Join us at T2F for a dramatic reading of Intezar Hussain’s play, “Paani Kay Qaidi” by Tehrik-e-Niswan.

Date: Sunday, 5th September, 2010
Time: 9:00 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.

Distinguished surgeon and social activist, Dr. Shershah Syed, has turned to the short story with a unique passion. Six collections of stories have won him strong reviews from leading writers and the admiration of many readers.

When Dr Shershah Syed is not in his doctor’s gown or sitting with friends, or off on a marathon or cycling, or even writing short stories, he’s busy taking the government to task and speaking his mind on the high level of maternal mortality. (Zofeen T. Ebrahim)

This Monday, Dr. Shershah Syed will read from his new works, including an in-progress novel, followed by a discussion with the audience.

Date: Monday, 30th August, 2010
Time: 9:00 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.

Join us for an evening of devotional music as Fareed Ayaz and Brothers pay tribute to legendary Sufi poets and thinkers, ranging from Hazrat Amir Khusrau to Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi. Fareed Ayaz’s qavvaal party belongs to the 705 year old “Qavvaal Bachon Ka Gharana” of Delhi. They are the sons of the legendary Munshi Raziuddin and are internationally acclaimed as being amongst the finest qavvaals of the sub-continent.

Minimum Donation: Rs. 1,000
Passes: T2F, Espresso, Nando’s (Boat Basin & SMCHS), Indus Valley School

PeaceNiche is collaborating with Omar Asghar Khan Foundation for urgent relief provision as well as long-term reconstruction, in an ongoing, planned effort for rehabilitation in key affected areas. Omar Asghar Khan Foundation has deep experience of working in conflicted areas and was one of the many organizations that provided relief and rehabilitation assistance following the 2005 earthquake and continues to support longer-term rehabilitation worth an estimated US$11 million. The Foundation is also involved in a long-term humanitarian response to the IDP crisis.

We are grateful to Express Tribune, Express 24/7, Radio 1 FM 91, Future Leaders of Pakistan, Nando’s, and Espresso for supporting this event.

Date: Saturday, 28th August, 2010
Time: 10:30 pm
Minimum Donation: Rs. 1,000
Venue: Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture [Map]

Join us at T2F this Sunday for an evening of readings and conversation. Asif Farrukhi will read about the rains and the sea and Hasan Manzar will read from his novel.

Fiction writer and critic, Asif Farrukhi is the author of several books in Urdu, including collections of short fiction and essays in literary criticism. He has published translations of Pakistan’s writers in English and of international writing in Urdu. He contributes regularly to a range of English-language periodicals from Karachi and is the founder-editor of Duniyazad, a literary book series. His latest publication is ‘Look At the City From Here’, an anthology of Karachi writings published by Oxford University Press, Pakistan. Asif Farrukhi is a public health physician and lives in Karachi.

People in unusual circumstances and a variety of settings across three continents mark the fiction world of Hasan Manzar. With five novels and six collections of short stories to his credit, Hasan Manzar is one of the leading fiction writers from Pakistan and won the ‘best book of the year’ award for his latest collection. His work has been widely translated and a volume of his short stories has also been published in English from Karachi and Delhi. He has published essays, a collection of stories for younger readers, Urdu translations of Prem Chand’s unfinished novel as well as the reminiscences of the great fiction writer’s wife. Hasan Manzar practices psychiatry and lives in Hyderabad.

Date: Sunday, 22nd August, 2010
Time: 9:00 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.

Join student leaders and a filmmaker/journalist in an open discussion and fundraising event on the devastating floods. What is to be done in the short-term is apparent and is the primary orientation of the charitably inclined. Challenging the structures which affect the poor masses who suffer the brunt of the devastation, while VIPs arrange photo-ops and spend lavishly both home and abroad, is an issue oft ignored.

