From the editor

Hi all,

It's April and guess what's so different (read dreadful) about April? Yes, you are right (that is, if your guess is correct)! With April come the various exams and entry tests that contains the stuff your worst nightmares are made of. April is especially a tough month for those students who appear in the Composite Exam, and our readers who appear in exams under this system would agree with Us on this point. The Federal Government's efforts to impose the Composite Exam system in Sind this year met strong resistance by many quarters, including teachers associations, universities and also by the Provincial Government. Realising the strength of protests by those against this system, the Government postponed its decision of imposing the said system in Sind for another year. However, the decision, which was taken quite late, caused anxiety among the teachers, students, and their parents. They remained in limbo till the decision was finally announced. Though the students of Sind have been given relief for another year, the terrible uncertainty they experienced raised many questions in the minds of people. Why is the government so insistent on enforcing this system? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this system, if any? To answer these questions, Perwez Abdullah writes the cover story this week for Us. You will find an in depth analysis of the situation as well as comments by students, teachers and educationists.  We understand the topic might prove too serious for you people, it's very relevant nonetheless, and we believe that all of you should have knowledge about this important issue, as many of you are also the stakeholders. So, read on and tell Us what you think!

Folks, we have a treat this week for all the wrestling-maniacs! Omar Iftikhar writes about the Wrestlemania 23 that was held recently. If you have missed the event somehow, read the article to find out what happened in it. We hope the article would please those of our readers who wanted to see stuff related to wrestling in the mag.

Don't forget to write to Us about what you think of today's issue.

Till next week,

Bye!

Dear editor

Dear editor

Comments

AoA Ed,

Thank you for the little improvement in the paper quality. The cover story 'Fooling around' by Hafsa Ahsan (March 30, 2007) was a very nice piece of writing. Mani's interview in the issue of March 23rd was great. I would love to see Jal, Strings and Atif in 'my teen years'. The message conveyed by the article 'Have mercy' by Ayesha was good and we all should try to be a little sympathetic with the animals. The spam mail article was very nice. Spam mails are very irritating, and people should not waste their time in sending cheap emails. Overall, it was a very well done issue. Hats off to the whole Us team!

Coming to the World Cup, it was totally obvious that instead of preparing for the Cup, our team was busy doing commercials. It's good that Inzamam has finally taken retirement, but that won't do any good to the team. Woolmer's death was upsetting, however, I don't think it had anything to do with Pakistan's losing to Ireland. The public's response was harsh and why shouldn't it be? Our hopes were high. The team should have at least reached the semi-finals. In my opinion, the cricket management is to be equally blamed for the team's poor performance.

Sarah Arif, Lahore

AoA Ed!

30th March's cover story 'Fooling around' was a great piece of work by Hafsa Ahsan, combining explanation, observation and evaluation effectively. Practical jokes are generally characterised by a complete lack of concern for the person the joke is being played upon. Jokes, in their true spirit, do not prey upon the peace of mind of the person being joked with. Lighthearted and friendly jest is a part of everyday life. Dangerous and/or disturbing jokes are downright heartless in essence. I especially appreciated the 'Beware of an Urban Legend' part. Hafsa Ahsan must be applauded for dispelling this myth, as it is very widespread. Bob Woolmer's obituary by Nabeel Naqvi is also to be appreciated. The friendly figure of Bob Woolmer is one everyone will miss.

Iqra Asad, Lahore

Dear Editor,

I appreciate yours and your team's hard work in bringing out this mag. I understand that it must be a difficult job and you are managing it fabulously. By the way, Kanza Tariq's cover story (March 23, 2007) was superb. Congrats, dude!  Her opinion is 100 percent correct. Her thinking is really very mature. Yes, Pakistan has given us the most important thing, which is shelter! Also, Muddabir Aneeq's story 'Mysterious meeting' was mind blowing! And like others, I also would suggest to you to please improve the quality of your paper.

Thanks and congratulations for a job done well!

Nimra Farooq

Dear Editor,

The 23rd March 2007's mag was both good and bad.  We didn't find any information about Pakistan Day in it. The story 'Grumpy old women' was excellent and I congratulate Saad Javed for it.

Ahmad, Malakand

AoA Ed!

I think we should stop wasting our time in talking about cricket stuff. We wish our team all the best for their future. Coming to the issue of March 30, 07, the cover story by Hafsan Ahsan was great. 'Have Mercy' by Ayesha was stupendous. With reference to the problem mentioned in the 'in your aangan' section, I would like to say that culprits should be punished severely.

Labeeb Ur Rehman, Islamabad

Dear Editor,

Ayesha Pervez`s article 'Have Mercy' (March 30, 2007) was truly commendable and I would especially like to appreciate her effort in highlighting such a crucial yet ignored social issue. It is truly disheartening to see the complete apathy of Pakistanis when it comes to animal abuse. Not only do we blatantly harass animals, but also turn a blind eye to all the inhuman actions of the others. But the ugliest aspect of the scenario is that people do this for the sake of fun. They feel an irrational and senseless pleasure in pelting dogs with stones or throwing rubbish at monkeys in zoos.

