THE IMMIGRANT TOUCH IN AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE............

THE IMMIGRANT TOUCH IN AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE.........


History of immigrants is as old as the history of America.........the  'statue of liberty' has always been a symbol of freedom and opportunity for everyone.
Millions immigrants have achieved their American Dreams and have left their imprints on the American soil.
As people from all backgrounds arrived at Ellis Island or other places in USA they started creating their own identity in America.As time passed their cuisine,their fashion and their culture became popular.It started with the portrayal of Italian Americans in movies like 'God Father', to speak an accent was regarded as 'cool'.Neil Diamond's song 'America' melted everyone's heart which tells the story of immigrants.........story of triumph.'Spanglish' was a tale of cross-cultural romance."Gangs of NewYork" was about the Irish American immigrants in New York."My Big Fat Greek Wedding" mentioned American Greeks and their family traditions.'Mississippi Masala' was about an Indian American motel owner and his family.'House of Sand and Fog' portrays  problems faced by an Iranian American Couple.Who can forget "Coming to America" a modern day Cinderella story involving a prince and a commoner.
TV shows have always created special immigrant characters who have been a symbol of success and also a source of laughter like Sienfeld's Soup Nazi and Tom in Parks and Recreations and also Kalinda in the Good Wife.Kelly Kapoor in the office and Nila Rasgotra in ER are two other powerful characters.Who could forget Karl Penn in "House".
People enjoy the latin beats of Shakira and Gloria Estephan and La vida Loca of Ricki Martin.Lupe Fiasco is a mix of classical qawalis and African rap.Americans did enjoyed Simon Cowell's harsh critisism in American Idol and his fine British accent.
The immigrant factor in American Popular culture is getting more and more visible as more people are entering this land of opportunity every day.

TELECOM REVOLUTION IN PAKISTAN

When you walk in the streets of Pakistan you can hear ring tones of cell phones from every where.Almost everyone owns a cell phone in this country from a rickshaw driver to street vendors.Pakistanis love to spend on cellphones mainly because the service and the cell phone itself is very cheap and the quality is also very good.

In the year 2008 Pakistan was World's third fastest growing telecommunications market.The telecom infrastructure has improved dramatically over the years which has encouraged domestic and foreign investors to invest in fixed-line and mobile network.In 2003 -2004 there were 5 million cell phone subscribers in the country,this number went up to 108.9 million by the end of 2011.The mobile telecommunication sector in Pakistan has seen an extremly large year-to-year growth.According to an estimate early this year almost 90% of the population owns a cell phone.Pakistan has the highest mobile penetration rate in the South Asian region.

This "Telecom Revolution"started in mid 2003 when the government "Deregulation Policy for Telecommunication Sector",this encouraged and allowed foreign companies to invest in Pakistani telecommunication market.In the year 2006 Etisalat Internationl,a subsdiary of the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation purchased 26% share in PTCL (Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited).62% of the shares of PTCL were still owned by the government and the remaining 12% of shares are owned by the general public.

Telecom revenues reported in early 2011 were over 180 million.In the first half the year 2011 the total contribution to national exchequer by Telecom sector was RS 56.3 billion which showed a growth of 15 % from last year.

Texting is getting more and more common these days ,according to an estimate Pakistanis sent 151 billion text messages in 2009.Nokia has cited that Pakistan is producing 3rd highest SMS traffic in the world by end of the year 2010.

In contrast to Pakistan's economic graph the growth of telecom sector is very positive.

THE EXQUISITE FASHION INDUSTRY OF PAKISTAN

THE EXQUISITE FASHION INDUSTRY OF PAKISTAN

One of the biggest import of Pakistan is it's fabric and outfits from it's ever changing Fashion Industry.Pakistan has produced many talented fashion designers who have showcased their designs all across the world from the ramp in Milan to Paris to shows in New York.Pakistan's Bridal Couture which highlights the detailed work of Pakistani craftsmen is very popular across the world.Every year launch of "lawn and cotton prints" is a big event through out the country.Pakistani fabric is one of the country's biggest export.In the last decade many new designers especially female designers have displayed their artistic talents all across the globe.