Speakers

- Babar Hanif (Student-Politician)
- Khalif Rafique (Student-Politician)
- Khawer Khan (Documentary Filmmaker and Journalist)

Come all! Youth, Movement Veterans, Workers, Professionals and the Curious! Let’s work together for a better world!
RSVP: 0333-222-3400

Date: Sunday, 15th August, 2010
Time: 7:30 pm
Suggested Sliding Scale Donation: Rs. 500
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F
Address | Map

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

Picture your life in this City of Lights … now flip it on its head, invert the colors and forget what you think is right. What you see might not make sense, but be careful to pass judgment based on a daily pretense. Welcome to “Kolachi”, your one-stop destination for not so obvious truths and inglorious revelations. The routine here is all too absurd instead of the absurd being all too routine. These are your scenarios, your thoughts and concerns, depicted in a way that will make you wonder, laugh, and if lucky, maybe even look away. We’ve got eight stories to tell, some involve strong language and others involve going to hell.

CAST

1. Ahad “Pakistani Palace of Pleasure” Lakhani
2. Amr Rouvan “Ek Haseena Thi” Mahmud
3. Fatima “Mairay Sapnon Ki Biryani” Hasan
4. Kenan “Kambal Mein Oye Hoye” Mir
5. Khurram “Santa Clause” Suleman
6. Mariam ” Razai Mein Larai” Virani
7. Rafeh “Shalwar Mein Talwar” Mahmud
8. Usmaan “Talwar Mein Guitar” Farooqui
9. Urooj “Bistar Mein Dharminder” Mughal

WARNING: THIS SHOW CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE AND CONTENT.

Dates and Times:
Monday 9th August – Tuesday 10th August 2010 | 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 11th August – Friday 13th August 2010 | 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Entry: Rs. 500 (a percentage of proceeds will be donated to charity for flood relief)
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F
Address | Map

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

“This is the story of dimensions – of how a dot becomes a line which becomes a plane only to become a cube … what happens to the cube is something you have to figure out,” said the old wizard as he disappeared into the fogs of my mind.

“Of dimensions three and four” takes a five year long walk outside my mind and comes back to tell the story, in ink, of the cross-chatter between the two hemispheres of my brain, of tapping into a world beyond our ordinary 3D realm. Of exploring what happens to the cube that surrounds our senses. Of schizophrenic prophecies, and cross dimensional memories.

About the Artist

Uzair Akram is a graphic artist living and working in Karachi. He spends his days working as a Creative Director at RGBlue Communications and the rest of his time drawing MyndMaps.

Opening Date and Time: Wednesday, 4th August, 2010 | 6:00 pm
Closing Date: Tuesday, 17th August, 2010
Gallery Hours: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm – Daily
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F | Faraar
Address | Map

Sunday, 1st August 2010 | 6:30 pm

William Harvey, a gifted violinist, founded Cultures in Harmony in 2005; a non-profit organization dedicated to forging connections across cultural and national barriers through the medium of music. William teaches at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music and is trying to raise funds for two children to study music for one year in Afghanistan.

This Sunday, in a rare coming together of strings and voices, William will perform with Bell, a talented local band and Zoe Viccaji, who recently made her Coke Studio debut.

Do join us at T2F this Sunday and please bring some extra money to contribute to William’s cause.

Date: Sunday, 1st August, 2010
Time: 6:30 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.

TEDxLahore is organizing a special viewing party at T2F for everyone who wants to experience the event in their own city, with their friends and family in a cozy, comfortable setting.

So come over to T2F on July 31st, grab a cup of coffee and settle down to be a part of history in the making!

Find out all about TEDxLahore at http://tedxlahore.com/

Date: Saturday, 31st July, 2010
Time: 2:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F
Address | Map

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

Sami Chohan identifies his art as a process of extraction – an extraction of metaphorical yet bewildering, and sometimes impenetrable imagery from the unconscious mind. Unreal in their manifestation, he considers these extracted images to possess the ultimate truth. His work relies on both forms of surrealism – Absolute and Veristic. Sami is self-taught and self-motivated, and he draws to provoke thought.

