IBA Students’ Entrepreneurship Success Stories

The IBA graduates have long been known to dominate job markets that constituted the supply side of labor, and for once it seemed that this state would remain perpetual and IBA graduates would succumb to what we typically refer to as ‘corporate slavery’-but not any longer. The tide of entrepreneurship is at its full swing as some IBA students initiate their businesses in the midst of undergraduate studies. It’s commendable on how they have jostled between their successful startups and the ever so rigorous academic life at IBA. We have hence selected four successful startups to explore what makes these ambitious entrepreneurs so unique and inspirational:

IBA Bookery:

The success story of IBA Bookery is very similar to that of other entrepreneurs working in IBA in different fields. The journey of this small business started in August 2013, with an aim to provide a platform whereby students within IBA can trade goods mainly books and related notes at competitive prices, without any hassle of searching books in different market places. This business is the extension of Big O Studios Photography to a new line of course material trading. The Bookery served the purpose of a place where buyers meet sellers easily, which once used to be a gap of communication and meeting right people to deliver our material to. Upon its launch, the audience welcomed the initiative with a very positive and appreciating response. Thus, the trading of course material was done tremendously, and speaking about their expectations, the co-owner,Safeer-e-Hussain said,

“The outcome and the initial response was beyond our expectations. We received a very positive response from all the people around. Many students were able to buy their complete semester books and even sell their books at a very good price compared to the local Urdu Bazar.”

To launch a new product in market is never an easy job, especially when there are competitors around, and you can smell strong resistance among the target market. Talking further about the problems IBA Bookery faced at its launch was to, Safeer pointed out that,

“One major difficulty that we faced was to persuade students to fill in the form for their books to be displayed on the catalogue. We tried to make the form entries as precise as possible to avoid any redundant information that anyone has to enter repeatedly. But the initial motivation to actually persuade them to list was one of the major problems. We tried so provide maximum ease by integrating the website with directly with Facebook feeds.”

However, strong determination and willpower could not stop IBA Bookery to success, and here it stands now in front of us, aiming to rise high and extend its horizon to a wider market.

A&M Apparel

The feeling was anything but natural for enterprising students like Azeem Naeem Adamjee and Mohammad Saleem Nasir when they decided to officially launch clothing brand, ‘A&M Apparel’ on November,10,2012.As they reached their 20s,they both felt obliged to start this business as sustainable source of income, allowing them to expand the brand after graduation.

The A&M Apparel designs and produces hoodies, jackets, polo shirts and t-shirts and initially started with test market consisting of only IBA students but now this has been broadened to youth as target audience. The indicators of success of this new clothing brand in terms of profitability and clientele are impressive. In the words of co-founder, Azeem Naeem Adamjee:

‘We have successfully catered to several institutions, which include Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi Boat Club, and The CAS School among many others. This has given us the opportunity to diversify into new products, along with providing us with healthy profits, part of which has been re-invested for future ventures and part of which has been used for our personal day-to-day expenses. And we just received our first international order from the United World College (UWC) in Hong Kong this month, so we can now proudly say that A&M is going global. Yay!’

According to him, the recipe for such success is attributable to taking decisions after mutual consensus with his fellow co-founder, Mohammad Saleem Nasir. In accordance with their skill set, Saleem takes care of financial side while Azeem handles the marketing side of the business. Interestingly, as startup entrepreneurs, they came across a funny incident as narrated in the following words of Azeem:

‘Last year when we made hoodies for IBA students, we also got many orders from the Faculty members at IBA. One of those orders was from Miss Lalarukh Ejaz. She had ordered a Small sized hoodie, but due to a packaging error, she was delivered a XL hoodie. So when we went to deliver it to her at Main Campus, she opened the packet up and said, “Is this a Small hoodie??” And I thought to myself “Is XL the new Small? Or have we made a packaging error?” Well for a moment we were like “Oops.” but then immediately we replaced her order.’

Well, in the early stages of entrepreneurial journey, the “Oops” never end. Speaking of IBA faculty, IBA CED has been really impressed by this business venture and has been very welcoming and supportive though the entire business operation is done outside IBA. And so with the resounding success of A&M Apparel, Azeem’s message to all aspiring entrepreneurs is that:

‘Always be a trend-setter, not a trend-follower. And never take an uncalculated or half-hearted risk. You are risking your life on that one decision, its better you put in all your effort to make that risk a success-but the real question here is, “Do you wear A&M?”.’

Pom Frites

Pom Frites and Aun Shah are well known today among the IBA community but little is known about the past endeavors of Aun and how he came onto the successful idea of Pom frites. Aun shares with us his passion for entrepreneurship and tells us that he had an entrepreneurial mindset even before coming to IBA. In 2010 He introduced chocolates and wafers in Pakistan by an Italian brand ‘Loackers’ and although the business is worth millions today, he was sadly driven out by one of his buyers. After that in 2011 he went to a development traineeship program in China. While his stay there the idea of fried ice cream caught his eye and fascinated him. He experimented with the idea and introduced a similar product in the Pakistani market which he sold on a modified Qingqi. However in order to mitigate risk he decided to sell French fries as a side product. This was the beginning of Pom frites because at this point he gave his business this name which literally means Fried potato in French. Furthermore to distinguish himself from competition he came up with his own recipe of Peri Bites and Chicken Chunks. Peri bites went on to become his most successful product and that is the reason he keeps its recipe a secret known only to him.

