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interview MOOD STREET Life sucks.... and then you die By Anam Javed Life sucks and then you die. You might have heard the song with this name by The Fools, be a diehard fan of Cerebral Fix’s debut album, or have read it in one of those Twilight book. It’s used often. You might have seen your teenage friend make this phrase their Facebook status, or have heard it as they throw up their hands, helpless at the hands of their parents who just don’t understand. It clicks. That’s probably due to its straight-forwardness. See, it doesn’t need the help of fancy words to ring true. In fact, if you just get over its crude bluntness and (for the intellectuals) the slang, there is something beautifully deep about it. Town
Talk service
interview “Architecture must address space, No testimony is required
to dispute the authority of Nayyar Ali Dada, an architect,
environmentalist, an activist and above all a great brain whose services
in the field of architecture is acknowledged beyond any doubt. “The
environmental problems of the world have compounded because of the
negative effects of global warming which is mainly because of the fact
that we have deviated from the course of nature, by going against it and
violating the norms in the course of time,” says the man who is visibly
antagonised by the present workings of the world. In an interview with The
News on Sunday Nayyar Ali Dada sheds light on the various facets of
present and past architecture, new trends and the issues of environmental
impact on architecture in present times; a topic which seems to be closer
to his heart. By Rubia
Moghees The News on Sunday: What
are the basic elements in designing a building and how does culture and
environment affect architecture? Nayyar Ali Dada:
Architecture should not be dealt like engineering which is a more
technical field; rather it is broad-based planning. It deals with
community and human existence as we are shaping up lives. If the architect
is not aware of human emotions and behaviour and is not sensitive enough
to comprehend the core principles, one can never counter the problems.
Basically the elements that we have to address are space, culture and
time. For instance, Lahore has its own identity and so does Karachi. The
culture, customs and behaviour of the people as they represent character
and identity of a place also plays an important role along with the time
factor. Things that were relevant a few years ago may or may not be suited
for 2012. TNS: What are the
architectural trends for this year? NAD: Architectural
trends should not be followed and I ignore prevailing trends. Anything
that is aesthetically nice will not expire. It’s not a piece of dress
that could be changed every now and then; it has to have a sustainable
approach. TNS: Do you practically
use low environmental impact designs for buildings and houses? What role
does architecture play in minimising the effects of power disruptions? NAD: As an
environmentalist and an activist, we are trying to observe heat insulation
systems and keeping the temperatures cool in the houses and buildings
which are very important because of the power disruptions. If the houses
are naturally cool, the design elements and planning is carried out along
with energy conservation systems, a lot of benefits can be reaped. As far
as doing any work for the poor is concerned, I must admit that rarely
anyone has come up with a plan to benefit the lower class. We have
constructed houses for the flood victims in Muzaffargarh which are made of
indigenous products using bamboo which became quite popular though the
idea was rejected by the Punjab Government. The key is not to import dandy
stuff from abroad but to use our own resources to maximum potential. The
mass housing schemes meant for the middle class should be based on being
‘practical’ and ‘economical.’ TNS: How would you
define the upcoming generation of architects in the country? Are they
aware of environmental effect on architecture? NAD: Sadly, I don’t
see a bright future as people are talking more about trendy designs but
the real aspect of architecture is over-looked most of the time. Town
planning is a total disaster based on ad-hoc policy pushed by
money-oriented mafia and developers. Our cities have become perfect
examples of bad planning and it is nerve-wrecking to travel on roads
because of pathetic transport planning. The blame solely lies on ad-hoc
development and commercialism along with powerful political lobby and the
architects who don’t advise their clients properly. The involvement of
community is also missing as they keep quiet and do not protest over wrong
kind of development as the areas marked for forestation and agriculture
are being filled with concrete. Unless the decision making is shifted in
people’s interest, the nonsense will go on and we will keep making
blunders. TNS: Other than your own
projects, which buildings in Pakistan would you say are excellent examples
of environmentally safe architecture designs? NAD: My favourite would
have been from the British period; Aitchison College works perfectly for
environmental conditions as there is a sense of innovation and continuity
in the building whereas the developments of today have to reflect the
demands of time and budget. TNS: Has environmental
change led to new architectural designs in Pakistan? Can you give
examples? NAD: We ensure that
environmental impact assessment is carried out before initiating a large
