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Sikh visitors from India visit Panja Saheb gurdwara
A large number of Sikhs from Punjab, in Islamabad to watch the ongoing third Test, visited the famous Panja Saheb shrine in Hasan Abdel.
A large number of Sikhs from Punjab, here to watch the ongoing third and final Test match of the India-Pakistan cricket series, visited the famous Panja Saheb shrine in Hasan Abdel, a few hours' drive from here.
The shrine is so named as it carries the imprint of the palm (panja) of Guru Nanak, the religion's founder, when he had visited the gurdwara here in the 16th century.
"I met several Sikhs who had come to collect the match tickets, bought on Internet, and each of them said that he was first going to Panja Saheb and then come for the match," said a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official who is in charge of ticket sales.
About 800 Indians have bought tickets for the third Test.
The elegant 'Asian Bradman'
It was a rather unusual thing to see former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas, who is always surrounded by friends and fans, walking into a hotel all alone for dinner Tuesday.
Dressed elegantly, the one-time batting great went to Hotel Serena late Tuesday night for dinner in the company of no one but his cigar. Zaheer, who is giving expert comments on an Indian news television channel, was dressed impeccably in kurta-pajama as he entered the hotel lobby.
Was he really all alone? "Yes, because wife has just returned from India, so she is resting. I've come to have dinner," he said with a big smile as he went into the same hotel where Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had stayed during the SAARC summit a little about three months ago.
Zaheer said he was shuttling between New Delhi and Pakistan as the television channel keeps changing its plans, but he said this was not a problem for him. The man who was dubbed 'Asian Bradman' loves visiting India, one reason being that his wife Sameena belongs to Kanpur.
Sameena is an interior designer and people say that she is doing well in her profession, which is in a way similar to Kapil Dev's wife Romi who runs a shop, called 'This 'N That' in New Delhi.
From squash to music
Legendary Pakistani squash coach Rahmat Khan also loves music and it became evident when he attended a big private function of PTV at a five-star hotel and returned completely enthralled by the live songs sung by some of the best-known artists of Pakistan.
But there should not be any surprise that Rahmat, the coach of the legendary Jehangir Khan, loves music as his wife is none other than Salma Agha, who Indian film buffs would readily recall for several famous numbers that she sang for Hindi movies in the 1980s. She also acted in some of the movies she sang for.
Rahmat, who is presently Pakistan's national coach, is quite close to Indian squash players like current national men's champion Ritwick Bhattacharya, multiple women's national champion Bhuvaneshwari Kumar, her brother and coach Yogendra Singh and many others.
Marriage bureaus
There seems to be any number of marriage bureaus in Pakistan. Many hoardings, big and small, were seen in Lahore, each one claiming to be the best in the business.
Marriage bureaus seem to be in big demand in Islamabad also. And at least one bureau is using a unique way to spread the word around about its existence. While going to the Pindi Cricket Stadium in a cab, a small boy was seen throwing a paper the size of a visiting card in all the vehicles that had halted at an intersection.
The card actually carried an advertisement for 'Marriage Centre' run by some Mrs. Khan, who holds M.A. and M.Ed. degrees, as it claimed. The centre's promotion line read: "The name people trust - Educated and middle class community," probably implying that the marriage bureau was ideal for such people.
