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How many people in this world are friendless with nobody ready to give them an ear? Everybody….almost, given the socio-psychological conditions we all face as part of a workday world that grows increasingly insulated in spite of the so-called globalization! But Dr Shahid had an answer that brought hope, for, as she told the Asian Study Group gathering at the Lahore Gymkhana, there is such a thing as mentoring which can reverse negativity.
An architect by training, with an about-to-be marketed book on mentoring to her credit, Dr Naghmana Shahid found her niche in the education sector some 22 years ago when after some study courses, she realized the extent to which human lives can be improved through communication – albeit of a scholastically regulated type. Which realization now makes her a much-sought-after specialist in the field. Detailing the audience about this subject which has yet to come on to its own locally, Dr Shahid explained the makings of a mentor, “To be a good mentor to whom the client will give the best response one has to be an empathetic listener and a practitioner of communication therapy,” said Shahid, And that means not only to be trained to listen through the ears but through the mind and heart as well. The successful mentor will not provide sympathy but empathy.”
Successfully perfected to a treatment therapy, mentoring is now an accepted and desired entity in most global organizations abroad. But it was more to address the issue at the individual level that Shahid talked on that day. As the audience was drawn into the ambiance, she explained the details of individual mentoring as having been fashioned along formal and informal lines; the former being a more professional affair involving the making of performas based on the information provided by the client. The personal data is then used by the mentor in a manner that eventually removes the stress factor and prepares the client to face the world more as his or her own person.
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Lights, camera, action! Columnist Inayatullah’s decade-old brainchild to bring some method to the madness riddling urban society – with special reference to Lahore city – once again comes to the fore as Lahore grows into a megalopolis. The Civic Forum, which has a number of prominent senior citizens on board, takes up issues concerning the civil society of Pakistan in general and of Lahore in particular. It formulates a set of recommendations after thorough deliberations with the stakeholders. Says Civic Forum spokesperson Nareen Amjad, “In our society, citizens’ forums generally are characterized by a critical and sometimes confrontational approach to government’s policies and activities. The Civic Forum, however, believes in engaging the concerned stakeholders in dialogue and interaction. Instead of focusing only on the shortcomings of the government and its inadequate and improper policies and implementation, it seeks to help improve policy and practice.” The final minutes of each session are given to dialogue with whichever public functionary that has been invited to the moot. Over the last few months, some of the issues taken up by the Civic Forum pertained to traffic-management, maintenance of roads and bridges, water and sewerage (WASA performance), pure food law and rules and the sale of spurious drugs. The results may not be visible right now but having got a voice heard, the forum is now channelizing itself for more negotiation with the state offices on behalf of the beleaguered citizens of the city of Lahore. Best of luck!
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Mounted as the Pouchi Collection, Uzma Afzal’s jewellery exhibition supported all the trappings of a true blue designer collection…colour, line, base and studding materials et al. That and with Eid round the corner, it was no wonder that it turned out to be a total sell-out! Basically a dress designer working from the house, Afzal’s foray into jewellery has further enhanced her design signature, given that she concentrated on the sort of aesthetic lines that make accessories the punch line in elegant dressing. Using precious and semi-precious stones, she had used silver as the base material – “for obvious reasons.” It took her some doing to get out of the gold syndrome, but the result has been stunning, to say the least, since the pieces are in no way less appealing, having been perfected by craftsmen who usually work around diamonds. With the current trend of matching up accessories with clothes being the backbone of her design aesthetics, Afzal has played merrily but with a heightened sensibility with the stones in her vast range. Tourmaline appeared to be the current favourite since “it has so many shades that can be found in dress materials.”
A Master’s degree holder in Clinical Psychology, Uzma Afzal comes to town with both contemporary and traditional sensibility and more often then not combines both elements to provide a stunning finish. Thus, while her traditional jhumkas shimmered in oriental glory at the Pouchi Collection showing, they had that extra jazz after being modernized by the addition of chunky stones. Alongside, contemporary danglers had their day with minor ethnic additions. Whatever the ideology, Uzma Afzal looks to be a refreshing entrant into the field of jewellery design. And she has her eyes on the sky, “I plan to use palladium next time.” She can be contacted at 0332-4108286.
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