On a quest, yes a quest not an errand, for a color photocopier, yours truly drove up to the market near LUMS in Defense Housing Authority earlier this evening. What did I spy?
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Diana, the Princess - RD

In a Channel 5 documentary Imran Khan and Dr. Hasnat Khan’s family acknowledged the couple’s love for each other.

The former captain of Pakistan’s Cricket team says Diana was deeply in love with doctor Hasnat Khan. Imran Khan claims Diana asked him in May 1997 to act as a go between to broker a marriage, even though the couple had split up after two years. The meeting with Doctor Khan didn’t happen because of the Princess’s death in car crash that August.

The claim backs up those made by other friends of Princess Diana that her relationship with Dodi Fayad was only a fling to make her true love jealous. Relatives of Doctor Khan also appear in the documentary, speaking openly of his love for the Princess.

“It was clear that she was deeply in love with Dr. Hasnat and I just don’t think she could have got over it that quickly,” Imran said.

The Channel 5 documentary, called Diana: Her Last Love says that while the princess was seen with Fayed before her death, she was still in touch with Hasnat’s family advising them not to read anything significant into the relationship.

Ashfaq Ahmed, Hasnat’s great-uncle, tells the program: “I can say with certainty that he (Hasnat) was greatly in love with her, and he was very much impressed by her personality. Not by her beauty - by her humanity.” .-. Full Story .-.

Diana and Hasnat in an undated photo - DT

And now comes the most popular topic of discussion among Princess Diana’s admirers in Pakistan and the Muslim World;

Was Diana considering conversion to Islam? Or, perhaps, she even did!

Again in November, 2002, Dr. Hasnat Khan’s parents, while talking to Daily Times claimed she was on the verge of doing so;

Princess Diana was “on the verge of converting” to the Muslim faith before her tragic death in order to facilitate her planned marriage to the man she loved, Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, his parents last night claimed.

Prominent London specialist Hasnat Khan’s father Rashid Ahmed Khan and mother Nahid Khan met the princess in person when she visited their home in the Pakistani city of Lahore in 1996.

Hasnat’s mother Nahid Khan told Daily Times that her son believed a marriage would prove unworkable.

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August 31, 1997 - In a car crash at the Place de l’Alma tunnel, Paris, Britain lost its Princess of Wales, and, millions across the world, the Queen of their hearts…

Princess Diana with her two sons, Harry and William - RD

Princess Diana will never be forgotten for her social activism, her exceptional charity work, awareness of global issues, love for the world’s poor, her energetic charm, an unmatched fashion sense, electrifying charisma and for her absolutely stunning beauty.

Much has been said and talked about Lady Diana, her work and her personal life. Of all things, what in particular is of interest to us, here, is her connection with the land that we call our home, Pakistan.

Earl Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother, while talking to a live forum with BBC’s royal correspondent, Jennie Bond as the host, spoke of how her sister, Diana, felt about Pakistan:

‘Diana adored Pakistan. It was this strange spiritual connection this very English girl had with such a different culture and I think America and Pakistan were the two places where she felt most at home.’

In Lahore, at the Badshahi Masjid, September 25, 1991 - toufeeque at Flickr

After Prince Charles & Diana’s fairy-tale marriage, Princess Diana’s first official solo tour was of Pakistan as Prince Charles was to collect her as he returned from nearby Nepal. It was a memorable trip for the fact that Diana did too well for her first royal tour and took Pakistan by storm. She was exceptional in all her official engagements and from Islamabad to Lahore, won people’s hearts wherever she went. It was the first time Diana developed a liking for this country for this particular tour gave her the confidence to go ’solo’ in search of freedom from a marriage sadly gone wrong.

Lady Diana, holding a terminally ill child while sitting with Jemima Khan - Doc Kazi at Flickr

Princess Diana, paid a second visit to Lahore in 1996 when she came to support Imran Khan’s Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital and to promote cancer awareness among the poor people of Pakistan. Imran Khan and Jemima Khan, who were happily married back then, played host to the late Princess and arranged a charity function in her honor.

While in the restaurant waiting area, you can see the snaps of Princess Diana having a dinner at ‘The Village Restaurant’ where she looks stunning, wearing a simple but elegant shalwar kameez.
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“I doubt a lost novel by Shakespeare with a cover by Michelangelo could generate this much excitement.“
Tibor Fischer - Telegraph

The magic is at last here. J.K.Rowling strikes back with the last book, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, in her enchanting series of magical novels loved by the young and the old alike.

Eyewitnesses share the news of Muggle invasion at all major bookstores in town where stacks of it were put on the front displays.

It’s only been a day and almost all of them have run out of stock. The book, itself was over-booked and many people who were expecting to get it delivered on the first day were disappointed due to the overwhelming demand. People at a bookshop, Jahangir Sons, in Johar Town, were excited to see the book making sales records at their store.

BBC reports on how the book is flying off shelves across the world while BBC arts correspondent David Sillito, updates us on the crazy fans who gathered for the first catches at Waterstone’s Piccadilly in central London.

In one of the very first online reviews, Greig Watson, again at BBC News happily declares that the Final Potter does not disappoint.

