Culture develops over time: Sheema Kermani

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 21:38:11 +0100

Culture develops over time : Sheema Kermani

KARACHI: Karachi based theatre group, Tehrik-i-Niswan, celebrated 31 years of its inception by holding an international conference titled Tees Aur Aik Saal, at the OUP premises on Friday evening.

The conference is in collaboration with Oxford University Press and aims to explore the connection between performance arts and the politics of gender and class. Participants include people from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, USA and Germany.

Tehrik’s founder and theater practitioner, Sheema Kermani, said, “(There are) no politics without art and no art without politics. Culture cannot be developed but it only develops over time. It is a pursuit of knowledge to develop and to understand life.”

Kamran Asdar Ali, an anthropologist based in the USA said, “She (Kermani) is an iconic figure, she fought against all odds and did plays that gave the oppressed of society an idea as to how they should stand up for their rights.”

Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director, Oxford University Press said, “I believe this international conference in itself is very timely with the recent gang rape incident that has happened in the city and the way people particularly the media has responded.”

Sheema Kermani’s Tehrik-i-Niswan has done mobile theater across the slum areas of the city and has even shown documentaries in remote rural areas to spread awareness.

Ali Zafar voted 5th Sexiest Man of 2010 in Asia

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 14:06:54 +0100

Ali Zafar voted 5th Sexiest Man of 2010 in Asia

Eastern Eye, a leading British-Asian paper, has rated the Prince of Pop, Ali Zafar as one of the 10 Sexiest Asian men of 2010 in the world. Ranbir Kapoor topped the list while Zafar remains the highest placed Pakistani on the list of the 50 Sexiest Asian Men In The World. He ranks number 5th on the list, leaving famous Bollywood stars like Arjun Rampal, Shahid Kapur and Saif Ali Khan to follow behind.

Other than Ali, there are only two Pakistanis on the list. British-Pakistani world champion boxer Amir Khan, who ranks in at No. 9 on the list and Atif Aslam who ranks at No. 16 despite the disappointmentof many of his fans.

This is the third time that Zafar has been voted as one of the 10 Sexiest Asian men. He was voted as the 4th in 2008 and was also voted the 8th sexiest man of the year in 2007 by the same magazine and continues to leave audiences in awe with his diversity.

art-and-entertainment

Culture develops over time: Sheema Kermani

Culture develops over time : Sheema Kermani

Ali Zafar voted 5th Sexiest Man of 2010 in Asia