The Kingly “The King’s Speech” dominates 2011 Oscars

Well it was everyone’s guess that The King’s Speech would dominate the 2011 Oscars – and it did. The film about the British King George VI who made concerted efforts to overcome his stammer bagged four Oscars to include the best director (Tom Hooper), best actor (Colin Firth), best original screenplay, and of course the best motion picture.

Closely following The King’s Speech, was “Inception,” which also took a lion’s share of best cinematography, best sound mixing, best sound editing and best visual effects. The plot of the film is centered in a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job to date: Inception.

Natalie Portman was the luck lady of the evening to bag the Oscar for being the best actress for her superb performance as an insane ballet dancer in the motion picture “Black Swan.” She was also a nominee in “Closer” in 2004. But she was lucky this time to grab her first ever Oscar.

The complete listing of the Oscars is as under:

Best Picture: 'The King's Speech'

Best Director: Tom Hooper, 'The King's Speech'

Best Actor: Colin Firth, 'The King's Speech'

Best Actress: Natalie Portman, 'Black Swan'

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, 'The Fighter'

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, 'The Fighter'

Best Original Song: We Belong Together, 'Toy Story 3'

Best Editing: 'The Social Network'

Best Visual Effects: 'Inception'

Best Documentary: 'Inside Job'

Best Live Action Short Film: 'God of Love'

Best Documentary Short Subject: 'Strangers No More'

Best Costume Design: 'Alice in Wonderland'

Best Makeup: 'The Wolfman'

Best Sound Editing: 'Inception'

Best Sound Mixing: 'Inception'

Best Original Score: 'The Social Network'

Best Foreign Language Film: 'In A Better World'

Best Original Screenplay: 'The King's Speech'

Best Adapted Screenplay: 'The Social Network'

Best Animated Feature Film: 'Toy Story 3'

Best Animated Short Film: 'The Lost Thing'

Best Cinematography: 'Inception'

Best Art Direction: 'Alice in Wonderland'

So that was the endgame for 2011 Oscars with the kingly film “The King’s Speech” as the best motion picture.

The Turkish Female Race Car driver Çetinkaya in Pakistan

Burcu Çetinkaya, the famous Turkish turbo-charged racer car driver is presently touring Pakistan to realize her childhood dreams and to foster the Pakistan-Turkish brotherly ties in her own way. She adored Benazir Bhutto as her hero in her childhood and tales of friendship between the two countries always had a yearning in her to visit Pakistan.

Now grown up, robust and tough, Çetinkaya has made her in name in racing cars, an otherwise men dominated sports. She is the holder of Turkish Ladies Champion for five consecutive years and her zeal is nowhere near for giving in.

Besides her love for Pakistan and idolizing Benazir Bhutto, the floods of 2010 left a great impression on her and since then she wanted to come to Pakistan and feel and share the pain and anguish the Pakistani flood victims have endured, besides her curiosity to visit this much talked about lands from her ancestors.

She is also here to talk to Pakistan women about motorsports and to encourage and inspire women in general. Her sponsor, Red Bull, is organizing the trip. She is already meeting athletes, students and media during her ongoing 10-days visit to Pakistan (25^th February-5^th March). She is also the chief guest of an exclusive Red Bull Dakar Rally 2011 screening in Karachi and will also be hosting the event. She will also address students at top universities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad to share her experiences as a female car racer. 

Car racing is a developing sports in Pakistan and every year a desert safari cum race is held in the Cholistan desert, besides display of vintage cars on the roads from Karachi to Islamabad. In a tragic car racing incident, recently five people including children were crushed to death when a motorist lost control over his high speed car in a race organized in Bahria Town Rawalpindi. Adam Khan of Pakistan has also been making headlines in A1 car racing recently, though he is not seen anymore.


Lately, female drivers like Sonia Khuhro, Ghazal Beg and Urooj Mumtaz have also made headlines as they too have joined the ranks of daring drivers to participate in Xtreme Autocross Championship since 2009. The recent race of Xtreme Autocross Championship was held in Karachi recently.

