How to start an IELTS essay

You need to write an effective introduction for IELTS writing task 2 in order to get a better band. As someone said ‘first impression is the last impression’, so is for writing as well. I will be discussing here the structure of a good introduction and things that you should avoid and things you should adopt.

Read this article How to start an IELTS essay, for more information.

How to play guitar

Getting started with a guitar may be difficult but once you have gained the pace you would enjoy learning to play guitar. It is normal to feel a little daunting, but generally, if you keep these few things in mind, you’ll be off to a great start.

Read this article How to start playing guitar for a deep insight into playing guitar.

What is MOOC

MOOC is acronym of Massive open online course. It's a new term but relatively old as refered to introduction of internet. Read the full article on What is MOOC on Hotchpotch Post.

Top 10 Reasons to Volunteer

Volunteering has been one of the top most philanthropic work intricuded in late 19th century. This incresed in early 20th century when different organization started to promote.
Read the featured article Top 10 Reasons to Volunteer on Hotchpotch Post.

9 Must-Read Books by Pakistani Authors

A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammad Hanif

A Mohammad hanif classic considered to be one of the best novel written by a Pakistani author is a comic novel revolving surrounding the incident that killed General Zia ul Haq in the plane crash, A Case of Exploding Mangoes is a fictitious story of Ali Shigiri, a junior officer in Pakistan Air Force who is set to seek revenge for his father’s apparent suicide, which he blames on General Zia. The book won the Shakti Bhatt first book prize in 2008 and also grabbed a commonwealth book prize in best first book category.
Get it Here A Case of Exploding Mangoes

My Feudal Lord – Tehmeena Durrani

Tehmina Durrani’s My Feudal Lord is one of the biggest stirrers in Pakistan’s history. The book is an autobiography and revolves around Durrani’s life as the wife of Pakistan’s influential politician, former governor and Chief Minister Punjab Ghulam Mustafa Khar. The book was highly controversial and explored details of her marriage and unveiled how Khar mistreated her and how she had to run away barefoot to survive.
Get it Here My Feudal Lord: A Devastating Indictment of Women's Role in Muslim Society

Burnt Shadows – Kamila Shamsi

 Kamila Shamsi’s is one of versatile novalists not only in Pakistan but to me whole of asia .. Burnt Shadows traces the shared histories of two families, from the final days of the second world war in Japan, and India on the brink of partition in 1947, to Pakistan in the early 1980s, New York in the aftermath of 11 September and Afghanistan in the wake of the ensuing US bombing campaign. The book received the Anisfield-wolf award and was long listed for the prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction.
Get it Here Burnt Shadows: A Novel

Between Clay & Dust – Musharraf Ali Farooqi

Between Clay and Dust is about a wrestler and a tawaif, about two art forms that no longer hold the glory they once did. Set somewhere suggestive of post-partition Punjab, albeit in an area left ‘unscathed’ by ‘the ravaging winds of Partition’, the narrative is quiet, thoughtful and centered. Farooqi was among the five writers shortlisted for Asia’s most prestigious literary prize in 2012.
Get it Here 

Kartography by kamila shamsie

Kamila shamsie second entry in top 10 of this list but not surprisingly I had to put this one in this list. A love story with a family mystery at its heart, Kartography is a dazzling novel by a young writer of astonishing maturity and exhilarating style. Shamsie transports us to a world we have not often seen in fiction-vibrant, dangerous, sensuous Pakistan specially karachi. But even as she takes us far from the familiar, her story of passion and family secrets rings universally true.
Get it Here   

The Crow Eaters – Bapsi Sidhwa 

Set in the early 20^th century, The Crow Eater is an exuberant novel packed with witty humor. It describes the life of a Parsee family of Freddy Junglewalla who moves his family including a pregnant wife, baby daughter, and Jerbanoo, his stout mother-in-law from their ancestral forest home to cosmopolitan Lahore. He opens a store, and as his fortunes grow, so does the animosity between Freddy and his mother-in-law. While Freddy prospers under British rule, life with the domineering Jerbanoo is another matter entirely.
Get it Here 

Moth Smoke by mohsin hamid

8th on the list is Moshin Hamid’s debut novel moth smoke.  It portrays a contemporary Pakistan as far more vivid and disturbing than the exoticized images of South Asia familiar to most of the West. This debut novel establishes Mohsin Hamid as a writer of substance and imagination.
Get it Here 