Maheen Khan is a famous Pakistani Designer who is famous for her clean straight cuts and bold embroided panels.She has presented her designs in many fashion shows through out the world.She launched her brand "Karma"with designer Deepak Perwani few years back.It displays formal evening wear and bridal wear.The detailed thread work along with dupka borders and zardozi work are greatly admired by the buyers.Maheen Khan launched her casual collection later on by the name of "Gulabo".Cotton kaftans and tunics displayed in "Gulabo" brand are inspired by traditional "truck art" of Pakistan.She works with bright hues and ascentric bead work.She has also designed T -shirts and hand bags through this brand.Maheen Khan's designs are not only popular in the country but she has a large clientele outside Pakistan.

Imrana Ali launched her design studio "Body Focus Museum" in Karachi and Lahore in the mid eighties.It was created according to the needs of working women,dresses were designed in silk

and jersey material which were elegant ,yet trendy.Her designs speak of elegance and beauty.Her designs are a regular at national and international fashion shows.

Huma Adnan and Amir Adnan is a husband wife designing duo,they launched their brand "Funk Asia" in various countries few years back."Funk Asia" has fast grown as a statement label,carrying exuberance of culture into razzle dazzle of red carpet glamour.

Rizwan Beyg is another talented designer who is famous for designing long "sherwani style" tunics with detailed bead and thread work.He has designed for Princes Diana,Jemima Khan and Princess Sarwat of Jordan.

The tale of Pakistani Designers is incomplete without the mention of Hassan Sheheryar Yassin.His brand HSY is traditionally bridal and formal couture wear.He has flagship stores through out the globe.

Bunto Kazmi is no doubt the epitome of the fashion industry.She has been in business for over 30 years now.Her kundan and dapka detailed ghararas and shararas with elaborate detailing is popular all across the world.Her designs are inspired by Mughal Era styles which feature "Achkans","Angarkhas"and "Farshi Ghararas".

Pakistan Fashion Design Council was created in the year 2006 with 30 initial members and now they have over 50 members.The main goal of this organization is to launch fashion shows in the country and also to invite fashion critics from international markets to promote Pakistani Designers.

TWO PIONEERS FROM TWO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD

This is a picture of Begum Rana Liaqat Ali Khan and Walt Disney from 1950 in Washington DC when she accompanied her husband Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan to an official visit to USA on the invitation of President Harry Truman.

Walt Disney who created DisneyLand and Disney World ......a place where dreams come to life,where elephants fly,spaceships travel to other planets and where prince and princess greet everyone.He co founded the Walt Disney Productions which later became Walt Disney Company and is one of the largest production companies in the world.He was an innovator in animation who started the comic character of "Mickey Mouse"and years later this mouse transformed our world when Disney opened theme parks around the world.These theme parks present characters and rides based of various Disney Movies and Cartoons,every year millions of people visit Disney Theme Parks.

Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan was the wife of the first Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan .She worked from the platform of Muslim League ,she was a leading figure in the Pakistan Movement.After independence of Pakistan she became a prominent stateswomen.She started APWA the All Pakistan Women Association which is a non profit organization,it helped in the social and educational upliftment of Pakistani women.This organization provided small loans to women to start 'Cottage Industries' in their villages or towns.She opened Home Economics Colleges in Karachi and Lahore.She helped Pakistan Army to launch the Army Medical Corps which recruited large number of women as army nurses.She was appointed the Chancellor of Karachi University and later on Governor of Sindh.Begum Rana also served as Pakistani Ambassador to Tunisia,Italy and Holland.She was the first women to represent Pakistan in the United Nations ,she was awarded the United Nations Human Rights Award in 1978.

THIS LAND IS MY LAND ,THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND

THIS LAND IS MY LAND,THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND

'PROUD OF MY HERITAGE'

I was reading the book " Can't Is not an Option" by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. It is a beautiful autobiography of an American Indian political leader from South Carolina who shares her stories of growing up in South Carolina" s small town of Bamberg.She was named Nimratha Nikki Randhawa. Her parents migrated from India ,there were very few immigrant families living in South Carolina in those days.Haley writes about her participation in a teen beauty pageant where she and her sister were removed because "they were not Black enough to be called Black or White enough to be called White".How they were surrounded by police cars when her "turban wearing"dad got out on the corner of the street to fix his car.She was interested in accounting from a young age and did her B.S in accounting from Clemson University.She helped her mom with her upscale boutique named Exotica,International.She served on the Board of Directors of Orangeburg County and Lexington Chamber of Commerce.She ran for elections in the South Carolina's House of Representatives in 2004 for a district in Lexington County.She was relected in 2006.Nikki Haley became Governor in 2010.