project. We need lungs in the cities; developments of parks are essential
in this respect. The F-9 Park in Islamabad which is designed by me is a
perfect example. Open places are being threatened by massive development
which has to stop. Lahore’s Expo Centre and Alhamra are not borrowed
versions from the west yet we try to address the issue by not copying old
or western architecture. The concept of Expo
Centre is that the foreigners visiting the place for fashion and music
shows should feel the essence of being in a vibrant city. Lahore is not
Faisalabad or any other place; it is a city of character and identity. The
key is to reach to the grass-roots level and having a purity of
expression. TNS: Do you think that
the old buildings like the Badshahi mosque and the Fort, etc catered to
the environmental factors of the Indian subcontinent? NAD: Yes, they do. The
use of jharokas, chhajjay, fountains and the huge gardens were used to
minimise the effects of hot weather. The technology of those times is
still workable but the local conditions need to be evaluated; the trend is
shifting towards the use of less expensive alternate methods like ‘solar
energy’ as global warming has taken its toll on the environment of the
world. A lot of research work is needed to come up with solutions. Life sucks and then you
die. You might have heard the song with this name by The Fools, be a
diehard fan of Cerebral Fix’s debut album, or have read it in one of
those Twilight book. It’s used often. You might have seen your teenage
friend make this phrase their Facebook status, or have heard it as they
throw up their hands, helpless at the hands of their parents who just
don’t understand. It clicks. That’s probably due to its
straight-forwardness. See, it doesn’t need the help of fancy words to
ring true. In fact, if you just get over its crude bluntness and (for the
intellectuals) the slang, there is something beautifully deep about it. This I figured out while
buried under a pile of blankets, curled in a ball, with tears rolling down
my scrunched face. (Ok, there were only 2 blankets, and I might have been
stretched out, but the former image is way better). And while there, in
the throes of misery, (no exaggeration here), somewhere in the back of my
mind, I thought, ‘Something good better happen to me soon.’ I don’t know whether
it’s only peculiar to me, or holds true for everyone, but after a period
when Murphy’s law (everything that can go wrong will go wrong) is being
neatly applied, I land in a lighter mood. Sure, it might be the tears
flushing out the toxins of my body (and cleaning my eyes, as someone once
insensitively said), but I think it’s kind of obvious why: when one
thing that can go wrong doesn’t, I’m automatically relieved. It’s
the same as ‘the only way after hitting rock bottom is up.’ It’s
physically impossible for me to feel worse about my life, and it just
can’t last forever – thus for eventual sunshine. In fact, if somebody
were to draw a graph of my happiness (yes, I do think that I’m important
enough), it would be a sine curve (up and down and up and down…..). But anyway, that got me
thinking of the statement “life sucks and then you die.” What if you
believe in it all the time? Wouldn’t you perpetually be in the state
when the only way left is up? See, if you believe in it, if you somehow
convince yourself that everything is horrible, and always will be
horrible, and you’ll never get up from the ground, then just a
millimeter’s rise, by virtue of its unexpectedness, would be beautiful.
If you crash, well yeah, it never was going to work, and if you fly then
the element of surprise increases the joy! Great, no? Constant pessimism would
always result in happiness, because sometimes, things do end up going your
way. When you expect nothing, even when all you get is a one rupee sweet,
the fact that it’s better than nothing guarantees a happy smile on your
face. As for the other way around, being perpetually hopeful just means
that there’s a 50 percent chance of facing the sharp tinge of hopes
crashed. And that’s not the
only reason for this phrase being everyone’s motto. It also helps put
everything into perspective. Embarrassed yourself after messing up that
extremely important speech? Want the ground to swallow you up? Well, just
remember this phrase, which will remind you of the fact that all of
life’s ups and downs, ecstasies and depressions, culminate in one thing
and one thing only – the end of life. And when thinking of that, your
petty mess-ups are just that – petty. This not only helps put everything
into perspective when you’re wishing that the ground would open up and
you would disappear but also when you feel that you rule the world. So
basically, you now have a phrase that will not only keep that beet-root
blush at bay, but is also extremely humbling. *Open Mic at Institute
for Peace and Secular Studies (IPSS) on Wed, 6:00 pm. It’s a weekly
event. People here share not only academic and intellectual works like
essays, papers, articles, poetry and others; but also other talents like
songs, music compositions, monologues, theater and others. It is a free
for all forum. *Celebrating Spring 2012
at Alhamra, Gaddafi Stadium on Mar 11. Registration for Child Art
Competition till Mar 10. Age group: 4-12 years. *Beaconhouse National
University’s first ever multi-category annual competition; the BNU
Festival 2012. Today is the last day. *3rd Annual
Environmental Moot and Summit: ‘Mosum 2012’ at Ali Auditorium. Today
is the last day. *2nd German Film
