Reflections on passing away of Junaid Jamshed

The alert popped up on my Whatsapp, a plane had gone missing on the way from Chitral to Islamabad somewhere near Abbotabad. Minutes later, the same sender informed that the plane had crashed with 47 people on board. Like to many such alerts from this friend, who is a security expert and hence often the harbinger of bad news, the response was Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajeeoon followed by a forward of this tragic news to others on various groups etc. Yet those 47 people remained just numbers that often pass on my screens. Then came the news that Junaid Jamshed and Saeed Anwer might have been on their way back from Chitral. Suddenly the numbers became real people, a connection that made the tragedy all so real. Soon the passenger manifest was all over the media and it was confirmed by connections in the Tableeghi Jamaat that Saeed Anwer was still in Chitral but alas Junaid and his wife along with several other members of the Jamaat had indeed been aboard that ill-fated flight.

Like many who grew up in the 80s and 90s, Junaid Jamshed was a common name. From the time the Pakistani pop band Vital Signs rose to prominence by releasing what became a prominent Pakistani anthem, the handsome Junaid Jamshed become an idol for young boys and a heart throb for the girls. His voice crooned out songs that stirred the soul and were often listened to on repeat throughout my teens. Concerts were aplenty in those days and I would never miss a chance to catch Vital Signs live on stage.

As I entered college in the fag end of the 90s and subsequently went on journey of religious awakening, I stopped listening to music and then restarted as I struggled with a new me. It seems in the years that as I was struggling so was Junaid. After Vital Signs broke up, there were rumors abound that Junaid seemed to have drifted away from music but then the year after he suddenly was back in the industry as a solo artist and it was not until 2002 that he officially announced he had left music for good. The man who had inspired many subsequent names to join the industry was no longer a part of it.

His renouncement of music led to the start of a successful business career as he entered the fashion field with the help of an entrepreneur Sohail Khan. This business venture now gave Junaid the support he needed and soon the poster-boy of Pakistani pop became the public face of the Tableeghi Jamaat.

(The last Jumuah Prayer led by Junaid Jamshed a few days before. His choice of ayat, in hindsight, seems very profound)

Wrapping up that little history lesson up there, what did Junaid Jamshed mean to me? Junaid to me characterized the struggle to surrender. The same struggle that started for me somewhere in 1998 and that to some extent still goes on today: the struggle to bend my soul to follow the Commands of Allah (SWT); the struggle to mute the Disco side and to enhance the Maulvi side of me. I never got a chance to properly meet Junaid after he became a Maulvi. I did reach out to him when I was asked by some friends in the Learning & Development industry to invite him to one of their upcoming youth sessions which they wanted to have a spiritual side as well. Sadly that event never materialized and Junaid and I never met. However, during our brief interaction for the youth event he came across as a very caring and helpful person.

Today as I write this, I wonder that maybe I should have taken a bolder initiative and connected more aggressively with him. Maybe I would have learnt much from him, from his struggle to give up fame for religion and his struggle to handle a different fame that came as a religious figure and the many issues that seemed to hound him after he did so. I could have also learnt much from his struggle to contribute more to society. Sadly that chance is gone. All that is now left is to learn from his death. How he was out in the path of Allah (SWT), trying to inspire people to turn to Allah (SWT) —- and how eventually Allah (SWT) chose to take him back while he was on that Path: a martyr in sha Allah.

Trident — Now refreshing minds (and mouths) in Pakistan

I have always been a gum chewer; yes Supari (more specifically Tulsi) was always a bigger vice of mine for a while but I was carrying Fusen Gum in my O-Levels days in a special box that ensured the gum would not get soaked in sweat in my pocket (car A/Cs in those days was a luxury and jawani mein khail kood bhi kar laitay thay kabhi kabhi).

I was known in O-Levels and earlier as Bubble (shortened from Bubblegumwala — stemming from my name Balagamwala) and to this day one of my oldest friend’s family still calls me Bubble…. choices were limited in those days — Fusen Gum, Spout (with its liquid center) and then we had BP’s Bubble Bar. This was pre- Ding Dong era and my memory eludes if Hilal was a player in those days or not. There was some local prevalent Bubblegum brand whose name eludes me currently (was it King Kong?). It certainly was not called Ding Dong.

Having quit Tulsi in 2003 and smoking in 2004 (and again quitting Tulsi in 2007 — hey one needs a crutch after giving up smokes), chewing gum was again my go-to vice. It has always gotten my brain working during periods of studying or working. And it helped keep the smoking and Tulsi cravings at bay too.

