Dinshaw Avari- Trying my Hand at Blogging!

November 26, 2019 Karachiites witnessed three great socials over the last few weekends- The Royal Embassy of #Denmark brought in the “ Rocqawali ” The Goethe Institute of Karachi brought in “ Cyminology ”. The Italian Consul in Karachi brou ght in Chef Vittorio Castellani (aka Chef Kumalé)   Rocqawali blends “traditional Sufi music in a 21 st Century version of guitars & drums”. In 2004, Jonas ( Rocqawali ’s guitarist) traveled to Pakistan to seek out his roots.   Here he met lead singer, Ejaz, who hails from Mehr Ali & Sher Ali Khan, Pakistan’s Qawal family.   Drummer Stephan joined the band in 2012, followed with Tin (their guitarist), himself from a Persian-Sufi background.   The best part- all are Danish citizens! Cyminology , a “Berlin based quartet, combines Persian poetry” with, essentially, Jazz.   “This subtle yet dynamic, softly-pulsating music takes its cue from the sound of the Persian-l...

November 19, 2019 photo credit-  https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/2383350-skull-death This weekend, my family and I visited our driver for a condolence on the death of his young son, who also worked in our Hotel. The man died of mouth cancer … due to chewing paan (betel nut) and gutka. Gutka, a tobacco-related narcotic, is truly the scourge of mouth cancer- and it is addictive! In October, the Provincial Government enacted a tremendous law banning Gutka, with a heavy fine & imprisonment … while the nascent law is a positive step, the government has yet to follow up with effective implementation. The problem is that for the consumers of this substance it is a narcotic.   You can’t simply turn off a switch.   Like other narcotics and behaviors, it is deeply ingrained in society and part of their lives – so much so that generations of families are consuming it concurrently.   Besides, I don’t believe we have the infrastructure to provide me...

November   6, 2019 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elXGOeS8EUQ ) One of the best investments this Country ever made in the ‘90’s was development of the new Motorways in the Punjab.  Let’s analyze what it has produced- ·        *  Poverty- Whether it’s the “CPEC” development of roads network, rail links or other transport modes or it’s internally developed, tying city to city and province to province will uplift rural areas and give them access to commerce, trade, emergencies, etc.; ·        *  Commerce – you’ve shrunk the time, eased the availability and given smooth access to farmers and trade from their villages to large towns and cities; ·        *  Mobility- Punjab has become MOBILE.   With a maximum travel time of six hours, people can work in one city while their home is in another- very much like cities in USA; ·        *  Transport- network and ...