For many many years music in Afghanistan meant singing a religious song or chanting Talibani hymns. Any other form of singing was simply forbidden. Many Afghan families fled the repression to neighbouring countries. And it was here that their kids first heard the sound of an electric guitar, drums and rock music. While most were just happy listening to rock music, three young Afghans had other plans.
Posts from ‘July, 2010’
Pakistani plane crashes with 152 on board
A Pakistani airliner carrying 152 people crashed in a ball of flames Wednesday into densely wooded hills outside Islamabad amid heavy rain and poor visibility, killing everyone on board.
A new generation of struggle via Facebook in Kashmir
This story by Louise Dunne
As the number of Facebook users passes the 500 million mark, a leading human rights group in Indian Kashmir claims police were intimidating young men who uploaded images of the ongoing protests in the region onto the social networking site.
“People feel that the internet is the only democratic medium available,” Khurram [...]
Mumbai the next Shanghai?
My visit to Shanghai this month threw no surprises at me. Being a television business journalist in Mumbai who has done innumerable discussions on “Mumbai, the next Shanghai”, I know that seeing is believing. And of course if you see Shanghai, you will not believe in that idea for many years to come. This I had heard from many others several times over. After visiting Shanghai, noted Indian novelist Shobhaa De could not believe that the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh could even think of making such tall claims. But why am I bringing this up now? There is another story happening in Mumbai, quietly and rapidly, that I believe may get us a bit closer to the Shanghai of which we dream.
South Asian Girl Power rocks!
Bold, outspoken, politically active, even piloting the country’s national airline fleet or its fighter jets. Time and again Pakistani women have proved that they are equal to their male counterparts. Benazir Bhutto, Asma Jehangir, Captain Ayesha Rabia Jehangir, Dr. Fahmida Mirza, Ambreen Gul … These are just some of the many women pioneers Pakistan has produced. And joining this list of powerful women are two Lahore-based cousins- Zebunissa Bangash and Haniya Aslam.
