Mind your own business, says Aymen Saleem
"The unnecessary moral policing that happens every time someone dares to live their life on their own terms is honestly exhausting," began Aymen.
The Chupke Chupke actor is well acquainted with being at the wrong end of judgemental comments and 'moral policing' after posting pictures of her maternity shoot last November – a decision that yielded some followers questioning her faith and desire to follow 'Western' culture. In this instance, however, Aymen's anger stemmed from a place of empathy as she segued into Kubra and Gohar's wedding celebrations.
"A celebrity couple did their nikkah in a holy place, kept it simple, and then celebrated their wedding the way they wanted," continued Aymen. "How does that affect you? Why is it so hard for people to be happy for others instead of acting like self-appointed judges?"
Kubra and Gohar initially won hearts after posting pictures of their intimate nikkah cermony, which took place in Makkah on February 12. However, the couple's post-nikkah festivities have sparked mixed reactions online, with commenters questioning Kubra's clothing choices and others remarking that lavishness has no place in religion. Bearing in mind all these comments, Aymen reminded her fans and followers that faith and celebration are both personal affairs.
"No one gets to question someone else's sincerity or faith based on how they choose to celebrate their joy," wrote the actor. "Faith is personal. Celebration is personal. If you can't find it in yourself to be happy for others, the least you can do is mind your own business."
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Express Tribune
a day ago
- Express Tribune
Strings of hope in a city of ruins
A boy's lilting song drifted through a tent in Gaza City, weaving over the soft hum of instruments and the quiet harmonies of backing singers – a fragile melody that seemed almost otherworldly amid streets now more accustomed to the deadly rhythm of bombs and bullets. On August 4, young students gathered for a lesson led by teachers from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, who have continued instructing from displacement camps and damaged buildings after Israel's bombardments forced the closure of the school's main facility. "When I play, I feel like I'm flying away," said 15-year-old Rifan al-Qassas, who began learning the oud, an Arab lute, at age 9. "Music gives me hope and eases my fear." Al-Qassas says her dream is to perform abroad one day. That aspiration resonated during a weekend class at Gaza College, a school battered by shelling. Violence returned to parts of the city on August 12, with Gazan health authorities reporting more than 120 deaths over recent days. The conservatory was founded in the West Bank and has been a cultural lifeline for Gaza since it opened a branch there 13 years ago, teaching classical music along with popular genres. That changed after Israel launched its war on the enclave on October 7, 2023. Before the bombardments, Israel sometimes granted the best students exit permits to travel outside Gaza to play in the Palestine Youth Orchestra, the conservatory's touring ensemble. Others performed inside Gaza, giving concerts in both Arabic and Western traditions. After 22 months of bombardment, some students are now dead, said Suhail Khoury, the conservatory's president, including 14-year-old violinist Lubna Alyaan, killed along with her family early in the war. The school's old home lies in ruins, walls collapsed, and a grand piano had disappeared. Few instruments have survived the fighting, said Fouad Khader, who coordinates the revived classes for the conservatory. During last week's session, more than a dozen students gathered under the tent's rustling plastic sheets to practice on instruments carefully preserved through the war. "No fig leaf will wither inside us," the boy sang, a line from a popular lament about Palestinian loss through generations of displacement since the 1948 creation of Israel. Three female students practiced the song Greensleeves on guitar outside the tent, while another group of boys tapped out rhythms on Middle Eastern hand drums. Teachers have bought some from other displaced people for students to use. But some have been smashed during bombardment, he said. Instructors have experimented with making their own percussion instruments from empty cans and containers to train children, Khader said. Broad smile Early last year, Ahmed Abu Amsha, a guitar and violin teacher with a big beard and a broad smile, was among the first of the conservatory's scattered teachers and students to begin offering classes again, playing guitar in the evenings among tents of displaced people in southern Gaza, where much of the 2.1 million population had been forced to move by Israeli evacuation orders and bombing. After a cease-fire began in January, Abu Amsha, 43, moved back north to Gaza City, much of which has been flattened by Israeli bombing. For the past six months, has been living and working in the city's central district, For the past six months, he along with colleagues teaching oud, guitar, hand drums and the ney, a reed flute, to students able to reach them in tents or shell-pocked buildings at Gaza College. They also visit kindergartens for sessions with small children. Outside the music teachers' tent, Gaza City lay in a mass of crumbling concrete, with nearly all residents crammed into shelters or camps with little food, clean water or medical aid. Students and teachers say they have to overcome weakness from food shortages to attend classes. Sarah al-Suwairki, 20, said hunger and fatigue sometimes make it difficult to walk the short distance to her two music classes each week, but she loves learning the guitar. "I love discovering new genres, but more specifically rock. I am very into rock," she said. Music therapy In a surviving upstairs room at Gaza College, the walls pocked with shrapnel scars and windows blown out, three girls and a boy sit for a guitar class. Their teacher, Mohammed Abu Mahadi, 32, said music can help heal Gazans psychologically from the pain of bombardments, loss and shortages. "What I do here is make children happy from music because it is one of the best ways for expressing feelings," he said. "Music is a glimmer of hope that all our children and people hold onto in darkness," added Ismail Daoud, 45, who teaches the oud. Elizabeth Coombes, who directs a music therapy programme at Britain's University of South Wales and has done research with Palestinians in the West Bank, said the project could help young people cope with trauma and stress and strengthen their sense of belonging. "For children who have been very badly traumatised or living in conflict zones, the properties of music itself can really help and support people," she said. Daoud said the war had stripped people of their creativity and imagination, reducing their lives to securing basics like food and water. "Returning to art is an escape and a reminder of a larger humanity. The instrument represents the soul of the player, it represents his companion, his entity and his friend," he said.