Çetinkaya’s presence in Pakistan will definitely inspire youngsters to venture into this costly and challenging sports. Welcome to Pakistan, Çetinkaya and we wish you a pleasant and memorable stay in Pakistan.

Related reading:
Xtreme Autocross Championship -2011
11 years old predicts his own death

Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch - the Honorary Doctor of Science

Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch has been working tirelessly on Appropriate Technology in Cameroon, Pakistan and elsewhere.

I have the fortune to be familiar with Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch’s work in Technical Transfer and Training Center (TTTC) for Men in remote Pakistani Village Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka, Mud Housing Project at Lahore and also what he has been doing to promote African energy through the use of solar energy with the meaningful and active coopration with Senior Expect Service (SES) Bonn-Germany and Society for the Advancement of Culture (DGFK) Berlin Germany as solutions to Climate Change and adaptation.

Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch has experience with no less than 133 projects since 1976 and each one of them has made a visible difference in more than one ways.

To recognize the work of Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch, the Senate of the Bamenda University of Science  and Technology (BUST) on the Nomination of Board of Governors of Industrial and Educational Development Company (INDECO) Ltd have conferred upon Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch the Honorary Title of Doctor of Science with all the Rights and Previleges Thereto Pertaining in Recognation of his tangible Services to the Cause of Appropriate Technology on Feb 19, 2011.

Big congratulations Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch.

Also at Light Within and  Logic is Variable

Murree comes to Lahore

Believe it or not – the above video is not a fake or a scene from Murree or Canada. It is Lahore that received a massive hailstorm a couple of days ago that looked as if it had had real snowfall. This is really amazing and awesome. People rush to Murree, the nearest place one can enjoy true winters with snow falling. But this hailstorm was a blessing for those who have never been to Murree and have never seen so much of snow. The drive along the Lahore Canal seems beautiful.

God luck, Lahorites!! Enjoy the chill.

Three coins in the fountain

Sometimes childhood memories suddenly burst out of one’s memories and make us sit back on a relaxing chair with eye closed and enjoy the memories of the good old days. It happened to me yesterday – I was admitted in the hospital for some checks on me and there I was in a desolate hospital room all by myself. Soon after the onslaught of nurses and doctors for taking my blood sample, noting down my previous history and filling form after form, there was pin drop silence and quietness. I was all alone.

And then suddenly a melody started ringing and I was amazed to hear the once famous “Three coins in the fountain,” a song from the film with the same name which was once very popular among young boys and girls. Although it was made even before I was born and I even didn’t see this movie at all, I have special bonding with this song.

When I was a small kid, one of my aunts was an air hostess who would bring us chocolates, toys and coloured pencils from around the world. And one day she brought a beautiful cigarette box for my father. The moment she opened the lid of the box, there started ringing a beautiful music of the song “Three coins in the fountain.” That was the first time I heard of this song – a beautiful melodious melody that ingrained in my memory chip, which came alive suddenly yesterday. And I sat there on the hospital bed, with eye closed and listening to one my childhood’s favourite melody.

A little about the song itself and the film. The film was released in 1954 which is about three American girls looking for romance in Rome while employed at the American Embassy. It stars Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Louis Jourdan, Maggie McNamara and Rossano Brazzi. The film won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Color and Best Music, Song (for Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn for Three Coins in the Fountain). It was nominated for Best Picture. The melody of the song was written by Jule Styne, the lyrics by Sammy Cahn. 

Everyday, tourists from all over the world flock around the Trevi Fountain in Rome, make a wish and throw a coing

The song refers to the act of throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome while making a wish. The song was initially sung by Frank Sinatra, but due to some rechincal difficulties it was finally The Four Aces who sang the song, which instantly hit the US Billboard as the number one hit. Frank Sinatra’s recording topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in September and October that year.

A recording by Dinah Shore with orchestra conducted by Harry Geller was made at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, on March 24, 1954. It was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-5755 (in USA)[3] and by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10730. The flip side of both recordings was "Pakistan" (source Wikipedia).

