Guest Post by S A J Shirazi

Halloween is celebrated on the night of October 31, most notably by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door collecting sweets. Halloween originated among the Celts in Ireland, Britain and France as the Pagan Celtic harvest festival, Samhain and now it has become a part of American pop culture.

The festival has recently become popular with children and young people in Pakistan and is especially celebrated in Lahore with delicious food and music. The Daily Times carries a report on Haloween preparations in Lahore:

Yaseen Salman, an event organizer, said that Pakistanis had localized Halloween. Children in the West went trick-or-treating door-to-door in fancy costumes, he said, but Pakistanis arranged get-togethers, dance parties, concerts and sometimes horror shows. Restaurants and cafes also arrange special events to celebrate the festival. Saleem Aslam from Cafe Nouvelle on MM Alam Road said the cafe had arranged a number of games to celebrate Halloween. Only couples would be allowed in the restaurant on the night, he said, “to prevent trouble”….

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Guest Post by Pervaiz Munir Alvi

The Punjab province of Pakistan is blessed with five major rivers and their numerous local tributaries. All of these five rivers originate from the snow capped peaks of the Himalayan Mountains.

After traveling hundreds of miles through the high mountain valleys, these rivers ultimately enter into the plains and plateaus of Punjab via the Frontier province of Pakistan, the State of Kashmir, and India.

In fact, Punjab owes its very name to these rivers as in Urdu/Persian languages the word simply means ‘five waters or five rivers’. Perhaps no other area in the world could claim that many major rivers flowing through it in that close proximity of each other. In that sense Punjab is unique. But what makes it further unique is its river link canal system first devised by the British in early twentieth century and then expanded by Pakistan under its Indus River Basin Water Management System. The complex Punjab Rivers and Link Canals System could very well be classified as one of the twentieth century engineering wonders.

Adil Najam

Sometimes you put up a picture just because its a nice picture and it makes you feel good. This is one of those times.

This picture is from ‘Dandia Nite 2006’, organized this Sunday by the Hindu community in Karachi as part of the Diwali celebrations (from Dawn, 30 October, 2006).  Dandia or Dandiya is a traditional dance often performed at Hindu festivals and on religiously significant occasions.

Earlier post here. Subsequent post on Diwali Celebrations at the Pakistan Muslim League headquarters in Islamabad, here.