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drive MOOD
STREET TOWN
TALK society High School
Expressions Pushing boundaries
the Dandy way The contrasting realities of life
drive What the helmet! The CTPL’s campaign for helmet has its share of snags, but the slothful attitude of the bikers in general cannot be overlooked By Arshad Shafiq Where a crash
helmet is mandatory for a motorcyclist, it is equally important for the
pillion rider. This is the rule followed globally, but not quite in Lahore
where sporting the crash helmet — a helmet which is designed especially
for motorbike riders — is not taken seriously. At best, it is perceived
as something that shall save you from a ticket/fine more than as a
protection against any head injuries in the event of a road accident. Commonly, most bikers in
and around the city either go without a crash helmet or they wear helmets
made of flimsy material that cost less. “A biker’s attitude
matters all right,” says a neurosurgeon at the Mayo Hospital, not
wanting to be named. “If he [the biker] wears a helmet to actually avoid
any injury, it will work; if he wears it to avoid the Rs200 fine, it may
save him some money, but not necessarily his life.” The attitude of the
general masses became more evident recently, as the City Traffic Police
Lahore (CTPL) girded up its loins to impose the use of helmet. The CTPL didn’t jump
headlong into the operation; it launched a fairly impressive publicity
campaign with traffic officials of different ranks distributing free
helmets as well as booklets and leaflets on different city roads and
propagating the advantages of using helmets and the hazards involved in
riding without them. A helmeted Chief Minister of Punjab Mian Shahbaz
Sharif also came out in the street and demoed riding a motorcycle. This
was meant to encourage the use of helmets. Additionally, prominent
points at various roads in the city were adorned with colourful banners
and signboards flagging slogans that stressed on the value of using
helmets. After the deadline set by the CTPL was over, the traffic wardens
started challaning the motorcyclists going around town without wearing a
helmet. So far, the campaign has
yielded positive results, claims Shakir, a young traffic warden. “Almost
80 per cent bikers have taken to helmets.” However, Shakir says, a
lot of times the people keep helmets on their bikes instead of wearing
them. “This can do them no good. Helmets guarantee head safety and these
should be worn, come rain or shine.” Interestingly, the
CTPL’s campaign does not focus on the pillion rider’s safety. As the
Lahore High Court lawyer Javaid Iqbal puts it, “I don’t doubt the
purpose of the campaign but my point is if the traffic police really mean
to help the motorcyclists guard against injuries, they should also urge
the pillion rider to wear a helmet as he is no less vulnerable. “I hope the helmet
campaign is a sincere cause and not an exercise in generating revenue.” Iqbal also questions the
need to launch such campaigns at the close of the year. “Is it because
there is a revenue target that the [traffic police] department has to
achieve by the end of the year? December is generally the month when
revenue targets by different government departments are set and huge
government ads are splashed in newspapers and on TV channels that urge or
warn people to pay their outstanding taxes.” Muhammad Sohail Chaudhry,
Chief Traffic Officer (CTO), Lahore, denies the charge: “We have nothing
to do with generating revenue for the department in the form of fines or
whatever. It is a farce.” Asked as to why is crash
helmet not made mandatory for the pillion rider also, the CTO said,
“When your average motorcyclist is not willing to comply, how do you
hope to push the pillion rider to wear a helmet.” Though, Sohail says such
a law exists. “Sometimes, it seems the penalty given for traffic
violations is too little, or the traffic police themselves aren’t
interested in implementing the law; they just mean to collect money in the
form of fines.” There are certain
lacunae in the law, too. As Sohail explains, “When a biker is issued a
challan/ticket for not wearing a helmet or for any other violation, he has
up to 10 days to pay the fine mentioned in the ticket. During this period
of time, if he repeats the violation, he is not punished, because if he is
interrogated, he would instantly present the [as yet unpaid] ticket to the
traffic warden and excuse himself by saying his documents are with the
traffic police. The warden has no way to punish him for the repeated act
of violation.” “The challan ticket
actually serves as a ‘license’ for the motorist to commit further
violations, at least for the next ten days,” comments a biker who claims
to be using helmet for safety reasons and not to avoid a fine. Another traffic warden
named Ali says, “If a motorist repeats an act of violation, his vehicle
can be impounded. But this rarely happens. He is generally let off on
humanitarian grounds.” He laments the fact that
whereas the Punjab Police department has recruited graduates as wardens,
it is not equipped with state-of the-art tools to run the system. “In
developed countries, the entire system is computerised, which often
precludes the need for a traffic warden. They are able to keep record of
