Celebrating Spring-planting trees is planting hope !

Join us for a memorable trip to an unconventional orphanage education facility in Pakistan. Located in the Murree hills, the facility aims at providing better educational environment and residential facilities to orphans supported by generous contributions.

With the notion to give back to the nature, we have planned a plantation drive with the beautiful souls at the facility, followed by a poster competition and visit of the facility.

It will be an unforgettable experience, do join us to learn more and contribute through your participation,... by making a change for those who really matter!

Please note: This is a self- Drive trip approximatly 100 mts. drive to the location. Bring refreshments!

Self-Drive- Drive in convoy

Please Note:

• NOC's essential for foreigners; kindly submit by Monday, 6th March 2023.
• Diplomats: A PERMISSION NOC has to be requested at least 10 business days ahead of time. This is different from the routine notification NOC required for other non-restricted places.
• Apply well in advance to avail of this rare & exclusive opportunity to visit Pakistan’s historic brewery!
• Deadline for submission:Monday,6 March 2023.

One of the oldest public companies of the Sub-continent, it is also the oldest continuing industrial enterprise referred to as "The Murree Brewery Company Ltd".

The Ghora Gali Brewery was among the first modern businesses established in Asia in 1860 near Murree, which then, was the most popular resort. The products of the Brewery were popular among the British troops who were largely barracked in the 'Galis' of these hills.

Brief history

Between 1885 & 1890 the Company established itself in Rawalpindi and Quetta and acquired an interest in the Oticumand (South India) and Norailiya (Ceylon) breweries. It was the first to be awarded a medal for product excellence at the Philadelphia Exhibition in 1876, followed by numerous awards over the past 140 years.The business was managed by the family of General Reginald Dyer. In the 1940s, the share in the enterprise was obtained by a Parsi gentleman, the late Mr. Peshton Bhandara. His son, the late Mr.M.P. Bhandara later carried on the business, and it is now being run by his grandson, Mr.Isphanyar Bhandara.

In 1935, a massive earthquake totally demolished the Quetta outlet as well as a substantial part of Quetta town, killing thousands of persons. In the 1920s, the activities were mostly transferred to Rawalpindi, but malting continued at the Ghora Gali outlet till the 1940s when the property was sold. This historic building built in Gothic-style architecture was burnt during the partition riots of 1947/48. The ruins are still visible as you drive up to Murree and have served as a backdrop to many Pakistani and some International films!

The current Murree Brewery is located in Rawalpindi.

Director: Yojiro Takita

Screenplay: Kundo Koyama

Cast: Masahiro Motoki, Tsutimu Yamazaki, Ryoko Hirosue, Kazuko Yoshlyuki

Award: Academy Award for Best Foreign Film

A film with such a theme was deemed to be a disaster at the box office. However, the film went on to win many awards!

A young married man returns to his hometown after unsuccessfully wanting to excel at being a cellist. He finds an advertisement for a job "assisting departures". Assuming it to be a job in a travel agency, he goes to the interview and learns that he will be preparing bodies for cremation in a ceremony known as encoffinment. Though reluctant, he is hired on the spot and receives a cash advance. The Japanese stigma against people working with dead bodies makes him ashamed about the job and hides the true nature of it from his wife. Over time, he becomes comfortable with his profession and completes a number of assignments while experiencing the gratitude of the families of the deceased. When he hears about his estranged father's death he is at first angry and refuses to deal with his father's body. However, he relents and insists on dressing the body for the funeral himself.

The film's foremost theme focuses mainly on the humanity that death brings to the surface and how it strengthens family bonds.

The subject of 'encoffinment' was a highly unusual subject for a Japanese film. The term denotes the preparation of the body of a deceased person and placement of it in a coffin, especially in a ceremonial or ritualistic manner. Despite the importance of death rituals in traditional Japanese culture the subject is considered unclean as everything related to death is thought to be a source of defilement. After coming into contact with the dead, individuals must cleanse themselves through purifying rituals. People who work closely with the dead, such as morticians, are thus considered unclean, and during the feudal era ,those whose work was related to death became untouchables and forced to live in their own hamlets and were discriminated against by wider society. Despite a cultural shift in the last hundred years or so, the stigma of death still has considerable force within Japanese society, and discrimination against the untouchables has continued.