Words from the best reviews:

“Rowling has done her damnedest to round up events and minor characters from all the earlier books” THE GUARDIAN - John Mullan

“As Hermione reveals the arrangements she has made to give her parents new identities, and even Ron contemplates the sacrifices to be made, it becomes clear that this is to be no boarding-school book in disguise. They are dropping out of Hogwarts in earnest, and there will be no Quidditch, no pumpkin juice and no Blast-Ended Skrewts.”
THE TIMES - Alice Fordham

“The final showdown between Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, and his arch-enemy Lord Voldemort, He Who Must Not Be Named, is a classic good-versus-evil tale on a par with Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy.”
THE SUN - Anne Jones

The book has been published by Bloomsbury in the UK, Scholastic in the US while Paradise Books is the only distributor in Pakistan.

The book is selling like hot seekh-kebabs at:

- Variety Books, Liberty Market

- Anees Books, Main Market ,Gulberg

- Iqbal Book Depot, Main Market, Gulberg

- Ferozsons, The Mall/Qaddafi Stadium/Defence

- Staples, Garden Town

- Jahangir Sons, Johar Town

You can get your original hard cover Bloomsbury copy for Rs.1,595.

If you are willing to pay an extra Rs.50, Paktel is offering a free SIM, Harry Potter poster, and DVD of Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire at Anees Books, Iqbal Book Depot, Ferozsons & Staples.

Halloween, to most of the people here, is nothing more than getting young ones in the family, a new creepy kind of costume for their school function or roaming around some ‘upscale’ shopping areas to get a look at all those ultra-expensive imported pumpkins, costumes, magic tricks and other related merchandise.

Image courtesy of Pumpkin Clipart

However, the rate at which our society is adopting ‘western’ events like the Valentine’s Day and April Fools’ Day etc., one can predict that in upcoming years, Halloween can become one of the more popular affairs in town.

Instead of any particular event, we do have our own versions of typical grand-ma stories about the evil powers, ‘bhoot-praett’, ’saya’, ‘jins’ and graveyard nights etc. Many would remember sharing their self-made or, in some cases, true and real life creepy experiences of these un-usual forces of nature with others.

Did you ever, directly or indirectly, encounter the evil? If yes then do share your experience with us.

What is your observation regarding Halloween in Lahore? Do you know of any particular celebration or parties being held in the city??
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Who was Aamir Cheema? A Hero, A Shaheed or an Unfortunate Misguided Soul?

Aamir Cheema was a student in Germany. Apparently he went to assassinate the editor of Die Welt newspaper for publishing the infamous cartoons. Security arrested him in the lobby of the building and he was allegedly carrying a knife and told the police that he was going to kill the editor. He was arrested by the police. But later according to the German authorities he committed suicide while in prison. According to German authorities an autopsy was performed in the presence of two Pakistani FIA officials. The autopsy showed that there were no marks indicating physical violence.

Read: Herald Tribune [This is a biased report from International Herald Tribune]
Read: Asia Media @ UCLA

Did he attack, or did he only intend to attack? Or did he tell that to the security guards in the lobby, which means that he was really pissed off (that is, temporarily insane). Either way, he was not a murderer or an assassin, or a terrorist for that matter. He was just a very pissed off and stressed out young man. Now why would he commit suicide? This is again not clear. Did the Pakistani Ambassador to Germany meet this kid in the prison? Forget the Ambassador, did anyone from the Pakistani Embassy go and talk to him while he was in custody? Was an attorney for his defense arranged? Was the Pakistani Embassy notified by the German police?
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cakes

Originally uploaded by psnob.

while their ice cream is good, they have this annoying policy of not letting you take pictures of their icecreams! This was the only one i managed to take before a worried looking man approached me from behind their icecream counter and said “madam yeh yahan allowed nahin hai!” (madam this isn’t allowed here!)
:s weird policies man. did they think i’d take a picture of their icecreams and replicate their recipes?

Six p.m. finds me and a large brood of my cousins staring up at this sign at Fortress Stadium. I wasn’t planning to attend the fair; I can get all the ice cream I want from the store down the street. School-going cousins thought differently, who proceeded to convince me that there might be something in it for me too. I could take all the pictures I want, even of the trash can, they won’t get impatient. I am sold! Seriously, I hadn’t heard much about this event, so wasn’t anxious to troop in with 5 kids.
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LUMS (The Lahore University of Management Sciences) has a music society that holds concerts a few times every year - sometimes unplugged sessions, sometimes full-fledged affairs. This year was particularly eventful, filled with a lot more concerts than any other year. The pictures here are from a charity concert held for Mukhtaran Mai about four months ago.

The concerts proceed like this - they’re mostly covers of songs that’ve mass appeal within the local-rock-concert-going audience: so it comes down to somewhat old rock, poprock and pretend-rock songs, and at most concerts, the likes of floyd, redhot chilli peppers, limp bizkit and junoon (local Pakistani band) are sure to make an appearance. Admission is usually free, but sometimes costs up to 50 rupees. Outsiders are usually not allowed though, atleast not officially - unless its a paid-ticketed affair. (:))

If I do say so myself, a lot of the bands here are pretty darn good. Every once in a while, we do produce professional guitarists or bassists or vocalists. Local underground heroes are very frequently bred here.

The music room at LUMS usually resounds with loud jams, and you can hear wailing guitars and drums nearly everywhere across campus. It’s wonderfully comforting to hear live spontaneous jams while slaving through assignments and deadlines :) Also serves to lighten the harsh image of pleasantly-fake-business-minded-souls that instantly comes to mind with the phrase ‘management sciences’, or ‘business school’ :D