Afrah Jamal

Published in Daily Times / Wednesday, November 30, 2011 By Afrah Jamal Though Karachi of the shiny flyovers, sprawling malls and violent impulses has been billed as the star, the one with the Spartan tastes, colourful khokas – and, of course the violent impulses steals the show. That tough neighbourhood with the dusty streets and a no-go sign hung at the gate – that is Lyari; home to odious bandits, obscure boxing coaches, soccer aficionados and predatory politicians. Folks might say there is little of value in this wilderness. But for a brief moment, they will greet this troubled piece of land with a hearty cheer instead of an involuntary shriek thanks to a sweet musical extravaganza that welcomes them aboard its famed boxing clubs and, by default the dreaded hood for a show and tell. Lyari, in its latest incarnation serves as the backdrop of a new stage play that recently concluded its three-week run at the Karachi Arts Council. Nida Butt & Hamza Jafri’s brainchild - ‘Kar...

Thanks to Liberty Books for the review copy Published n Daily Times / Saturday, November 12, 2011 Reviewed by Afrah Jamal Author: By Steve Inskeep This is ostensibly the “story of a single day in Karachi’s life” — a city that remains in a violence-induced stupor for the most part of the year now. The choice of the day is perplexing since it happens to be the Ashura (10th day of Muharram) incident circa 2009 when a bomb ripped through a procession and ensuing violence ripped apart the community. High-profile tragedies like the one chosen to be this book’s centrepiece have complex backgrounds, and unresolved endings. Isolating a single bloodcurdling note from a lavish production can be restrictive. Here, however, life and death are constants — one brings the city’s narrative to a standstill but also spawns multiple plotlines — and as the writer will demonstrate, not all with tragic beginnings. Steve Inskeep is the host of NPR’s ‘Morning Edition’ and recipient of the 2006 Rob...