Sir,234.
“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004
“See, free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don’t attack each other. Free nations don’t develop weapons of mass destruction.” —Milwaukee, Wis., Oct. 3, 2003
“I don’t know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don’t care. It’s not that important. It’s not our priority.” —Washington, D.C., March 13, 2002
“I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe — I believe what I believe is right.” —Rome, Italy, July 22, 2001
“Do you have blacks, too?” —to Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Washington, D.C., Nov. 8, 2001

Wendy you are right he was an angel, an angel of death!

 

Uh-oh! I see dumb people, they mingle with regular people! Read below:

He may not have been the most articulate president but we ALL owe him a huge debt of gratitude. At leased he made the hard decisions and took on terrorism rather than appeasement and looking the other way like all of the spineless cowards that criticise him.

He always did things for the right reason.

Bush was a hero with the holy war and the way he stood his ground will be missed.

yes bush was a breath of fresh air shame hes gone

its such a shame bush had to go he was the ****** if some people can not see it just hope bushs younger brother gets in in the future god bless bush

g bush is a legend the greatest lon live bush

Who else is convinced George  typed those comments himself?

 

Oh.. and something about the new guy, which I found hilarious.

I wonder how many people are aware that Obama has been proven to have used Neuro-Linguistic-Programming and sophisticated subtle Hypnosis techniques throughout ALL of his election campaigning on the American public that caused them to vote for him?

 

And a final thought;

The best presidents the U.S. have had in recent times were Nixon, because he brought them out of vietnam and Reagan, he defeated the communists. both of the were republicans. Obama has yet to prove himself at anything. No doubt Gordon Brown will be licking his bottom soon enough.

Picture of the Week | 2

The one least likely to do a JJ on us.

Ali Zafar on the sets of Khuda Kay Liye prior to him quitting.
Just when we all thought there was nothing AZ couldn’t do, seeing this makes me grateful for the final outcome. Ali Zafar does not a handsome maulvi make.

L-R; Unknown, Ali Zafar, Shoaib Mansoor (heart), Khawar Jawad and Bilal Lashari.

Picture of the Week

Past, Present & Future

The Late Benazir Bhutto with Husband Pakistan’s current President Asif Ali Zardari and son Bilawal Bhutto (Zardari).

What the musicians are saying;

I just found this, it’s old news now but still quite relevant and interesting. I love what Faakhir said, quite pleasantly surprised, same with Rohail Hyatt.

Read on.

”Pakistani stars react to escalating tension between Pakistan & India

Pakistani artistes – musicians and actors especially – have been making hay while the sun has shone brightly on the peace process between India and Pakistan. But that relationship-building process seems to be in jeopardy now that the bridge has been dislodged. Instep Today talks to the stars who frequent India and get their opinions on what might happen next…

Fakhir

“Blaming the Muslims straight up without any evidence is childish. It’s disappointing to see the section of media blaming Pakistanis and Muslims for crimes against humanity. We condemn this violence in Pakistan as well as anywhere in the world and we feel for Indians. There will be a political showdown, muscle flexing and drama for some time and hopefully nothing serious is going to happen in the end. I’m hoping 2009 would be a better year. Last night, I saw scrolls of news stating Pakistani films, musicians and dramas are banned in India and I thought it was bizarre. Politicians and philosophers in the world don’t react like that.

If Indian films and channels are restricted here, like very smartly restricted in India, it would be great for our own dramas and music industry. Indian channels were restricted earlier and that’s when Pakistani pop bloomed. And that way, we will learn to defend our own people and expertise. It would be an opportunity for us.”

Xulfi

Of course the Mumbai blasts have affected not only the Indo-Pak relationship but the whole exchange of talent too. We were supposed to travel to India this month for the shoot of our two songs which are being incorporated in upcoming movies, ‘Aloo Chat’ and ‘Aasman’ but we had to call off our trip. We were even there for their music launch because of the whole situation. We were supposed to shoot one of our songs in India too but now we are going to Malaysia for its shooting.

The producers asked us not to come right now but that was not because of any anti-Pakistan sentiment but purely because of the security reasons. There are few people who blame Pakistan for it and they are probably the political sources. The general people have no hatred for Pakistanis. And, we know very well that the political stance is always different from the general stance. So politically there might be the element of detestation but on a people level, they are very welcoming.

For now, we can only wait and watch how the situation turns out to be in near future because it’s not that we are afraid to go to India, we are not even safe in our country. Don’t forget what happened at the World Performing Arts Festival and the recent riots in Karachi. It’s really difficult to go indulge in any recreational activity at home too, so crossing the border is a different ball game altogether.

