There was book fair in town and nobody covered it. That’s pretty sad.
Last Day

Basant is supposed to be festive.
I think this was the first basant in my life which did not see me fly a kite. Partly because I was too lazy for that, and partly because 11 people died in two days anyways, so people were out and about playing their part, so I did not feel needed. And to top it all off, I don’t even have the required rhetoric that basant should be banned or anything like that, hence, no cool reason to “give up” basant! Anyways, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Wired Blog – of all the places – doing a blog post of Basant in Lahore, complete with pictures and everything.
And as luck would have it, looseENDS, the mildly popular community show on BusinessPLUS held its second Lahore get-together over at SukhChain Wellness club (some name, no?), right on the day of Basant. Nothing wrong with that, and as I have always enjoyed the show and relate to what they say, I showed up and did not regret it one bit. The hosts of the show itself were there, together with a bunch of 15 to 17 odd number of young and not-so-young.
The people behind LooseENDS are trying to branch out from their TV show, which I find to be quite good in itself, and in that effort have registered a society LooseENDS Pakistan (a basic website has been put up by them). So far, they have done everything right. Got a good show, got a good following that actually shows up on meetings and inspite of what Mr Faisal Quereshi says, try to do something more than just talk :-).

Personally, I just like the “My Community, My Responsibility” t-shirts – and that’s damn right.

The Basant and Jashan-e-Baharan (Celebrations of the Spring) festitivities are taking off in the city starting from today. These include a number of traditional cultral events with Jillani Park (Race Course Park) being the epicenter of it all.

Festival of the Kites
Source: Things Asian

The month-long (February 22 – March 23) festival will include a colorful display of lights and boats on parts of the Canal that runs through the city and on the Mall as well as an open fun fair and musical gala at the Race Course Park. In addition to all this, there will be mushairas, animal and pet shows, food, music, band performances, a book-fair and parades at different venues across the city.

A decorated tree in the Jillani Park (Race Course Park)

Basant, although an integral part of the Jashn-e-Baharan festivities, is being kept aside as a separate two-day-only event for which security and law-watch has been substantially tightened. Police is on search for possible violaters of ban on metal-twine usage and other related offences.

So, gear up for a festive mood while keeping a strict eye on your neighborhood for any outlawed activities… And, yes, did I mention that Lahore Police has announced a cash reward of Rs.5000 for those who report any violation of laws on kite-flying…

That’s what is written on this rickshaw in Urdu… Use your imagination to comment on what it means!

An anonymous visitor recommended this story by Ian Urquhart of the Toronto Star on her perspective of Ontario Prime Minister, Dalton McGuinty’s visit to Lahore and how he was over-welcomed…

“LAHORE, Pakistan-Every day at sunset, a remarkable ceremony takes place 25 kilometres from here on the border with India.

Permanent grandstands are built on both sides of the border crossing so that hundreds of Indians and Pakistanis can watch – and cheer – as honour guards from their respective countries march menacingly toward each other, stopping inches apart.

On the Indian side, the spectators chant, “One India.” On the opposite side, the Pakistanis retort, “Pakistan Forever.” The two sides also hurl unprintable insults at each other while cheerleaders urge them on. Finally, after half an hour of this sort of stuff, the flags of both countries are lowered and two soldiers, one Indian and one Pakistani, symbolically shake hands across the border. Then the gates are slammed – and I mean slammed – shut.

The ceremony speaks volumes about relations between the two countries, which have fought three wars and just a couple of years ago threatened to hurl nuclear weapons at each other. Yet, as the handshake at the end of the ceremony suggests, they share a rich history (as “One India” under British rule before independence and partition in 1947), and many families have relatives on the other side of the border.

It also helps to explain why Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has been so warmly – some might say effusively – received in Pakistan after spending 10 days in India…………
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“Jiya Nahin Maanay,
Tou Chutti Lay Kay Aaja Baalmaa, Ho,
Ho Ho Ho, Ho Ho Ho Ho, Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho Ho…”

This is one tune that has not left my mind for the last couple of days; refreshing winds, drizzling drops, colorful spring, the season of love, all mixed in one blossom of elevated happiness…

Here are a couple of more visuals for you all to enjoy:

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53rd on the MB Block, San Jose in California.

http://sanjose.metblogs.com

Welcome onboard friends!!

After its recent Karachi launch, the first wholesale supermarket chain of its kind in Pakistan, MAKRO, opens its doors to customers in Lahore. Their first store in the city opened yesterday at Ravi Road, where interestingly I’ve never been to.

MAKRO is a Dutch chain of large-scale wholesale supermarkets having a strong presence in many countries around the world. In Pakistan, it entered the market as a joint venture between its parent company SVH and one of the biggest business establishments of the country, the House of Habib to launch as Makro Habib Pakistan Limited.

I long to visit the place myself. It would be great if someone could have a round and send us some live pics of it.

Valentine’s Day was here and it gave all of us the pleasure of expressing our feelings to our loved ones.

For those who are still left behind, we wish you a very Happy Valentine’s Day!!

The city was blushing with gift-stores, bookshops, and vendors on the road all selling gifts, balloons, flowers, cards, cakes and related stuff full of expression of love.

One of the hot-spots; The Shoppe

Whether it’s right to celebrate such events in our society or not, one thing is clear that there are people in masses who consider them to bring much-needed happiness and celebration in their lives.

I have been thinking lately that LMB should arrange some Meetup for Authors and Readers (including those who don’t comment). But we need some thoughts. A blogger conference is my wildest dream and I guess that is not quite feasible right now but for the time being we can arrange some day to fun together.
What do you think?