An Ideas Evolved Publication

Will The Youth Safeguard

Theatre in Pakistan?

NOVEMBER 2012

National Ambassadors: Aitchison College – Ahmed Tabassum AES School for Girls – Tooba Khalid Khan Air University – Sanwal Malik Air University – Wajiha Shah APCOMS – Ayesha Siddique Arid Agriculture University – Muhammad Faizan Asghar Bahauddin Zakariya University – Ahmad Riaz Bahauddin Zakriya University – Iram Shah Bahria University – Sana Nasir Beaconhouse Defence – Fatima Aslam Beaconhouse Defence – Muntaha Aslam Beaconhouse School System ALGC – Usman Mahmood COMSATS, Lahore – Muhammad Usman Awan Dawood Public School – Anamta Rafiq FAST NU – Asim Tanwir Fast University NUCES – Naveed Khalid FC College – Muhammad Omer Imran FC College – Soha Naveed Hamdard University, Islamabad – Sohail Khan Institute Of Business Administration, PU – Maheen Arif Institute of Business Administration, PU – Rumaan Naeem Institute of Space Technology – Omer Khalid International Islamic University – Rabeea Amjad International Islamic University – Asma Iftekhar Iqra University – Muhammad Yaruq Sohail Karachi Generation's School – Kashaf Asim Karachi Grammar School – Hammad Mansoor Pai Kinnaird College For Women – Maheer Anum Kinnaird College For Women – Maida Farhat Kinnaird College For Women – Noor Rehman Kinnaird College For Women – Shajeeha Ataullah Kinnaird College For Women – Hina Khurshid Lahore Grammar School Paragon – Zaiem Uddin Lahore Grammar School Paragon – Ayesha Raees Lahore School of Economics – Meesaq Qayyum

Lahore Grammar School, 55 main – Natasha Sohail Chaudhary Lahore Grammar School, JT – Tayyab Shafiq Lahore College for Women University – Rabia Waqar Lahore University of Management Sciences – Yasar Qamar National University of Science and Technology – Usama Farooq NUST Karachi – Mohammad Sufyan Janjua Nishtar Medical College – Usman Ali Akbar Nixor College – Minahil Bilal Nixor College – Tooba Sardar NUST Business School – Eilaf Zehra NUST – Ahmed Khan NUST(PNEC), Karachi – Hassan Salman Shaikh PAC – Maryam Zafar Punjab University – Saman Sana Punjab College of Information Technology – Shaf Younus Rawalpindi Medical College – Hussain Sarwar St. Patrick's High School – Muhammad Ghufran Rafique University of Lahore – Usman Saif University of the Punjab, Gujranwala Campus – Zohaib Akhlaq University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore – Junaid Mumtaz

International Ambassadors:

BPP Business School, London – Raja Jamal Global Vision College – Mehmood Hayat Petroleum Institute – Omeir riaz The University of Hong Kong – Muhammad Talha Sami University of Toronto – Komal Hussain University of Toronto – Momin Ahmad University of Waterloo – Ali Hassan York University – Musa Ahmed Bajwa

NGO-based Ambassadors:

Pakistan Youth Alliance – Muhammad Imran HOPE – Husna Rafi Next Generation Pakistan – Mariam Saeed Khan Red Brick Organization – Shiza Imran Butt

The iE Ambassadors

If YOU want to apply to become one of our

Ambassadors, click HERE

National Ambassadors: Aitchison College – Ahmed Tabassum AES School for Girls – Tooba Khalid Khan Air University – Sanwal Malik Air University – Wajiha Shah APCOMS – Ayesha Siddique Arid Agriculture University – Muhammad Faizan Asghar Bahauddin Zakariya University – Ahmad Riaz Bahauddin Zakriya University – Iram Shah Bahria University – Sana Nasir Beaconhouse Defence – Fatima Aslam Beaconhouse Defence – Muntaha Aslam Beaconhouse School System ALGC – Usman Mahmood COMSATS, Lahore – Muhammad Usman Awan Dawood Public School – Anamta Rafiq FAST NU – Asim Tanwir Fast University NUCES – Naveed Khalid FC College – Muhammad Omer Imran FC College – Soha Naveed Hamdard University, Islamabad – Sohail Khan Institute Of Business Administration, PU – Maheen Arif Institute of Business Administration, PU – Rumaan Naeem Institute of Space Technology – Omer Khalid International Islamic University – Rabeea Amjad International Islamic University – Asma Iftekhar Iqra University – Muhammad Yaruq Sohail Karachi Generation's School – Kashaf Asim Karachi Grammar School – Hammad Mansoor Pai Kinnaird College For Women – Maheer Anum Kinnaird College For Women – Maida Farhat Kinnaird College For Women – Noor Rehman Kinnaird College For Women – Shajeeha Ataullah Kinnaird College For Women – Hina Khurshid Lahore Grammar School Paragon – Zaiem Uddin Lahore Grammar School Paragon – Ayesha Raees Lahore School of Economics – Meesaq Qayyum