Rohail Hyatt

I don’t think anyone can say that what happened in India was right. It’s a very complex situation and to get a full flavour of what happened one needs to see the whole picture. However the role played by the Indian and western media has been so irresponsible, while our media has played a more responsible role, even if there are some war mongering elements here. I may sound stupid, but I feel like this is a trap and people seem to fall into it. Personally, I was very sad at what happened. But then within the first hour – CNN, BBC and then the Indian media all joined and said it’s Islamic terrorists who have done it. On what basis? It’s shocking – it’s instantly branding us as guilty, both because of the country we belong to as well as our faith. From empathizing with India, I felt this anger at the fingers being pointed at us, that we’ve been implicated in this. And there are so many conspiracy theories – how do they know the attackers were from Pakistan? One can quite easily distinguish between Indians and Pakistanis and the faces that they’ve shown on television look like Indians. And no one in Pakistan knows of these people, where they’ve hailed from, no one has come forward saying they know them. We have been suddenly sidelined and told off as guilty!

Anger has started rising – I was watching television yesterday and these people were calling in saying cinemas should be closed which have Indian films running in them. But the kind of angry sentiment that has come out from the Indians, it is like they haven’t accepted the reality of Pakistan. Indians have to do some soul searching. I was watching this program on Indian television, which had an SMS poll where 90 percent of respondents said India should attack Pakistan. There’s war mongering going on. India is not a tolerant society – they have hard line elements like the BJP there.
Bal Thackeray has already announced that Pakistani comedians or singers shouldn’t come to India. And where is the western media when Christians are being massacred in India or unarmed protestors are being killed in Kashmir? Isn’t that terrorism as well? Or when 160 people are killed in Afghanistan because a bomb fell on a wedding; and most of those who die are kids.

What I think needs to happen is that people have to come together and it has to be a people-to-people movement. However there isn’t any easy solution to this. I’d be the biggest fool in the world to have Indian artists come here to perform in this situation, for instance. What we need to do is to set a good example, and lead by it if the spotlight is on us. We need to not compromise on our defense but also have a very friendly approach. How that translates into art and media is still something that needs to be seen. We cannot have a tit-for-tat approach. There will be a ray of hope when better sense prevails, and I see the future in the people.

Shallum Xavier

Indian media just needed someone to blame it on and of course Pakistan is the easiest target. It’s just a political game because of which the entertainment industry is suffering. In fact their party, Shiv Sena, has announced that they won’t let any Pakistani artist come to India for an album launch or a concert. It’s not that everyone is against Pakistan over there but there are extremist forces who are very vocal about their sentiments towards Pakistan.

We should understand the whole political game. They will be holding elections within a few months time and BJP probably wants to come back to power as it has the support of Indian extremist parties. By instilling anti-Pakistan sentiments they might increase their vote bank too.
The Mumbai blasts were a major set back for me as well as. I have been to all the places that are damaged under the attack. We used to hang out at the Leopolds Café in Colaba market which is supposed to be one of the most secure places of the city. And something of that magnitude happening in such safe areas is shocking as well as saddening.

The whole incident has already started affecting the relationship between India and Pakistan. We had to tour India this month, then in January again and something was planned for February too but now everything has been called off. I repeat, not postponed but called off! And, it’s not just because they didn’t want to put our lives in danger but also because they don’t want us to come to their country now.

I personally recommend all Pakistani artists not to visit India as it’s not safe. Especially, for the singers because concerts are more publicized so there is a greater risk to perform. Just think out of the box and be safe wherever you are!

Mekaal Hasan

Its too premature to say anything. Given the statements made about Pakistan in India, relations will probably be affected for the worse, but one can’t say at this stage. One hopes that things work out using the diplomatic channels between the countries.

Ali Noor

Initally Ali Noor refused to comment on the incident because he believes his views are ‘different’ from the rest and that’s why he doesn’t want them get in print. But later he agreed to give a statement on record.
“Instead of crying over it, do something!”

Haniya Aslam

Our tour to India has been postponed due to the blasts. The organizer who we were to perform with called us and told us the Pak-India issues need to be sorted out. He said it has been postponed, not cancelled due to the uncertainty about what is going to happen next. I guess there is a feeling that is bad but it will hopefully blow over soon. There is a sense of disappointment as this was our first tour to India. With time, everything will get better as it will blow out of the water. There have always been complications between India and Pakistan and they always tend to get sorted out. “

Courtesy: The News International – Instep.