Regarding the connection of his business to IBA he has the following to say:

‘Although Pom Frites had nothing to do with IBA when it was launched, but later upon a meeting with Dr Shahid Qureshi, the door to IBA opened and we worked together on a partnership agreement and created an IBA-CED Incubate company “Pom Frites” that was launched separately. The supply chain is the same, but operations for Pom Frites and Pom Frites IBA are both different.’
When asked about the experience that he had as an entrepreneur and the difficulties that he faced, his response was as follows:
‘Starting a business is not easy, it requires capability to handle a lot of stress, if anything goes wrong in your business, you’re responsible. However the learning is immense and it’s a job where you are the boss.’

Finally he says that he does not consider his business work at all because it is something that he loves and is a staunch believer of the saying:

“Do the work you love and you won’t have to work a day”

T-Labels

Talha Ali, a junior BBA student, is the most recent addition to the league of IBA entrepreneurs. He has joined this league by launching T-labels, a clothing brand providing apparels, last month in IBA. When asked about his recent launch he had the following to say:

‘Entrepreneurship has always been my passion and this was one way I could translate it into action’

Talha also goes on to talk about the target market that he defines for his brand:

‘T-labels was launched through IBA platform, however our target market is not confined to the students, alumni and faculty of IBA, instead it expands to all the young population of Karachi.’

Additionally,he believes that his brand is in the infant range right now but the product portfolio is gradually increasing. He also mentioned in the interview that he has faced many hurdles since the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey, like not being able to convince the IBA administration about his idea and not being effectively able to implement some strategies like marketing strategies. However his perseverance has carried him through all that as his brand has been finally approved by CED and this has led to opening of a lot of doors for him. He has come into contact with many suppliers and industrialists who gave him an insight into many important market characteristics and he was also able to overcome many administrative hurdles.

Finally he gives a message to the entrepreneurs who are starting off that:
‘Believe in your idea and believe in yourself, apply your business concepts learnt in books, work hard with persistence and you are bound to achieve your targets.’

Lessons to be learnt

These entrepreneurs of IBA are living examples of the fact that it is never too early or never too late to start believing in yourself and your dreams. All that stands between you and your success is a little perseverance and a little hard work. So go ahead, dream, believe and work hard, who knows when entrepreneurial success might come knocking your door.

"I Made IBA"

‘I got a call inquiring about my Made in IBA hoodies and I was surprised to find that it was from a worker at IBA. It was rather shocking that he had even heard of the brand and so I shared this experience with my Facebook friends via a status update, many people wanted to contribute to give the worker a free hoodie. Before I knew it, I had decided to take the initiative to give all the workers free hoodies, the I Made IBA hoodies’. These are the words of Sahabzada Aunuddin Qadri, a student of BBA at IBA and the owner of the brand Why Generation, and this is how the story of the I Made IBA hoodies started.

The idea that Aun initially had was to provide free hoodies for the entire staff and workers at IBA. However after inquiring the administration about the total number of these workers, Aun was taken aback by the fact that there were 400 workers in city campus alone. This was a reality check for him and he realized that he had to be practical in his approach as it was impossible to provide hoodies for the entire staff and construction workers at IBA. Thus at this point he had to change his aim slightly and decided to only target the junior staff (100-125 in number) which for them comprises of administration junior staff, peons, photocopiers and canteen staff at both the campuses.

With regards to the support from the IBA administration Aun had the following to say:
‘The experience with the administration has been a bit slow in terms of communication due to their availability issues. However, the administration was supportive, and guided us well. It provided us with the sort of insight that we would not have on our own.’ He also added that the administration also helped them by providing donation boxes, which have now been placed at both the campuses.

The charity drive for the I Made IBA initiative is currently in full swing. Its marketing is also being done on the social media through many people, the majority of whom have volunteered to market for the cause. Donations are being received from both the students as well as faculty. The collections of donations are to continue till the fourth of January after which the proceeds will be used in manufacturing the hoodies.

In the end I would like to add that the total sum which is required for this project is only Rs. 55,000 which seems achievable if all the students at IBA contribute generously. So come on and be a part of this amazing initiative to put a smile on the face of those people this winter who work for us, who work for IBA. Donate and help transform the dream of providing hoodies to these people into a reality.

Girl Rising: One Girl with Courage is a Revolution

Written by: Bakhtawar Ali & Sidra Ajmal
Picture credits: Tooba Waseem
"The future must not belong to those who bully women. It must be shaped by girls who go to school and those who stand for a world where our daughters can live their dreams just like our sons."-President Barack Obama.

The documentary film, Girl Rising which was screened on the evening of 23rd Dec’13 in IBA depicted the stories of 9 girls determined to define such a future. These were stories of strength, of courage and an exceptional ability to fight against all the odds. They urged the audience to stand up for some of the basic rights of women like education and equality. The power of this film can be seen by the fact that it left everyone in the audience teary eyed and tongue tied.

The film also aimed to urge aspiring documentary filmmakers to use the power of storytelling and come forth with such stories from our country as well. The story of Wadley from Haiti was awe-inspiring as amidst the odds of poverty and earthquake disaster, she was determined to attain education because it was her basic right and nothing could stand in her way to exercise that very right.
Another relatable story was of Rukhsana from Kolkata, India. Though she used to live on the streets, she went to school and pursued her passion in arts thanks to the support from her father, a daily laborer.

Such stories also conveyed message as to how education could benefit economies, and sustainably cease intergenerational transmission of poverty as testified by the following CIA World Fact book: If India enrolled 1% more girls in secondary school, its GDP would rise by $5.5 billion.