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Express Tribune
Where are all the children's shows in Pakistan?
Children often carry the memories of the shows that they watch during their early childhood into their adult lives. When Gen-Z recalls the shows they watched, the blue flying cape of Commander Safeguard as he fought the germ-filled advances of Dirtoo and Kachra Rani comes to their mind. There were not many shows that aired but the ones that did, became memorable and widely hyped. That's why local children's shows are important. They can allow children to watch themselves on screen and consume a more thoughtful source of entertainment. For instance, in the golden era of PTV in the 90s, shows like Ainak Wala Jinn and Sim Sim Hamara appealed to the younger audience. 'I would get really excited about it,' said Farhana Naheed, a regular viewer of PTV'S children's shows in the 90s in an interview with The Lifestyle Desk at The Express Tribune. 'We would all discuss the shows in school the next day. We would all clap in front of the TV and have our snacks ready. I don't think kids do that nowadays. They were on TV after 5pm and we would make sure to complete all our work before that. They would also not repeat so if you missed it, you missed it. There was no YouTube at the time for a rewatch either.' This no longer seems to be the case now. Children between the ages of 6 to 13 spend their time glued to their mobile devices. This excessive screen time leads to various problems, including sleep deprivation, eye strain, and decreased attention span. Abdul Rauf, creator of PTV'S kids' music show Saray Sur Hamaray in 2018 believes the same. 'There are no shows being made for kids,' said Rauf while talking to the Lifestyle desk at The Express Tribune. 'Name any channel, there are only comedians that sit and insult each other. Who are they entertaining? The kids of our time need guidance, we would have game shows with quizzes and debates, all of that has ended now. Parents just hand their kids mobile phones now and they play games all day. It's their whole lives now.' Jamal Khurshid who briefly worked as an art director on Commander Safeguard in 2005 talked about the same need. 'There's a vacuum of stuff that people want to see,' he said while talking to the Lifestyle Desk at The Express Tribune. 'It's trendy because no other source of entertainment exists. Whether it's good or bad depends upon taste to taste. These shows were mediocre according to me but they are exactly what people needed to see at the time. I don't know if Commander Safeguard was a good program but it did entertain a lot of people.' Khurshid talked about the shows' downsides. 'The problem with Commander Safeguard was that it was a commercial for a product,' he said. 'He has the soap name written on his chest. If you look at Western superheroes, Spiderman and Batman aren't trying to sell anything. You don't put product commercials on characters made for kids, I find the act manipulative. Commander Safeguard did inspire some superhero characters like Burka Avenger and 3 Bahadur though.' One example of a thoughtful show is Burka Avenger. Created by band Awaz's musician Haroon, it is the story of Jiya, a school teacher whose alter ego is the super-heroine named Burka Avenger. She fights for justice, peace and literacy. However, Burka Avenger aired in 2013, about twelve years ago and very few shows have come out after that. The show featured a relatable storyline that resonated with Pakistani children. 'The way good TV shows work is that you take a story and localise it,' Khurshid expanded on what makes Burka Avenger good. 'Shows abroad will pick up a black neighbourhood and create a show on life revolving around the hood, in order for the audience to relate to it. We should also do the same. Pick up a disadvantaged area and narrate about their kids. Make the characters brown, more relatable. That's why I like Burka Avenger. Haroon went for something that was trying to cater to the locals rather than us trying to be West. We need to create our own industry.' The only good example of a recent show featuring representation with entertainment is Pakkay Dost. Pakkay Dost is a children's puppet show created by former Strings member, Bilal Maqsood and funded by the ministry of culture and tourism in Sindh in 2023. The show fosters a love for the Urdu language while imparting life lessons. 'My kids absolutely adore Pakkay Dost. The little one didn't speak any Urdu and now randomly sings Pani hay bachana(one of the nursery rhymes on the show).' read one Instagram comment. Another praised the show and wrote, 'Wonderful initiative to promote Urdu language for the new generation,' with a string of clapping emojis. 'Representation of a similar culture, language and environment doesn't only help them learn about their roots and values, it instills a deeper connection which we have lost over time due to neglect in this regard,' said Beenish Umer, production designer of Pakkay Dost in an interview with the Lifestyle Desk at The Express Tribune. 'It is essential to have Pakistani content for children so they can see a representation of themselves in the media.' Looking at the lack of initiative to make content for children, there's no denying that available shows are not enough to cater to the local audience and have declined in quality since the PTV era. The shows that did exist had their share of the good and bad. Here's to hoping the industry gets back on its feet and starts working for the largest age group in Pakistan.
