KHI 28-11-2011_Layout 1 11/28/2011 2:24 AM Page 8
PakistaN today
08 karachi weATHer UPdATeS
31°C
For many Pakistanis, Clear skies
High
20°C low
28% Humidity
TUeSdAY wedNeSdAY THUrSdAY 31°C I 22°C
Monday, 28 November, 2011
28°C I 21°C
India already MFN ■ Indian visitors to Pakistan overwhelmed by warmth shown by their hosts
28°C I 20°C
PrAYer TIMINgS Fajr 5:38
Sunrise 6:56
Zuhr 12:20
Asr 3:22
Maghrib 5:43
Isha 7:03
Starting time in Karachi
CITY dIreCTOrY eMergeNCY HelP POlICe 15 bOMb dISPOSAl 15, 99212667 FIre brIgAde 16, 99215007, 99215008 edHI 115, 32310066-2310077 KHIdMAT-e-KHAlQ FOUNdATION 36333811 red CreSCeNT 35833973 gOverNOr’S HOUSe 136 CHIeF MINISTer’S HOUSe 99202051 MOTOrwAY POlICe 130
HOSPITAlS AbbASI SHAHeed CIvIl JINNAH NICvd AgA KHAN TAbbA
99260400-09 99215749, 99215960 99201300-39 99201271-6 34930051 36811841-50
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32238405-8 32225284, 32258656 99215740, 32735214
COMPlAINT KeSC PTCl KwSb CdgK SUI gAS
118 1218 1339 134 1199, 99231603
rAIlwAYS INQUIrY CITY STATION CANTT STATION
117, 99213565-6 99213538 99201118
AIrPOrT FlIgHT INQUIrY PIA reServATION
114 111786786
COllegeS / UNIverSITIeS KArACHI UNIverSITY Ned UNIverSITY FUUAST dUHS SMIC FAST-NU SZAbIST IObM IbA IvS
99261300-06 99261261-8 99244141-9 99215754-7 99217501-3 111128128, 34100541-7 111922478 35090961-7 111422422 35861039-40
TOI
I
ANAHITA MUKHERJI
NDIA may never have invaded Pakistan, but there’s no doubt that Bollywood and Hindi soap operas have virtually conquered the Pakistani market. In Karachi, for instance, it’s near impossible to find a Pakistani who doesn’t have strong views on the K-serials, or hasn’t picked a favourite Khan from amongst Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman. While Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar is playing across theatres in Karachi, giant hoardings of Indian reality TV shows like Bigg Boss tower over Pakistan’s financial capital. A couple of years ago, Ghajini haircuts were in vogue, too. And the likes of Balika Vadhu and Bade Achhe Lagte Hain have sent TRPs soaring across Pakistan. For many Pakistanis, India is already their Most Favoured Nation (MFN). The editor of a widely read english daily in Pakistan calls himself a victim of Hindi serials. every night, at precisely the busiest hour for any newspaper, his chief reporter would disappear. “I was furious and kept asking him where he had been. It took me a while to discover that he went home each day to watch Hindi serials. When I asked him why he didn’t watch the replay the next morning, he said he did that, too,” he laughed. Weddings are often postponed till late in the evening to avoid clashing with prime-time Hindi soap operas. “Pakistani women are so deeply influenced by the clothes and jewellery worn in Hindi soaps that they want the same for their own weddings,” said Gulbadan Javed, a social activist from Hyderabad, Sindh. Javed’s children and mother-in-law religiously watch Star Plus from 8:00 pm onwards each night. Rozina Jonejo, also from Hyderabad, said her mother-in-law enjoys watching
Hindi serials although she does not understand the language. “She asks her daughter to translate the serial for her. She often asks us why the saas in a particular serial is scolding the bahu,” said Rozina. It should come as little surprise, then, that Hindi words have crept into Pakistani vocabulary. Rozina is amused that her young son, an avid viewer of Hindi serials, has picked up words like ‘namaste’ and ‘maharani’. Ikram Mughal from Karachi was surprised to hear his daughter say “Papa aap chinta mat keejiye”, with the word ‘chinta’ replacing ‘fikr’, the more common Urdu word for worry. Mughal himself is a staff reporter for Super Star Dust, a popular Urdu magazine on Bollywood. A picture of John Abraham is splashed across the cover of a recent issue. Bollywood trivia is as popular in Pakistan as in India, with many keeping tabs on the lives and loves of the film stars. “Out here, Aamir Khan is known as the ‘chocolaty hero’, whereas Salman is known to have affairs with many women and then leave them,” said a young man. While the average Indian may not know of Shah Rukh Khan (SRK)’s Pathan origins, a number of Pakistanis are mighty proud of it. Karachi resident Izzat Khan, an ardent SRK fan, recalled that during a job stint in Malaysia, he was often asked if he was related to King Khan, with whom he shares a surname. “I would tell them he is from my neighbourhood, as he comes from the same province,” said the proud Pathan. But Shah Rukh is not the only hero worshipped in Pakistan. A bunch of young women in Karachi wanted me to “give Salman Khan a hug” on their behalf. Meanwhile, Maqsooda Solangi, a social activist with the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, is a diehard member of the Aamir camp, for she likes his socially relevant brand of cinema.
PULSE OF THE VERSES
And while Madhuri Dixit may have a tough time re-entering Bollywood, for Izzat Khan, no actress in recent times can match the beauty and grace of the Dhak Dhak girl. That Bollywood and soaps have shaped the popular Pakistani perception of India may have much to do with how favourably the ordinary Pakistani views Indians. Visitors to Pakistan are known to be overwhelmed by the warmth and hospitality shown by their hosts. Immigration officers get particularly chatty when they see an Indian passport. An official at the Karachi airport took one look at the surname on my passport and wanted to know if there was any connection with Rani Mukherji, whom he admires greatly. The mehmaan nawaazi is visible on the streets of Karachi, where even posh, branded shops give big discounts to Indians. A chaat stall owner in Saddar insisted on providing free soft drinks to a bunch of young women when he learnt they were Indians. Like many Sindhis in India who yearn for their homeland, the chaat wala longed to visit his homeland in Gujarat, where his family lived before Partition. DOSA MIX: India’s influence on Pakistani culture extends beyond cinema and soaps. Take the humble dosa, which has travelled a long way from its home in South India to the restaurants of Sindh, which serve the Chicken Cheese Dosa and Qeema Dosa. While a Hindu name coupled with a Muslim surname would suggest mixed parentage in India, names such as Sharmila, Sapna and even Sudharak are very popular amongst Muslims in Pakistan. Indian literature, including books on Madhubala and AR Rahman, line the walls of bookshops; at many clothes shops in Karachi, shopkeepers are heard bragging about material that has been imported from India.
JEAN CLAUDE NOVARO
MAD IN KARACHI
ART EXHIBITION UNTIL NOVEMBER 30 VENUE: VM ART GALLERY
ART EXHIBITION UNTIL DECEMBER 2 VENUE: UNICORN GALLERY
ART EXHIBITION UNTIL DECEMBER 2 VENUE: ARTCHOWK-THE GALLERY
Abid Hasan’s ‘Pulse of the Verses’ is running until November 30 at the VM Art Gallery. Call 34948088 for more information.
Jean Claude Novaro’s glass sculptures exhibition is running until December 2 at the Unicorn Gallery. Call 35831220 for more information.
‘Mad in Karachi...3D’ is running until December 2 at ArtChowkthe Gallery. Call 35300481 for more information.