About the Artist

Sami Chohan was born in Karachi, in 1983. Looking back at the 27 years of his life, he feels extremely privileged to have lived in four different cities, four different countries and consequently, four different cultures. He was raised in Riyadh, and it was here that he developed an interest in drawing; an activity which he became acquainted with early in life. Apart from being inspired by summer trips to Karachi where he saw his maternal grandfather draw, paint, carve and smoke, the introverted Saudi way of life became a platform for him to draw all sorts of things. As his drawing skills improved, his imagination began to cut loose. Sami graduated from Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in 2007 and is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Architecture in Germany.

Opening Date and Time: Monday, 19th July, 2010 | 6:00 pm
Closing Date: Saturday, 31st July, 2010
Gallery Hours: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm – Daily
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F | Faraar
Address | Map

Ajoka has been part of the struggle for a secular, democratic, just, humane and egalitarian Pakistan for the last 25 years. Few cultural institutions have been able to survive, let alone thrive, in the climate of hostility and apathy towards performing arts that has existed in Pakistan. Ajoka is an exception. Set up by a small group of cultural activists in 1983, during General Zia-ul-Haq’s repressive regime, Ajoka has struggled with determination against very heavy odds. It has dealt with bold subjects, experimented with technique and blended contemporary reality with traditional form. Today, Ajoka is an internationally respected name in the world of theatre and its contribution to the promotion of art and culture, and the struggle for social justice and peace in Pakistan is well regarded.

Join us at T2F on Thursday, 1st July 2010 for an evening of conversation with the Directors and Cast of Ajoka, Lahore’s revolutionary theatre group.

Burqavganza
2nd July 2010 | 8:00 pm | Karachi Arts Council

Burqavaganza is a story of love in the time of jihad. It is the story of young lovers who are determined to defy the hypocritical values of an ultra conservative society. Like all lovers, the play’s protagonists want to spend time together only to be interrupted and harassed by society’s moral police and the stick-wielding burqa brigade. Their love blooms with the support of popular film songs and under various forms of burqas, while the word outside is falling apart because of the war on terror and a search for Burqa bin Batin. It is a world where lovers are persecuted and terrorists worshipped, where new technology is used to promote outdated and retrogressive ideas.

Karachi Premiere of Dara
3rd, 4th, 5th July 2010 | 8:00 pm | Karachi Arts Council

Ajoka’s latest production, “Dara” tells the dramatic and moving story of Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Emperor Shahjahan, who was imprisoned and executed by his younger brother Aurangzeb. Dara was not only a crown prince but also a poet, a painter and a Sufi.  He wanted to build on the vision of Akbar the Great and bring the ruling Muslim elite closer to the local religions. His search for the truth and shared teachings of all major religions is reflected in his scholarly works such as Sakeena-tul-Aulia, Safina-tul-Aulia and Majma-ul-Bahrain. The play also explores the existential conflict between Dara the crown prince, and Dara the Sufi and the poet.

During the period of Dara, the Mughal Empire was at its military and cultural zenith. Aurangzeb was a warrior par excellence and a Machiavellian ruler. His sister Jahan Ara was a noted intellectual and mystic. Dara’s spiritual mentor Sarmad, the naked Sufi, was an outstanding Persian poet. Mian Mir and Guru Har Rai also lived in the era and had blessed Dara’s quest for truth and redemption.
 
The violent and devastating struggle between Dara and Aurangzeb, the decisive role played by their sisters Jahan Ara and Roshan Ara,  the spiritual challenge posed by the naked sufi Sarmad to the authority of the muftis and qazis of the Empire, and the growing discontent among the masses are elements which make “Dara” a gripping and powerful play.