Lahore Grammar School, 55 main – Natasha Sohail Chaudhary Lahore Grammar School, JT – Tayyab Shafiq Lahore College for Women University – Rabia Waqar Lahore University of Management Sciences – Yasar Qamar National University of Science and Technology – Usama Farooq NUST Karachi – Mohammad Sufyan Janjua Nishtar Medical College – Usman Ali Akbar Nixor College – Minahil Bilal Nixor College – Tooba Sardar NUST Business School – Eilaf Zehra NUST – Ahmed Khan NUST(PNEC), Karachi – Hassan Salman Shaikh PAC – Maryam Zafar Punjab University – Saman Sana Punjab College of Information Technology – Shaf Younus Rawalpindi Medical College – Hussain Sarwar St. Patrick's High School – Muhammad Ghufran Rafique University of Lahore – Usman Saif University of the Punjab, Gujranwala Campus – Zohaib Akhlaq University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore – Junaid Mumtaz

International Ambassadors:

BPP Business School, London – Raja Jamal Global Vision College – Mehmood Hayat Petroleum Institute – Omeir riaz The University of Hong Kong – Muhammad Talha Sami University of Toronto – Komal Hussain University of Toronto – Momin Ahmad University of Waterloo – Ali Hassan York University – Musa Ahmed Bajwa

NGO-based Ambassadors:

Pakistan Youth Alliance – Muhammad Imran HOPE – Husna Rafi Next Generation Pakistan – Mariam Saeed Khan Red Brick Organization – Shiza Imran Butt

The iE Ambassadors

If YOU want to apply to become one of our

Ambassadors, click HERE

The First Word

Message from the Editor

Emotions Translated

Poetry from the heart

Will the Youth Safeguard Theatre in

Pakistan?

Exclusive Interview of Production Company Theatre Hub

Flowing Ink

Prose

Book Review

Tomorrow When The War Began

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A p

ortrait o

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aracters of Th

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play “N

izaam Sakka”

(A text message conversation between two friends): M: My poem got published in that magazine again. H: Dude, why don’t you send your stuff to other magazines? M: What other magazines? H: Oh. Point. There is no other poetry-publishing magazine here. M: That sucks, doesn’t it? H: Yeah *silence* M: I know! We can start our own! H: Crazy Woman *shakes head and mutters* Thus happened the inception of the literary and arts journal named ‘Reality Romanticized’ after a lot of not-so-silent deliberation. Writers and editors were on the ready, but design… Big Problem.

(A Facebook chat between two friends): M: *thinking* I know who can do it. K: Hmm… But will he? M: Ask him. K: No. You ask him. M: No. You. U: Ask me already! K & M : Will you do it? U: YES! And it was that day that brought about the creation of the magazine you all have been enjoying for more than a year now. Along the road, we joined hands with Ideas Evolved and have been putting forth great work issue after is-sue. Here’s hoping our relationship stays strong for years to come. We wouldn’t have been anywhere without you all.

Aspiring novelist, not-really-a-closet poet,

blogger; Maryam is a freshman at Kin-

naird majoring in Media Studies. She

hates being told that she should be study-

(A text message conversation between two friends): M: My poem got published in that magazine again. H: Dude, why don’t you send your stuff to other magazines? M: What other magazines? H: Oh. Point. There is no other poetry-publishing magazine here. M: That sucks, doesn’t it? H: Yeah *silence* M: I know! We can start our own! H: Crazy Woman *shakes head and mutters* Thus happened the inception of the literary and arts journal named ‘Reality Romanticized’ after a lot of not-so-silent deliberation. Writers and editors were on the ready, but design… Big Problem.

(A Facebook chat between two friends): M: *thinking* I know who can do it. K: Hmm… But will he? M: Ask him. K: No. You ask him. M: No. You. U: Ask me already! K & M : Will you do it? U: YES! And it was that day that brought about the creation of the magazine you all have been enjoying for more than a year now. Along the road, we joined hands with Ideas Evolved and have been putting forth great work issue after is-sue. Here’s hoping our relationship stays strong for years to come. We wouldn’t have been anywhere without you all.