This should be adequate to describe the moral degeneration as well as sadistic mentalities of such animal rights violators. I strongly feel that animal abuse should be legally declared a punishable act, as it is in the Western countries where harming animals, both physically and psychologically (I am not joking) is a crime!

Mansoor A. Rathore, Rawalpindi

Salam Ed,

'Fooling around' by Hafsa Ahsan (March 30, 2007) was a wondrous effort. Another appealing thing in the mag was Ayesha Pervez's article. We should try to give complete protection, care and love to animals. We should show affection towards animals so that we could prove ourselves role models to our youngsters, because kids usually copy their elders' acts. The 'graffiti' page was not that good this time.

Amna Hanif, Rawalpindi

Lighten Us!

Hey Ed,

The magazine is going great and doing a wonderful job of entertaining us on Fridays. Coming to the point that compelled me to write this letter, I agree with Alizeh Sethi about the lightening up of the magazine. It's not that Us has become boring, but 'graffiti' is the only page which brings smile to one's face and sometimes the 'greetings' as well. What Us needs is a funny cover story. Yes, I know you are going to complain that we don't send you things and that is why I am asking the readers to make some effort, please...

Fiza Zia ul Hannan's query regarding the purpose of publishing an article on Anne Frank was disappointing. I think not many people understand the real meaning of the words written by a girl in distress. And as for the reason for publishing it, well, Hollywood movies are popular in the West, what is our concern with them? English and Indian songs are so popular, what is our concern with them? Simply because they are entertaining? That article was published because it was meaningful and told us about things which we have not gone through, but should know because only then we can thank Allah for all we have. Lastly, Us is doing great and hats (I'm not wearing one, but anyway) off to it! Keep up the good work.

Laraib Qureshi, Rawalpindi

A complaint

Hello Dear Ed,

This is my very first letter to you. I have been a regular reader of your mag since December 2006 and since then I haven't missed even a single issue. I really find it informative and full of entertainment. All the sections are very good, especially the cover stories and the 'graffiti' page, which I like the most. Ed, I want to know that what sort of personal informational of the sender is required for sending a greeting message? I sent you a greeting twice, but every time you people dropped it, which was a great disappointment for me.

Saeed Afridi, Landikotal

We don't require any sort of personal information for the 'greetings' section. You just need to send Us your message on the correct e-mail address that is mentioned on 'greetings' page. Printing of your message in the mag can take time, as there are hundreds of messages (we really mean it, guys) to be entertained.

Pakistan Studies

Dear Ed,

It seems that the future generations of Pakistan will gradually drift away from their culture, and will lack true love and patriotism for their country. The mandatory subject of Pakistan Studies, taught till the Bachelor's level, has failed to accomplish its real purpose of inculcating values of allegiance and faithfulness in the students. Instead, the students consider it a burden, and want to get rid of it. Is it because the subject is fabricated or is it we, ourselves, who are the least interested in knowing our history and wanting to make a positive change?

Afshan Amin, Karachi

Request!

Dear Ed,

It was very sweet of you to publish my full of anger letter. I admit I was a bit hard on you guys and apologise for that, but hey, that doesn't mean you should completely ignore my complaints. No, I have no lists of complaints this week. I thought of having mercy on you :D But yes, a few requests would do. The cover story 'Fooling around' by Hafsa Ahsan (March 30, 2007) was really great. The poems in the 'poet's corner' were alien to me, as usual. I request you to provide a glossary with every poem, if you get what I mean! And yes, pul-ease, Editor, I am desperate to get my hands on the posters of Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson, and I hope that you can fulfill my request.

Mehr

Suggestions!

Dear Ed!

Us is a very informative and entertaining magazine. I like reading it. There are some writers who write very well. I've always been impressed with people who write well. I have an idea. Why don't you interview your frequent writers such as Bilal Tanweer, Sameen Amer, Arees Zafar, Haseeb Ahmed, Ayesha Pervez, Kanza Tariq, Iqra Asad and Dure Aziz Amna? I am sure many readers would like to learn about these writers of Us. The World Cup has been very disappointing and I liked the article about Bob Woolmer in the last issue of Us.

Amber Sheikh

Dear Editor,

It was a pleasure to read Us last Friday. Everything was good and added to my taste of a rainy Friday. Since I am a regular reader of Us, and have been that for quite a long time, I have learnt the topics that are featured in Us by heart. I want to suggest a change in the mag. The mag should undergo a change of topics and change of stories, as everyone needs a change after some time and so does Us. Do a cover story on something no magazine has ever done. I wouldn't suggest any topic, and would leave it to your imagination.

Mehreen Qayas, Rawalakot