Listen to the song from any of the singers given below and enjoy its beautiful lyrics:

Three coins in the fountain

Each one seeking happiness

(Thrown by three hopeful lovers)

(Which one will the fountain bless?)

Three hearts in the fountain

Each heart longing for its home

(There they lie in the fountain)

(Somewhere in the heart of Rome)

Which one will the fountain bless?

Which one will the fountain bless?

Three coins in the fountain

Through the ripples how they shine

(Just one wish will be granted)

(One heart will wear a valentine)

Make it mine! (three times)

Which one will the fountain bless?

Which one will the fountain bless?

Three coins in the fountain

Through the ripples how they shine

(Just one wish will be granted)

(One heart will wear a valentine)

Make it mine! (three times)

Listen to the song by:

Frank Sinatra

Four Aces

Dean Martin (1955 Oscars)

Doris Day (with emotional clips from the film)

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A record setting day for Pakistan in ICC World Cup 2011

Although the matches of the ongoing World Cup Cricket 2011 started on 19th February, the first match played by Pakistan was on 23rd February against Kenya – and what an impressive and forceful start by Pakistan. Pakistan overpowered Kenya in what is the largest margin victory of Pakistan of 205 runs in the earlier championships of the World Cup.

What was special about this match was the five wickets bagged by the fiery Boom Boom captain of Pakistan team, Shahid Afridi, who dismissed five Kenyans for just 16 runs. This also made him the best bowling captain in all the World Cups played so far, breaking earlier such performance by a captain (Kapil Dev's five for 43 against Australia at Nottingham on June 13, 1983).  No other captain has produced a five-wicket haul in the world cup. Afridi's 5-16 are also the best by a Pakistani bowler in the world cup, surpassing Wasim Akram's five for 28 against Namibia at Kimberley on February 16, 2003. Misbah and Umar of Pakistan also scored 118 to set a new 5th wicket partnership record for Pakistan, while Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Umar akmal and Misbah hit half centuries, the second instance for Pakistan and the ninth in the world cup.

Kenya too made a record on all ODIs and World Cup matches – 37 wide balls. Kenya's 205-run loss is their second biggest by runs margin in ODIs - their biggest is by 208 runs to South Africa at Cape Town on October 22, 2001. While Pakistan's win is the largest by any team in the world cup against Kenya, surpassing New Zealand's 148-run win at Gros Islet on March 20, 2007.

Related Reading: Pakistan Vs Kenya- Afridi five destroys Kenya to fly Pakistan to victory 

Birth Centenary of Faiz Ahmed Faiz (13 February 1911 – 2011)

These days, the birth centenary of Faiz Ahmed Faiz is being celebrated throughout the world where Urdu is spoken and understood. Faiz was a renowned Pakistani poet and an avowed Marxist and Communist besides his love for Sufism.
Born in the village of Kala Kader of the Sialkot district, bordering India, on 13th February 1911. His earlier education was from the village madrassa and he learnt the basics of the religion from there as was the vogue in those days. Later he was admitted in the famous missionary school of Sialkot, the Scotch Mission School. Thereafter for higher studies he joined the Murray College of Sialkot and graduated from the same college. For his post graduation, he came to Lahore and obtained his Masters in English literature from the prestigious Government College Lahore. He also obtained another Masters in Arabic literature from the Oriental College Lahore.

Right from his early days, Faiz had an inclination towards Marxist ideas and that was the reason that he joined the Progressive Writers’ Movement in 1935, while he was a lecturer of English at the M.A.O College, Amritsar. He later came back to Lahore for a stint at the Hailey College of Commerce. During the WW-II, he joined the British Army and attained a rank of lieutenant colonel in 1944. He resigned from the army in 1947 and came back to Lahore once again to pursue his literary strides. He joined the famous Enlish daily The Pakistan Times as its first editor. In 1959, he became the secretary of the Pakistan Arts Council, a post he held till 1962. Besides Pakistan Times, faiz also worked with the famous Urdu daily of its times “Imroze” and the weekly Lail-o-Nihar. In 1964, he moved to Karachi and became the principal of Abdullah Haroon College. During the 1965 Indo-Pak War, faiz briefly worked with the Department of Information.