I bounced from brand to brand, never really enjoying the local brands much and after couple years of Extra (which was my brand in college in USA and I first had in 1993 when my parents returned with a big box from the USA), I gravitated to Trident Cinnamon these last couple years. I liked the chewing consistency especially when I popped two in my mouth and the Cinnamon taste was nice and strong for my liking. Extra just didn’t seem to be chewy enough for me.

Then came the whole issue with Trident posting on their page that some varieties (such as a Trident Splash) may have porcine (that’s pig-based) gelatin and all of a sudden there was always a feeling of suspicion of the ingredients in the back of my mind (though visually there is not any major red flags in the USA manufactured version of regular Trident).

I was not going to go and have Ding Dong (I am sorry but it’s just plain bad gum). Ho hum bada bing bada bum we skip forward to current day (ok ok 2 weeks back — I take my time to write things OK)  when Mondelez Pakistan (wohi Cadbury kuch meetha hojaye walay loag) sent me a nice little arrangement — announcing the official launch of Trident in Pakistan. A big shout out to Asiatic Public Relations for keeping me on their list for this.

Four flavors — Peppermint, Spearmint, Strawberry and Watermelon. Single piece retailing at Rs 5 and a 5-pack retailing at Rs 25. This is comparable to the “imported” version being smuggled in — the 24 piece pack is Rs 100 in retail. The official Pakistani packs are actually made in Egypt (singles) and Turkey (5-packs). The pieces are slightly flatter compared to the international version and I have to see if the actual grammage per piece is the same or not. I personally like the packaging for the Pakistan version as the 24-piece one is not a very good usability design for practical purposes.

The best part of the official version being sold (for me atleast) is that it takes care of the whole uncertainty of Halal or Haram. Here is a reply by Trident Pakistan on their Facebook page.

In every country where we sell our products, we strictly comply with local laws and regulations, and employ stringent quality procedures to ensure that our products are of the highest standard of safety and quality.

Therefore, all flavours and units of Trident being sold in Pakistan, under the umbrella of Mondelēz Pakistan Ltd., are halal certified at source.

We hope this satisfies your concern.

Ofcourse there are plenty of folks out there who are either conspiracy theory junkies or have a low level of trust. For them I advise asking the local companies for their Halal certification as well.

How does the Pakistan version fare against the US version in terms of taste? Well to be honest I have mainly stuck to Cinnamon on the US version so can’t give an apples to apples version of it. Having tried all four Pakistan flavors (thanks to the free sampler I got from Mondelez Pakistan) I have decided I would stick with Peppermint as the main flavor with Watermelon now and then for some change. Why? Well, I never liked Spearmint gum much for some reason (whichever brand it may be). So one flavor was kind of out by default. The Strawberry flavor starts off real good but the flavor disappears very fast and one starts getting a bitter taste  which I think is actually the artificial sweetner taste to blame. Watermelon is really good and lasts longer than Strawberry as well. However, it too fades a tad bit too fast for my liking. Peppermint is the one that gives me a refreshed mouth for long enough for me to tire of the gum. Actually to be honest Cinnamon is great in this aspect — the flavor keeps going extremely long. Hence, I am about to start a petition soon on Change.org asking Mondelez Pakistan for Cinnamon to be launched here. Let me know below if you would sign it.

Since the Trident gift was shared with my wife and elder son, last week I had to replenish my stocks and so I made my first official purchase. So I am now a paid customer of Trident. 🙂

All in all, being a Trident chewer before also, I am now a customer of Trident Pakistan. Now I am looking forward for Trident to launch more flavors soon to give fans a bigger choice and to keep me hooked by giving me some variety.

Sooper Hai Azadi … but what is Azadi?

14th August is around the corner (literally gali kay nukkar par – the silencer bagair ki motorbikes are already out) and we see the surge of Independence Day fervor all around. I have always been a true patriot but as I have mused in the past, celebrating Independence must also be coupled with positive action.

So I was pleasantly surprised when Peek Freans Sooper, the largest selling biscuit in Pakistan, invited a few bloggers over for a discussion panel. What was enticing were the names of Jehangir Khan, Jibran Nasir, Shehzad Roy, and Saba Gul as the participants. The mix promised to bring several diverse thoughts to the panel and the presence of Umair Jaliawala as the moderator intrigued me further.

I had notified ahead of time that I may be joining in late due to some professional commitments and so I was surprised when I walked in just as the event had really kicked off. Umair was quick to quip in his banter that Pakistanis ko time par na aanay ki bhi azadi hai. And that sadly is seen the truth.