Hence, a country’s state of education is inextricably linked to our health, economy and needs to be urgently tackled by each and every one of us because we are the privileged ones, the well-fed ones and it is incumbent upon us to do everything in our capacity to address such alarming issue of education in country where male to female literacy ratio is stagnantly at 65:40.

This issue was highlighted by our esteemed guests, Alizeh Amer and Ms. Roohi Abdullah who represented the core team of Girl Rising Pakistan. It was Ms. Roohi Abdullah’s independent and pro-bono initiative to screen the documentary film in Pakistan as part of her awareness campaign. The other guests from the core team members included Mr. Amer Zahoor and Ms. Ayesha Amer. Our esteemed faculty guests included Dr. Framji Minwalla, Dr. Talat Wizarat, Ms. Maria Hasan and Dr. Erum Hafeez.

Although the turnout for the event was not very high but the faculty guest and chairperson of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts department, Dr. Framji Minwala, was touched by the movie. In his concluding address, he asked everyone in the audience to spread the word about the film and to tell everyone to go and watch it not only for the awareness of women rights but also for a better future.

Verily, Pakistan’s future depends not just upon us but also upon those who remain deprived of education and it’s upto us to make sure that it is accessible for every boy and girl because if they falter then so would we.

Leadership Paradigm and Leadership for tomorrow

Written by: Wafa fatima Isfahany
Picture credits: Sooch photography

It was a pleasure to see all kinds of students come together and attend a seminar on Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS); such a brilliant religious personality. This session being the third of its kind saw a large audience, young and old males, females, teachers, and students. The registrar, Ali Zaheer, in his opening notes of the seminar complimented Ms. Mehnaz Fatima on her consistent efforts and congratulated the student organizers for putting together such an event. The chief guest for the seminar was Dr. Sayeed Ghani - Associate Dean of Computer Science

The event began with a beautiful tilawat-e-Quran by a student Usman, which was followed by an even more beautiful and heart-warming naat recited by student Imran Hemani. I, for one, did not want the naat recitation to come to an end. After several formalities, pleasantries and a poetry recital by Mr. Shabih Haider, the event officially commenced.

Zakirah Sarwat Askari of the Shii’i Asnashari delivered the first of the three speeches, her pure urdu and soft tone filled the air with grace. Her lecture on Imam Hussain revolved around the personality himself and the auspiciousness of the Event of Karbala. She talked about the nobility, piety and sincerity of the seventy-two companions of Imam Hussain (RA), how such a small force had such a great impact on humanity and how this revolution was much needed in a time when there was widespread corruption in the name of Islam. The influence of Imam Hussain on Mahatma Gandhi was touched upon several times and the fact that he took with him seventy-two companions was duly noted.

Zakirah Sarwat Askari’s lecture was followed by Agha Shabbir Maisami’s lecture, another Shi’ite scholar. This too tended to revolve around the Leadership Paradigm. However, his lecture seemed to be rather at odds with the topic itself, focusing more on questioning one’s beliefs and ideology, seeking answers, the influence of the West; ideas of sectarianism, and little or no mention of how the great event of Karbala averted the threat to humanity. There was an inkling of tension between the scholars and some subtle remarks turned the air rather sour.

Next guest appearance was of the much awaited Professor Noman-ul-Haq who swayed the audience completely with his powerful and heavily accented Persian recitation and the equally inspiring explanations. He recited Ghalib, Allama Iqbal, the famous lines by Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and many other poets. With the help of his charming poetic recitations, he graced the topic. An eye opening lecture on why the personality is celebrated far and wide. I had been very excited and very eager to attend the lecture, having been told by countless students just how brilliant Professor Noman-ul-Haq is and needless to say, I saw his brilliance with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears.

I would have been rather disillusioned had it not been for the last lecture. Dr. Noman-ul-Haq left the podium leaving us wanting more. Over all, the lectures were rather off topic and not what the students had in mind although; in themselves the lectures were very informative and eye-opening. There is a dire need for such seminars and I hope I get to see many more such seminars at IBA in future.

Welcome to my humble abode!

By: Syeda Ramsha Wasti.

IBA is a modern institution that challenges norms, patterns and revolutionizes the way people think. Staying true to that idea, the ‘welcome’ party was organized in late December; four months after the semester had started. Change, you see, comes from taking small steps. Nevertheless, as delayed as it may have been, the event proved to be a beautiful, glorious occasion filled with fancily dressed individuals capturing the essence of the theme, ‘Hollywood vs Bollywood’. Shiny red Saahris, smart black suits and even a dictator was on show to mark the welcome of the batch of 2013. From start to finish, it provided everybody with something to smile about and welcomed the freshmen to their new home; for the next four years, at least!

As you entered IBA for the welcome party, the first thing that welcomed you was the exquisitely decorated pool, full of lights and balloons, giving a hint of the grandeur that awaited you. The decorations within the tent were glamorous beyond measure and left you wondering, ‘Am I at a wedding’? The food, like at any grand event, was fabulous. One thing that did seem to be missing was the music. A little bit of slow, soulful music would have added the quintessential touch to the setting.
As is customary, there were a few performances organized for the enjoyment of the incoming freshmen. Perhaps the most unique and interesting one was the ‘Dhool vs Drums’ performance, a microcosm of the theme. It provided us with a few laughs as the Hollywood representative and the ‘Dhool wala’ competed for ultimate supremacy. Another performance that caught the eye was Moiz Khan as ‘Sunil Shetty’ and Saud Shahid as Joker. Moiz’s performance added a much needed light moment to the event; to me, he defined ‘class’. While the event itself was beautifully organized, there seemed to be little going on from the stage that could attract the attention of the crowd. Again, performance from Moiz Khan and his team proved to be something of a climactic moment in an otherwise distracted event.