Faiz stepped into the word of poetry in the early 40s and has his first collection published in 1943, titled “Naqsh-e-Faryadi.” Right from the beginning, Faiz wrote on the sufferings of the poor and the downtrodden. His concern for the oppressed and poor associated him with the communism and he also joined the Communist Party of Pakistan. He spent much of the 1950s and 1960s promoting the cause of communism in Pakistan. He was also involved in the circle lending support to a failed military coup led by Major General Akbar Khan in early 50s, for which he was imprisoned. During the 1950s, his two other collections, Dast-e-Saba and Zindan Nama were published.

Although his main theme focused on the Marxist and Communist ideas, he also had a great love for the Sufism. His association with some of the notable Sufis, like Wasif Ali Wasif, Ashfaq ahmed, Baba Malang and Fakharuddin Balley speaks volums of his love of Sufism.

Faiz married a British lady Alys Faiz in 1941. She also had a great flare for literature and also published a book of memoirs, Over My Shoulder (1993), about her life as a British expatriate living in Pakistan.

Faiz’s poetry renewed the traditional romantic imagery of Urdu poetry, which gained him huge popularity. Faiz also supported to the use of regional languages of Pakistan in education, the media, and literary expression. But a major portion of Faiz’s work was politically motivated, and includes some of his most famous poems based on his prison experiences.

One of the famous poem of Faiz "Bol - kay lab azad hain terey" is fine piece of work by him, which express the feeling of freedom after the end of an oppressive era. 

Bol – kay lab aazad hain terey 
Speak, your lips are free.
Speak, it is your own tongue.
Speak, it is your own body.
Speak, your life is still yours.
See how in the blacksmith's shop
The flame burns wild, the iron glows red; 
The locks open their jaws, 
And every chain begins to break.
Speak, this brief hour is long enough
Before the death of body and tongue: 
Speak, 'cause the truth is not dead yet, 
Speak, speak, whatever you must speak.

Despite his inclination towards Marxist beliefs, Faiz also wrote on traditional forms of poetry with new symbols derived from Western political ideas. Faiz was of the view that a poet should always present some kind of philosophical, political or some other sort of thesis." Like Muhammad Iqbal, a great poet and philosopher, he reinterpreted the most important theme in the Urdu ghazal, the theme of love. The word ghazal comes from Arabic and has been translated as "to talk with women" or "to talk of women." Faiz often addressed his poem to his "beloved", which can be interpreted as his muse, his country, or his concept of beauty or social change.

For his love for Marxism and his poetry centred on the poor and oppressed, he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union in 1962. Faiz died in Lahore on November 20, 1984.

Related Reading:
Faiz Ahmed Faiz, pseud. of Faiz Ahmed (1910-1984)
Languages and Literature (of Pakistan) 

ICC World Cup 2011 kicks off amid threats to Pakistani Team

After a spectacular opening ceremony at Dhaka, bringing in the team captains riding the famous rickshaws of Bangladesh, the ICC World Cup cricket for 2011 kicks off with galore, pomp and show and rising temperatures and tall claims by all fourteen participating teams. The sound of famous musicians like Bryan Adams, Sonu Nigam, Runa Laila, and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy enthralled the jam-packed Bangabandhu National Stadium on 17^th February 2011.

Of the fourteen participating teams, only five have the honour of lifting the coveted ICC World Cup at least once. Australia tops the ranks with four cups, West Indies with two and Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka lifting it only one time. This year, an anonymous gambler has placed a bet of $132,000 with a London bookmaker on India winning the title this year – this being the highest ever bet for a one day game.

Today, the first match is being played between India and Bangladesh at Shere Bengal national Stadium, Mirpur. The other matches of the day include duels between New Zealand vs Kenya, Sri Lanka vs Canada, Australia vs Zimbabwe and England vs Netherlands.