each and every motorist on the road. If they find a motorist violating a
traffic rule, they just note his vehicle number and send him a challan at
his home address. If a motorist commits rule violation three times over,
his license is cancelled.” At the other end of the
spectrum, the price of helmet is said to be affecting the consumer’s
psychology. Following hot on the heels of the CTPL’s campaign, the
prices of helmets in the market have seen a sharp surge. The ‘new’
price of a helmet that earlier cost Rs400 is Rs1000. The traders are not
willing to take the blame. They say the prices are in accordance with the
quality or type of a helmet. “The minimum price [of a helmet] is Rs700,
but then it will be of low quality,” says a dealer who has a shop on the
McLeod Road. “A good-quality, imported helmet costs at least Rs2000.” The business of
repairing damaged helmets is also flourishing on the fringes. Not only are
the repair shops receiving an increasing number of customers, they are
also dealing in second-hand helmets that cost somewhere between Rs300-400. caption The challan ticket often
serves as a ‘license’ for the motorist to commit further violations,
at least for the next ten days. — Photos by Rahat Dar
Come January and
a lot of students would have breathed a sigh a relief, because it means
the end of December exams, aka the midterms, one of the two most important
school exams in the year. There was a time when the thought of exams would
paint a picture of youngsters invisible behind piles of huge textbooks,
scratching their head at some hard-to-grasp concept. The dynamics,
however, have shifted greatly. How do high school
students prepare for exams now? Painstakingly reading and highlighting
every point in a heavy textbook? No, not at all. The textbook is bestowed
the least priority on the ‘test prep’ list. When they realise that
only a few days are left before the exam, they start poring over topicals
or red spots and blue turquoise and red bound yearlies. (The topcials are
arranged by topic and yearlies are arranged according to year.) The
tech-savvy students avail online resources also, accessing past papers
contained in PDF files. A lot of people have
made business ventures out of this phenomeno, with shops charging for
printing and binding books and research papers. Tuiton centres sell the
bound yearlies, too. For the studious student who has no break from
studying, past papers have their own ‘home delivery’ system. Unlike
McDonalds and pizza, they may take a few days to arrive at your doorstep. Past papers are always a
good way to gain some much needed practice and simulation of the actual
exam — they are an effective way of strengthening the concept. The
latter phrase is important: strengthening the concept. Increasingly, doing
past papers is happening at the expense of reading the textbook, because
students jump straight into them from day one (before the first mid-term
in Grade 9 or A1), encouraged by their peers who have experienced
firsthand the joy of having photocopied versions of the papers placed
before them in school exams. In some cases, rumours
of which year will be subject to photocopying are also circulated. And, if
lady luck is shining on the students, the exam becomes a time of recalling
what they have seen written in the marking scheme rather than bothering to
read the question properly. The questions are a
hundred per cent copy — a case of efficient cutting and pasting on the
part of the teachers (sometimes, the year of the paper is visible below
the questions). Many enterprising
students, when they reach an inscrutable question in their preparation,
just rote-learn the answer because they know that no one will change the
information or figures. In fact, only some teachers take out the time to
extract different questions from different years to increase the
difficulty level, others merely photocopy one particular paper. . The joy of getting
questions the students have already done comes at the expense of the
explanatory sentences that impart concepts in the textbook. When doing the
past papers, or learning the answer at the bottom, the students do learn
to score, by merely familiarising themselves with methods rather than
concepts when they should be spending the start of the O/A’level course
in understanding. In fact, some topical books mention this phenomenon:
‘The Note by Author’ encourages students to not do the questions
without reading the book first, while teachers discourage their students
from going straight to the marking schemes when in a quandary, advising
them instead to read the book for the answers — a nearly laughable piece
of advice. Students don’t have the patience to waste ten minutes
flicking pages of books in a possibly futile attempt when they know the
answer is right in front of them, labelled with the number of the question
for easy access. Nevertheless, questions
aren’t the best way to understand the real concept. When one flips
through ten questions and in five the answer is similar, that particular
student will remember the answer without understanding it. He will be
perfectly equipped to answer it in the exam but will still be ignorant. . So, what is the
solution? A complete disuse of past paper questions in school exams, so
that the students remain unfamiliar with the exam pattern? Of course, not.
