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.

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.

How to Add Facebook Comment Box to your Blog 2022

Facebook comments add quality too your blog as it makes easy for people to comment and interact with the owner of blog easily. It adds to your traffic since your blog posts gets connected to Facebook. 

Here is step by step process to add Facebook comment box to your blog.

1. Go this link: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/comments
2. Fill the blanks with your desired input eg. width (number of pixels) and number of posts (comments).
3. Scroll down and click on get code button.
4. Copy the first text.
5. Change the character & with & if there is any.
6. Now got to your Blogger Dashboarad
7. Go to template > edit html.
8. Search </body> tag {Ctrl+f}
9. Copy the code and paste the code above </body> tag.
10. Now search that blog and this red code  <b:include data='post' name='post'/>
11. Now add the following code after <b:include data='post' name='post'/>

How to Add Facebook Comment Box to your Blog

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>

                 &lt;div

                     class=&quot;fb-comments&quot;

                     data-href=&quot;<data:post.url/>&quot;

                     data-width=&quot;590&quot;

                     data-num-posts=&quot;100&quot;&gt;

                 &lt;/div&gt;

            </b:if>

Click Save Template to complete.

Read Also: Facebook added 'Legacy Contact' feature

Watch Online Live Cricket Matches

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Pi Day

Entrance mathematician's building, TU-Berlin

Pi (π)
The number π is a mathematical constant, the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, approximately equal to 3.14159(The first 100 decimal digits are 3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679).

Pi Day
Pi Day is an annual celebration commemorating the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14 (or 3/14 in the U.S. month/day date format), since 3, 1, and 4 are the three most significant digits of π in the decimal form. In 2009, the United States House of Representatives supported the designation of Pi Day.
Pi Approximation Day is observed on July 22 (or 22/7 in the day/month date format), since the fraction 22⁄7 is a common approximation of π, which is accurate to two decimal places and dates from Archimedes

History
The earliest known official or large-scale celebration of Pi Day was organized by Larry Shaw in 1988 at the San Francisco Exploratorium, where Shaw worked as a physicist, with staff and public marching around one of its circular spaces, then consuming fruit pies. The Exploratorium continues to hold Pi Day celebrations.
On March 12, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution (HRES 224), recognizing March 14, 2009, as National Pi Day.
For Pi Day 2010, Google presented a Google Doodle celebrating the holiday, with the word Google laid over images of circles and pi symbols.
The entire month of March 2014 (3/14) was observed by some (University of Maryland Alumnus) as "Pi Month".
In the year 2015, Pi Day will have special significance on 3/14/15 at 9:26:53 a.m. and p.m., with the date and time representing the first 10 digits of π. That same second will also contain a precise instant corresponding to all of the digits of π. However, some argue that 9:26:54 a.m. and p.m. on 3/14/15 are more accurate because of the 11th digit of π being 5, which would cause the 10th digit to round up to 4.

Observance
Pi Day has been observed in many ways, from eating pie to discussing the significance of the number π. Some schools hold competitions as to which student can recall Pi to the highest number of decimal places.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has often mailed its application decision letters to prospective students for delivery on Pi Day. Starting in 2012, MIT has announced it will post those decisions (privately) online on Pi Day at exactly 6:28 pm, which they have called "Tau Time", to honor the rival numbers Pi and Tau equally.

The town of Princeton, New Jersey, hosts numerous events in a combined celebration of Pi Day and Albert Einstein's birthday, which is also March 14. Einstein lived in Princeton for more than twenty years while working at the Institute for Advanced Study. In addition to pie eating and recitation contests, there is an annual Einstein look-alike contest.

Source
Wikipedia.

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

Interior of the National Library of China, Beijing

Interior of the National Library of China, Beijing © Zens photo/Getty Images

Click on Picture to enlarge.

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

How to add a Legacy contact to your Facebook profile

Open your Settings. Choose Security and the Legacy Contact at the bottom of the page.

 

After choosing your legacy contact, you’ll have the option to send a message to that person.

You may give your legacy contact permission to download an archive of the posts, photos and profile info you’ve shared on Facebook.

Facebook has also redesigned memorialized profiles to pay tribute to the deceased by adding “Remembering” above their name and making it possible for their legacy contact to pin a post to the top of their Timeline.