Much of the event,though, proved to be somewhat of a pointless exercise unable to capture the essence of a ‘welcome’. Titles after titles were distributed to specific freshmen ranging from acceptable titles like ‘Creative Genius’ to eye raising such as ‘good things come in small packages’ (Given to a girl) to downright ridiculous like ‘Bachna Ai Haseenou’. Distribution of titles left those leaving without a title rather ‘unwelcomed’.
No event is complete without the necessary awards for best dressed individuals. Keeping in line with this trend, the award for the hottest male from the main campus went to ‘Yawar Saeed’. Hottest female from the main campus went to ‘Marvi Palejo’ who adorned a beautiful dress which left even the girls turning their heads while the hottest male from the City Campus went to ‘Ahmed Javed’.

What can one say about welcome’ 13? It was like watching a Valima on fast forward. The event, all of it, was wrapped up in two hours. People walked around, taking pictures and getting photographed while nobody really cared about what happened to the bride and the groom (Read: The stage) with few bits of entertainment thrown in. All in all, it was a fun event that lacked a little something that could have taken it from ‘good’ to ‘awesome’. As for the freshmen, they seemed content with good and on that note, we welcome all the freshmen to IBA. May your next four years be glorious and enjoyable!

FRINGE'13, Day 1:WHERE ACTING SURPASSED ITSELF

Written by: Ayesha Rehan
Picture credits: Arsalan photography & artistry

Everyone is an actor at heart. Teach them some lines and put them up on the stage, almost everybody will blow your mind away. That is what happened on the first day of the event held by the IBA Dramatics Society also known as The Naatak Brigade, the 'Intra-IBA Dramatics Competition'. A total of fourteen teams participated in this event, doing their very best to grasp as many of the prizes at hand like the Best Play Award, the Best Director Award, Best Actor male, Best actor female and so on. . This contest was a chance given to the students to show their performing skills in teams and wage war against all the other participating teams for the ultimate prize; being crowned 'The Fringe Champions'. To make the event even more attractive in the eyes of the student body, the Dramatics Society decided to present their renowned plays "Kuttey" and "Juloos" which were Drama fest winners 2012 and Drama fest Runners-up 2013 respectively; both directed by Saad Ahmed Qazi, the Manager of The Naatak Brigade.
The Society went full length to make their event successful, decorating the Main Campus Auditorium with spooky lights, balloons and also using creepy crawlies like spiders and rats(not real ones thankfully!) create an aura of excitement and spread the thrill of the unexpected. The sponsors, California Pizza and Karachi Broast, had their stalls set up outside the auditorium, along with the Lipton stall, which even held a competition about how well you know your best friend, giving away exciting prizes like tickets to the Atrium Cinemas and vouchers for Bar-BQ Tonight. On entering the auditorium, everyone was handed neon bands to wear as bracelets. Some enthusiastic students collected several and formed head bands instead, so that in the dark it looked like there were colorful circles bobbing in the crowd. The hosts kept the audience entertained throughout the plays, even venturing out to the food stalls to haul the hungry people back in, but ended up giving them company in devouring the pizza slices or burgers.

A total of seven teams performed on the first day of The Fringe, and truth be told, each was unique in its own way. While one was intense, the other was just as good in the comical sense, and it can safely be said that the audience had a great time watching their fellows performing and giving them credit for their hard work. It was obvious though, that more than half the students had come mostly just to see the play which recognized The Natak Brigade as the best student led theatre troupe in Pakistan, "Kuttey". Everyone was totally engaged throughout the play, and it was obvious by the end why it had won The Drama fest last year. There were no faults to be found, the dialogues were delivered perfectly and every Acton was perfectly synchronized. Those of you who missed the staging of Kuttey really missed out on something big, as I'm sure their friends who saw it would be telling them for days.

The chief guest of the occasion was Mr. Shah Sharabeel, one of the most notorious theatre artists of the state with an experience of over 20 years. He is known for directing famous productions like "Bombay Dreams", "Moulin Rouge", "Tom, Dick & Harry" and "Phantom of The Opera" .Moreover, Mr.Tipu Sharif, the popular Pakistani actor originally from Turkey was also present there. He seemed really delighted with the end results of all the hard work everyone had put in making the overall event a success, and he certainly didn’t seem to mind posing with fervent students for numerous pictures; no one really let such chances go, do they? Apart from these two personalities, Dr.Framji Minwalla, the Chairperson of The Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts at IBA also attended the event.

Judging by the audiences' reaction to each performance and by the enthusiasm with which they talked about each of these performances, the first day clearly seemed like a huge success, from 'Umeed-e-Seher' to 'Barzakh' and from 'Brain Masala' to 'Daku Raja' along with 'Jaal', 'Letters for Her' and 'La Hasil'. Everyone had a great time eating fast food and talking to the numerous actors, congratulating them on their work and having photographs taken. Overall, due to the Management Team's hard work and the participating teams' determination to win, the day ended on a good note, leaving everyone eager to see what was in store for them the next day, along with the staging of the famous play, 'Juloos'. It was obviously going to be hard to come up with one specific winner. Congratulations to the dramatics society for pulling up such a successful event.

