Author Archive for Shaikh M. Ali

A critique of the movie ‘Zero Dark Thirty’

 12:30 a.m. – A review of the movie ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, hunting Obama Bin Laden (Oops)!                      http://www.google.com.pk/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/77/ZeroDarkThirty2012Poster.jpg/ ‘Waterboarding’ in the first two minutes just puts you off. A CIA thriller however, Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark ‘Freakin’ thirty; despite its many…

A tribute to Ardeshir Cowasjee!

This is what I wrote to Ayaz Amir regarding Ardeshir Cowasjee (The Master Planner – The Doer of Things!) From: Shaikh Muhammad Ali Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2012 6:30 AM To: ‘winlust@yahoo.com’ Subject: The Devil – The Saint (All in…

Escapade in the Margalla Hills

(Shaikh Muhammad Ali)   “I don’t believe in uncertainties. I am here & I am certain ” – Shaikh Muhammed Ali Overview: I am always intrigued / tempted to visit mountains, maybe because I am a Capricorn; the mountain goat…

Spring Fest 2010 @ HEC

It all started with a silly email which was sent on one fine morning in response to the cricket match invitation that HRD Coordination office wanted to organize. It is true that Islamabad in March is indeed gorgeous; cricket, a…

I have walked the pipeline track

(The details of the track built in 1930 by the British)  “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” — Robert Louis Stevenson Overview: Two…

The Legend of Loh-i-Dandi

Coordinates: 33°46’6″N   73°7’17″E (The mouth of the cave where Bari Imam spent 12 years in meditation) “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off…

A day trip to Simly Dam

The last time I visited Simly Dam was probably somewhere in early August 2003. The bad news is that the place hasn’t changed much. Simly Dam is about 43 kilometers from where I live currently i.e. E-11/4, Islamabad. Yes, the biggest…

An Escape to Takht-e-Bahi (Mardan)

“Do they not travel through the land, so that their hearts (and minds) may thus learn wisdom and their ears may thus learn to hear”?……………..Juz 17, Sura Hajj (XXII), Verse 46, Quran. I have been trying to find a reason…