Join us on a days outing to Isloo Fresh farm near Islamabad and check out the vegetables, fruit trees, a Miyawaki forest, chickens, cows, ducks, geese and a natural swim and fish pond!

Organic farming is an agricultural system that uses ecologically based pest controls and biological fertilizers. Modern organic farming developed as a response to the environmental harm caused by the use of chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers in conventional agriculture, and it has numerous ecological benefits. Our host will introduce us to the aspects of organic farming as we tour the farm.Lunch will be served!

Wear walking shoes, hat, sun glasses and bring along your water bottles.

A presentation

'Hijra Farsi'- a secret language historically used by transgenders in Pakistan, has been practised for ages in the larger region of South and Far East Asia. The language is used for expressing concepts, ideas and references unique to the community, that is why they see it as a tool of survival rather than communication. However, its secrecy has been compromised because of social media or direct interaction with transgenders.

The presenter-Tayyaba Rafiq- has spent almost two years observing the transgender community in Lahore, Kasur, Multan, Faisalabad, Karachi, Quetta, and Islamabad. She questions if the language should be documented for safeguarding or kept veiled to protect the concerns of the community.

With an M-Phil (Linguistics) from Beaconhouse National University (BNU) and an Honours degree in English Language and Linguistics,she is passionate for the preservation of the endangered mother tongue (Punjabi), and writes, advocates and researches themes that centre around her interests. Currently she is documenting the language of the Gypsy community in Kasur.

In conversation

Arshad Waheed's latest novel "Other Days", is an eventful story exploring how identities change, and what happens when people choose a non-conformist way of life.

It is a story of the past, which still reflects present-day Pakistani society... a tale of alienation and heartache, an underlying theme in this novel is also the writer's urge to tell the one story that always haunts him- a lifelong project which takes him back to the place and the people where it all started.

At the centre of the story are Daud and Sara, two Pakistani immigrants living in the UK. Due to an incident decades ago, linked to the prevailing sociopolitical atmosphere in their home country, they both carry with them the stamp of the outsider...

Arshad Waheed published his first novel in Urdu "Gumaan", in 1995. He has also done groundbreaking translation work, opening the writings of Gabriel Garcia Marquez' "Love in the Time of Cholera” , Milan Kundera's "Immortality” and “The Art of the Novel” to Urdu-reading audiences. With a medical degree and an MSc in social policy and planning in developing countries from LSE in London. he currently serves as Technical Advisor of Social Policy &Planning at the Institute of Social Policy in Islamabad.

Day trip

Alberuni in his travelogue “Kitab ul Hind” has mentioned the legendry ‘Tilla Jogian’ (Peak of Jogis) near Jhelum as the center of Jogis (Ascetics). This centuries old monastery of Jogis was in existence when Alexander the great fought the famous battle with Raja Porus near this ‘Tilla’ in 326 BC. It has also been known as ‘Tilla Gorakh Nath’ and ‘Tilla Bal Nath’ at different times. The remnants of the monastery and shrine still exist like a big pond with balconies, masonry tombs, places for meditation, and banyan trees among others.

Tilla Jogian is the highest peak in the Salt Range 3200 feet above sea level. It offers a panoramic view of the Potohar plateau and splendid scenic beauty throughout the trip. We will travel on the G T road and then about 35km off-G T road to reach (via Domaili & Gattat villages) at the village ‘Bheet’ located at the base of Tilla Jogian mountain. One-way travel time is about one and a half hour or slightly more. The hill is quite steep and after a maximum one & half hour’s moderate to strenuous hike, we shall reach at the top of hill.

Wear sturdy shoes; bring refreshments.