IBA Bake Sale- where not everything was baked

Written by : Wafa Fatima Isfahany

Were you one of those who experienced four marriages in a single day? Yes, ladies and gentleman, I am talking about IBA Bake Sale Over here. It was Eleven am in the morning and there was so much hustle and bustle inside the tent, the CWS team members were working hard at fixing tables, managing the stalls, kicking out the "extras", and making sure the place was ready to roll. When the bake sale commenced the student body came pouring in holding pink and white coupons in hand. They would take a tour around the place to see what new items the bakers had come up with. Having already spent half of their lunch money on the entry ticket, not many were willing to spend on the first thing they set their eyes on. However, some did fall prey to the dynamics of Bake Sale, by the time they got to dessert stalls they had run out of money. The poor students would come enthusiastically to the stalls but rather sadly empty their wallets for the noble cause, hoping against hope that the delicacies are worth their precious pink coupons. Then there were those chivalrous young men who generously handed over all the coupons they had, to buy ''whatever the lady likes to have''. I must say what a nice way to give charity and win the hearts of the ladies at the same time ;)

Moreover, to the joy of many and the chagrin of some, most stalls starting right from the beginning had tables full of cupcakes with chocolate glaze and sprinkles, beautifully frosted chocolate swirls, cute little cookie monster cupcakes and those beloved minion cupcakes. Unfortunately there is not much you can bake for bake sales besides cookies, brownies and cake pops! Yes, cake pops too. There were Oreo delights, ice creams, and even a milkshake stall that did not get to see many coupons because the plump wallets and purses trimmed down significantly by the time they got to it. To the saltier side, there were burmese khausay, pizzas and homemade rolls which made for a very expensive but charitable lunch.

The most popular setup was the photo booth where the rather enthusiastic freshmen and sophomores were all too willing to get married, boys to several girls and even girls to other girls. The photo-cum-marriage booth was complete with the traditional sherwani for the groom and the red dupatta for the bride. Countless group photographs were taken because, let's face it, if you are going to fake it you might as well play all the parts. Perhaps the boys were trying to realize their dreams of four marriages because they knew they probably wouldn't be able to marry four extremely good-looking women in real life that too on the very same day. Water balloons were the next best thing, the boys seemed to have had the most fun there, a carefree hour squeezed in between long classes. The victims would be caught unaware and therefore completely defenseless. Of course, the all too popular water sponge game was there too but the water balloons attracted the most attention. And let's not forget the childish screams of joy that came from outside the tent where girls and boys alike took full advantage of the trampoline.

Here is to hoping that the efforts of the bakers and the cooks, the dream marriages, and even the chivalry of the gentlemen did not go to waste and the CWS society managed to raise a large amount for the charity.
Cheers!

Pride and Prejudice

Written by: Syeda Ramsha Wasti

Are you one of those who missed out on the play ‘Pride and Prejudice’ which took place at IBA on the 12th of December under the banner of IBA’s literary society? Well, don’t you worry and put your best clothes on because I am going to take you on a ride down my memory lane so that you know exactly how the play was. Oh, if you are thinking that this article would be full of compliments, then you are mistaken because it’s time for an honest critique.

So I stepped into the IBA’s auditorium around 5.30, and was surprised to see that most of the seats were occupied. This was indicative of how excited people were about it, and that the marketing team had surely done a good job. Take a bow, MT. The excitement was further developed in the crowd when Omore, the esteemed sponsors, started distributing shirts on every correct answer. Also, a few lucky people had a card hidden in their seats which earned them a gift hamper. Oh, how saddened I was when I wasn’t one of them. I thought it was a very good way to honor the sponsors without whom the play wouldn’t have been possible.

The auditorium was filled with cheers and hooting when the curtains went up and the Bennet Family kicked off the play. The annoying Mrs. Bennet, the ironic and cynical Mr. Bennett, the hyper Lydia, the calm and pretty Jane, and the elegant and simple Ms. Elizabeth stole the show. Mr. Bennet was the most audible one because of the clarity of his dialogues, and high-pitched voice. Mrs. Bennet, on the other hand, was really embarrassing, excitable, and totally absorbed in the character. By the end of the play, we were thoroughly annoyed by Mrs. Bennet’s hunt of rich men for her daughters.
Jane’s innocence and tears, Elizabeth’s comforting and soothing voice, Lydia’s flirting with the officers of the militia were commendable indeed. However, I believe that natural accents could have made the play much more comprehensible.
And then we had Ms. Caroline Bingley, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley and of course, Mr. Wickham. Ms. Caroline Bingley’s beautiful dresses, mean comments, and bold flirting showed that she was perfectly in character! Our Mr. Darcy’s stuck up, and anti-social attitude with his famous dialogue of ‘inferior blood’ was phenomenal, but it would have been much better had he kept his head up and faced the audience for once. Regardless, the heated and romantic moments with bold declaration of love between Darcy and Elizabeth stole the show. But Mr. Bingley was undoubtedly my favorite male actor because of his spontaneous and natural acting. Again, natural accents instead of the British ones could have done wonders.

I have chosen to describe Lady Catherine separately because despite her little role, she left a huge impact on the audience. With her haughtiness and arrogance, she was so in character!