Tickets for the plays are Rs. 500 each and are available at T2F and at Nandos (Boat Basin & SMCHS)

Opening Date: Tuesday, 22 June 2010 | 6:00 pm

“The Fashion Show” is an extension of Scherherezade Junejo’s thesis show “The Infection”. Influenced by dance and theatre, her understanding of the human body and its movement has evolved into a deeper and darker take on the meaning behind each posture, the intent of each muscle movement, and the importance of light and space in interacting with the body. “The Fashion Show” is a satire; Scherherezade’s opinion of the truth behind the glamour of a material world which we blindly and religiously follow. Trends are worn as skin and celebrities are bought in bits and pieces only to be discarded for the next big thing. The result is a deeply uncomfortable realisation of the loss of one’s own identity and sense of self.

Music Performance by Mame-Saab

Mame-Saab features Danial Hyatt and Abdullah Tariq (from the band Mole) handling instrumentation via a laptop and midi keyboards, and Zeerak Ahmed on vocals. The triad is a project of Karachi Detour, a forum for aspiring, experimental musical and visual artists in Karachi.

About Scherherezade Junejo

Born and bred in Karachi, Scherherezade is obsessed with all forms and facets of art. Deeply influenced by her family’s involvement with classical music, she learnt to sing and dance at a young age. Her passion for dance and painting culminated when she began attending the prestigious National College of Arts in 2006. The four most important years of her life were spent training in all aspects of traditional and contemporary art, taught by artists and critics such as Bashir Ahmed, Quddus Mirza, Mariam Hussain, R.M. Naeem, Mohd. Ali Talpur, Laila Rahman and Amna Ilyas. NCA provided Scherherezade with a legitimate platform to immerse herself in dance and theatre and she spent four years delivering stage performances across Pakistan. She was able to amalgamate her experience with art as a whole, in her thesis show “The Infection” in January 2010, which was borne as a result of her love affair with painting, sculpture, dance, mime and theatre. She graduated from NCA with Honours in 2010.

Opening Date and Time: Tuesday, 22nd June, 2010 | 6:00 pm
Closing Date: Monday, 5th July, 2010
Gallery Hours: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm – Daily
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F | Faraar
Address | Map

“Back to Our Beginnings” follows the journey of two lovers who are united by undeniable chemistry in their first meeting, only to go their separate ways to discover who they are as individuals. After traversing the world on their own, they reunite in hopes of rekindling the spark they had turned their backs on many years ago in pursuit of worldly illusions.

Performers

Danish Jawed, an upcoming musician, has composed and directed “Back to Our Beginnings”, and will play the piano live as the soundtrack to the dance performance. He is musically influenced by the likes of Philip Glass, Yann Tiersen and Ludovico Einaudi. Danish is also an aspiring film maker and will be making his directorial debut at Kara Film Festival this year.

Rajab Ali Sayed is a fine artist and theater enthusiast studying at National College of Arts in Lahore. His dance credits include “Allah Hu”, a contemporary dance performance shot for PTV and the nationwide Coca Cola Flash Mob campaign. Rajab specializes in jazz and western contemporary dance.

Suhaee Abro is an aspiring dancer who has trained with Sheema Kermani in classical dancing, specializing in Bharatanatyam. She was recently featured in Peace Dreams, an eastern contemporary dance performance. Suhaee has performed in Nepal and India as well as at the recent World Performing Arts Festival in Lahore.

“Back to Our Beginnings” brings three young performing artists together for a live music and dance routine that promises to be the first of its kind to be featured exclusively at T2F. Danish Jawed’s debut album, “Remember Your Humanity” will also be launched this weekend, so please show up and support emerging talent.

Dates: Saturday 19th June, 2010 and Sunday 20th June, 2010
Time: 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Entry Fee: Rs. 200 per performance
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F
Address | Map

Suhaee Abro and Danish Jawed Photo Credits: Jamal Ashiqain

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

Iqbal Diwan, a senior government official, has a sensation in the making with his just published first book, “Jisay Raat Lay Uri Hava”. A loosely structured memoir, freely mixed with a loose sally of his imagination, Iqbal’s book takes an irreverant and not-so-discreet look at interesting people and happenings, spilling the beans and making interesting revelations.