Director: Abbas Kiarostami

Screenplay: Abbas Kiarostami

Cast: Mania Akbari, Amina Maher, Kamran Adl, Roya Akbari, Roya, Arabshahi, Amene Moradi, Mandana Sharbaf, Katayoun Taleizadeh

Abbas Kiarostami, often called Iran's greatest filmmaker, is fond of stripping personalities bare through conversations they have while riding in cars!The entire film almost seems like a documentary and is filmed with a dashboard camera whose focus rarely leaves the taxi's front seat. This is a rare chance for viewers to eavesdrop on everyday talk in Tehran that, although fictionalized, must approximate what really happens in Iran's busy capital.

In this film he pushes his favourite dramatic device to its limit as he fills a whole movie with close-ups of a smart, independent-minded Tehran woman and a series of passengers in her front seat including her sister, a religious old woman, a prostitute, and her pre-teen son.

The mercurial taxi driver turns her position into a platform from which she can rage. She is angry at her ex-husband, whom she divorced. She's volatile with her young son, who is equally on edge with her. She's philosophical and inquisitive with riders, all of whom (except for her son) are women. These are private moments on the streets of Tehran where every subject is discussed, including sex and desire...

Presentation,Demonstration & Performance

A rare opportunity for you to understand & appreciate the finer nuances of the 'Qawwali' tradition of the Sub-continent!

Qawwali evolved in South Asia from the 13th century as a musical form, created through the mingling of Indian and Turco-Iranian traditions. It was the response to the multi-lingual and polytheistic milieu of the Subcontinent that the Sufis encountered, and this was their unique gift offering unity in diversity.

One name is an integral part of Qawwali, that of Amir Khusrau (1253-1325). A mystic, poet, musician, dancer, warrior and courtier, he best embodied the musical and philosophical dialogue between Hinduism and Islam. Born to a Turkic family of the Sachin tribe in Delhi, Amir Khusrau created it in the form as it exists today. It is impossible to have a traditional session without singing at least one of his texts.

The Qawwali ensemble comprises a lead singer with answering soloists, and chorus with two harmoniums. Explosive, vigorous and forceful hand clapping together with a powerful drum pair (tabla) tends to produce a trance-like state in the audience.

A masterful rendition is able to move the most heterogeneous audience, even if they do not understand a single word!

THE PRESENTER

Based in the USA, Ally Adnan is a well known writer, cultural commentator and public speaker on topics of culture, history and the arts. He has conducted seminars internationally and locally at prestigious Universities and Literary festivals. An accredited member of the International Federation of Film Critics (fipresci) and the Dallas Fort Worth, Film Critics Association, he is considered a 'Subject Matter Expert' in the field and has conducted extensive research particularly on Qawwali and Ghazal .

• Facebook.com/allyadnanjanjua

THE QAWWALS

Ghayoor Moiz Mustafa Qawwal & party are direct descendants of Miyan Samat Bin Ibrahim.-the first representatives and practitioners of ‘Khusravi Qawwali’.Representing the twenty-seventh generation, and recognized for their authenticity, purity and fidelity of the musical tradition- masters of music, poetry and rhythm -they are considered to be the foremost young ‘Qawwals’ in the world today. The ‘Qawwali’ that they perform is the same as one practiced more than 800 years ago. Nothing has been allowed to change…

• Facebook.com/ghayoormoizmustafaqawwal

'Palestinian' cuisine is a diffusion of the cultures of civilizations that settled in the region of Palestine, particularly during and after the Islamic era, beginning with the Arab Ummayad conquest, then the eventual Persian influenced Abbasids and ending with the strong influences of the Ottoman Turks.

Cooking styles vary, and types of cooking style and ingredients used are generally based on the climate and location of the particular region and on traditions. Falafel, hummus, the mussakhan, qedreh, maftoul, sumaghiyyeh are very popular and considered as 'Palestinian' dishes. 'Musakhan' is the national dish of Palestine and is a unique and flavorful Arabic dish made of sumac, olive oil, spiced chicken, red onions, and served on top of a huge flatbread. The dessert Kunafa originated from Nablus city is most popular. The olives and it’s oil are one of the best of this region...

This is a rare opportunity to taste some of these dishes on the very kind invitation of Madame Amal Rabaie spouse of Ambassador of Palestinian in Pakistan H.E. Ahmad Rabaie!