And guys, let’s not forget our prop boys who were irritating at times, but kept the play going with their humorous postures and acts. Also, hats off to the choreographer for the amazing dances throughout the play.
The closing ceremony after the play was filled with joy and recognition but it would have been better had the organizers memorized the names of the chief guests properly. I sincerely hope that Faisal Qureshi, Maria Wasti, and Azra Mohiuddin did not mind it. Well, it didn’t seem like they got offended because their remarks and closing speeches were polite and full of compliments.
I still believe that the play could have been much better had there been natural accents, no technical problems, and less squeaky voices. Nonetheless, it was a great and commendable effort. And as Saadya, the director of the play, said, “Our cast is full of freshmen actors and this is their first performance at IBA.” At this point, you must know that Saadya took over the role of Mrs. Bennet two days before the play because the real Mrs. Bennett, Misal, fell terribly sick. We sincerely hope that she gets well soon, and the ceremony itself ended with prayers and well wishes for Misal.

Enigma

for event and registration details, please check their facebook page: ENIGMA

MUNIK V

for more details, please check their page.
MUNIK V

MEDIA FLASH: an event to be remembered

Written by: Warda Imran

On December 1st 2013, the students of IBA experienced one of the most thought provoking, remarkable and sensational events, the Media Flash. An event which gave the youth of Pakistan an insight into the many dimensions of media, polishing and enlightening them about the many wonders of what goes on behind the scenes. The event was divided into 4 events respectively; a youth talk show, pictures that speak a thousand words, comic art and a short skit. The first round was fun yet informative as it gave each team a theme to present the talk show upon, many teams incorporated different celebrities and famous personalities in their show whilst covering on the social awareness topic given to them. The judge for the first round was Mr. Sumair Aftab who is a renowned radio jockey on FM --- and gave the participants food for thought, quoting the extraordinarily talented Anwar Maqsood he advised the participants “Good hosts speak less”. The round commenced with full thunder as team after team charmed their way through the round, with the perfect blend of wit, humor and seriousness. The second round was a very important aspect of media; pictures and what they represent; each team had the difficult task of putting a quote into pictures and to get their message across as clearly as possible, with proverbs like “900 chuhay khaa ka billi haj ko chali” and “jaisa des waisa bhaes” the participants were seen sprinting across campus looking for the perfect backdrop for the perfect picture. The winners of this particular round were those that were able to inject their message very clearly in their slideshow, the viewers were given a treat as these slideshows were projected on the huge wall of our magnificent Ghani-Tayub auditorium and this round was judged by a famous IB alumni photographer, Mr. Hasan Bhatti.

The third and most difficult competition was of the comic art, participants were each given a real life event description which they had to carefully illustrate through comic drawing. With markers, pens and chart papers spread across the floor, the teams were seen back-bent, completely engrossed in the activity. Art is not every one’s cup of tea and so the judge had clarified that he wouldn’t be judging on the quality of the drawing, but rather the content which it spilt. The participants had to highlight the innocent by the color green, the neutral by yellow and the antagonist by red, the vague real life event gave nothing away and it was entirely up to the teams to decide who is the good or bad, just like the media decides who to show in a negative or positive light. The artist, Mr. Jimmy Engineer, who had been invited as a guest to judge this particular competition was of great competence and talent, he spoke deeply about art and his personal experiences in regards to it, undoubtedly, and he was a perfect judge. The last and by far the toughest challenge that the teams had to face was “mould the gold” as they say old is gold, the gold here represented the ever-green TV soap operas of the late ‘80s and ‘90s, the teams were provided clips of shows like Angaan Terra, Ankahi, Tanhai and Alpha Bravo Charlie, which they had to enact just slightly changing the dialogues to tip in the favor of the theme already previously told to them, which included patriotism, revenge etc. The guest and judge to this event were of IBA’s own treasure, Dr. Framji Minwalla(PhD Drama, Yale University) and Saad Qazi(Manager of the Natak Brigade, IBA dramatics society) that were given the most difficult task of choosing the best amongst the talented participants of this amazingly executed event. The participants seemed full in swing, dressed up in saris, sherwanis as old soldiers and dying countries and everyone had a really great time.

But as all competitions go, there are winners who take the trophy and awards, and the top three teams who took away the awards on this event were immensely talented, the second runners up were “TEAM SCARLET” who were in the top 3 for 3 of the 4 events, the first runners up were “TEAM GRAVITY SLAM” of which I was a proud member as I had participated and loved every minute of this event, the team who bagged the first prize were “TEAM MIGHTIES” who had managed to secure top marks in all 4 events, but winning by a meagre 3 marks. My heartiest congratulations to all those who won and a thumbs up to all those who made an effort and sacrificed their Sundays by coming, but let me tell you all one thing; it was completely, undeniably worth every second.
Cheers.

Elysee Treaty Seminar

Written by Maryam Tajalli

“It was miraculous to watch two countries wounded by war, come together in peace” – Tilo Klinner, German consul general
A seminar on the legendary Elyse treaty was held at IBA on September 13th, 2013. The seminar was particularly special to IBAians as it was the first to be held in the Alumni Student Centre. The guest panel consisted of The Consul General of Germany; Mr. Tilo Klinner, The Consul General of France; Mr. Christian Ramage , and a distinguished authority on German foreign affairs and an economist; Dr. Klaus Dielmann. Graciously receiving them at IBA were Dr. Ishrat Husain, Dr. Framjee Minwalla, and Dr. Noman ul Haque.

The Conference room at the Student Centre was filled with students long before the seminar started, depicting clearly how the Treaty Seminar was a much anticipated event. Sadia Godil of the Social Sciences club came on the stage first, giving a brief introduction of the seminar. She invited Dr. Ishrat and Dr. Noman Ul Haque for a foreword in which they thanked the respected guests and appreciated the students’ interest in the seminar. Finally, Dr. Framjee handed over the stage to the two general consuls.