Festival Lahore in collaboration with Achtung Berlin ‑ new Berlin
film award and the National College of Arts. Venue: NCA Auditorium. Today
is the last day. *Annual Urs at the
shrine of Baba Shah Jamal today and tomorrow (26-27 Feb). *Vigil in the Memory of
Shahbaz Bhatti on Friday, Mar 02, 6:00 pm at Liberty Chowk. service To decorate your drawing
room walls with trophies of hunted animals and skins of rare species, you
don’t necessarily have to be a good hunter and even own a gun. Looks
strange, but it is true. All you need is good amount of money and
connections with a particular few living in areas adjoining wetlands,
wildlife sanctuaries and lands housing wild birds and animals. These people reportedly
hoodwink wildlife officials and sometimes collude with a few of them to
deliver these rare species at your home. Those meant for cooking are
brought alive or with throats slit in Islamic way. They used to bring meat
earlier but on clients’ demand to see the animals with skin on, they had
to do this. Accounts of several
people involved in buying and selling of hunted species reveal the
practice, which, though illegal, continues for long. Just like
bootleggers, who do not offer visiting cards to prospective clients, these
merchants have to be traced by the prospective clients themselves. As the
former can be traced by the watchful eye in parking lots of hotels or so,
the latter are known to be wandering around birds and pets shops and some
arms and ammunition shops. “But the best way to
approach them is through a reference,” says Adnan, who wants to be
identified by his first name. “It’s a must as high-level secrecy has
to be maintained.” Adnan tells TNS one of
his friends used to host wild quails, partridges and ducks to friends
claiming he had hunted them himself in his village. “I never doubted him
but one day the supplier came to his house when I had just reached
there.” Taking him for an inmate
of the house, he told Adnan what he had brought and how much money was
due. “Since that day, my friend does not boast in my presence though
others have to go through the ordeal of listening to his tales of valour
and hunting skills.” Muhammad Aslam (name
changed on request), a resident of Kasur who transports hunted birds to
Lahore, tells TNS he and others like him make small earnings by providing
this service. “The trade is not done at a large scale as alleged, and
very few birds are sold to buyers without licenses on rare occasions.” Aslam is adept in
catching murghabi (duck), teetar (partridge) and bhatitar (a bird whose
meat is known as cure for kidney stones) along the bank of Sutlej and in
Ganda Singh area. He charges Rs 600 to Rs 700 for a fully grown teetar
whose meat weighs around 250 grams, Rs 1500 for large-sized murghabi pair,
Rs 1200 for middle-sized pair and Rs 600 for small-sized pair. The price
of a pair of mugs (huge migratory bird from Siberia) is around Rs 5000.
“It is a rare catch and very few people take risk as a mug’s feet
sometimes carry tracking tags.” A grown-up mug can yield 2.5 kg to 3 kg
meat. He says influential
people buy these birds as their meat is healthy and tasty and also a
status symbol for the rich. “Demand increased when PM Gilani served meat
of deer and partridge to PPP workers.” Aslam shares it with TNS
that many a time incompetent hunters buy catch from them just to show
friends and people at home that they have not returned empty handed.
Carrying the catch is no problem for them as they possess valid licenses,
he adds. Aslam explains different
licenses are required to hunt different birds and there are different
limits imposed on the number of birds captured or killed over a specified
time. For example, he says a person owns a license to catch quails in
unlimited numbers and the license fee for a year is Rs 5,000. “Such a
person can carry large quantities of quails freely and when comfortable
can hide other birds under the heap as well.” He confirms wildlife
people are very vigilant and they constantly patrol the areas where
hunting is going on. They track every person and vehicle coming out of
there and stop those who appear suspicious to them. Aslam says sometimes
they confiscate the catch and sometimes warn them and on rare occasions
ask for bribe. An officer at Punjab
Wildlife department agrees some officials are unscrupulous but says all
are not. There is a lot of pressure from conservationists,
environmentalists and international bodies who also keep a watch on the
department, he adds. The people referred to
here are locals and called shikaris, the official explains, adding they
hunt for both the birds and prospective clients at the same time. The official claims
illegal hunting is prohibited but what happens is that game-watchers, who
are low-grade wildlife officials, are influenced by the powerful elite of
the area who sometimes indulge in illegal hunting. These shikaris quite
often have the backing of the powerful. “But when there is prior
information with us raids are conducted by high officials and pressures
are resisted.” WWF DG Ali Hasan Habib
tells TNS their organisation does not take action in such cases as
enforcement of laws is the domain of Wildlife department. “But we do
inform the government officials about such activities in areas where we
are running our projects.” He believes the best way
to conserve wildlife in an area is to involve community-based wildlife
watchers. These watchers can exert moral pressure as well on locals
involved in such practices, he concludes.