(Saadia Naveed – Deputy MD, EBM)

We heard a few brief words from Saadia Naveed, the Deputy Managing Director, of English Biscuit Manufacturers on Sooper and just how it has become The Brand of EBM in effect becoming the identity of EBM even eclipsing the actual Peek Freans brand (of which it is a subset). The advertising campaigns of Sooper have always been very catchy and sticky. Even as I write this the words ‘Sab say aagay, sab say oopar’ echo in my head.

Adnan Ali Bajwa, the Brand Manager of Sooper, then led us through the thought process for the new Sooper Hai Azadi campaign that Sooper was to launch that night on all Media. He spoke of how how Sooper is a biscuit that binds the various elements of Pakistani society, bringing them together in unity through its taste. You will find the laborer in the street enjoying the egg and milk taste just as you will find it being served with tea in the top corporate offices. Thus, they wished to incorporate all the sounds of the Paksitani society in a jingle that linked to the Independence Day. So the evergreen “Mein Bhi Pakistan Hoon, Tu Bhi Pakistan Hai” was chosen but the various sounds of daily life were incorporated (rather beautifully I may add) in the tune. Whether it is the sound of pots clanking, or the sound of a golawala crushing ice, or the sound of rice as it is being cleaned, the tune beautifully brings to life the essence of Pakistani society accompanied with the bright colors of our vibrant country. Indeed as the ad says, Azadi naam hai aik khoobsurat ihsaas ka.

(L to R: Umair Jaliawala, Jehangir Khan, Shehzad Roy, Jibran Nasir, Saba Gul)

The Panel discussion was kicked off with Jibran Nasir speaking first (he apologized he had a commitment with his mother that took priority to all). And Jibran is one passionate man when it comes to this country and fixing the broken society. While we may not see eye to eye on certain issues, there is no doubt he is a man of action. Each panelist was asked what Azadi meant to him. Bringing up the Quetta blast and the wiping out of an entire generation of lawyers in Balochistan, he didn’t mince any words to what Azadi meant to him. The freedom to have your rights, the right to education, the right to clean water and the right to speak your mind.

(Found a recording of Jibran’s words thanks to Hiba Moeen)

We then turned to Jehangir Khan, the Squash legend as he spoke about the freedom his squash career brought to him. How as a sickly child he was not allowed to play despite being from a family of professional Squash players. How, when his father found him in the courts one day and saw the talent his son had. He spoke of the passing away of his elder brother, a promising squash player due to a heart attack on the court at the young age of 28 and how for a while Jehangir stopped playing because if a fit man like his brother died, what would he a sickly kid be able to do. However, his family convinced him and he went after the championship with a passion to realize his brother’s dreams. And he did so, with 551 unbeaten games. A true behemoth in the world of Squash. His azadi was the ability to achieve something in memory of his brother.

Shehzad Roy, singer and musician turned Social Activist, termed Azadi as the freedom to love his country despite everything. When you fall in love with someone you don’t leave them because they have flaws. Despite majority of his family being abroad and asking him to leave, he still is a Pakistani citizen and lives here because he loves this nation.

Saba Gul, CEO of Popinjay, a high street accessories brand in the US which combines a for-profit model with social entrepreneurship and skill development in villages in Pakistan. Saba described her moment of Azadi when she quit a custom-designed tech job which utilized her two MIT degrees, and decided to move back to Pakistan and start the project that eventually became Popinjay. While I had met Saba several years before when Popinjay was known as Bags for Bliss, I never really had a chance to talk to her about how it is structured. I am hoping to get a chance to communicate more with her so I can understand and also maybe get some ideas for Ihsaas Trust, a microfinance and social uplift organization I happen to be a Trustee of. Unfortunately, Saba left the venue right after the panel and I was unable to talk to her. So that goes on my things to do I guess.

Unfortunately, all of the panelists were not there for the refreshments part of the event (though Jehangir Khan sahab did stick around for some photos with us). Thus, unfortunately I was unable to really talk to any of them in detail (guess they were available in the earlier “networking” time slot pre-event which I missed). I did get a chance to talk to Adnan Bajwa, the brand manager, and found him really passionate about the campaign and his brand.

(DiscoMaulvi with Squash Legend Jehangir Khan)

The evening was capped with some scrumptious bun kababs and aaloo cholas. The best refreshment I have seen at a blogger event so far. So kudos to EBM for that :).

(I am missing from this bloggers pic as I was busy eating the yummy bun kababs…. LOL)