‘Karachi, Eat!’

The entrance to Frere Hall

Image from Karachi Eat's Facebook page

When somebody says ‘Karachi Eat’, you know Karachi will respond with fervour! - Because eating is our national pastime and primary source of entertainment. Chapra Khan Omari Eventions’ Karachi Eat 2015 saw a turnover of 33,000 people in three days!  

Out-of-towners who missed the event have resolved to be present in Karachi next year, or even arrange a similar event in their hometowns. Those who did attend the event got greedy and want it to be a quarterly or biannual event.

The eateries that missed the event because of shortage of staff or other reasons regretted it too, and have vowed to be ready for it next year. Those that did participate were mostly sold out on all three days. Several enterprising amateurs too had set up stalls, including Dawn Magazine’s editors. It was refreshing to see them wielding pan and spatula behind a stove instead of pen and paper behind a desk!

Visitors to the festival reckied stalls to decide what to eat from the overwhelming choices. Family, friends, bloggers and social media rated the food and compared notes to help choose what to sample and what to avoid.  They enjoyed the food in a relaxed atmosphere, seated on chairs provided by the organisers, in the lounges sponsored by Faysal Bank and Corporate Estate for their clients, on the fountain’s edge and park benches, on the grass picnic-style with and without mats, and even standing or strolling around. Many returned the next two days for unfinished food business.

The size and price of the food items was similar to the concept of sampler platters - just the way I like it - and sharing with family and friends multiplied the samples and divided the cost.

Arabic Parathas on the grill.

Video courtesy Saira Naqui

I finally got to try Eman’s famed hazelnut chocolate cake, Simple Dimple’s Khaosuey, California Pizza and Pizzo because I didn’t have to buy the whole family-sized portions; I could enjoy a single-person serving to suit my appetite and budge. My sampling including a third of a dossa, a bite-sized cube of my favourite Arabic paratha, a few spoons of khaosuey, a sip of limboo pani, a bite of a fish taco, a small bun kabab, a small serving of khubani ka meetha, half an open-faced smoked beef sandwich, some malai and BBQ chicken and paratha and a spoonful of nitrogen ice cream and helped me buy more of what I liked and leave what I didn’t like. I missed the koyla karhai and pulled beef sandwiches as they had sold out before I could get to the stalls.

I stayed for as long as possible, nibbling my way through the food in the stalls, till I caved in to a full stomach and exhaustion from overeating.

Frere Hall lit up for the festival

Image courtesy Adil Jadoon

But food wasn’t the highlight for me. I loved the sight and sound of Karachi looking so NORMAL! Relaxed, happy, smiling families enjoying the bounties they have of the world’s best food and weather! Frere Hall being celebrated as a place where family and friends from all walks and stages of life could sit together like one big, happy community! It was food for the soul! Thank you Cyra and CKO! We need this!

My highlight was also a dancing ‘maulvi’, but more of that in another blog…

An entry for the Cake Off

Image courtesy Humaira Iqbal

Programs included yoga demos by Aquil Amin Sattar’s AQ Power Yoga Team. The Cake Off provided a platform to amateur cake bakers to display their skills. Activities at the children’s station helped parents with babysitting. Selfie addicts got someone else to shoot them at interactive photo booths set up by O’Shoot and Radio 1 FM 91.  Pakola relaunched the iconic green drink in its original bottle. Nando’s Man vs. Food seesaw and Glucose D’s dartboard game and giveaways attracted participants and spectators. The cherry on top was the fireworks finale.

Fireworks marked the end of the 3 day festival

Image courtesy Saira Naqui

Image courtesy Uzair Hassan

Cyra Anklesaria, the organizer of the event, was excited about the social aspect of the festival. “We supported Aman Foundation, 141 Schools, the SCEI School for special children, We Are Karachi, and a small group of children with disabilities who made Rs. 30, 000 by selling their handmade items.” Her challenges included procuring the public site from the local government for a public cause.

She was supported by a crew of enthusiastic volunteers including Shoaib Nizami who worked tirelessly. Besides the main sponsor Faysal Bank, other sponsors included Knorr, Lifebuoy and Lipton, and the Rangers were in charge of the security.

The 67 eateries that participated included

• Beefeater
• Biryani of the Seas
• Burger king
• Cafe 44
• Cakelets
• California Pizza
• Chachajee’s
• Chapli Kebab House
• Chatterbox
• Chefni
• China Kitchen
• Churros and Choc
• Cosmopolitan
• Danish Open-faced Sandwiches
• Dominos
• Eatfit
• Emaan's Cakes
• Food Choice Catering
• Fika
• Fish and Chips
• Fuel Up
• Hazel
• Hoagies
• Ice Dreams
• Juicylicious
• Khyber Koyla Karhai
• La’Sacher
• Lal’s
• Nando’s
• Nano’s
• Okra
• Pane and Amore
• Pantry
• Pie in the Sky
• Pizzo
• Red Rabbit
• Rowtisserie
• Royal Bakeries
• Saniya’s Khao Suey
• Simple Dimple
• Spice
• Spoonful
• Sugar Mistress
• Sugaries
• Sweet Savouries
• TGIF
• The Cakery
• The Chosen Bun
• The Deli
• The Karachi Fudge Company
• The Melting Pot
• The Second Floor (T2F)
• Vintage

Add yourself in the comments below if your name is missing!

