Afrah Jamal

At Book signing with Irfan Husain- Author of Fatal Fault-lines Pakistan, Islam & the West Liberty Books at Beach Luxury Le Book Signing Irfan Husain with Moderator Zohra Yusuf Chairperson HR Commission Pakistan & an EXPRESS Tribune fotog Asif Noorani At Q/A Session (Below) What I was aiming for.. (From Sarah Haris's Album) All Images Copyright to Moi

Published in Daily Times / Saturday, May 14, 2011 Reviewed by: Afrah Jamal Author: Shehryar Fazli “Cabarets, conspiracies and a couple of crazies.” It is the early 1970s and Pakistan is in transition. The air crackles with energy; the land sizzles with intrigue. The significance of this time will not be lost upon readers. Islamists were still searching for a foothold; democracy beckoned; and Pakistan was about to lose its East Wing. Anyone casually trawling through the streets of Karachi now will find little trace of its once vibrant nightlife. Back then it was not a ‘safe haven’ — just a haven. Shehryar Fazli’s generation may have missed the excitement but his protagonist will return to his native country — and land atop a pit of vipers. It will be a fraught homecoming. The author thinks the nation has yet to get over what happened in December 1971. He feels connected to this juncture in time as a moment when Pakistan could have gone a different way — and that they let th...

Thanks to Liberty Books for the review copy Reviewed by: Afrah Jamal Author: Pramod Kapoor Published in Daily Times / 12 March 2011 Margaret Bourke-White came to India to “bear witness to the fall of the British Empire”. Partition was still a year away and her lens, set aglow from its dying embers was trained towards the brewing conflagration that was to set the region ablaze. Margaret, who has been called the “finest woman photographer of her time”, was commissioned by LIFE magazine to cover the “exchange of population”. Pramod Kapoor, founder/publisher Roli Books, came across a selection of historically significant photographs taken by Margaret in Pakistan and India and decided to weave them into a fresh narrative. Witness to Life and Freedom reopens an old chapter adding facets of the freedom struggle seen from a unique vantage point. These, together with previously unpublished images taken over two years (1946-1948), chronicling the death and destruction left in the wa...

Thanks to Liberty Books for the review copy Published in Daily Times / Saturday, October 02, 2010 / under the title: National Treasure Reviewed by Afrah Jamal (Thanks to Asif Noorani Sahib for the words of encouragement & Liberty Books for the signed copy) 13 June 2012: Rest in Peace Mehdi Hasan (1927-2012) A quick perusal of Mehdi Hasan’s life will reveal that he was anointed the ‘Emperor of Ghazals’ and ensured that the earliest foundations of Pakistani music would also be the strongest, that his voice easily broke through the cultural barrier and that he was a mechanic before he was a legend. Anyone desirous of taking a closer look at the musical maestro who dominated radio, television and film and ruled the local airwaves for several decades would have been disappointed. One man, however, will lament the fact that “no book, good, bad or indifferent, on the greatest exponent of ghazal gayeki (singing) of the late 20th century is available in Pakistan or elsewhere”,...

Reviewed by Afrah Jamal Book Compiled & Edited by Asif Noorani Thanks to Liberty Books for the review copy Published in Daily Times / 01 May 2010 Cricketers, poor souls; they carry the weight of the world and the hopes of their nation. Legends in their fields, these celebrated few have a nationwide cult following. The sporting arena confers dual citizenship on the chosen. Time stands still when these demigods are in true form. The world ends when they are average mortals. These men walk a fine line between celebrity and infamy, crossing over at inopportune moments and tried by public opinion each time they do. That is where the pitchfork-wielding public comes in. Their passion for the game runs deep. Shahid Afridi is Pakistan’s greatest asset. But he also suffers from a condition that makes him do funny things at the wrong moments. Afridi has provided fans with endless entertainment and a reason to live. He has also stomped on their hopes and snuffed out their dreams. ...