Gol gappay.. ! !

By Sana Batool Naqvi..

Gol gappay is a South Asian (Pakistani/Indian) appetizer,really tempting and mouth watering..It has a touch of every flavour,sour,sweety,spicy,salty etc.Its a wonderful snack served as chat on roadside food carts all over.This smacking snack is served with spicy water,and meethi chatni..(sweet tamarind chatni)..

Whenever anyone talks about this dish my mouth in real sense get filled with water ..it reminds me of crispy saucers filled with chatni and masala, placed in mouth at once and enables a person to look funny..

Few days before Ramadan started ,we were craving for gol gappay at University and so immediately after the class rushed towards the canteen but unfortunately canteen wala announced 'gol gappay Eid k bad milengay'..this sounded really bad and disappointing for all of us but especially for me as its been ages since I last had gol gappay..so my craving for gol gappay started increasing day by day and my taste buds are still waiting for them..

Obviously Gol gappay can be eaten at any other place ,keeping in mind the fact that no canteen in the Campus has gol gappay as its speciality but enjoying them with friends,standing uncomfortably in front of the canteen,continuosly asking for more , making funny faces while eating and laughing at each other,is no less than a festival.
So as the Holy month is near to its end,alongwith the excitemenet for Eid,my heart is also filled with the eagerness for gol gappay at University..

I stop here because not more than this, can be written about my craving for gol gappay. ..!

Lights. . .camera. . .action !!!

By Suleman Saadat Khan.

I had known that I would like to be a journalist since the day I was born. Watching reporters traveling and speaking in every part of the world was no less than a fantasy to me. So the day the intermediate result came, I broke this auspicious piece of news to my parents. “I’m going to take admission in mass communication department”, I said smiling ear to ear. Unfortunately the reaction was not what I had anticipated. “Beta tum ne pre-engineering men itnay achay marks liay hain, to NED me admission lo na…journalist bun kar kya karo gay?”, but I was hard to be convinced. “But mujhe shuru se journalist bunnay ka shouq hai…mera dil wahen lagay ga” I said. After a big argumentative discussion I was able to convince my parents and make them believe that mass communication department in KU will be able to offer me a great deal of practical work, reporting equipments, critical ability to analyze current affairs and eventually wealth!..

My poor parents believed every word I said. My mother thought that I would be a big name and would be offered a fat salary job the moment I do my graduation. My father thought under the sagacious guidance of KU staff and with such well equipped news labs I’ll be the most confident human being in front of camera, thrashing all big celebrities who’ll come in my way. Or a confident programme director shouting “lights, camera…action!” I don’t blame them. It was all my 15 days argumentative discussion that was showing colors.

The truth turned out to be somewhat different. The very first day we were introduced to our faculty members with praise-worthy academic records. We were told our compulsories would be subjects like Everyday Science, Math, Islamiat, Urdu etc. I thought “ok we’ll manage, after all the major is communications”. Minutes, days and months passed but I couldn’t even see what news lab was like from inside. All I could see was PG, Soofi ka Dhaaba, Qasim kay Samosay …and obviously, not forgetting, the great seminar library!. The compulsory subjects which seemed utterly irrelevant to me became troubles. The teachers were unforgiving and wanted all attention towards THEIR subjects. The time that we were supposed to be spending in libraries or reading newspapers was spent in reading Ribosomes, DNA, Ghalib kay mazameen, Probability, Integration, Differentiation and what not!.

“So what if we’re not doing journalistic stuff this year, next year I would be practicing in front of camera and writing error-free reports Inshallah!” I thought. When parents asked me how it was going, my answer would always be “Bohat hi achi chal rahi hai, inshAllah jald he ap mujhe newspaper aur channels per dekhen gay”. And they did. They did see my name in newspapers but always in “letter to the editorial” column. It was not that I wasn’t trying. I was writing, but the huge amount of time that was being consumed by blood-sucking compulsories obviously diverting my attention from communication studies.

Next year was no improvement for me. The compulsories continued and so did my bragging. I showed my parents the documentaries I had made on movie maker, the power point presentations and other pieces of work and continued giving credit to my university and “well chosen field”. They believed and appreciated. All they didn’t know was that the movies I had shown were learned and made on poor home-computer and our dear departmental heads don’t even easily hand-over the computer lab keys without having detailed-explanations.

The department gave me a lot. Talented teachers, helpful friends, communication books and theories. All it couldn’t give me was practical exposure which I had bragged about since day one.

After spending a year and a half in this field I’ve seriously begun to think if I had made the right decision leaving all other choices after intermediate. Only God knows!.

Donation Overdose..!

By Sumayya Khan.

Its a very unfortunate time in the history of our country that has made people hopeless and homeless..Funds are being raised all over the country for the flood victims and people are donating generously with sympathies in their hearts for the victims  and with love for their homeland..It seems that we will InshAllah overcome this problem soon.