The journey into the lush and passionate history of the two countries was emanates from 1870; the first Franco-German war. Mr. Klinner and Mr. Ramage took turns narrating to us the ebbs and flows of the France-Germany relations that led to the treaty. They emphasized how a document transcended into something so strong that could bind the two countries into one nation. Several highlights of the treaty were presented to us including a France-Germany Youth Office which enabled large exchange of students between France and Germany, spreading the feeling of unity amongst the masses. Those present were also shown the common history course book of both the countries, to emphasize the importance of harboring friendly emotions into the students. Mr. Ramage told us the economic stability twinning cities brought, along with termination of any leftover enmity. The light and casual dialogue kept the students keen and interested as the consuls would throw in a joke every now and then.

The most beautiful detail of the Elysee treaty, the March at Champs Elysees made the deepest impression on the audience. The French and the German army marched side by side as a powerful depiction of their friendship in 1994 on the same land on which the German had once marched to humiliate France. Dr Dielmann hoped that one day, Pakistan and India would have a good enough relationship to have their armies march side by side, without any grudge. Mr. Ramage admitted that although the relationship and policies of Indo-Pak are different from the Franco-German condition, it’s important that a common ground be reached and the threat of war be finished for good.

The Social Sciences Club deserves praise on painting the event into such a thought provoking and captivating picture. However, Dr Noman did feel that there was a lack of finesse in the refreshments part of the event. Apart from that, the guests and the hosts were all praise: “The Q&A session was very impressive”, this was the exact sentence Dr Noman Ul Haque, Dr Dielmann and Mr. Ramage replied with when asked to comment on their experience at IBA. “It was good to see two weeks of so much hard work and so many sleepless nights come together so perfectly at the seminar” said Nabeel Shafique, the organizing head of the seminar. The students and the guests agreed on the seminar being a success and said they look forward to be a part of similar future ventures.

Avant Garde 3.0

Written by Warda Imran

Bonjour, readers!

Woah, this is my first blog post about the first society event of IBA in my first year, talk about firsts, eh? Yes, people, I am talking about the awe-inspiring event hosted by our very own Entrepreneur society, “Avant Garde 3.0” on 9th and 10th November. I had the honor of working as a part of the Management Team, under Muhammad Zubair in participatory affairs, and so I can acknowledge the amount of hard work and effort put in. You may all be wondering (those of you who did not attend) about the workshop and its content, let’s explore.

Avant Garde 3.0 is, essentially, a workshop about time management, sleep management and clarity of vision; it was conducted by Mr. Suleman Ahmer, CEO of Timelenders, who took out time for this 2-day conference and guided the participants how to attain success by managing these three very vital components of life. I sneaked up a chance to speak to Nabaz Khan(part of the Management Team for this event) who was present at the venue to give us an outlook to how it was conducted, “It was a fantastic learning experience” he stated, telling me that he learned various things as he heard Mr. Suleman Ahmer speak and now has learnt how to bring discipline to his life in terms of sleep and time management. He also claimed that the responsibility he carried as an MT member also gave him ample of time to learn how to handle several crisis situations that he and his colleagues had to stitch up before the event, just in time to make it perfect.

To get a good view of how the participants felt about this event, I had the chance to speak to Haris Sheikh who was a participant, he claimed that it was “interesting and engaging” particularly in regards to the second day of the workshop. He said he learnt that all of us experience several sleep disorders and Mr. Suleman Ahmer advised everyone on how to manage and get rid of these orders by providing several practical solutions, both in regards to Islam and medicine. I asked him if this workshop proved effective and how much of an impact it had on him, to which he laughed and said, “I’ve begun to follow the advices that were given” Wow! Sounds like Avant Garde did its job right!

Finally, I spent 5 minutes with the esteemed Manager of the Entrepreneur society, Zaid Moosani, who gave me a little idea about his effort in this event. “It was a wonderful learning experience! I got to work with the freshman officially and it felt great to know that this society has really good members and helpers” he gushed as he explained the thrill of having successfully pulled off the first society event at IBA. “It wasn’t like any other event, there was no dancing, no music, no partying. It was a sober, sophisticated event. People came in to actually learn” I guess we have to agree with him here as this event was a clear-cut corporate event, shaping future businessmen and entrepreneurs and grooming their skills. Moosani also claimed that he was terrified at first, dreading a lack of registrations but to his relief and surprise, he was flooded. An overall population of 250 people attended this event blending in the corporate aura and culture that submerged the auditorium that weekend. They all exited that hall on Sunday with new visions and horizons, new sleeping habits and a new attitude towards life and time. Here’s to the Entrepreneur society for pulling off a great event, Kudos!

Cheers,

Warda Imran

The Day When A Ferrari Decided to Visit IBA!

Written by Ayesha Rehan

"Vroom!" went the Ferrari on Monday, the 4th of November. Not literally, but that sound did echo in the Main Campus of IBA from morning till late evening. Credit goes to Shell Helix who brought the real Formula One TM experience to the campus. The Shell Helix university drive was all about participating as a team to participate in the Formula One TM Simulation Game and thus getting a chance to enjoy the Grand Prix 2014 in Malaysia!