But a little sprinkling of questions from very old papers that aren’t
widely available, questions from other sources and past paper questions
with changed figures and data will render only doing past papers without
reading up on the concepts futile. Moreover, students will
be better equipped to judge how they perform on the final, completely
unseen paper that is placed before them. It is unreasonable to expect
students to read the books otherwise, for most only study when staring
wide-eyed at the test date sheet and that only in response to the
immediate risk of the exam result. If perusal of textbooks increases the
risk of a lower mark, they will be forced into reading and building their
concepts before turning towards the topical and yearlies and
‘strengthening’ the non-existent foundation.
*Master Paints’ Final
Polo Match, on January 6, 2013 at Fortress Stadium. The match will begin
at 2:30pm followed by an awards ceremony. *Dengue — the Play, a
“social-issue based comedy” directed by Hashim Imran and Hamza Kamal,
at Alhamra, the Mall, Hall II. Dates: January 9 through Jan 16, 2013.
Timing: 6pm. The Jan 13 (Sunday) show will start at 3pm. Besides,
dedicated shows are planned on the following dates: January 11: Ladies’
Night! January 12: Media Night!
(with specially invited celebrities) January 13: Doctors’
Night! January 16: Sponsors’
Night! (final performance) *3rd Cogito Youth
Performing Arts Festival, an 11-day event, opens January 11 at 6:00pm at
The Knowledge Factory, DHA. Aside from performances by young artists from
all over Lahore, the festival shall conduct free workshops with
professionals. There will be a total of 11 performances and 20 workshops,
starting — and closing on Jan 21 — with an Improvisation Workshop. The
rest of the lineup includes stand-up comedic acts by Shah Fahad and
Shehzad Ghias Shaikh on Jan 14; Literary Open Mic Night on Jan 15;
Lahore’s Got Talent on Jan 19; and a theatre performance on Jan 20.
society Winter means
fashion to many; the season’s hottest trends are followed with much
gusto. It is the time of the year when the woolies come out and the
regular lawn suits take a backseat. Jackets, pullovers, scarves, mittens,
cardigans with full boots make their appearance for at least three weeks
before the sun eventually comes out from behind the fog covers. We talk
about the New Year resolutions and our days are booked well in advance for
the numerous weddings, GTs and parties. The holiday season brings smiles
to everyone’s faces and is often a time for family reunions. People
indulge in dry fruits, kashmiri tea and halwas, musical and bonfire
parties take place and the trend catches on as the fog engulfs the city by
casting an enchanting canopy of fantasy with its irresistible charm. Nature’s phenomenon
called ‘fog’ has its upside at the same time as it is detested by some
people for whom life comes to a near standstill. As the sun goes down, fog
begins to envelop the city skies through and through. It causes some to
stay indoors and avoid commuting. On the other hand, there are those
enthusiasts for whom it is the time to dine out and make merry. “I just love it as the
streets assume an almost dreamy look, with lights diffused in the misty
fog,” says Mariam, a Lahori by every standard. “In fact, I miss the
crisp aroma [of fog] once Lahore becomes milder and warmer.” Commonly, the city is
engulfed in fog during the latter part of December and the
‘phenomenon’ persists till mid-January, sometimes lasting the entire
month. It also coincides with the weddings that occur galore in the
season. Having said that, the
true spirit of the season is lost in the myriad problems that the Lahoris
experience, and each year the difficulties seem to be escalating. The
power shortfall reaches a record low and the gas supply almost becomes
nil, adding to the long list of the woes of the people as they brave the
icy cold weather and also try to manage their daily chores. Riding a motorbike can
become hazardous for families of three or four members. Thirty-five year
old Waheed, a father of three small kids, lost his youngest child last
year to pneumonia in the season. The horrifying memory is still fresh in
his mind. Each year hundreds of
victims fall prey to fog-related complications. Respiratory infections are
most common during this time of the year, as is stomach flu that has seen
a massive rise. At the other end of the
spectrum, Lahore’s social circles come alive during the ‘fog’
season, with people wanting to make the most of it. “Christmas without
fog is no fun,” says Rehana Masih. The contradictory
statements of people are a proof that it is a season to rejoice but one
has to be careful by keeping warm. “If we had the facility of
uninterrupted power and gas supply, then things would be different,”
comments Somera, a housewife. “Children usually fall sick because of the
difference of temperature between one room and the other; it is difficult
to confine them to one place.” For the young, it’s
just another fun time of the year. They pull out their motorbikes or cars
to enjoy themselves at coffee joints. Heady aroma of cigars and sheesha
greets you at the very entrances of the numerous cafes in and around
Lahore which received the most visitors in the season. For families, the lure
of scrumptious food — the freshly prepared desi feast like pakoras and
jalebis, or even a bowl of chicken corn soap off a roadside stall — are
enough to entice them out of their homes and into the streets. Expatriates pouring in
from around the world during the winter break suffer the most in fog, as
they are not used to the complicated shutdown of gas and electricity which
limits their activities. Shaqeel Ahmad missed his flight due to heavy fog
and couldn’t attend an important meeting scheduled in Toronto. “It is
nerve wrecking to realise that the majority of the flights are rendered
unfunctional and the Motorway is closed because of zero visibility.” For Qudsia, who was
upset because she had to be in Islamabad for an important appointment but
she could not travel. “You cannot travel. Besides, you cannot picnic
with kids in this fog.” The late night swanky
parties get underway as soon as the sun sets on December 31, marking the
arrival of the New Year. Lahore’s social calendar gets into top gear and
almost chokes by the time the fog clears up.