The Reality

Romanticized Team

Editor

Maryam Mirza

Assistant Editor

Noor Rehman

Managing Head

Hiba Hassan

Designer

Ahmad Tabassum

I've thought about it many a times… And I'm sure you have too,

Of life as we live it, Of hopes and wishes as we dream…

And then you must've asked yourself, Why are we living such an empty life and without the latter…

Taking the music away and keeping it all quiet… Picking a pen and putting it back and never writing a word…

Feeling no pain and knowing no joy… Not looking at the sky sometimes and wondering for a while…

Burying our passions and living with the world, Eating and working because we should and never wondering why…

As I sat there musing and going crazy in my head, I saw some children playing in a puddle up ahead…

So high were their jumps, so wild their kicks… So bright their eyes and so pure their cries…

And then it came to me as a silent whisper of the wind, A hope in the dark… All is not lost yet…

If we learn to live a little, love a little, breathe some more… Dance in the rain, sing a song, write a poem and laugh along…

If we hear the symphonies in the air and make some of our own… We can all live as those little children,

And be happy with our lives… For these are the things we put away…

That might set us free.

Life As We Live It By Hina Khurshid

I dream a dream I often dreamt Of peaceful times and silken sleep

Unforeseen is woe and happiness dwells Unperturbed goes my slumber deep

A dream I wish I could live today From this unholy war, far away

I dream a dream I might have dreamt

Of unrivalled beauty across the seven seas Sparkling sand on the sun bathed shore Where I bask in joy in that subtle breeze

A dream that I have just kept on bay From uncalled bloodshed, far away

I dream a dream that I may have dreamt

Of a power futile unless it is pure That power unleashed will cause no harm

For that blade of faith will only cure

A dream of which I can only pray From misguided tools, far away

I dream a dream that I have yet to dream

Of Unquantifiable mirth in this sea of green Prosperity and bliss in abundance lurk

No evil afflicts this landscape serene

A dream I hope that I’ll live one day It is just around the corner, not too far away

A Dream By Ali Hassan

Living With my Sweet Memories By Arooma Zahid

Living With my Sweet Memories By Arooma Zahid

Here I am sitting with my love, Under the shelter of heaven above,

One of my guardian angels is with me, and one has become a sweet dream thee...

The time spent with you with no harms, As I would feel protective in your arms,

The moment came when you had to go away, And I stood watching you going your way..

Then I used to miss your charming eyes, and pray for your return, looking up at skies,

But perhaps God had a much better plan, You had to go above soon for you were a good man...

But my eyes didn’t show any rains,

Proud to have your strong blood in my veins, Your other half has given me everything you would give me too,

I feel myself like a mountain when I stand in her shoe...

The best thing in me is that I look like my mother, For I know it makes me more dear to you father,

Here I’m listening to past’s melodies, Here I’m living with my sweet memories.

This lack of confidence,

is putting me to shame,

This anxiety of tyrant -agressions,

are hunting me down,

These walls of freedom,

are smothering my life,

This life of death,

is making me frown,

These striving nations,

are rolling my dice,

This constant arson,

is burning my sound,

These leveled rations,

are crunching my slice,

This last call of happiness

is refreshing my wound.

Life of Someone By Daniyal Asif

Corruption By Ayesha Khalid

This lack of confidence,

is putting me to shame,

This anxiety of tyrant -agressions,

are hunting me down,

These walls of freedom,

are smothering my life,

This life of death,

is making me frown,

These striving nations,

are rolling my dice,

This constant arson,

is burning my sound,

These leveled rations,

are crunching my slice,

This last call of happiness

is refreshing my wound.

The silver line of a star will forever shine whether you smile or cry

And a shimmer of humanity will always shine through your eyes as they betray you with lies, weaved by an unforgiving world in which we have no choice but

to squander

A corrupted soul pays the price while those of lighter intentions are as spirits

in the wind and those who reach and grab at the butterfly dreams, return

home with holes in their pockets

The bad logic of the clouded air infects your lungs with gluttony and every

sound is a whisper, and every beg is a whimper, while the pennys, drenched

in blood, fill the streets

Tears weighed in gold and the value of

a soul; the shard of shattered dreams

cause cuts that never heal.

