“It’s still not complete..logh pictures he nahi la ke dey rahe, and then they’ll complain humari tasveer nahi lagayee!“, remarks the campus development secretary.

Here’s the Video I played at the annual dinner, hope you guys like it. Graduates 2008 .

The song that’s playing is Collapse the Light Into Earth by Porcupine Tree.

“Majae abhi tak yaad hai, mujhae apni pehli muhabat… choothi jamath mae, apni teacher sae hoi thee.“

Following up on the previous post about dramatics and the TIP Drama Society, the above quote is from ARY Digital‘s new sitcom Canteen Kahani. The show is a glossy reflection on college life in Pakistan. One of the main characters is [ahem] called Hira (played by Taalia Shahbaz). Her character is aptly described in the unofficial fan site:

Hira, the perpetual philosopher, she seems to have her own strong views on just about everything. very few people can win an argument against her because she uses logic and rational such that the opponent wonders why it didn’t occur to them in the first place. She has managed to silent the slick Sarmad at many a times even.

The characters are Shehroze Sabzwari as Sarmad is the “Hero,” and Danish Taimoor as Jasim his ‘sidekick,’ and Syra Yousaf as Saira. Adeel Hussain as Sultan is another of the main characters and works in the canteen. Referring to a ‘stray’ boy hanging out in the canteen, Sultan has this to say; “Jaap teen soh uqalmand apni apni classon ko jaatain hain, toh aik pagal zaroor bahar nikal ahta hai.” The Canteen Kahani unofficial fan-tast-tic site! has episode synopsis and cast bios. Other characters include Sarah Wasti as Miss Rehman, and Behroze Sabzwari as The Principal.

Nicely filmed with static cameras and colourful sets, complete with colourful posters saying “Don’t write on the walls,” the setting is the Institute of Business Management, Karachi. The script and the storyline is funny enough, if one can ignore the Wall’s Cornetto plugs. The show is produced as a branded sitcom by Rola, a corporate creative house, for Wall’s Pakistan (that explains the Cornetto plugs). Whats really amazing is that the branding goes so far as to having character blogs, Sarmad’s World and Jasim’s Thoughts of a Psycho and Hira’s Inner Muse to further the plot! Worth a watch.

Hat tip: Malaika’s blog. Photo credits: illuxon’s photos and the Canteen Kahani unofficial fan-tast-tic site!

This is a tribute to the current graduating class of TIP, a tribute to my friends. A tribute to the People Who C.A.R.E., a tribute to the Red Devils, a tribute to the A.S Club.

A tribute to “when one window opens…”, a tribute to The Tower, a tribute to the Windmill of TIP, a tribute to Saleem. O Saleem! Kidhar ho yaar?!

This is not the real thing, because, for me the real thing is over. The real thing is the real times we had; the time when we climbed the Windmill of TIP, the time when we went offroading and got totally covered with sand and came back looking like ghosts. The numerous times when we went out for doodh patti chai to Abdullah Khan’s Namkeen Hotel. The times that we imagined the Schallim Meetha Hotel — we imagined it just across the road from TIP, and we imagined it being constructed in front of our eyes.

We imagined our lives after TIP, and today, I imagine that your lives too will become as you have been imagining these past four years.

We went for numerous swims, and to the gym and to the bar. We went for long drives at night and in the day, we went for drives to the city and to the Russian Beach. Each time we went, we returned back to our dreams, our memories and our imaginations at the TIP hostel.

This is a tribute to the music we shared and to the music you played, a tribute to the music that became a part of our lives. Music that always brings us back to the memories of TIP, for I do want to ride my bicycle. And we did ride, uncertain and unsteady, we did steal the juice-walla’s bicycle and the guard’s motorbike. We rode to our dreams.

In the cafetaria we shared trays and trays of heavenly channa dahl, and oily salans, and specially ordered karahi’s. And we had Pagal Baraf’s, AO Specials, and Ziyda Baraf Cum Panis. How was the food today? How was the food everyday? “Absolutly smashing, my dear!”

We had Saleem. O Saleem! Kidhar ho yaar?! And we had waterfights masterminded and orchastrated on a grand scale. We had endless days and endless nights, by the tower, in our rooms, even in the library.

And the best times of these we had were, unequvocally, spent by The Tower, don’t you agree?

This is only a tribute.

No it’s not a spider man action figure.

It’s not a doll either!

It’s a TURTLE!

And look I’m going to place it right here on the table so that it can excrete watery liquid all over it to add to the existing filth!

And all this while we’ve been blaming the cafeteria for poor hygiene standards!

Happy eating. And I’m not going to tell you which table it was!