Dinshaw Avari- Trying my Hand at Blogging!

February 14, 2020 I surprised my future wife with a romantic(?) Valentine’s dinner the year we were dating; and then for the next few years after our marriage... …and just as suddenly those romantic dinners stopped J , not for want of trying   … I just “forgot”! There is no religious significance of Valentines Day to the general public in Pakistan.   However, we all like to celebrate it as a means of entertainment. Valentine’s occasion brings activity to Pakistan’s society in general.   It’s a means of entertainment- besides eating and drinking, there’s not much more one can do in a large city like Karachi. I’ve found that occasions like Valentine’s increases market activity; there’s a positive vibe in the City; employment and commerce is generated by eating places.   Besides this, roadside sellers of flowers have a boon.   Patisserie orders increase (…so does your waist line!). Pakistanis are not celebrating any religious ang...

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 ...

October 15, 2019 (In Gujrati, “Naatak” = “play”)   “ Mix Breed ”, based on a Parsi family who have to face “intermarriage” issues, is a light portrayal of the real-world issues our Community is facing.    With double meanings and inflections, the cast (90% of whom learnt Gujrati “ on the job ”!) entertained the Gujrati speaking communities of Karachi. The Script was written by Mrs Huzan Wadia, who has successfully acted & directed it in Mumbai; and selflessly extended the script on a gratis basis to Natalia Karanjia in Karachi, this play being the latter’s directorial debut.   Yay to Natalia! This is what Karachi, and Pakistan, lacks- ENTERTAINMENT.   We have food & drink and ………… hmmmmm.   Play and theatre is picking up in Pakistan but to a very restricted market.   The mainstream citizens do not get to enjoy theatre on a regular basis- whether drama, comedy, musical.   Our cast explained to me the ‘power’ of theatre – they...

July 12, 2019 We are an inquisitive nation and by extension an inquisitive people 😊 ! Politically, we just cannot stop poking our [long] noses into others’ affairs … and more than that, commenting on the same.   We are ‘holier than thou’! Locally, we must be part of the crowd – we just cannot mind our own business. Socially, not only must we ‘k eep up with the Joneses ’ but we must comment on “them”, their life, clothes, dogs, cats and anything else we are inquisitive enough to bitch about. We’ll stop to see an accident; we’ll mill around the affected; we’ll give our comments on who was right or wrong without even knowing anything about the incident; we’ll even pronounce judgement – all along with no relationship to affected parties concerned.   All because our voice must be heard above the din of another 50 onlookers with exactly the same purpose in mind 😊 ! Oi people!!! ... Get a life!   There’s more to life than inquiring into our neigh...

(Photo credit- “ https://www.anovos.com/products/star-trek-starfleet-insignia-patch ”) June 14, 2019 According to “ https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-government-definition-role-functions.html#transcriptHeader ”, “ Government , …, is the authority that sets rules for a society, helps its members relate to one another and to others, and keeps it running smoothly, securely, and peacefully ”. I, alongwith 6 billion others, will have 6 billion & 1 reasons on what a government’s role is in society. … But, why do we exist?   Why are we living?   Why did “societies” and “cultures” crop up? It is for the promotion of general welfare of those societies & cultures.   That’s what should be the purpose of any government and NOT a 20, 30, 40-page manifesto of the “ideal” society!!!   How much of these manifestos actually materialize in your country? There is NO perfect society or government by a long shot.   H...

(Photo credit- https://www.labmanager.com/leadership-and-staffing/2015/10/time-management-101#.XOZlwogzZnK ) May 30, 2019 In the 1980s, my two friends – #Shahrukh & #Shahveer – and I decided we’ll be on time for every party.  Guess what happened … we were the only three there at the appointed time!  What a riot … even the hosts weren’t around. On average, we only have 657,000 hours in our lifetime – so why WHY NOT MANAGE TIME BETTER !? Amongst my many idiosyncrasies, I hate being late and I hate waiting for latecomers - I get irritated; it vexes me ( I love that term 😊 ); and it truly gets under my skin. A close relative has an uncanny ability of turning up at a party just when the food is coming out or a minute earlier.  There has NEVER been a time when he has to wait for the food 😊 . Another close relative just cannot be at an appointment on time – even for his departing flight!  The one time I decided to trick him into going earli...

( Image source courtesy- https://www.google.com/search?q=profit&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNmpuOvsfhAhUQlIsKHSlmDEYQ_AUIDigB&biw=1422&bih=652#imgrc=DgUdcZ0TJmCpBM: ) April 11, 2019 Business and family groups are defined by their philosophy and values under which they operate. We have 4 core philosophies under which our family operate, one of which I’ll take up here - We are in the business for profit BUT AT THE SAME TIME, we have a responsibility towards our employees & society.  It is our moral obligation to assist our employees where necessary. Somehow, here, “profit” is a dirty word.  Why? If we don’t make a profit, how can we plough our resources back into employee welfare & engagement and social uplift & charity!? If we don’t make a profit, how can we support our own team members’ genuine issues and society’s charitable endeavors!? We have a “womb to tomb” philosophy – that doesn’t mean w...

(Title c atchphrase from the original television show & film series “Star Trek ”) April 1, 2019 What's worse than having a hangover but isn't an hangover ?   A 27 hour travel to Vancouver and then add 4 hours for the return journey.   I wish it had been a hangover instead! We traveled from Karachi to Doha- so that’s 3 hours; with a 3 hour wait in Doha.   We then had a 15½ hour journey to Los Angeles.   That was followed by a 3 hour wait.   Finally, another 3 hour journey to Vancouver… 27 HOURS! Returning was exactly the same- except we had to add 2 more hours for the wait in Los Angeles; and 2 more hours for the wait in Doha… 31 HOURS! Being in Economy didn’t really help either! To top if off, coming over the Pole, not only did we overpass Vancouver (almost) to LAX but after our stop there, we had to fly back up North again to Vancouver.  Same on the return- we flew south out LAX only to fly by Vancouver on our way to Doha!...

March 24, 2019 Recently there has been a lot of news about South Africa (Cape Town actually) running out of water soon. I believe Pakistan – and Karachi especially - is almost in the same boat- international organizations have repeatedly been warning us about the impending water shortage, as soon as the coming decade. There are many many articles on water saving but the government cannot do this on its own- we as citizens have to help out too. Some basic water saving techniques which can PRACTICALLY be instituted are – Like Hawaii, the government should create water catchment areas for rain water – especially in Punjab and KP provinces; Water faucets can and should be changed to modern fittings/devices which save water.   I saw a very very interesting concept at https://www.alteredcompany.com/ .   Their water aerators/nozzles give a mist – they claim 98% water saving - giving you the same cleaning effects but at a fraction of the water wastage. ...