Corruption By Ayesha Khalid

Once Upon a Winter By Syed Zeeshan Ahmed

Another Future Story By Noor Rehman

Neocromancy 101 By Maryam B. Mirza

“This happened when I was working with a foreign com-pany. There were a lot of engineers who had come from Germany, and were working with a local company. The project involved some railway tracks.”

I laid back against the chair, “When was this Uncle Ste-ve?”

He took a deep breath and said, “1930, I think”.

You see, Uncle Steve is one of those people who are filled to the brim with stories. When he is in the mood, he will tell you some of these. My college was off for a couple of weeks, so I decided to visit Uncle Steve, who lived in the outskirts of the city.

“Winter was at its peak, and the supervisor decided to stop the work for a few days. It was snowing so much, Alex. I still remember how I used to wear multiple jack-ets and still I kept shivering. I never really liked the win-ters, really.”

He continued, “So, the location, where we were working was not that far from the area where we were living. It was a long walk, though. We were instructed by the local authorities to avoid going outside late in the night, be-cause of the wild animals and all.”

“So, the supervisor instructed us not to go outside, be-cause of all the snow. Two of the German engineers, de-cided to play table tennis, while the rest of us decided to watch TV, some football game was on. I watched the game for a while, and then decided to get myself some-thing to drink. Suddenly, I noticed something. The back door, which was near the kitchen, was moving. I reached the door, and placed my hand on it, and it stopped mov-ing. I looked out of the window, and noticed that it was not snowing. I was puzzled. It wasn’t snowing, and from the looks of it, the weather was quite calm. Then why

was the door moving? I turned away from the door, and started moving out of the kitchen. Then suddenly, I heard the door again. I looked back, and found that door was still. You know Alex, what I did next?”

I shook my head.

“I looked out of the window again, and this time, I no-ticed something. It looked like a box. One of those old boxes you often see at pawn shops. I ran toward my room, and picked up my jacket and gloves. My head was already covered so I didn’t need anything else. I wore the jacket, and gloves. The box was still there. I opened the door, stepped outside. It felt cold, really cold. I reached for the box, and picked it up. It was metallic, and for all the obvious reasons, damn cold. I turned back, and I al-most fell on the ground, because what I saw was unbe-lievable. The door, it had gone. Not just the door, Alex, the whole bloody house had disappeared! All I could see was just ground, and some trees! At first I thought I was sick or something. You know, fever and all. But it wasn’t any-thing like that.”

Wow! My mouth was actually open, and I had no idea what to say to Uncle Steve. He looked at me, and contin-ued the story “I looked around, and all I could see were trees, and ground filled with snow. So I started walking, in the direction where the door was supposed to be. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, I noticed a group of peo-ple, and the first thing I noticed were their clothes! It looked as if they were in a bloody fancy party or some-thing. All of them were wearing strange clothes, and were arguing about something, by the looks of it. I tried, but I wasn’t able to understand their language. At first I was really worried, what if they see me, and become vio-lent? I was already so close to them. But then suddenly, I said hello. Yeah, it was one of those crazy moments.

“But guess what, Alex, they didn’t listen! I waved at them, and none of them noticed. Now I was quite sure that this was some kind of a dream or something. I decided to get closer to them, but then I heard this sound. You know, kid, one of those sounds that make you go bonkers. Yes, it was pretty intense. I saw some people, they were on horses, their faces were covered, and they had these large axes in their hands. They were shouting, and then they, well, used their axes.

“One by one, the group of people that was arguing a few moments ago, were now lying lifeless, their heads far away from their bodies. Then those horse riders, started moving in the direction where I was, I knew this was it, I tried to run, but I felt numb, unable to move. They were closer now, and then I just closed my eyes. I felt a chill and then I heard that intense sound again. I opened my eyes slowly. The landscape had changed, and now looked familiar. I turned around and saw the house again. I had a feeling that whatever happened was the result of some condition, or you know, one of those weird moments that our beloved brain can pull off. Then I noticed the metallic box that was still in my hands. I quickly pushed the door open, got inside and locked it behind me. I sat in the kitchen for about twenty minutes.”

“Unbelievable! That has to be the most fantastic story, ever! But what about the box?”

“Well, I opened it, and found a piece of cloth that had blood on it.”

Okay, that sounded pretty fictional. “Oh, I see. Uncle Ste-ve, be honest, how much of this story is fiction?”

