Historic Gastown and Vancouver’s beautiful harbor
Category: travels
In Vancouver!
More memories from this crazy wonderful summer
last night in toronto
last night in toronto. got to hang out with great friends over kashmiri chai, bun kebab and golgappas. reminded me of the good old days, in islamabad.
Another wedding in Canada
Another wedding in Canada. This time between an Iranian and Pakistani Canadian. Lovely ceremony in a beautiful garden.
Bombino – Akhar Zaman (Official Audio)
Last weekend we attended Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park and were regaled with fantastic music by Bombino, a Tuareg guitarist and singer-songwriter from Niger, and by Femi Kuti, a Nigerian musician who’s the eldest son of afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. It was a hot summer day but the concert started later in the evening, when the sun’s harsh heat had begun to settle down. It was a free community event attended by an amazing crowd of diverse people – every possible color, culture, accoutrement, age group and dancing style was duly represented. As I looked around, I saw a vast and happy slice of humanity, fixated on a single idea – to lose themselves in the energetic beat of the music. I couldn’t help smiling and thinking to myself how this is the kind of world we should all be living in. Thx Aliya apa for clueing us in 🙂
Diane Arbus at the Met Breuer
On Saturday we had brunch at Penny Farthing, a wonderful East Village tavern not too far from where my son is based in NYC, and then went to see “Diane Arbus: In the Beginning” at the Met Breuer. This exhibit includes 100 photographs from the first 7 years of her career, 1956 to 1962. The famous child with toy hand grenade in Central Park is here as well as the identical twins and luminous photographs of female impersonators she took at Club 82. She first took pictures from the audience’s vantage point in order to capture the performances but later ventured into the performers’ dressing rooms and that’s where the fascinating power of her work truly shines. Arbus’s interest in New Yorkers, their diversity and eccentricity, and later in fringe communities is apparent here. But we also discover her passion for cinema, how pictures are painted with light and shadow in order to create magical worlds. See “The Kiss” or “Clouds on Screen at a Drive-in Movie” below. Finally, the way her work is displayed at the Met Breuer is interesting. Each photograph is exhibited on a standalone flat pillar and therefore throngs of people interweave across all sides of each photograph, without a set trajectory. One is constantly bumping into other visitors and making eye contact. It’s a bit disorienting but perhaps a just tribute to an artist who never took the obvious path to anywhere.
Weekend in NYC
Visited my son at his place of work in NYC, where he is doing an internship. So proud of him. What an incredibly hot and humid day to be schlepping around New York tho. The heat didn’t subside even at night.
weekend in canada
what an amazing weekend in canada! i got to spend time with a dear friend from college and was blown away by her entire family’s warmth and hospitality. my mom and dad accompanied us, which made everything more special. i got to visit two of my cousins and their families, and my daughter got along beautifully with all her new found brothers and sisters. we attended the wedding of a wonderful young man whose parents are close rochester friends. throughout this trip, we enjoyed hakka chinese, chicken biryani, some serious barbecued meat, delicious homemade koftas and karhi, and pakistani mangoes that transported us back to lahore. my daughter got some gorgeous mehndi and bangles in order to celebrate the first weekend after eid and we got to try doubles (a sandwich made with flat fried bread filled with curried chick peas – popular street food in trinidad and tobago) as well as bolani (fried or baked afghan naan with a vegetable or ground beef filling). thank u to all the lovely family and friends we met on this super busy trip, especially our generous hosts. my only regret is that i didn’t take more pictures.
4th of july weekend with fam
wonderful 4th of july weekend with family which included a hike along ontario lake, chimney bluff state park.
a sky like this
i remember a sky like this, a dark canopy weighed down by millions of stars. luminous liquid pouring out of a vast sieve, i thought. absolute silence. my first night in gilgit. gilgit, an important stop on the silk road. how buddhism found its way to other parts of asia. i was a child then, but i could sense the hallowed beauty of that unforgettable sky.
[photograph by cory poole]
Fifth Avenue
i saw this short at the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) a couple of days ago. it’s ingenious – from the poem which is the film’s centerpiece, to the imagery, to the most excellent music.
Fifth Avenue – a Poem by Hasan Mujtaba from Capital K Pictures on Vimeo.
A Thin Wall at NYIFF 2016
What a perfect trip to NYC! The film, A Thin Wall, looked and sounded beautiful when screened at Village East Cinema. It was part of the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) which was extremely well attended and wonderfully organized. The screening was followed by a well moderated and energetic Q&A.
But best of all, I got to spend time with fabulous family and friends. Thank u so much for making this a glorious 1 1/2 days in NY (in order of meeting): my cuz Aliya Aslam who was my partner in crime this whole trip, my gorgeous friend Janet Isralsky and her artist son Brandon, Surbhi’s friend Srishti Sethi who’s studied immigration patterns resulting from the partition and was a joy to meet, my brother Shamoun who fit me in between business meetings and made sure to see me, the brilliant and v engaging Saadia Toor whose work I refer people to all the time and whom I felt I had known forever.
All in all, outstanding!
Family wedding in Toronto: Mehndi
A Thin Wall in NYC
A Thin Wall has been selected by the New York Indian Film Festival and will be screened on Tuesday May 10, 6.30 pm, at Theater 5, Village East Cinemas, 2nd Ave @ 12th Street, NYC. Check out NYIFF’s film schedule here. Hope u can make it NYC friends!