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

Facebook added 'Legacy Contact' feature

Facebook added a new feature to its website called 'Legacy Contact', a feature that lets people choose a legacy contact—a family member or friend who can manage their account when they pass away.
Facebook said "Facebook is a place to share and connect with friends and family. For many of us, it’s also a place to remember and honor those we’ve lost. When a person passes away, their account can become a memorial of their life, friendships and experiences."
"By talking to people who have experienced loss, we realized there is more we can do to support those who are grieving and those who want a say in what happens to their account after death."
If a user wishes, they can choose to appoint a friend or family member to take control of some aspects of the account after their death.
These features were among the most requested by users who gave feedback on its memorial page policies.
When a Facebook user passes away, Facebook will memorialize the account and the legacy contact will be able to:

• Write a post to display at the top of the memorialized Timeline (for example, to announce a memorial service or share a special message)
• Respond to new friend requests from family members and friends who were not yet connected on Facebook
• Update the profile picture and cover photo

People can also choose to give their legacy contact permission to download an archive of the photos, posts and profile information they shared on Facebook.

Other settings will remain the same. The legacy contact will not be able to log in as the person who died or see their private messages.
Facebook added "People can let us know if they’d prefer to have their Facebook account permanently deleted after death.
Until now, when someone passed away, we offered a basic memorialized account which was viewable, but could not be managed by anyone. By talking to people who have experienced loss, we realized there is more we can do to support those who are grieving and those who want a say in what happens to their account after death."
Check our post "How to add legacy contact on facebook" to see how to choose a legacy contact.
Facebook has been looking at ways to help families remember loved ones following a series of high-profile cases in which people wanted to access dead relative's pages.
In one a father wanted to create a video using Facebook's Look Back feature, which brings together popular moments on a person's profile.
But because he could not access his son's profile he was unable to make one.
Facebook said it would create one on behalf of his dead son and promised that they would look again at how to help families in similar circumstances.
In 2009, Facebook introduced a memorialising process which meant that a user who had died would no longer appear alongside advertising, or in contextual messages - and friends would not be reminded of a person's birthday.

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

60th Filmfare Awards 2015 Winners

The wait is over, 60th Filmfare Awards 2015 held today in Mumbai (January 31st 2015) at Yash Raj Studios Mumbai. Filmfare saw some sparkling performances from Bollywood stars including Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor and the lovely Shraddha Kapoor.

The show was hosted by TV comedian Kapil Sharma and the producer-director Karan Johar. A perfect comic duo, the pair entertained throughout the night with their hilarious gaffs and spoofs.
Karan even managed to get a few words out of Alia about her marriage prospects during backstage rehearsals.
The adorable actress admitted she wouldn’t mind going for Kapil, saying: “If I can adjust with Randeep Hooda, I can manage with Kapil Sharma too.”
Kapil was of course over the moon by her comment, and later arrived on the red carpet with a full baraat in tow celebrating with a ‘band baja’. Alia later won Best Actress (Critics) for Highway. She said:
“I don’t know what to say. Thank you Filmfare and Imtiaz for giving me ‘Highway’. Thank you for dealing with me and my tantrums.”
On the red carpet the stars sizzled in their finest designer wear. Sunny Leone looked stunning in a black floor length gown with her hair in a classic chignon.
The actress admitted that she was hoping Priyanka would take the ‘Best Actress’ award, saying: “I am rooting for Priyanka Chopra for Mary Kom.”
Kajol looked the perfect princess in a light pink gown. Sitting on the front row, Karan asked her for a few ‘romance’ tips, to which Kajol brilliantly responded: “SRK ko romance Yash Chopra ne sikhaya tha.”

Style diva Sonam Kapoor looked gorgeous in a traditional off-white piece: “I am happy to be nominated. This is my fourth nomination and I am happy that I am here.”
Co-star Fawad Khan, already lovingly dubbed Prince Charming, took the award for Best Debut (Male) for his role in Khoobsurat. Ecstatic at his win, he said:

“My message to fans would be, you guys are the instrument of my success. It is beautiful to get love from people in India and Pakistan.”

Tiger Shroff lost to the Pakistani actor, but his co-star Kriti Sanon from Heropanti took the award for Best Debut (Female).
Haider was a big winner on the night with both Tabu and Kay Kay Menon taking the awards for Best Supporting Actor.

