Pervaiz Munir Alvi

Pakistan is home to the ancient Gandhara Civilization. Its Buddhist character, which this civilization is best known for, was first established in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when colonial British military men and archeologists discovered various ancient religious sites near the city of Taxila in the Potowar region of Pakistan.

However since independence of Pakistan, the late 20th century studies and research conducted both by the Pakistani and Western scholars have documented and confirmed that Gandhara Civilization was not always Buddhist in character but had also gone through some well defined Hellenistic and Parthian periods as well.

The Hellenistic period of Gandhara starts with the arrival of Alexander the Great of Macedonia in 329 B.C. After conquering Taxila in 327 B.C. he remained in the areas now constituting Pakistan for another two years until his return via Indus Valley, Arabian Sea and Makran Coast also in Pakistan.

Darwaish

The subject of this photograph has great historical importance. It requires immediate conservation effort to save it from complete collapse which is imminent. But lets first see how many ATP readers can guess a) what it is, b) where, and b) to whom it belongs? Happy guessing.

Answer and info about original photographer coming up in 2-3 days.

Owais Mughal

One sales technique that Pakistani grocery stores have mastered is that they put saunf (fennel seeds), chaalia/supari (betel nut) and pan masala (English translation unknown) packets near the cash register. When you think you are all done, your hand invariably goes towards the jar full of these products and the result is you end up paying more than planned. I went through the same trap today. After buying grocery I put my hand in a jar full of assorted saunf/supari. After I pulled out a fist full of these products, a couple of items in my collection made me laugh out loud. Take a look below.

These must be the proudest owners of any product in the world because they dare to print their own photos on each and every packet of saunf supari. One product claims to be of ‘Export Quality’ while other prints their Trade Mark number to safeguard their property right; or maybe to suggest quality!