She is daughter of legal immigrants and believes that immigration laws should be enforced.Her main goal is to lower taxes.She was endorsed by Sarah Pallin and Mitt Romney.

This charismatic governor of South Carolina and her life story has touched my heart ,I see myself or perhaps my daughters in her.I do believe that America is a land of opportunity that this country helped me to express my talents.I also believe that if my kids work hard they can also become Senator,Governor or even the President.

I believe in hard work,dedication and to aim high.In the words of Nikki Haley "I am daughter of immigrant parents who reminded us everyday how lucky we are to live in this country.They love the fact that you could start something,grow it as you want,be as successful as you want to be"!

OUR "TITANIC " STORIES

OUR " TITANIC " STORIES

It's been 15 years since James Cameron took the world to the epic journey of Titanic the unsinkable ship which eventually sank during its maiden voyage.Many rich and famous people did go on the " Titanic" in 1912 to experience the beauty, good service of this magnificent ship.This movie unfolds the fictional story of Jack Dawson and Rose Dewitt and their short lived " love story".James Cameron was able to capture the excellence and grace of this luxary ship in this movie which proved to be a huge blockbuster in 1997 breaking all previous records. This movie was compared to Gone with the Wind and Casblanca two classics of all times.

Titanic is released again this year in April in 3D in theatres across the country to commemorate the 100 anniversary of the tragedy of Titanic.

Many people will watch this movie for the first time in theatres but many would just go and watch it again one more time ..... like myself.

I remember watching the Titanic movie on a chilly evening in 1997 at Birmingham Main Theatre in Birmingham ,MI. I was waiting to watch this movie for a long time had also arranged a baby sitter for my then two year old daughter Allana.It was simply beautiful from story to direction to acting and most of all Celine Dion"s mesmerizing rendition of "My Heart will go on" composed by James Horner. Titanic still to this day is the most expensive movie ever to be made , the total budget for this movie was $200 million. It launched the careers to two talented movie stars Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet.

Happy watching or rewatching !!!!!

THE TANDOORI REVOLUTION

THE TANDOORI REVOLUTION

Indian Cuisine maybe not as popular in the world as the Italian Pizza or Chinese Chowmein but it's rich aroma and flavor has started to appeal to people of different ethnic groups all over the world.In the last 20years more and more people have tried and liked this cuisine.It started in the year 1920 when Shri Kundan Lal opened his first restaurant in Peshawer ,he presented the concept of a 'tandoor' or a clay oven with burning charcoals.He put the marinated chicken (in chilli pepper,paprika,salt,yogurt)on iron skewers and then rotated it over the burning charcoals till they were grilled to perfection.It was the first time that 'tandoori chicken' was prepared in the tandoor,before that a tandoor was used to bake bread or 'naan'.

After the independence of India and Pakistan more restaurants across the sub continent started adding 'tandoori chicken' on their menus.During the 1950s and 1960s many Indian Restaurants were opened in England which presented 'tandoori chicken'and 'tandoori naan' .Later on tandoori cuisine was introduced in other European Countries.

The aroma and flavour of Indian spices and Indian food reached North America during the 1960s.Indian restaurants opened across USA and Canada and the sale of Indian spices started across the continent.

Now in the year 2012 almost every majour city of the world has an Indian Restaurant where they not only offer tandoori cuisines but also' samosas'(triangular shaped patties) and 'kebabs' (beef sticks).Tandoori Dishes are liked by everyone from movie stars to Presidents and PrimeMinisters.American Restaurants have also added the tandoori flavour in their dishes like the 'tandoori chicken pizza'served with mango chutney at California Pizza Kitchen and "tandoori salad' at "Cosi's".Famous Chefs add Indian spices to their signature dishes and enjoy grilling "tandoori style" !!!