Fireworks were a befitting climax to the event

Video courtesy Saira Naqui

Ek aur ‘Dharna’

Anwar Maqsood highlights issues plaguing Pakistan in his stage plays. He’s not afraid to name names and call spades spades, using his literary license to grill with such aplomb that those politicians not included in his plays might even complain about being left out.   

The play ‘Dharna’ is of course not as edgy as a real, live dharna, but it provides comic relief from the need to attending live ones. 

PLUS: ‘Dharna’ has excellent caricatures of the self-important, verbose Imran Khan; the self-titled and not-so-Islamic ‘Maulana Diesel’, and poor Baby Bhutto who is a soft target for those who want to mock politicians but won’t risk it with anyone more threatening than a young boy. The deep-throated, menacing bullfrog voice impersonation of the caller from London is stellar.

MINUS: ‘Dharna’ does not show any dharna; it revolves around a political talk show. Go figure. The script isn’t meaty enough. The long-drawn out conflicts between the producer, host and guests become repetitive and tedious after the first couple of times. The ‘gori’ impression is cringe-inducing. The flighty women, male-female interactions and crude innuendos are same-old, same-old.

And I do wish scriptwriters can start offering some solutions to the conflicts and issues they portray, instead of ending on a sob, a prayer and a wish! It’s as frustrating as an anti-climax can get. A great opportunity is lost when so many hundreds of people go home taking with them only the feeling of hopelessness and helplessness. If scriptwriters can create awareness of an issue, maybe they also have the power to plant the seed for its resolution.   

Images from https://www.facebook.com/events/1509586762625746/

Say It With Text Messages

It takes all sorts to fill up your inbox, you shrug as you delete unwanted messages at the end of the day. There’s a man for all seasons and a message for every reason.

The Public Announcer: We are pleased to announce that all communication by this person is a series of pompous, self-important Public Relations Public Announcements. 

The Newsmaker: makes sure you will Be the First to Know the news as it happens, when it happens, or perhaps even before it happens.

The Advertisement Spammer: is in league with the Devil. No amount of blocking, reporting and threatening replies can exorcise this fiend.

The Texter: This person just msgd 2 ask how u r n if ur fine then it’s k cos they lyk 2 keep it short, sharp, sweet.

The Memer: Because why say it with plain words when you can say it so eloquently with Words on Pics. The Wop-er obviously did not read books that didn’t have 4/4 colour pictures.

The Emoticoner: Can’t talk/won’t talk? Saved by the emoticon. A smiley face/wink/thumbs up will safely pass off as appropriate reply to your messages. ;) :P (Y).

The Package Messager: You realise what happens when talk becomes cheap via message packages and free messaging: this person sends in messages faster than you can delete them.

The Chainmailer: Sends you scores of jokes and messages about random deals, medical breakthroughs, doomsday warnings related to technology and global warming alerts already sent to you by scores of other chainmailers. Forward them all and you may win the lottery or save lives in isolated deserts. Ignore them and they won’t go away.

The Evangelist: This person has collected tickets to heaven and is passing some to you to save you from the pit of hell where you are currently entrenched. Repent and mend your ways. Follow his way, the right way. And don’t let Satan stop you from passing on the Light to the rest of the world.

The Social Activist: Urges you to listen to your conscience and fight for the rights of baby turtles, Monsanto haters, whistleblowers and underdogs, and attend all related protests, vigils and fundraisers.

The Friend in Need: This person takes it up seamlessly after a gap of two years if there is something you can do for her. ‘Hi, what’s up? Btw, do you know of any good babysitter? I need one urgently. See you sometime.’ Sometime not so soon.

The Virtual Friend: This person sends pour-heart-out soulmate confidante messages in your inbox but drops connection in public for no obvious reason.

The No Credit-er: Wants you to call her because doesn’t want to waste her money talking to you. ‘Hey, can you call me?’

‘Can you call me?’

‘Call?’

No.

The Needy: Right after you’re done talking to this person, you get a message from her. ‘So…what’s up?’ And right after you reply, you get another call: ‘So…what’s up?’

And of course there’s that special person who messages you just when you’re thinking about them and makes you smile that smile. Those messages you do not delete.