Pakistan Travelogue II Charlie :) yaar the guy had a good time. lets just leave it at that and not dissect it to the teeniest atomic level that has become a norm here.

Pakistan Travelogue II parag:

a really honest piece of writing. seems like you`ve written simply what you`ve felt. I`m sure yasser and his wife, sobia, rozaiba, feroz and haroon gave you the best of company. i was told of the dinner but missed it...was a bit tied up. its great you had a good time!

Charlie: buzz off!

A Wedding Night in Boston... what’s worse than men dying their hair?

men adjusting easily countable strands of hair from one end of their scalps to the other. to give a bit of oomph to their receding hairlines i suppose :)

A Wedding Night in Boston... atif:

after all these interacts i dont think anyone else needs to tell you that this is a lovely piece. the humour is as good as ever... even better than your ilogs.

theres no mehndi without a good 20-30 minutes of hardcore bhangra!

keep writing...

A Passion for Reading zainab, ikonoclast:

am hoping it will not be too difficult to find people interested in such a concept. planning is needed to initiate such a concept, true. but really, nothing very thorough initially. the idea, initially is to have a group that meets regularly for discussion, introduction, analysis, etc. of books. eventually, when and if we have enough books on the list, discussion of modalities on how to go on from there will follow.

honestly im simply talking off hand here...but i think the first step would be to float the idea around us and get a few people interested. i think we all have a few ideas, which we can jot down and write to each other about it.

Synchronicity (Novella part 1 of 2) agree with eesh, it was intersting the way you`ve explained `time travel`. but the story becomes a little predictable towards the end.

waiting for the next part...

A Passion for Reading zainab:

you have very rightly pointed out an important issue. how about if a reading / book club of sorts could be started up. nothing very elaborate initially. a pool of investors could be collected for the initial start up. there would be membeship fee of the club. it would be more of a society. the project could be taken up at a small scale in one particular city, say lahore.

we could have weekly / periodic meetings, have book reviews and discussions. anyone interested in circulating their own write-ups are most welcome to do so. and once there are enough people interested. we could start contributing in terms of books and have a small scale library...

sugestions anyone?

Ironies statue
men of marble
suffer pigeon droppings
in silence

dieting
who ever heard
of the famished
fretting over carbs

firearms
guns kill
no, people kill
pity, no one asks the dead

loved them heh!

A Trip Down Memory Lane Saman: a lesson well learnt! there`s nothing wrong in getting into such gimmicks once in a while, not taking them seriously and just having fun. unfortunately, some of us become addicted to finding out about `tomorrow`, which ofcourse has serious consequences.

Cold Metal Anoop: i read the entire psssage in almost one go. excellent way of handling such a topic. short sentences. very meaningful. you`ve pointed out details like the watch, gold flake, lunch, nurses, etc. very eloquently.

temporal: i actually like the `cold and distinctly aloof and detached` way he`s used. brings a certain clarity to the descriptions.

Servility amit: you`ve missed the point completely by your mention of `mills `n` boons`.

maria256, martini: thankyou for your apreciation.

Failure of Institutions in Pakistan? farrukh:

welcome to chowk! interesting article. however, i think this corresponds a bit to the egg/chicken problem. which comes first? where to begin the process of change, masses or institutions?

it is a bit of a supply-demand problem. either one supplies state of the art institutions coupled with regulations that curb exploitation and hopes that the demand side i.e. masses pick up on these incentives OR one educates/equips the demand side to create enough potential for the government to supply a much needed efficient insitutional setup.

having said that, it is probably `exploitation` of institutions by the people and indeed vice versa that needs to be controlled...more so eradicated to a large extent.

Solace rozaiba:

loved the descriptions you`ve used in the story. there were however a few typos which the editors have overlooked.

That Whore this was too good. the narration, characters...et all was very interesting.

Past Its face crevassed with ugly scars,
Dark tresses that eclipse my hours,
Piercing eyes, in hounding pursuit,
Slender fingers envelope my youth;

beautifully written Sirosh.

Moth’s Flame Doused by Wind Faiza: you write beautifully. cheers!

not being able to voice your handicap (even when he was leaving) was simply the best analogy for one`s constraints. but hey! there are greener pastures yet to be discovered! ; )

sobia: i second nooralain. there are more than a few methodical and standardised ways of writing a story. and you write very well.