But let me tell you about some issues that we have with the people(usually students) who are collecting funds at UoK.

Donation is something which should be given wholeheartedly and should be demamded with humbleness.But sorry to say ,people in K.u involved in fund raising activities,forcing people to give anything for the donation boxes that they hold are not at all humble in their job.I have been forced and afterwards made feel guilty many times at many places in the Campus.If I am refusing to give for such noble cause ,It  makes  sense that I have already made my contribution somewhere else but those people with boxes in their hands are never ready to get your point,instead they use to make people feel guilty and giving insulting remarks for you are not putting anything in their boxes and they will have to go back to their heads with their boxes half empty.

These days,I see 10 donation boxes in one day,and ofcourse I am not able to give donations for all those ten boxes so I prefer to give to atleast one in a day..but if the remainng nine give me insulting remarks then that is completely unexceptable and untolerable to me..

..I request all the readers ,that my opinions do not reflect the idea that I have no sympathy or love for my Country and for those victims but atleast the respected people collecting funds for this cause don't have any right to insult,force,humilate or to make you feel guilty.Their job is to raise funds and motivate people to stand up for those needy people,but motivation doesn't include forcing or insulting others.

Semester cell,and problem of students

By Zubia Noor.
I have a friend in B.s 2nd year ,Department of Mass communication, evening progrmamme. I was shocked after getting to know by her recently that their proformas even that of first year still have not been issued to the students for the one whole year has passed.

As my friend and some other students have to apply in morning B.s 3rd year and their semester marks proforma has to be attached along with the form.

The admission committee told the students applying for morning programme to get an application (with their marks written on it) signed by their respective teachers.
Some teachers of previous semesters have left the campus like Madam Lubna of Mass Communication and Sir Farhan of International Department who were the teachers for subsidiary classes so its a difficult job to find the teachers and get their applications signed by them.

Beside this the teachers who are there in University tell students to go to office as they don't remember their mark so that they could sign the application after checking the University record.

Thus looking for the respective teachers is kind of a difficult and time consuming task for the students.Even the admit cards were provided to the students after their examination and students didn't know their seat numbers during exams.
So to conclude all this,I would say that the semester cell of UoK is running away from its responsibilties and is creating problems for the students.It should realize its responsibilities and should help the students with their documents and other paper work.
The delay in the issuance of result sheets and admit cards can create many problems for the students.

'Mujhko bhe to lift karaday'

By Kanwal Naz.

After reading 10,11 articles on this blog I am sure the readers are  completely aware of the fact that UoK is one of the largest University of Pakistan spread over many acres of land etc....But I am pretty sure that none of you have ever felt the depth and the pain in the phrase''spread over many acres of land''....this particular sentence hides some very interesting stories in it....and the most popular of these stories is the ''Lift karaday story..it must be sounding strange to people who do not belong to K.u.

But after reading this piece ,you will have an idea of how the KUrians deal with the reality of the phrase briefly discussed above..

As we mostly have hot season in Karachi so moving from one place to another in K.u is kind of a tough job for us ..we have to gather alot of energy to start the march from one department to another..and if unfortunately you are walking alone ..believe me ,there is nothing in the world worst than that.

.As we have our subsidiary classes in the afternoon when the hotness of sun is at its peak,we find it difficult to walk from Mass communication to our respective classes in the 'Arts' department,and we don't have shuttles available all the time....so the best and ever used formula is taking a lift from cars passing by the road in front of our department.Believe me, its really a disgusting,irritating,unpleasant but still an interesting job.in which we stretch our thumbs out,give dejected,sullen,gloomy looks and put all our efforts to stop a car ..mostly we get lifts easily and don't have to struggle alot but sometimes we fail to convince people with these expressions..after waiting for sometime we loose hope and say ''aj qismat ma chalna he likha hai'.Sometimes when we get 'no lift'....and the energy level is too low ..we use the third lifeline and that is 'rikshaw'..

The reason why lift karaday is very popular is because you don't have to pay a penny ,and still reach your destiny and as we believe in 'A penny saved is a penny earned' so this is our most favourite option..But seriously,asking for a lift in K.u is an art and not everyone is good at it,only some are lucky and are always successful in convincing people how helpless we are and telling them by your expressions that if you do a favour to us ,no one in this world would be better than you..

If you have never experienced such thing in your life,you must pay a visit to K.u to be fascinated with such experiences..

“form submission ki aamad aamad hy”

by Syeda Nadia Zarif


The title of the post perfectly describes the present ‘form filling- form submitting’ season being celebrated at the University of Karachi. The pushing, shoving, sweating and yes…swearing is in the air.

What happens during the semester form submission days is that people forget their morals and values and join the rat race. The situation is bound to get nasty when there are three windows and two workers serving five to six, highly unorganized queues of men and women, when there should be three windows and three workers with three queues instead.

It is a horrid sight to see people fighting and arguing while waiting for their turn.