Express Tribune
05-08-2025
- Express Tribune
From curiosity to craze
At the opening ceremony of the 20th World Saxophone Congress in late July, as a melody filled the venue, 57-year-old Yin Zhifa was swept back to that distant morning in 1976 when he first glimpsed the shimmering saxophone. Little did he know then that over the next five decades, he would travel across China with his saxophone in hand, bringing fresh melodies to the lives of countless Chinese listeners. Yin is a veteran saxophonist and currently serves as president of the professional saxophone committee of the China Popular Music Association (CPMA). He said he still vividly remembers seeing a saxophone for the first time at a public performance when he was eight. "The golden gleam of its brass body and its vibrant, soaring melody instantly captivated me." 'Air of mystery' Yin began formal training at nine and joined a local performance troupe at 17, becoming one of China's few saxophonists of that era. At the time, the saxophone still carried an air of mystery in China. While it occasionally appeared in military honour guard shows or parades, for most people it remained a rare and exotic import from the distant West. "Back then, only a handful of factory and school bands had saxophones. It looked and sounded incredible, so I worked hard to learn how to play," Yin said, adding that a light music tape released in 1982 helped introduce the instrument to a wider audience in China. Recorded by a Beijing-based orchestra, the tape featured the saxophone as the lead instrument, backed by drums and guitar. Its fresh, vibrant sound soon became a symbol of the country's spirit of opening up. In 1991, Yin joined the Art Ensemble of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions as a saxophonist. During performances across the country, he noticed audiences responding with growing enthusiasm, often erupting in applause during his saxophone solos. "That's when I decided to popularise the saxophone among the public because only with widespread affection can it truly thrive," he said. Going home Over the next three decades, Yin's life would closely mirror the saxophone's growing popularity in China. In 1993, he compiled China's first saxophone grading exam textbook, laying the foundation for a standardised evaluation system. Thanks to Yin's persistent advocacy, institutions like the Central Conservatory of Music began launching saxophone programs from 1997 onward, formally introducing the Western instrument into China's higher music education. "At first, many thought it lacked the foundation of traditional Chinese instruments among the people, but music knows no borders. A beautiful melody always resonates with listeners," Yin said, noting that this was best illustrated by the nationwide saxophone craze ignited by the iconic piece Going Home. In 2002, American saxophonist Kenny G performed it in China, and its tapes and CDs quickly became a "signature melody" heard in shopping malls, school bells and even over park loudspeakers across the country. "Emphasising family bonds in traditional culture, Chinese people hold a special connection to the idea of 'returning home,' making the name and melody deeply resonate with our emotions," said Yin Shenghua, Yin's daughter and a young saxophonist. Having grown up watching her father promote the saxophone, the junior Yin was struck by the deep passion for the instrument she witnessed upon returning from her studies in France. She observed retired seniors practicing in groups with speakers in Beijing parks, while many five-year-olds began learning the saxophone in training classes in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. According to the CPMA, there are now approximately 800,000 people learning the saxophone in China. To further promote the saxophone's popularity, Yin Zhifa compiled simplified notation textbooks for middle-aged and elderly enthusiasts and encouraged manufacturers to produce smaller instruments tailored for children in recent years. For him, the saxophone has been more than a source of joy for Chinese music lovers; it has also served as a bridge for cultural exchange beyond the realm of art. From July 26 to 31 this year, the World Saxophone Congress was held in China for the first time, drawing musicians from 33 countries to Harbin. Yin and many saxophonists believe that this gathering of diverse musical ideas and cultural styles paved a brighter future for the saxophone in China. The staggering sheer number of saxophonists, as well as the presence of many large saxophone orchestras, is a remarkable achievement, said Arno Bornkamp, president of the International Saxophone Committee. "Though it originated in the West, the saxophone has taken root in China," the senior Yin said.