Shahid arrived on the carpet looking as dapper as ever in a black tux. On the red carpet, when asked about his favourite Filmfare moment, Shahid said:
“It was for winning my first Filmfare for my debut film. You can never have enough of them (the black lady). Looking forward to the night.”
Shahid later won Best Actor (Male) for his brilliant portrayal. Another big winner in the Critics category was Ankhon Dekhi, which won Best Film (Critics) and Best Actor (Critics).
But it was Queen that was deemed the Best Film of 2014. The story of a young woman from Delhi on a journey to rediscover herself was applauded by audiences and critics alike. Vikas Bahl also took the award for Best Director. while Kangana Ranaut won Best Actor (Female).
Here is the full list of the 60th Britannia Filmfare Awards 2015:
BEST FILM
Queen
BEST DIRECTOR
Vikas Bahl – Queen
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (MALE)
Shahid Kapoor – Haider
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (FEMALE)
Kangana Ranaut – Queen
BEST FILM (CRITICS) 
Ankhon Dekhi
BEST ACTOR (CRITICS)
Sanjay Mishra – Ankhon Dekhi
BEST ACTRESS (CRITICS)
Alia Bhatt – Highway
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (MALE)
Kay Kay Menon – Haider
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (FEMALE)
Tabu – Haider
BEST STORY
Rajat Kapoor – Ankhon Dekhi
BEST DIALOGUE
Abhijat Joshi and Rajkumar Hirani – PK
BEST SCREENPLAY
Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi – PK
BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR
Abhishek Varman – 2 States
BEST DEBUT (MALE)
Fawad Khan – Khoobsurat
BEST DEBUT (FEMALE)
Kriti Sanon – Heropanti
BEST MUSIC DIRECTOR
Shankar-Eshaan-Loy – 2 States
BEST LYRICS (LYRICIST)
Rashmi Singh – Muskurane ki wajah (CityLights)
BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (MALE)
Ankit Tiwari – Galliyan (Ek Villain)
BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (FEMALE)
Kanika Kapoor – Baby Doll (Ragini MMS 2)
BEST COSTUME
Dolly Ahluwalia – Haider
BEST SOUND DESIGN
Anilkumar Konakandla and Prabal Pradhan – Mardaani
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Subrata Chakraborty and Amit Ray – Haider
BEST EDITING
Abhijit Kokate and Anurag Kashyap – Queen
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bobby Singh and Siddharth Diwan – Queen
BEST ACTION
Sham Kaushal – Gunday
BEST BACKGROUND SCORE
Amit Trivedi – Queen
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Ahmed Khan for Jumme Ki Raat – Kick
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Kamini Kaushal
This year Bollywood celebrated some of the best films of 2014. This year Indian cinema continued to break boundaries. Surely 2014 was another exceptional year for bollywood, as we seen some great movies like Queen, Haider, Mardaani, PK and many more.
Congratulations to all of the winners!

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

Gilgit-Baltistan a Traveler's Paradise

Though this is not a photographic blog but the as I went through this photographic page on Facebook I saw some amazing work done by this photographer. I hope you too will find these landscape images as eye catching as I got at first look.
Enjoy!

Babusar Pass

Nalter Lake

Sadpara Lake

Katpana , Skardu

Somewhere in Gilgit-Baltistan

Nagar Valley

Nagar Valley

Nagar Valley

Ghanche

Nagar Valley

Hunza

Lady Finger & Hunza Peak Along With Ultar Sar In A Stary Night

Cold Desert , Skardu

Skardu-Shigar Road

Beyond Sost Near Khunjrab

Hunza

Somewhere in Gilgit-Baltistan

Khapulu

Spantik Peak 7,027m

Moonlit Night In Shigar Valley

Somewhere in Gilgit-Baltistan

Khapulu

Ultar Sar 7,388m

Nagar Valley

Hopper Nagar

Hunza

Hopper Nagar

Upper Kachura Lake

The images have taken from S.M.Bukhari's facebook page. S.M.Bukhari is a landscape photographer based in Sialkot, Pakistan. The visual drama and artistry of his photographs are born of a keen eye for the many moods of Nature and a life-long passion for the wilderness. This passion shines throughout Bukhari’s work and has attracted a wide audience around the world.

His talent for rare captures of amazing light and fleeting atmosphere imbue his portfolio with a sense of the epic, majestic and the bold. His success derives from patient single-minded pursuit of all the unique moments that generate the magic and energy of the wilderness, often spending months immersing himself in the landscape he shoots despite the rigors of season and weather.

Bukhari’s photographs have been published extensively worldwide in a large variety of media ranging from calendars, books, advertising and the publications of National Geographic, Outdoor Photographer, Popular Photography and many more. Express channel has produced a documentary with his work. He is an executive member of Photography Arts Society of Pakistan (PASP) established 1980.He is also a brand ambassador of Samyang Optics Co in Pakistan.He had done successful workshops on photography art in Alhamra Arts Gallery , Lahore . Pak Tea House , Lahore & Minerva Art Gallery ,Islamabad.He also was engaged with ISPR for a project work.

Find SM Bukhari on Facebook, Flickr

Read Also: Hunza in Pictures

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