While the ecstasy and emotions are high, there is a caution on Pakistani team as Bal Thackeray, the head of the extremist Indian party Shiv Sena, has once again threatened Pakistan cricket team before the opening ceremony of the world cup. Bal says that HE will decide whether to allow Pakistan team to play in the finals or not if they qualify for the final. It may be noted here that Shiv Sena has a previous history of threatening Pakistan cricket team, and mostly they try that the Pakistan cricket team will not play in India. In the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium they once damaged the pitch where Pakistani team will suppose to play a test match in a few days time.

So this is how the ICC World Cup crickets kicks off – temperatures would continue to soar as teams get eliminated and it will be the four lucky ones making to the semis that would finally decide the fate of the cup. I wish the best of luck to our team and hope that Shahid Afridi takes the team to the finals without caring about the threats by the Indian extremists.

The first ever winter ascent of Gasherbrum – II

Gasherbrum II/K4 (Photo Wikipedia)

Italy has always taken leads in making “first time” expeditions and adventures in Pakistan’s mountaineering history, specially when it comes to the five of the 14 eight thousands of the world that are located in Pakistan. In 1954 the Italian expeditions scaled K-2, the second highest peak and eight thousander after the Mt. Everest. Now on 2^nd February 2011, another expedition led by Simon Moro of Italy, with two fellow mountaineers, Denis Urubko from Kazakshtan and Cory Richards from the United States, scaled the Gasherbrum – II for the first time scaling of an eight thousander in winters.

Gasherbrum–II, an 8,035 high peak in the Karakoram mountain range is among the five eight thousanders located in Pakistan. The trio achieved the honour in severe winter temperature of -60 degrees Celsius. It may be added that all such previous attempts were abandoned due to severity of the weather and the temperature.

The team ran into a hazardous avalanche on their way back and two of the
mountaineers were buried under the snow near camp-II. But were luckily survived and dug out safe and alive. One of the climbers, Denis Urubko from Kazakhstan is among the 15 mountaineers in the world who has ascended all eight thousanders.

Related reading:
Eight thousanders of Pakistan
The lucky climbers of eight thousanders

Happy Valentine Day - In outer space

Although no one had ever thought of celebrating the Valentine Day out there in the space, but this year NASA is planning such a “Astronomical Valentine Date.”  As per reports issued by NASA, its Stardust-NExT spacecraft is nearing a celestial date with comet Tempel 1 at approximately 8:37 p.m. PST on Feb. 14. Thus this would be the first astronomical valentine day ever celebrated in the outer space. I only wished that the spacecraft carried a couple to add glamour to the occasion.

The NASA’s mission will allow scientists for the first time to look for changes on a comet's surface that occurred following an orbit around the sun. The spacecraft is likely to take high-resolution images during the encounter, and will attempt to measure the composition, distribution, and flux of dust emitted into the coma, or material surrounding the comet's nucleus. Data from the mission will provide important new information on how Jupiter-family comets evolved and formed.

When making its celestial Valentine date, the Stardust-NExT spacecraft will be some 336 million kilometers (209 million miles) away from Earth, The space craft will be almost on the exact opposite side of the solar system at the time of the encounter. During the flyby, the spacecraft will take 72 images and store them in an onboard computer.

It may be noted that Stardust-NExT spacecraft has travelled almost 6 billion kilometers in space since it was launched in 1999 and has been there all by itself for almost 12 long years now. So best of luck Stardust-NExT and have a happy Valentine Day.

Resource and photo (Stardust-NExT) Courtesy: NASA
Related link: Valentine Day (The Fire Within)

Edhi – the only hope for the destitute

Edhi with wife Bilqees in one of their Maternity Homes

Abdul Sattar Edhi by his looks doesn’t look to be a man doing a gigantic task of helping the destitute and the needy. Clad in simple coarse attire with ordinary rubber slippers, sitting in his office which looks more like a store house rather than a posh looking NGO office, Edhi is doing what no other man could do for the poor in Pakistan. Not waiting for the government to come forward and help the poor or provide him any assistance in doing so, Edhi took upon himself to live his whole life for the needy, the downtrodden and those rotting in the streets and the slums.

