Regular readers of this column will be aware of my invariably jaundiced view of matters marital here in the Land of the Pure. Simply put I have a profound aversion to all the brouhaha, one-upmanship, unnecessary expense and all-around trauma that goes with the business of getting hitched. I avoid weddings like the plague and, [...]
As is so often the case, Shakespeare has the words for it. He has the Second Witch say them in Act IV scene 1 of Macbeth. ‘By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.’ The something wicked was Macbeth himself.
Transpose the Scottish Play to modern Pakistan, have the three witches and their [...]
It was one of those events where an awful lot of famous and influential people were gathered together under one roof for a couple of hours. They talked about the things that famous and influential people talk about not one word of which I intend to share with you, Dear Reader – but they also [...]
We all have the blues from time to time. Those days when nothing seems to go right and even if it does it doesn’t go right in exactly the way you wanted. You wake up with that grumpy dissatisfied feeling; nobody can do anything that makes you happy and you are determinedly miserable. It can [...]
How many of you reading this are familiar with that sinking feeling that goes with the realisation that your mobile phone is missing? How many of you in the first moments of realisation suddenly remember that you have not backed up your list of phone numbers and that the hundreds of [...]
How many friends have you got? Me? One hundred and sixty-six. That’s a lot of friends you may think, but I know people who have thousands. Out of my list I have actually met sixty-four face to face, the rest I am unlikely ever to see in the flesh. Why? Because they [...]
The place of women in the political life of south-Asian nations took a step forward recently when the Indian parliament’s upper house approved a law that would reserve one-third of all parliamentary seats for women. Currently, women are significantly under-represented in the Indian legislature, occupying 59 seats out of 545 in [...]
There is this prominent female party-political spokesperson. She has beautiful diction and enunciation, speaks with admirable clarity and most of the time what she says is completely incomprehensible – especially any words uttered after the phrase ‘Let me be clear.’ Watching her extemporise on the bangle-gymnast-drone-sugar controversy one night last week it was possible to [...]
Prior to last Wednesday, what I knew about the manufacture of wiring harnesses for cars and trucks could be written on the back of a matchbox. But I have a good friend who manufactures these things and he invited me to visit his factory, as I was interested to see how a business survived in [...]
Karachi and a busy round of work and social engagements – and a little time to relax. Thursday saw the sampling of a recently opened coffee shop on Zamzama. All very smart and expensive, spotlessly clean cutlery and tables, slightly intrusive music, excellent coffee and snacks and disappointing cookies – especially at the price. My [...]