Are we students or some illiterate labors waiting for our per day wages? Shouldn’t we maintain a difference between education and ignorance?

Of course we should. We study tolerance in our syllabi and do the exact opposite outside our classrooms. It’s a shame to see how students lose their cool and act like a bunch of baboons.

I know it is a frustrating fact that the “bank folk” are clumsy and inefficient and are mostly not dealing properly with the students, and that there are some “resourceful” people who get their forms submitted through unfair means, we should keep in our minds that it is us, the students, who have to maintain discipline and be patient. After all, it’s our form and it’s important to get it submitted on time. If we join the foul play, we shouldn’t forget that no matter how clumsy the administration maybe, they do not grant mercy to the “disturbance-aggravating elements” if caught red handed. They can confiscate your documents if need be.

So, we should not let any thing disturb the peace of the situation while waiting for our turn. If some one is coming out of turn, don’t get outraged. Inform someone who is in charge. Don’t take the law into your own hands fellows. Be patient. It is Ramadan and we shouldn’t say or do anything that can make us look ugly in the eyes of the Almighty.

Arts Lobby: The place to be …

By Sameen Meher

Although the University of Karachi has a wide spread area ,having numerous “attractions”, Arts Lobby remains the most cherished point for every KUrian. Everyone who has visited UoK(or not) is familiar with  the arts lobby. It is a cool and comfortable area that serves as a refuge for panting and gasping students during hot summers. All groups have fun and enjoy a quality time together at the lobby. There are some students who, during their breaks, pass their time reading books and completing notes. Then there are some cases where students alias ‘bunkers’ gather to celebrate their ‘escape from class’.

It is an excellent as well as a very convenient meeting point for couples too. They usually sit beside the wall of the auditorium and spend long , wasteful hours together. It is a relaxing spot even for those having no friends because some characters known as “ lobby k namunay” (namunay is Urdu for sample, don’t get me wrong folks!) provide them entertainment through their talented performances. For details you must visit the place at least once.

Now during Ramadan, in the blistering month of August, when the student’s attendance experiences a huge decline, still then, the arts lobby is found abundant with students. After their tiring routine during the holy month, students love to spend a good time at the lobby and take a long, deep breath of relief in the fresh air to shed off their fatigue. No matter what’s going on throughout the university, lobby has its colors bright and shining all the year round.

Don’t mess with the beehive…

By Fatimah Mazhar


Racism has always been a very sensitive topic for the masses. And one has to be really very careful while discussing this topic in a classroom, especially when the classroom is in the University of Karachi.

As all the students are well aware of the politics of this university, we are very careful while passing any racial statement even when we are talking amongst ourselves. In fact, everybody knows that it’s better not to talk about these issues at all,not even with friends or classmates. I say so because K.U. is a place where there have been numerous cases of certain “clashes” which have caused a lot of trouble for the other students who do not have anything to do with political activism.

My point is that, when one knows that this university is a beehive that should not be poked with a stick no matter what, then why do certain teachers love to discuss unnecessary political matters? When they know that we are living in a society where people do not even know how to spell ‘tolerance’. Isn’t it obvious that teachers should refrain from such political gossip while teaching in classrooms? Do not they know that we have students amidst us who speak for their organization before they speak for themselves?

A few days back, one of my teachers (not from my department) was discussing ‘provincialism’ and its causes. When we jumped to the causes, our teacher turned the mike towards us. She wanted to know what we, the students, thought of racism and ethnicity. Although she took off with the topic on the right foot, things got a bit odd when suddenly she passed a rather racist statement (intentionally or unintentionally) regarding one of the prominent cultures of Pakistan.

Now, I have been taught racism, ethnocentrism, nationalism and provincialism previously in my International Relations classes, but never did I come across such a situation in which a teacher openly targeted a specific people and their culture. I don’t know what she was trying to teach by questioning the existence of a 63 year old culture. She actually made an objection to what those people call themselves. This really changed the whole mood of the classroom when some of the students, who were hardcore supporters of that culture, burst out with their reactions. Now tell me, is it appropriate to pin point a certain cultural entity living in your country and criticize their actions when you are aware of the fact that there are students in your class who can give a strong reaction to such statements.(you are living in Pakistan you know!) By the term ‘reaction’ I mean severe reactions which can turn the whole situation of the university in an instant.


Maybe my teacher was trying to sort out ethnic differences like Erin Gruwell(form ‘Freedom Writers’ movie). But I guess she could have done better by criticizing all the other four cultures of Pakistan instead of attacking just one.

The teachers, with all due respect to them, must be careful before discussing such political issues and even if they want to, must keep their tone vague, so that it doesn’t create situations that can turn nasty. After all, they are the ones who can drive their way out of the varsity gates whenever there is a clash and the innocent students are left at the mercy of public buses. (Even those rickshaws disappear like the dodo-birds… its not pleasant you know! )

Constant vigilance!!!