Blasphemy by tehmina durrani 

In prose of great power and intensity, the author tells the tragic story of the beautiful Heer, brutalized and corrupted by Pir Sain, the man of God, whom she is married to when barely fifteen. But the nightmare she is locked into is not hers alone; it affects the entire clan that owes allegiance to the pir. In the Pir's haveli, unspeakable horrors are perpetrated every day and every night, all in the name of Allah. Sucked into the fetid hell of her lord's making, Heer loses her dignity, her freedom, even her humanity, till a terrible resolution gives her back to herself. 
Get it Here 

The Shadow of the Crescent Moon by Fatima Bhutto

Fatima Bhutto's stunning fiction debut begins and ends one rain swept Friday morning in Mir Ali, a small town in Pakistan's Tribal Areas close to the Afghan border. The Shadow of the Crescent Moon chronicles the lives of five young people trying to live and love in a world on fire. Individuals are pushed to make terrible choices. And, as the events of this single morning unfold, one woman is at the centre of it all.
Get it Here 

Read the book reviews here : Book Reviews 

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

Blogger vs Wordpress

“Blogger or Wordpress?” this is a common question among bloggers who are new to blogging. There is no hard and fast rule to choose the blogging platform. It depends on the preferences of the blogger. As of me I choose blogger when I started my first blog. But I won’t recommend blogger, instead I will do a simple comparison of Blogger and Wordpress here.

1.       Creating blog

On blogger you sign up with an email address, if you use your gmail account you don’t need to go for a lengthy sign up process rather a simple one. You will use the same gmail username and password.

Same with the wordpress, you need an email address or URL to sign up. Off course you need to fill the tiring sign up form.

2.       Ease of use

Blogger offers a simple layout and options so that you can work easily.

Wordpress on other side is a bit messy, it has all those fancy tabs and option you would see in a sci-fi movie. But it offers a lot of options to work on.

3.       Web Space

Bloggers gives you a web space of 1gb, which is simple very low. You would have to pay for additional space or use data that is located somewhere else.

Wordpress blogs comes with a web space of 3gb, which is quite enough for a starter. You can get more space by paying for it.

4.       Customization

Blogger is very primitive in case of customization. You are provided with very basic themes and customization. If you are good at programming or familiar with languages like HTML and XML you easily get free and paid templates for your blog.

Whereas wordpress has plethora of themes available at time of sign up. These themes are highly customizable. You can choose between the themes available on wordpress or get a free or paid theme available on web.

5.       Support

Blogger has a limited support available. You are left with very little choices to choose from.

On the other hand wordpress has an active support available. There are professionals as well who provide premium services for support.

6.       Security

Blogger comes with the google’s sturdy and robust secure platform. You don’t need to worry about the securing your blog against theft, spam or backups.

WordPress is pretty secure, but in the meantime it is a self-hosted, therefore you are responsible for security and backups.

Final Verdict

In this post we did a basic comparison of Blogger and Wordpress.  The fact still remains unclear which is better. Both comes with their own pros and cons. It is up to the specification and needs of blogger to choose over the two. 

Read Also: What is SEO

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

6 Reasons Why "Log Kya Kahenge" Shouldn't Matter

If you are an Pakistani , you must be very familiar with the phrase “Log kya kahenge”. How many times have you wanted to do something in your life that is not normally accepted in pakistan? – Drop out of college? Pursue a career as a interior designer or a fine artist? How many times has some or the other neighbour asked you when you are getting married? And deep down you wish that you could push all these judgmental hypocrites away and just follow your heart? Well its looks seemingly impossible to just ignore all these people in our society or I should say country.

This is a list of things about why you shouldn’t listen to “Log kya kahenge”:

1. Hanging out with the boys does not make the girl a 2 no. larki(that’s what we say in Pakistan)

Girls are “supposed” to marry boys and boys are “supposed” to marry girls. Oh but wait, you can’t hang out together, but oh yes you can get married to a stranger who liked your online profile. 

2. Choosing a career in Arts does not make you stupid

“Humara beta engineer ya doctor banega.” Because they don’t realize creativity and creating art is a science in itself. A career in a field other than science is also a career. So go make a career in dance, painting, photography or anything else that makes you happy and your job doesn’t seem as a burden.

3.Marrying people in your caste sect or religion does not guarantee happiness

How does it matter who you marry as long as they are human? (or in pakistan – trees, I guess?) Marry inside/outside/around your caste and religion and be happy because you will have that one “what-if” crossed off your list.

