The Second Floor

Friday, 30th April 2010 | 7:00 pm

Compelling Conversations is an open forum to discuss controversial, alternative, radical, and contested ideas. These sessions will be held in a participatory circle and will be largely audience-led. Facilitators will kick off the discussion with a brief opening statement or presentation, after which we will open up the floor. Join us at T2F to debate issues that you’ve been itching to talk about with other people.

SUICIDE

Naadaañ haéñ jo kahtay haéñ keh kyooñ jeetay ho, Ghalib
Qismat mayñ haé marnay ki tamanna koee din aur

Every year, about one million people commit suicide, worldwide. While there are no official statistics for Pakistan, the press reports cases of it on an almost daily basis. Many of us have lost friends and colleagues or know of people who have contemplated taking their own life. Yet, in our society especially, suicide is rarely discussed in an open and serious manner. The first session of the Compelling Conversations series aims to begin a dialogue. We do not intend to have a debate ‘for’ or ‘against’ a motion … the aim is to share thoughts on what causes people to contemplate suicide, the different ways in which suicide is viewed by our society, and possible methods for prevention.

Date: Friday, 30th April, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Minimum Donation: Anything you like. Please support our vision of intellectual poverty alleviation by donating generously.
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F
Address | Map

Join us at T2F for a spoken word performance by Sascha A. Akhtar

Saturday, 24th April 2010 | 6:30 pm

Sascha Aurora Akhtar was born and educated in Pakistan. She earned a BA in Liberal Arts from Bennington College where she studied photography, filmmaking and multimedia installation art. In 2003, she was awarded a fellowship to attend the MFA Creative Writing Programme at UMass, Amherst.

Sascha’s debut poetry collection, “The Grimoire of Grimalkin” was published by Salt in 2008. She spends her time in London and Pakistan and is the co-producer of the successful “La Langoustine Est Morte” reading series along with Trinidadian poet Anthony Joseph. Her work appears in the Shearsman anthology on UK women’s poetries, “Infinite Difference.” A 2008 article in the Guardian, “The New Beats”, named Akhtar one of the top twelve poets to watch. She also works as a literary reviewer and arts journalist and is the first Pakistani woman writing in English to be published in the Western “avant garde” tradition.

More about Sascha: http://www.saltpublishing.com/books/smp/9781844715343.htm

After Sascha’s performance, the floor will be opened up to poets and writers. 10 minutes each!

Date: Saturday, 24th April, 2010
Time: 6:30 pm
Minimum Donation: Anything you like. Please support our vision of intellectual poverty alleviation by donating generously.
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F
Address | Map

Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.

Join us at T2F for an evening of readings and conversation with Azra Abbas and Anwer Sen Roy

Tuesday, 20th April 2010 | 7:00 pm

Azra Abbas and Anwer Sen Roy are acclaimed poets and fiction writers who were at the forefront of the new movements in Karachi’s literary circles before they moved to London.

Poet and fiction writer, Azra Abbas was born in Karachi and did her Masters from Karachi University and taught at a number of colleges. She shot to prominence with her long prose poem, “Neend Ki Musaftain”. Later collections, including “Mez Par Rakhay Haath” and “Main Lineain Khenchti Hoon”, established her unique and unconventional style, often focussing on the mundane and commonplace experiences of life which were not considered the subject of poetry. Azra recorded her impressions of her childhood in the poetic and unusual memoir “Mera Bachpan”. Her short stories, “Raastay Mujhay Bulatay Hain” and a novella “Main or Moosa” have struck an extraordinary note. Her latest book is the collection “Hairat Kay Us Paar” and two of her books have ben translated into English.

Writer and journalist, Anwer Sen Roy was born in Khairpur Tamay Wali and came to Karachi in his early years. He did his Masters from Karachi University and joined the field of journalism. He established his literary reputation with poems and short stories. His novel “Cheekh” tackled the themes of political repression, torture and servitude and was described as the first FIR against Martial Law by Rasul Bakhsh Palijo. This was followed by a second novel “Zillaton Kay Aseer”. Anwer was associated with several newspapers before joing the BBC in London and has published poems, short stories and translations.

Date: Tuesday, 20th April, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Minimum Donation: Anything you like. Please support our vision of intellectual poverty alleviation by donating generously.
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F
Address | Map

Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.

Thursday, 22nd April 2010 | 6:30 pm

How much do we know about the food we buy and serve to our families?

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on America’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from consumers with the consent of the government’s regulatory agencies. The nation’s food supply is controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of farmers, the safety of workers, and the environment. Alongside the bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, and tomatoes that don’t go bad, there are also new strains of E. coli – the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 people annually. America is riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Despite Food, Inc.’s focus on American food manufacture, the film is worth viewing by anyone living in a country where large-scale food production occurs.

Running Time: 94 minutes

After the screening, Abbas Raza will talk about his organic home farm, the fruits and vegetables he grows, and what we can do to eat and live healthy.

This event is being held in collaboration with the Teachers’ Resource Centre as part of a joint commitment to power the Earth Day Movement. On 17th April 2010, the TRC Film Club will be screening “Super Size Me” at their office. Please contact them on (021) 3539-2976 if you’d like to attend.

Date: Thursday, 22nd April, 2010
Time: 6:30 pm
Minimum Donation: Anything you like. Please support our vision of intellectual poverty alleviation by donating generously.
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F
Address | Map

Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.