“Wha’eve’!”
is passé. “Awesome” has a new substitute: “Vehshi!”; “Miss hai”
— as opposed to “Fit hai!” — Fixie na ho! (“Don’t
be a fixture!”) Miss karao! (“Forget
it!”) Oh, bhains! (mild
expression of shock, a casual word-concoction
from “Holy Cow!”) Best hai! (“This will
do, for sure!”) Chill maro! (“Just
chill!”) Sarri na maar!
(“Don’t be sarcastic!”) Peyo (literally,
“Baap” or Father but here “the most
commanding person in a group”) Boi (literally,
“Boy”, but here “cool dude”) Love hai apna!
(formerly, “my best buddy”) Shokha (“A
show-off”) caption Compiled by UG
Pushing boundaries
the Dandy way The recently
held annual exhibition of students’ works at the New Dandy School of
Fashion Design (NDSFD) was a heart-warming realisation of the huge amount
of creative talent our country has got. Founded by Waheed
Chaudhry, former faculty member of the Pakistan Institute of Fashion
Design (PIFD), NDSFD has produced a number of professionals that are
working with some of the country’s leading fashion designers such as
Maria B. and HSY, fashion houses like Nishat, ChenOne and Gul Ahmed and
also outsourcing for foreign companies. The school’s programme, in
comparison with many other institutions teaching the same course, is more
about hands-on experience. Thus, it enables its students to tackle the
intricacies and difficulties of the professional world at an early stage
in their careers. But despite the stress
related to the challenges of the practical life, the young students of the
school were able to create a new solution to the age-old craft of
‘clothing’ the body. In the NDSFD’s annual
show, the students experimented with all sorts of ideas, choices and
techniques available to them. Their works were divided between wearable
and non-wearable items and incorporated diverse approaches and multiple
materials. Among the functional
dresses, the students seemed to concentrate on whites and blacks, with the
minimal usage of tones, shades and textures. They explored the floral
forms and engaged roses and other flowers in their ensembles. Some of them
opted for a blend of black and white, with geometrical shapes included in
layers of draped fabrics. However, it was in the
realm of unusable items that some of the students pushed boundaries of the
discipline. Iram Manzoor, for one, created a dress based on drinking
straws, while Waqar Younas combined playing cards to make a woman’s
costume. Nida Ijaz fabricated a dress with table spoons in varying colours
and Umar Yunus collected lids of soft drink bottles to make his piece of
garment. Other students played
with the possibilities of using the motifs of the bicycle and board games
(chess, ludo). All these attempts may
not be perfect examples of fashion design, but these certainly went to
show how new avenues are explored by individuals pursuing fashion in the
country. caption The theme of board games
was unique. caption Floral forms were
explored and roses incorporated in costumes. caption The young students
created new solutions to the age-old craft.
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is
becoming cliched; “Cool dude” is replaced by “Boi” (or Boy), while
“Shokha” (a show-off) continues to stand the ‘test of time’. This
is the new-age youngese — the idiom (or slang) of today’s urban-based
Pakistani teenager, chiefly of the high-school variety. It is composed of
casual word-concoctions of Urdu, Punjabi and English slang expressions; in
the latter case, borrowed heavily from American film and TV shows. Most of
it is light-hearted banter, used away from the pricked-up ears of the
parents or the guardians. It’s peer to peer, at best. 
The contrasting
realities of life