Join us at T2F this Friday, for an eventful evening of readings and conversation with
Iqbal Diwan.

Date: Friday, 11th June, 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 screenings and conversation on film with Ahmer Naqvi

A year ago, Ahmer Naqvi decided to leave the megalomaniac world of the Pakistani media, determined to find something better to say, using another medium – film. For the past year, he has been making short films as a Masters student. He now comes to T2F to talk about his own work, its relationship to Pakistan as well as the state of cinema within the country. He also brings with him vague pretensions of beginning a movement of young Pakistani artists – sick of obsessing about the country’s politics and its image abroad – but eager to explore the dramatic, breathless reality which is life in Pakistan. Join us for a screening of Ahmer’s works accompanied by a wide ranging discussion on everything from Maula Jutt to Jean-Luc Godard, and whatever comes in between.

Date: Tuesday, 8th June, 2010
Time: 6:30 pm – 8:30 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 recollections featuring Zeerak Raziuddin, one of the first women in Karachi to drive a car and run a business

Zeerak Raziuddin is the daughter of the fabled Dr. Ashraf ul Haq of Hyderabad and the niece of Shahid Ahmed Dehlvi. Born and educated in Hyderabad Deccan, she hailed from the literary family of ‘Deputy’ Nazir Ahmed and played in the lap of Josh Malihabadi as a child. Zeerak Raziuddin embarked upon a new phase in her life after she came to Karachi. She was one of the first women to drive a car, open a boutique, run a business, and make a film.

Endowed with a wonderful memory, Zeerak Raziuddin has documented her life’s experiences in a recently published memoir, “Mujhay Sab Hai Yaad Zara Zara”. Writing for the Daily Dawn, Intizar Hussain says: “What distinguishes this autobiography from other such writings is the simple and unaffected manner in which a cultured woman has given an account of her life. She has no pretensions and no complaints to make. She is perfectly satisfied with the way she has spent her years and narrates those years with great ease.”

Date: Friday, 4th June, 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 with Shrabani Basu, Author of Victoria and Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant

The tall, handsome Abdul Karim was just twenty-four years old when he arrived in England from Agra to wait at tables during Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. An assistant clerk at Agra Central Jail, he suddenly found himself a personal attendant to the Empress of India herself. Within a year, he was established as a powerful figure, becoming the queen’s teacher or Munshi, and instructing her in Urdu and Indian affairs. Devastated by the death of John Brown, her Scottish ghillie, the queen had at last found his replacement. But her intense and controversial relationship with the Munshi led to a near revolt in the royal household.

Victoria & Abdul examines how a young Indian Muslim came to play a central role at the heart of the empire, and his influence over the queen at a time when independence movements in the sub-continent were growing in force. Yet at its heart, it is a tender love story between an ordinary Indian and his elderly queen, a relationship that survived the best attempts to destroy it.

Shrabani Basu was born in Calcutta and grew up in Dhaka, Kathmandu and Delhi. She moved to London in 1987, since when she has been the correspondent of the Calcutta-based newspapers Ananda Bazar Patrika and The Telegraph. She is the author of Curry: the Story of the Nation’s Favourite Dish, and the critically acclaimed biography Spy Princess: the Life of Noor Inayat Khan.

This event is brought to you by Oxford University Press. Refreshments will be served at 6:00 pm and the event will begin at 6:30 pm.

Date: Thursday, 27th May, 2010
Time: 6:00 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.

Samina Raza started drawing when she was 9 years old. She drew on everything she could get her hands on, from cardboard boxes to her school uniforms and frocks. Her first watercolor painting was a beaver which was displayed in an art exhibition at the Convent of Jesus & Mary in Murree. Samina is incredibly inquisitive … light, movement, and the unusual in nature urge her to explore and express herself. Samina paints women because she believes women have multiple dimensions. She says, “for me to draw and paint women is to explore their strengths, creatively”.