Uncle Steve smiled, and took something out of his pock-et, and handed it to me. It was a cloth, with some red blood on it. And the blood, was still fresh…

ONCE UPON A WINTER

By Syed Zeeshan Ahmed

“This happened when I was working with a foreign com-pany. There were a lot of engineers who had come from Germany, and were working with a local company. The project involved some railway tracks.”

I laid back against the chair, “When was this Uncle Ste-ve?”

He took a deep breath and said, “1930, I think”.

You see, Uncle Steve is one of those people who are filled to the brim with stories. When he is in the mood, he will tell you some of these. My college was off for a couple of weeks, so I decided to visit Uncle Steve, who lived in the outskirts of the city.

“Winter was at its peak, and the supervisor decided to stop the work for a few days. It was snowing so much, Alex. I still remember how I used to wear multiple jack-ets and still I kept shivering. I never really liked the win-ters, really.”

He continued, “So, the location, where we were working was not that far from the area where we were living. It was a long walk, though. We were instructed by the local authorities to avoid going outside late in the night, be-cause of the wild animals and all.”

“So, the supervisor instructed us not to go outside, be-cause of all the snow. Two of the German engineers, de-cided to play table tennis, while the rest of us decided to watch TV, some football game was on. I watched the game for a while, and then decided to get myself some-thing to drink. Suddenly, I noticed something. The back door, which was near the kitchen, was moving. I reached the door, and placed my hand on it, and it stopped mov-ing. I looked out of the window, and noticed that it was not snowing. I was puzzled. It wasn’t snowing, and from the looks of it, the weather was quite calm. Then why

was the door moving? I turned away from the door, and started moving out of the kitchen. Then suddenly, I heard the door again. I looked back, and found that door was still. You know Alex, what I did next?”

I shook my head.

“I looked out of the window again, and this time, I no-ticed something. It looked like a box. One of those old boxes you often see at pawn shops. I ran toward my room, and picked up my jacket and gloves. My head was already covered so I didn’t need anything else. I wore the jacket, and gloves. The box was still there. I opened the door, stepped outside. It felt cold, really cold. I reached for the box, and picked it up. It was metallic, and for all the obvious reasons, damn cold. I turned back, and I al-most fell on the ground, because what I saw was unbe-lievable. The door, it had gone. Not just the door, Alex, the whole bloody house had disappeared! All I could see was just ground, and some trees! At first I thought I was sick or something. You know, fever and all. But it wasn’t any-thing like that.”

Wow! My mouth was actually open, and I had no idea what to say to Uncle Steve. He looked at me, and contin-ued the story “I looked around, and all I could see were trees, and ground filled with snow. So I started walking, in the direction where the door was supposed to be. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, I noticed a group of peo-ple, and the first thing I noticed were their clothes! It looked as if they were in a bloody fancy party or some-thing. All of them were wearing strange clothes, and were arguing about something, by the looks of it. I tried, but I wasn’t able to understand their language. At first I was really worried, what if they see me, and become vio-lent? I was already so close to them. But then suddenly, I said hello. Yeah, it was one of those crazy moments.

“But guess what, Alex, they didn’t listen! I waved at them, and none of them noticed. Now I was quite sure that this was some kind of a dream or something. I decided to get closer to them, but then I heard this sound. You know, kid, one of those sounds that make you go bonkers. Yes, it was pretty intense. I saw some people, they were on horses, their faces were covered, and they had these large axes in their hands. They were shouting, and then they, well, used their axes.

“One by one, the group of people that was arguing a few moments ago, were now lying lifeless, their heads far away from their bodies. Then those horse riders, started moving in the direction where I was, I knew this was it, I tried to run, but I felt numb, unable to move. They were closer now, and then I just closed my eyes. I felt a chill and then I heard that intense sound again. I opened my eyes slowly. The landscape had changed, and now looked familiar. I turned around and saw the house again. I had a feeling that whatever happened was the result of some condition, or you know, one of those weird moments that our beloved brain can pull off. Then I noticed the metallic box that was still in my hands. I quickly pushed the door open, got inside and locked it behind me. I sat in the kitchen for about twenty minutes.”

“Unbelievable! That has to be the most fantastic story, ever! But what about the box?”

“Well, I opened it, and found a piece of cloth that had blood on it.”

Okay, that sounded pretty fictional. “Oh, I see. Uncle Ste-ve, be honest, how much of this story is fiction?”

Uncle Steve smiled, and took something out of his pock-et, and handed it to me. It was a cloth, with some red blood on it. And the blood, was still fresh…

ONCE UPON A WINTER

By Syed Zeeshan Ahmed

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