Students of Lahore
Grammar School (Cantt) performed the play Johnny and the Dead by Terry
Prachett. The performance that started on Feb 17 lasted three days. It was
presented by Real Entertainment Productions (REP) and directed by Sanwal
Tariq and Omair Rana. The plot revolves around
Johnny who goes through the cemetery as a shortcut to reach his home. His
best friend, Wobbler, thinks it’s spooky but in the cemetery, Johnny
meets Alderman Thomas Bowler (one of the dead). Johnny then realises that
he can see, talk to, and hear the dead. Later, Johnny meets all the dead
and the gang (including the dead) and goes on to discuss the council’s
sale of Blackbury’s neglected cemetery to a faceless conglomerate that
plan to build offices on it. With this in mind, Johnny speaks out at
community meetings of the famous people buried there. By the end of the play
the council is forced to back down but the dead no longer care as the Day
of Judgement comes. However, the town’s living residents have, thanks to
the campaigning of Blackbury volunteers, rediscovered the cemetery as a
link to their past. As one of the Dead puts it, “The living must
remember, and the dead must forget”. It was refreshing to see
young boys and girls, their faces coloured white, interpreting not only
Prachett but the life and times of someone as unconventional as Johnny.
Therefore, the idea of performing ‘Johnny and the Dead’ was very
admirable for students. It was a pleasure seeing
how these young actors presented this biting humour with such subtleness
and ease. It was apparent from their presentation that they understood the
social, emotional and historical background of the characters from the
dead. Communist punch-lines of famous characters such as Stalin were
appreciated. Though the play was done by a school and is ideal for a
younger audience, it is exciting to note here that the attendance was
fairly high all three days. On the last day of the show, around a
hundred-fifty to two hundred people were present; most of them were
parents of the participants and students from different branches. Almost all the
performers outdid themselves as the play required them to perform.
However, Alderman Thomas Bowler played by Saad Basit and Wobbler played by
Sarmad Butt were able to grab the viewers’ attention. Out of the minor
characters, Ms. Ethel Liberty as Noor Ulain and Ayesha Bari as Mrs. Sylvia
Liberty were also eminent with their stage presence. The scene in which
all the characters talk about how Barney from the show, ‘How I met your
mother’ was about to propose Robin was a particularly funny scene that
grabbed everyone’s attention. On sharing her experience with TNS, Fatima
Amjad, one of the spectators, went on to say, “It is remarkable to see a
production house such as REP pulling off plays such as Dreams of Tipu
Sultan, Durango, Life of Galileo and now Johnny and the Dead”. Yet the
actor who added life to the entire play was Bisma Azhar who played Johnny.
Her body language, timing and the ability to stay dedicated to her
character was impeccable. The play was a
low-budget one but it was remarkable to see how well was the set utilised
by the actors. The presence of a proper sound system was quite evident.
Since the play took place in LGS 1-A/1, a state of the art auditorium was
provided. However, credit has to be given to the dress of the characters
which were in perfect sync. The make-up for the dead was very professional
and didn’t give a fake look at all. It should be remembered that this
play was performed by O’level students and that too for the first time
for the AJR branch. It was a pleasant
surprise to see Mr. Sanwal Tariq direct this play and help the young lot
with his directorial skills. Whether it was his exceptional performance in
Odd couple as Oscar or his critically acclaimed acting in Captain Requiem,
the man has proved his worth both on and off stage with performances such
as ‘Catch a Chain’ and ‘Johnny and the Dead’. In an interview with
TNS, Mr. Omair Rana said, “It was a pleasure working with such a great
young lot who were so enthusiastic yet focused. I see immense talent in
this young ex-JTite and a bright future’. All in all AJR did break a
leg!
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