4. School->College->Job-> Marriage isn’t a mandatory rule to be followed

This cycle is carved onto your forehead. Break the chain! Go back to college to get another degree if you wish to! Or change your job or field if you are unhappy with it. You have one life – are you going to spend it the way others want you to, or come back as a ghost so that it will haunt you forever?

5. "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."

We thank Steve Jobs for giving us this gem of a line. Seriously, why on earth will you get into engineering because kashif’s bhai’s son did it?

6. in the end nobody really cares about you.

Well it’s a bitter truth even if we know nobody cares what you become still their voices are in our head consistently and we fear what they say and our own voice is drowned. 

Courtesy: Hotchpotch Post

Salim Khan

The author is a linguist and a creative writer.  He writes about social causes and sports. He can be reached at salimbsml@gmail.com








The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

Global warming entering into a crucial stage

Climate change is entering into a crucial stage. With 2'C set as limit by UN Climate change institution by 2100, we have reached the first half. The global temperature is set to enter 1'C global temperature increase after pre-industrial times by end of 2015.
Global temperatures in 2014 were just below 0.9'C. According to climate observatories 2015 was the hottest year of history. As we witnessed heatwaves, droughts and  floods hitting different part of the planet. Including heatwave observed in Europe after the catastrophic heatwave of 2003. Droughts hit different states of USA, California in most.
Read Also: What if we stop using fossil fuels?
Carbon dioxide the leading global warming cause, was noted to be higher than ever. With concentrations of 440 ppm. Which is two-third of maximum to limit global temperature increase by 2'C.
The temperature increase comes with 60cm increase in average sea-level rise. This may seem little but can inundate lots of coastal cities.

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

What is Search Engine Optimization - SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the technique of affecting the visibility of a website in a search engine's natural or unpaid search results.

Search engines like Google have primary search results , where web pages and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users.

For more basic but also in-depth advice, “Periodic Table of SEO success” shown below, introduces you to all the key concepts you need to know:

As a companion to the table, Search Engine Land’s Guide To SEO explains the ranking factors in more depth, in a tutorial tips and advice on implementing them are provided on http://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-seo.

Read Also: Blogger vs Wordpress

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

Hunza in Pictures (Flickr)

Hunza Before Sunrise

Sunrise in Hunza

Apples of Hunza

Mighty Karakoram Highway near Khunjerab Top

Moon Evenings in Hunza

Read also: Gilgit baltistan pictures

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

Eid in a Different Way

Eid (Eid ul Adha or Eid-e-Qurbani) is annual ritual performed by muslims for the world annually as based on lunar year. It is to commemorate the 4000 years old event in which Prophet Ibrahim offered his most beloved possession, his son Ismail for sacrifice upon God’s call. This event is called as qurbani in most countries, which translates as sacrifice in english.

In this ritual muslims sacrifice an animal, that is halaal, (whose meat is allowed to be eaten in Islamic teachings). Most of the time these animals include Cow/Bull, Goat, Sheep and sometimes Camel as well. This meat is divided in different ways. Most common of them is that, the meat is divided into 3 equal parts. First part is given to poor and oppressed living in vicinity, second part is distributed among relatives while third part is retained by the person who is performing this ritual.

Rituals are same in a religion but we see a different kind of Eid performed by people of Hunza, a valley in mountains of Karakoram range. I grow up reading different sort of Eid but performing a different. On the day of Eid in Hunza everybody gathers at Community centers located in their native villages after Eid’s prayer. All of the animals devoted for Qurbani are gathered as well. All of these animals are slaughtered one by one and meat is collected. This meat is not divided into 3 parts rather it is divided into number of households present in the vicinity of the community center, and is divided among them. No difference is seen between poor or rich, related or unrelated, everybody gets equal portion of the meat.

For some it may seems absurd but it is the real essence of sacrifice. Where the one sacrificing doesn’t believes in favouritism or nepotism. This is a model that every muslim needs to learn and replicate, rather than indulging in practices like show off by buying animals in prices above their worth. Islam teaches the same. It teaches us to be just and generous and  live a life in simplicity.

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

Microsoft announces two flagship phones, Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL

Microsoft came up with flagship Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL after a long break of 18 months. This is third of kind, as the announcement came after Apple and Google releasing their high end phones (Apple's Iphone 6S & 6S Plus, Google's Nexus 5X & 6P). These 6 phones are to be launched soon and it would be worth noticing the competition among theses internet giants.