Days before the event finally took place; the hype was slowly created by the Shell Ambassadors in IBA. Students rushed to register along with their friends, eager to be part of the mega event. The Shell Helix team also kept texting those participating in the competition, increasing the excitement fever even further. The night before the event, the representatives stayed as late as 11.00 pm in the campus; seeing the “Dome” being set up and making sure that everything was right on track. What increased the level of excitement even more were the pictures that were uploaded on Facebook live while the gargantuan “Dome” was being steadied.
The morning of the 4th dawned with everyone hurrying to the university to see with their own eyes what promised to be a big surprise. They were not disappointed. Right outside the Auditorium was the very 'Shell' they had seen in the pictures the night before, only now it was covered with a bright red cover. Here and there posters had been put up broadcasting the event and the fact that a Ferrari stood a few steps away from them, and it was the real thing! So it wasn’t much of a surprise to see students gathering in groups around the entrance of the dome, eager for a peek inside. Student representatives could be seen hastening around the campus in their bright red shirts. It was around eleven that the event kicked off, the same agents going to each table in every café to announce that the competition was now on. The thrill that ran through the student body could be felt. Those not attending classes rushed immediately to the gigantic dome, while those stuck listening to lectures were counting the minutes till the end of the sessions. The engine sounds could be heard echoing throughout the ground and the Adamjee building, drawing people towards the dome like a magnet. Those who hadn't gone inside it were standing gazing at the “Shell” eyes wide open.


Shell had mainly launched this event as a way of attracting the younger generation, by capturing one of the main areas of inerest, 'racing'. While this may be said to be true mostly for guys, nonetheless girls could be seen participating actively in the competition(no comment on their driving skills).The student representatives performed their roles well, taking care of the inside as well as the crowd outside. Photographers were present too, capturing shots of enthusiasts with the race car, as well as those playing the Simulation game. There was a compere as well, who was going around asking people what they thought about the “Dome” and all that it held within. He also kept announcing the top teams of that moment, further increasing the level of determination in the participating teams because, admit it, who wouldn’t want to go to the Grand Prix in 2014!
Going around listening to random students' comments about the Shell Drive, most of them were super impressed. On being asked about the first thought that entered their minds when they were confronted with the layout of the ground, answers were mostly along the range of "wow", "outstanding", "mind blowing". So overall it can be said that the event was a great success. The students were happy, and so was the Shell team, because they managed to get a great response, worthy of the amount of effort they put it. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if they visited IBA again the next time they plan on holding such an event!

Media Flash

for registrations, check its event page

The holiday-less celebration of Dewali

Written by: Maryam Tajjali and Bakhtawar Ali

"I miss spending Dewali with my family," said Meena Kumari in a melancholy tone.
Strolling around the university all day, we wondered whether the Hindu students wanted Dewali to be considered a national holiday across the country. Dewali is the biggest and perhaps most vigorously celebrated event in the Hindu culture. Underneath the sheet of colors, and fireworks that glitter the nights during the festival, there are a crux of festivities which relates to prayers being offered to their gods.
It is intriguing to know that the attachment and indulgence associated with this occasion are very similar to that tied with Eid. Also, like Eid, its dates are decided by the moon calendar and they fell on Sunday and Monday, 3rd and 4th of November, this year. We have always wanted and prayed the fourth day of Eid be declared a holiday, so the fact that the Hindu student body is not granted a holiday even on their "Eid" seemed overwhelming.
One of the questions asked to the Hindu students on the campus was “Do you want the university to be closed for Dewali, even though Hindus in the institution are a small minority”; the responses varied- some were defiant, others were compromising. Upset about spending Dewali away from her family, one of the freshmen quoted "The festivities end late at night and I wouldn't have been able to attend classes early morning the next day, we shouldn't be deprived of our holidays just because we're a minority". Another freshman had a different take, “It’s inconvenient, but I don't expect a university of thousands to shut down for less than a hundred people". The variety in responses did not just end there; a junior year student referenced to India's holiday policy in the following words, "Our government should implement a policy regarding the monitory events as our neighbor (India) does, which allows both Eid and Dewali to be a gazetted holiday". It was further asked whether they wanted to be excused from attending classes during Dewali. This turned out to be controversial as although majority of the students were willing to take the offer, some of them felt that having to miss classes was equally inconvenient.

To widen the scope we then went to non-Muslim faculty members. It was a pleasant surprise that the government of Pakistan does recognize minority holidays. Mr. Manoj from the city campus told us, "IBA allows Dewali holidays as an option to its staff as it's a gazetted holiday by the government of Pakistan". The students not getting an off while the teachers enjoyed optional holiday seemed rather unfair but Mr. Roger Eli shed light on a different point of view: "Student life is when you're making something of yourself so you can't afford to stand against the rush and be left behind. The staff is merely enjoying the perks and payoffs of the efforts they put in to get where they are."

Interestingly, Pakistani Christians are lucky to have Christmas coincide with the winter vacations and Muhammad Ali Jinnah's birthday. However, they too are denied holidays on occasions like Thanksgiving and Easter as students or private sector employees. The Christian students we came across were generally just happy that they get to celebrate Christmas with wholesome zeal and zest, "our other occasions are secondary compared to Christmas". A highly esteemed member of IBA teaching staff, Professor Leon Menezes said the taking up the optional holiday can be a burden in itself "if faculty takes leave, he/she will have to conduct make up session later."

The students and teaching faculty at IBA generally think that although closing the University for every Minority’s Events would be a drastic step, it's only reasonable to at least allow the students leave on the days of their festivals. Just because they're a smaller group does not mean their feelings are any less important and giving them holidays on their festivals would make them feel much more welcome and valued. We approached Professor Bilal Munshi with this problem and he replied with what is the-cherry-on-top to this argument "You guys get off for all your Eid days, if Hindus getting Holidays on Dewali makes them happy- Why not?"