Deen Sheikh On the road less travelled.....

(Picture Above depicts a scene where post Liberation, Bengali nationalists are publicly executing non Bengali's, while an insensitive crowd in the back ground watches, is this the compassionate non violent Bengali way, present day Bangladeshi's speak off?) Today the 26th of March is a Tuesday, only just the second day of the working week. For many of us living in the major urban centers of Pakistan, it is probably just about getting through another week of work before we can all unwind on the weekend. Thanks to the countless efforts done by our state institutions and our historians, many Pakistani's are probably not aware of the historical significance that this day has in Pakistan's history. Along with December 16th, this day too should be marked as a day of national shame and mourning, we should also be mourning that this day proved the lack of ability to unite as Muslims even in the same geographic region. Maybe the 60's and early 70's were differ...

Yesterday on the 18th of March, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan said Good Bye to its most famous war heroes of all time. Muhammad Mehboob Alam, very popularly known as MM Alam passed away yesterday after fighting a long battle with terminal illness. He was 77.He will be best remembered for his decisive role and his incredible heroics in the 1965 Indo-Pak war. He single handedly shot down 5 Indian fighter jets in under a minute, 4 of them which went down in the first 30 seconds and established a world record by doing that. For his bravery and the skills he demonstrated in the theater of war, he was awarded the 'Sitara-e-Jurat' or the Star of Courage, one of the highest military honours given to military service men in the Pakistan armed forces. The very trendy and fashionable street in Gulberg, Lahore is named after him. The nation should never forget a heroe like MM Alam, for he was not just a national heroe, but he was a true patriot till his very last days in mo...

This past weekend saw the conclusion of yet another hugely successful annual Karachi Literature Festival which was staged at the Beach Luxury hotel. This was the fourth year that this event took place in the city by the sea and it has created a road map for other cities to follow. Very soon the city of Lahore will be having it's first literary festival, we can hope it will also transform into a regularly held annual event. This year's Karachi Literature Festival was not as good as the ones held during the previous year, even though this year the choice of venue for staging the event was far more spacious and accessible to a greater number of people. Reason being a lot of writers, poets and intellects cancelled on the very last minute, especially from across the border. I did get to meet one of India's most famous female journalists Barkha Dutt from NDTV. Apparently I didn't have an idea of how famous she was in India, I just recognised her from a few random political t...

Another year, another month of Feb, another Valentines day graces our calender. Another year where the religious right aka the mullah brigade is at it again condemning it as an act of immorality that will result in all hell breaking loose on the moral fabric of our society. Regardless of what one thinks of Valentines day, hate it, love it or our indifferent, it is still going to happen, there is now law in Pakistan that forbids it's celebration. And it seem's plausible that this trend will continue on for years, Valentines day will come, the mullah brigade with make its usual fuss, people wanting to celebrate it will celebrate by exercising their God given free will and on the next day life will resume as it was before the V day fever came in. On this day (V-day), thousands of couples are going to be going out for dinner, exchanging gifts, spending time together and exchange moments of intimacy, and in the case of Pakistan since public displays of affection are frowned u...

So Valentines day is coming. Yes that's right the 14th of Feb is just around the corner, and signs of the day to come are all around the city of Karachi. To cash in, so many companies big and small are spending good money on getting their advertising message across to the audience they hope would be celebrating the day. Whether their huge outdoor hoardings, print adverts or those appearing on prime time television, the spirit of Valentines day is definitely in the air, especially for the marketers. Among the campaigns dished out through different mediums this year, one that marketing campaign that really stands out is the one done by Cadbury for their signature flagship Dairy Milk chocolate brand. In the advertisement on television they show a young man who manages to get his message across to the girl he seeks by passing the chocolate with a Valentines day message across the class room, in the process, all but one piece of the chocolate get...

It would not be incorrect to say that we live in the age of social media, the effects of which can be seen very prominently in the world around us. Social media tools such as Micro blogging site Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have become a part of every day life and they have entirely changed the way millions  of us interact and engage with the wider world around us. Facebook in particular has been a real game changer with over a billion years world wide. Social media has provided an extremely effective medium of marketing and public relations for businesses both big and small as it allows them to participate in two feedback with their desired audiences. The real power of social media however lies in its ability to allow its users to not only communicate with multiple users, but also share, create and broadcast content with wider audiences and achieve mass penetration. The youth in particular has been a major driving force that has fueled and accelerated the growth of social...

  Very recently on a flight back from Lahore, I had the opportunity to interact with a seasoned entrepreneur. During that conversation, we did have a chat on business and the rules of the game, especially as far as service is concerned. The conversation ended with his golden advise that business is not just about making money but it also about building good relationships with all your stakeholders. The advise of the entrepreneur may not be something unique, it is something that every one who has ever attended business school can relate to, however what is really disappointing is a significant absence of efforts for relationship building in the service and hospitality sector in Pakistan, what makes it worse is that we as stakeholders (customers or recipients) have little or no expectations with regards to receiving efforts from the other for building and developing relationships. A lot of us have the everything goes, we are fine with what get attitude. I am at times...