Adil Najam
Was Waheed Murad was the very first ‘heart throb’ and ‘super star’ of Pakistan?
Cricketers Fazal Mahmood and Merry Max (Maqsood Ahmad) certainly had their groupies well before Waheed Murad, but they were ‘niche stars’.
The phenomenon called Waheed Murad took the country by storm – across class and across locations – and I would venture to say that certainly no film-star in Pakistan has had the sway over the public imagination that he had at his peak; for many, the myth reigns still.
The one movie star who was greater-than-life in somewhat similar dimensions (and more literally) was Sultan Rahi, but he too was defined by a niche constrained by language (Punjabi in his case), and to a large extent class.
These, of course, are subjective judgements. Do you think there were other ‘heart throbs’ of this stature before him? After him?
To me, the image of Waheed Murad is forever linked to such classic songs as ‘ko-ko-korina’ and ‘aakailey na jaana’ … or just about anything from the magic team of Waheed Murad and Ahmad Rushdi. Here is a little taste of vintage Waheed Murad, from the movie Ladla. The print quality is not very good and this is certainly not the best of Waheed Murad. However, it is representative of the Waheed-Rushdi genre.
Plus, I like the song, and I find the quaint ‘twist’ dance routine amusing. Indeed, the whole ambiance of the song is worth thinking about in terms of what was. Enjoy, ‘socha tha piyar na karain gay’.
Read Full Post
Guest Post by Awab Alvi (Teeth Maestro)
I have recently come across a few interesting facts regarding the pay scale and fringe benefits enjoyed by each member of our National Assembly (here).
It is more than you might expect. Rs. 32,000,000 per MNA per year; or Rs.8,54,40,000,000 5,47,20,000,000 for all 534 342 MNAs for the 5 year tenure. Democracy, even cosmetic democracy, does not come cheap!
|
Pakistani MNA’s Salary and Government Perks
|
|
Monthly Salary
|
Rs. 120,000 to 200,000
|
|
Expense for Constitution per month
|
Rs.100,000
|
|
Office expenditure per month
|
Rs.140,000
|
|
Traveling concession (Rs. 8 per km)
(For a visit to ISLAMABAD & return: 6000 km)
|
Rs.48,000
|
|
Daily BETA during Assembly meets
|
Rs.500
|
|
Charge for 1 class (A/C) in train
(All over PAKISTAN)
|
Free
Unlimited
|
|
Charge for Business Class in flights
(With wife or P.A.)
|
Free for 40
trips / year
|
|
Rent for Govt hostel any where
|
Free
|
|
Electricity costs at home
|
Free up to 50,000 units
|
|
Local phone call charge
|
Free up to 1,70,000 calls.
|
|
TOTAL expense for a MNA per year
|
Rs.32,000,000
|
|
TOTAL expense for 5 years
|
Rs.1,60,000,000
|
|
For 534 342 MNAs, the expense for 5 years
|
Rs.8,54,40,000,000
Rs. 5,47,20,000,000
|
Keep in mind that these numbers are only the official estimates. You can imagine for yourself the unofficial sums easily acquired by a man in such a position.
Read Full Post
Bilal Zuberi 
Karachi has a wonderful history that is neither discussed nor celebrated as much as the history of Mughal Lahore (see ATP post here). As we saw from the earlier ATP post on ‘whistling’ in Karachi (here), there is much interest in this, certainly from me. As someone who grew up in Karachi, the most I was taught about its history revolved around the history of its name (derived from the town of Mai Kolachi) and that the Venetian gothic style buildings were remnants of the British cantonments and Karachi’s short-lived existence as the capital city of Pakistan. (See some historical video footage of Karachi on ATP here).
Well, now I feel I know a bit more about my city, its rich history, and the architectural heritage that still stands impressively (despite languishing in neglect for decades). For that, I thank a wonderful website titled “The Story of Karachi“, which I was introduced to by the folks at the Karachi Metroblogs. Judging by its guestbook logs, the website has been in operation since mid 2005, but it seems it only recently become well known to the internet dwellers.
Read Full Post
