Burqavaganza Performance Video Highlights

Founders Day Program 2013 in the San Francisco Bay Area

What keeps many Bay Area Pakistanis busy over Christmas?  They attend the annual ‘Founders Day’ program celebrating the birthday of the Pakistani savior, Mohammad Ali Jinnah.  This year’s gathering at the Chandni Restaurant in Newark, California was a well-organized event featuring a movie ‘The Other Side of Pakistan’ produced by Asghar Aboobaker and associates, a slide show on Jinnah, few short speeches (by Syed Nusrat, Javed Ellahie, Asghar Aboobaker, and Dr. Waheed Siddiqui), a comedy act by Bay Area comedian Faraz, and a long-well-into-the-night-running music program (Asad Waince sang karaoke).

Sponsors of Founders Day 2013 included:

The Chandni Restaurant (http://gochandni.com)

The Pakistan Association of San Francisco Bay Area (http://pasfbayarea.org)

The Pakistani American Culture Center (http://www.pacc-ca.org/)

Tri City Travel (http://tricitytravel.com)

Ms. Raana Faiz (Hamrahi Radio)

Mr. Javed Ellahie (Ellahie & Farooqi Law Firm-- http://www.ellfarlaw.com/)

Mr. Tashie Zaheer (Urdu Academy-- http://urduacademy.org/)

Mr. Khalid Rana (KNR Services-- http://www.knrservices.com)

Mr. Shan Saigal (Referral Realty-- http://www.siliconvalleyhomeprice.com/)

Mr. & Mrs. Ahsan and Tajwer Sajjad

Mr. Khalid Khokhar (KK Builders-- http://www.kkbuilder.com)

Mr. Kamran Mahmood (New York Life)

Mrs. Mehreen Mahmood (AAA Insurance)

Mr. Shahid Salimi (Indus Foods)

'Five Broken Cameras' screened at the Santa Clara University Library

‘Five Broken Cameras’ is somewhat of an unintentional film.  The footage taken over years by Emad Burnat, a resident of Bil’in village in the West Bank, is put together with footage taken by Guy Davidi, the Israeli director of the movie, and others to make a film on the Palestinian life under the Israeli occupation.   The documentary is not about ‘Five Broken Cameras’ per se; it is rather about five cameras that got broken after taking some awesome footage.

The story of Emad’s five cameras-- each one of it got busted in an act of violence--is interwoven with many other stories: that of his own children growing up under siege, of Israel’s land grab, of the building of barrier walls around Palestinian villages, of the Jewish settlers moving in the newly constructed homes, and of relentless protests by the Palestinians.

Besides being educational about the plight of the Palestinians, ‘Five Broken Cameras’ proves two things.  One, that in this new age credible history is only whatever can be shown to the world through a video footage, and, Two, that Israeli snipers are really sharp-shooters —they can aim at a hand-held camera and shoot exactly that object, sparing the person holding the camera.

A screening of ‘Five Broken Cameras’, at the Santa Clara University Library on November 12, organized under the auspices of the ‘Culture and Conflict Forum’ and sponsored by the Muslim Student Association (Santa Clara University) was attended by around 35 people.

A Q&A session with Ziad Abbas, Manager for Cross-Cultural programs at the Middle East Children's Alliance in Berkeley and Bethlehem, Palestine, took place after the screening.

Asma Jahangir's speech at Berkeley

An Interview with the leading Pakistani Human Rights Advocate Asma Jahangir

TCF Directors in SF Bay Area

Besides giving a presentation at Chandni on September 15, TCF directors also met people at the residence of Bay Area entrepreneur and businessman Naveed Sherwani, on Monday, September 16. Here you see (L to R) Ateed Riaz, Nilofer Saeed, and Mushtaq Chhapra.

TCF meeting at Chandni

In between meeting Urdu Academy folks and attending Sheema Kermani’s program I was able to briefly attend the TCF (The Citizens Foundation) meeting.  Mushtaq Chhapra, a TCF founder-director, was heard recounting TCF’s journey, its accomplishments, and the future plans.

Fayyaz Uddin Saieb's “Kuch Khawab Uthaya Phirta Houn”

The Urdu Academy mushaira program also included an exordium to Fayyaz Uddin Saieb’s new Urdu poetry book “Kuch Khawab Uthaya Phirta Houn.”

Urdu Academy of Northern California

How long can a mushaira last?  For hours and hours, if it is good.  Urdu Academy mushaira held on Sunday, September 15 was really good, attendees tell me.  When I reached Chandni, around 7 pm, to attend Sheema Kermani’s program I found the Urdu Academy key players still hanging out.  Here is a photo featuring (L to R) Fayyazuddin Saieb, Syed Ilyas Ahmed, Khalid Rana, Basir Kazmi, and Tashie Zaheer.

Chandni it is

Last Sunday (September 15) was a very busy day, as several programs—of interest to the Bay Area residents of Pakistan descent—took place, all on that day. 

Urdu Academy’s annual mushaira (12 pm-7 pm), a presentation by TCF (The Citizen Foundation), and theater and dance by Sheema Kermani and her troupe (7 pm- 10:30 pm), kept attendees running from one program to another.  Chandni Restaurant in Newark appears to have become the primary choice of Pakistanis for holding social events.  Here you see Chandni’s owner Syed Sarwat (on right) with journalist Abdus Sattar Ghazali.

Ro Khanna vs. Mike Honda

Ro Khanna vs. Mike Honda

How does Ro Khanna like his candidacy to be seen by voters when he runs against longtime incumbent Mike Honda in the elections next year?  Khanna wants to be seen as the voice of the new generation, voice of the people who are tired of ‘business as usual’ in the government, and a candidate of all those who want things to change.  In a meeting at writer and community activist iFaqeer’s residence in Fremont on Saturday, June 22, Khanna explained to the small group how he plans to make California competitive in the manufacturing sector, and how to invest wisely in education.  Will Mike Honda, 71, be better off taking retirement before the next election (and give candidates almost half of his age a chance)?  Khanna’s supporters definitely think so.

Distance Learning in Pakistan

Distance Learning in Pakistan

Koshish Foundation has been involved in generating distance learning coursework through two programs:

1. Through Learntive (http://learntive.com/wordpress/)

Learntive has developed math videos (based on Sindh Textbook Board's Class IX and X curriculum).  The math videos are available on Learntive's web site (e.g., here: http://learntive.com/wordpress/?page_id=652) and have been distributed on CDs to government schools, through the Government of Sindh (http://www.riazhaq.com/2013/03/learntive-silicon-valley-nedians.html)

2. Through the translation of Khan Academy basic science videos

http://www.youtube.com/user/KhanAcademyUrdu

Koshish Foundation has recently completed translation of Khan Academy's 1000 basic math, chemistry, and physics videos, and has started work on the next batch of 1000 videos.  Many non-profit organizations (e.g., TCF, DIL) have shown interest in using the translated videos in the schools they operate.