Samina loves laughing, dancing, and asking questions!

“Samina Raza is an exceptionally skilled artist. Her paintings, mostly water colour and mixed media represent life, dreams, stories, fantasies and realities. The colours are extremely fresh and almost alive, the drawings so detailed and resolved. Samina’s work truly represents her great history and her eclectic choices”. The News

Opening Date and Time: Friday, 14th May, 2010 | 6:00 pm
Closing Date: Monday, 31st May, 2010
Gallery Hours: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm – Daily
Venue: PeaceNiche | T2F | Faraar
Address | Map

Dr. Mohammad Yunus coined the expression ’social business’ as a cause driven business that is, at its core, driven by a social mission yet at the same time, has the ability to be financially sustainable with a long term impact.

Have you ever thought about what makes a social enterprise viable in the long term and how to balance that elusive double bottom line?

Join Acumen Fund for a conversation on ’social investing’ and why balancing financial returns with social returns results in more sustainable impact. Also hear from Acumen’s current class of Fellows, Sarah Dimson and Muhammad Zahoor, who are working with social enterprises in Pakistan.

Acumen Fund is a non-profit global investment fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to address the problems of global poverty. We seek to prove that small amounts of philanthropic capital, combined with large doses of business acumen, can build thriving enterprises that serve vast numbers of the poor. Our investments focus on delivering affordable, critical goods and services – like health, water, housing, agriculture and energy – at affordable prices to low-income customers in India, Pakistan, and East Africa.

Date: Monday, 10th May, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
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 this Friday for an evening of poetry readings and conversation with Mahmood Jamal and Fahmida Riaz.

Born in Lucknow, India in 1948, Mahmood Jamal came to Britain from Pakistan in 1967. A progressive poet, film-maker and translator, his works have been published in the London Magazine and broadcast on BBC Radio. He has performed at leading poetry venues in London and around the UK and has several volumes of poetry to his name, including Silence Inside a Gun’s Mouth and Sugar-Coated Pill. He also edited the Penguin Book of Modern Urdu Poetry and his latest collection, Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi, was published in 2009.

Fahmida Riaz, born in Meerut, India in 1946, is a celebrated Pakistani writer, poet, and feminist. Her first poem was published when she was just 15 and her first collection of poetry appeared when she was 22. She is the author of several works, including Pathar ki Zaban, Khatt-e Marmuz, Karachi, Gulabi Kabootar, and Yeh Khana-e-aab-o-gil – the first translation of the Masnavi of Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi into Urdu. Her work is remarkable for its emotionally charged references to social and political injustice. She has been a prominent voice in the feminist struggle in Pakistan, where her poems both directly and insidiously erode at the foundations of male dominance. She has also published several gender equal stories, feminist translations, and some deconstruction of the criticism of feminist work.

Date: Friday, 7th May, 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.

Thursday, 6th May 2010 | 6:30 pm

Marguerite H. Sullivan is director of the Center for International Media Assistance at the National Endowment for Democracy. She has had extensive experience as a journalist and a communications practitioner both in the U.S. and overseas. She has done extensive communications training worldwide and wrote “A Responsible Press Office: An Insider’s Guide,” an award-winning book that has been translated into more than two dozen languages. Previously she was executive director of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO.

Ms. Sullivan began her professional career as a journalist, working for newspapers in Boston and California before moving to Washington, D.C., where she was a reporter and columnist for Copley News Service and newspapers. She also was executive editor of “The Washington Woman” magazine and served as president of the Washington Press Club. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications including “The Washington Post,” the “Boston Globe”, and “Washingtonian” magazine among others. She has worked in the White House, a federal agency and as a cabinet member for a U.S. governor. Ms. Sullivan was a fellow at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University, has served and chaired several committees affiliated with Stanford University, and serves as a member of the National Council on the Humanities. She holds a bachelors degree in history and a masters degree in journalism from Stanford University.

Date: Thursday, 6th May, 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.

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

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.

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.

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.