When talking about specs Microsoft has done a good job but its matter of choice as well. The phones are backed by powerful OS Windows 10. As reported 5.2-inch Lumia 950 and 5.7-inch Lumia 950 XL are powerful devices: OLED screens (564ppi and 518ppi); octa-core and hexa-core processors — with "tablet class liquid cooling" technology; a 20-megapixel camera with triple LED flash. Pictures taken by these phones haven't been published yet.
The phones comes with a unique feature called Continuum, which lets you use a large-screen display and with a Display Dock, you can even plug in a keyboard and mouse and run a Windows-esque environment capable of using universal Windows 10 apps. It's not quite a PC replacement, but it is something no one else is offering.
The phones support USB type C for faster charging.
Here is a comparison of the new upcoming phones by Microsoft, Apple and Google:

NETWORK	Technology	GSM / HSPA / LTE	GSM / HSPA / LTE
	2G bands	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
	4G Network	LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 20(800), 28(700), 38(2600), 40(2300)	LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 17(700), 20(800), 28(700), 38(2600), 40(2300)
	Speed	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE Cat6 300/50 Mbps	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE Cat6 300/50 Mbps
	GPRS	Yes	Yes
	EDGE	Yes	Yes

LAUNCH	Announced	2015, October	2015, October
	Status	Coming soon. Exp. release 2015, November	Coming soon. Exp. release 2015, November

BODY	Dimensions	151.9 x 78.4 x 8.1 mm (5.98 x 3.09 x 0.32 in)	145 x 73.2 x 8.2 mm (5.71 x 2.88 x 0.32 in)
	Weight	165 g (5.82 oz)	150 g (5.29 oz)
	SIM	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM

DISPLAY	Type	AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors	AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	5.7 inches (~74.3% screen-to-body ratio)	5.2 inches (~70.5% screen-to-body ratio)
	Resolution	1440 x 2560 pixels (~518 ppi pixel density)	1440 x 2560 pixels (~564 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes	Yes
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 4	Corning Gorilla Glass 3
		- ClearBlack display	- ClearBlack display

PLATFORM	OS	Microsoft Windows 10	Microsoft Windows 10
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810	Qualcomm MSM8992 Snapdragon 808
	CPU	Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A57	Dual-core 1.82 GHz Cortex-A57 & quad-core 1.44 GHz Cortex-A53
	GPU	Adreno 430	Adreno 418

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 200 GB	microSD, up to 200 GB
	Internal	32 GB, 3 GB RAM	32 GB, 3 GB RAM

CAMERA	Primary	20 MP, 4992 х 3744 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, optical image stabilization, autofocus, triple-LED RGB flash	20 MP, 4992 х 3744 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, optical image stabilization, autofocus, triple-LED RGB flash
	Features	1/2.4'' sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size, PureView technology, dual capture, geo-tagging, face detection, panorama, HDR	1/2.4'' sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size, PureView technology, dual capture, geo-tagging, face detection, panorama, HDR
	Video	2160p@30fps, optical stabilization, stereo sound rec.	2160p@30fps, optical stabilization, stereo sound rec.
	Secondary	5 MP, 1080p	5 MP, 1080p

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes	Yes

COMMS	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
	Bluetooth	v4.1, A2DP	v4.1, A2DP
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou	Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou
	NFC	Yes	Yes
	Infrared port	No	No
	Radio	FM radio	FM radio
	USB	Type-C 1.0 reversible connector	Type-C 1.0 reversible connector

FEATURES	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, sensor core	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, sensor core
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	HTML5	HTML5
	Java	No	No
		- Wireless charging (Qi-enabled) - market dependent - Fast charging - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player - MP4/H.265 player - OneDrive (15 GB cloud storage) - Document viewer - Video/photo editor	- Wireless charging (Qi-enabled) - market dependent - Fast charging - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player - MP4/H.265 player - OneDrive (15 GB cloud storage) - Document viewer - Video/photo editor

BATTERY		Li-Ion 3340 mAh battery	Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery
	Stand-by	Up to 288 h (2G) / Up to 288 h (3G)	Up to 288 h (2G) / Up to 288 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 25 h (2G) / Up to 19 h (3G)	Up to 23 h (2G) / Up to 18 h (3G)
	Music play	Up to 75 h	Up to 67 h

MISC
	Colors	Black, White	Black, White
	Price group	9/10	8/10

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.