One of the few doyens of tabla that remain in Pakistan today, Ustad Khurshid Hussain hails from a family of musicians. His father, Mehboob Hussain, was a sarangi player and entrusted his friend, the great Ustad Habib Khan (also known as Baba Bibia Khan) to teach his son the art of tabla playing. Although Ustad Khurshid Hussain’s blood line is from the Ajrada Gharana, he learned tabla primarily from Ustad Habib Khan who was well versed with all the gharanas’ styles and compositions. Khurshid Saheb has been an employee of Radio Pakistan and has performed live with some of the greatest musicians that Pakistan has witnessed including Ustad Kabir Khan, Ustad Sharif Khan Poonchwaley, Ustad Ghulab Khan, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, Ustad Rais Khan, Mehdi Hassan, Iqbal Bano, Farida Khanum, and Sajid Hussain. He is also the accompanist of choice for visiting artistes from India.

Important Notes

• Classes will be held on Sundays from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm
• Classes begin on May 2nd 2010
• Duration: 3 months / 12 classes
• Cost: Rs. 4,000 per month (payable in advance)
• Students are welcome to bring their own set of tablas to the classes. If you would like T2F to arrange a set for you, please make an additional, advance payment of Rs. 5,000 and we will get you a brand new, student quality, tabla set
• Contact Rabeea Arif at rabeea@peaceniche.org to enroll

Friday, 16th April 2010 | 7:00 pm

Join us at T2F for a western classical piano concert featuring the young and talented Usman Anees. Usman will speak for 10 minutes before the concert and will perform for 50 minutes.

Program

1. Minuet by Claude Debussy
2. Rondo from Piano Sonata No. 9 by W. A. Mozart
3. 3rd Movement from the Moonlight Sonata by L .V. Beethoven
4. Impromptu No. 2 by Franz Schubert
5. Finale from Swan Lake by P. I. Tchaikovsky
6. Fantasie Impromptu by Frederic Chopin
7. Rondo Capriccioso by Felix Mendelssohn
8. Etude by M. Moskovsky
9. Finale from the Piano Sonata No. 2 by Usman Anees

About Usman Anees

Usman Anees started taking piano lessons at the age of 8 from his father. Three years later he was able to sight-read well and prepare concert work independently. He practices 5-6 hours each day and has a repertoire of over 200 classical works ranging from Baroque to Modernism. Usman has also written a dozen compositions, including 2 piano sonatas and a piano concerto. Currently, Usman is experimenting with music composition and is incorporating eastern raags into his work, whilst maintaining the Western technique of harmonies. He is also arranging popular film music into the pianistic idiom. Usman performs in Karachi and Lahore and has even performed at a concert in Berlin.

Passionate about visual arts since he was a child, Usman has taught himself how to paint and sculpt by studying the works of the grand masters. He is currently working on a series of paintings.

Date: Friday, 16th April, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Minimum Donation: Rs. 200
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F
Address | Map

Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.

Join us at T2F for an evening of films, readings, and conversation with Samina Quraeshi, Author of Sacred Spaces

Monday, 12th April 2010 | 7:00 pm

Samina Quraeshi is an educator, designer, artist, photographer, and author. Formerly Henry R. Luce Professor in Family and Community at the University of Miami and Director of Design for the National Endowment for the Arts, she is currently the Gardner Visiting Artist at the Peabody Museum, Harvard University. Samina has exhibited her artwork internationally and is the author of Legacy of the Indus: A Discovery of Pakistan, Lahore: The City Within, and Legends of the Indus. She has received numerous awards including the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Medal for Distinguished service in Cultural Preservation and the Arts in Pakistan.

In her new book, Sacred Spaces: A Journey with the Sufis of the Indus, Samina adds her voice to the long tradition of mystical Islam and illuminates the ways in which sacred spaces act as profound expressions of both faith and culture. Her journey, infused with childhood memories and ancient legends, explores the localized traditions of Sufi practices in the Indus Valley region. Essays by scholars Ali S. Asani and Carl W. Ernst and by Pakistani architect Kamil Khan Mumtaz supplement Quraeshi’s personal journey with discussions of the musical, political, and architectural dimensions of Sufism in South Asia.

A sought after keynote speaker, Samina has lectured from Alaska to Moscow on the importance of art and culture as a strategic resource for change and learning, on the cultural aspects of Pakistan and on Islam and the role of women.

Sacred Spaces: A Journey with the Sufis of the Indus will be available at T2F’s bookshop and Samina Quraeshi will sign copies of her book after the discussion.

Date: Monday, 12th April, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Minimum Donation: Anything you like. Please support our vision of intellectual poverty alleviation by donating generously.
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F
Address | Map

Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.

Wednesday, 7th April 2010 | 7:00 pm

Shazia Mirza is a very funny award winning British Asian stand up Comedian from Birmingham England.

Shazia could have married a rich man and lived in a mansion on The Bishops Avenue, with servants, bidets, and horses. But instead she chose to drive up and down the country for as little as ten pounds, staying in dirty lurid bed and breakfasts trying to make people laugh. She thought of giving up, but no Muslim man wants to marry her …

Find out more about Shazia at http://www.shazia-mirza.com

Date: Wednesday, 7th April, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Minimum Donation: Rs. 200
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F
Address | Map

Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.