Edhi and his wife, Bilqees Edhi, founded the Edhi International Foundation, , a private charity organization in Pakistan which has the largest operating establishment to reach out to the poor and help them in any way within the resources of the organization. This aged man himself bathes the dead bodies of the dead bodies of the poor who cannot afford the last rituals of the dead and buries the bodies with his own hands – all for free. Despite leading a vast charity organization, he doesn’t have limousines or a house in the elite residential estates of Karachi; rather he chooses to spend every penny that people donate to his organization for those who need it. And he with his family live in a two room apartment adjacent to the premises of Foundation’s headquarters and do not draw any salary from the organization’s funds.

Edhi’s wife Bilqees manages the free maternity home in Karachi and organizes the adoption of illegitimate and abandoned babies. Family and domestic issues are also part of the Edhi Foundation's concerns. Foundation-run homes provide for the destitute and mentally ill, while a missing-persons service reconnects separated families. On 17th September 2005, USAID and Edhi Welfare Trust signed an agreement for a health and population welfare programme “Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and New Born Health (PAIMAN)”.

The Edhi Ambulance Service has the world's largest ambulance fleet spread all over Pakistan, and this fact has earned Edhi his name in the Guinness Book of World Record. Edhi encourages women to work side by side the men, who are put as in-charges of Edhi centres, heads of maternity homes and dispensaries and office workers. In addition to the regular workers, several women volunteers help Edhi Foundation in fund raising. In Karachi alone, the Edhi Foundation runs 8 hospitals providing free medical care, eye hospitals, diabetic centres, surgical units, a 4- bed cancer hospital and mobile dispensaries. In addition to these the Foundation also manages two blood banks in Karachi. So far the Edhi Foundation has saved more than 20,000 abandoned babies, provided shelter to over 50,000 orphans. The Foundation has also trained 40,000 qualified nurses and almost a million babaies have been delivered in Edhi Maternity Centres

For the services rendered to the poor, the Italian government awarded Edhi its Balzan Peace Award in the year 2000. In 1985 Edhi received the Nishan-e-Imtiaz from the Pakistan Government besides the Magsayay Award by the Government of Philippines in 1986 and the Lenin Peace Prize. On September 22, 2010 Edhi was awarded honorary degree of Doctorate by University of Bedfordshire.

However, one wonders that despite his services to the poor and the destitute, why the services of this humble and utterly simple living entity have largely been ignored by the world. Some even question the wisdom for not awarding him the Nobel Prize for his selfless services being provided since almost five decades for no personal glory or elevation?

Related Reading:

Abdul Sattar Edhi (Pakistanpaedia)

Edhi Foundation

Aging philanthropist is Pakistan's Mother Teresa

SWAT VALLEY: THE SWITZERLAND OF PAKISTAN

 "SWAT VALLEY: THE SWITZERLAND OF PAKISTAN: SWAT VALLEY I was surfing through T.V channels and stopped at the entertainment news show..." Read on at: THE INCREDIBLE "PAKISTAN": SWAT VALLEY: THE SWITZERLAND OF PAKISTAN

Related reading: Peace return to Malam Jabba

Children-our future aspirations

The world at this point in time is torn in conflicts – there is unrest everywhere, both within and without. Wars, terror, demos and killings are making the grownups worse than animals. Instead of resolving issues with tact and wisdom, we are pounding bombs and killing people.

My son once asked me, “Father, you give us lectures and sermons on sincerity of purpose, honest, humanity, peace and love every minute of the day. Why don’t you the elders around the world act upon what you profess and want us to do?” I was dumbstruck as I didn’t have any answer to his innocent question and very objective observation.

I only hope that our children, so pure and simple, don’t grow up to be men and women like us – I wish them to grow differently, the way they dream and aspire. I pray their innocent faces do not get hardened and blackened in dust and smoke of wars and bombs exploding around them. Let our children be what we want them to become in a peaceful and lovable environment. Let our children be our only aspirations. Ameen

Read complete post with some most innocent portrait of children from around the world at Hobby Shobby