Magical Times at Dolmen Mall

Press Release   

 

Pakistan’s first international standard mall, Dolmen mall, is renowned for always staying a step ahead of its competitors.  As summer 2016 approached its end, Dolmen hosted the city’s biggest Back to School Festival. Held from 29^th to 31^st July 2016 across all three Dolmen Malls, the festival aimed at school going kids and families; giving them a chance to celebrate and be excited about the beginning of another scholastic year.

The Marketing Head at Dolmen, Anum Nadeem said, “We’re holding this event for the first time and are expecting families to shop, eat and have fun. We’ve brought together some great shopping options for our customers.”

At Dolmen Mall Clifton, the Back to School edition of the Dolmen Bazaar saw leading retailers like Hub, Leisure Club, Kidz Dunya & Sindbad as well as budding entrepreneurial ventures like Magic Hands and Paperworks showcase their Back to school range. From school bags, notebooks and stationery to a delightful display of balloon art, the little ones thoroughly enjoyed themselves in this maze of amazement. Parents, on the other hand, rejoiced the rare opportunity for their kids to have fun in a safe and family-friendly environment.

Adding some magic to the cauldron of excitement, Dolmen Mall conjured up the launch of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in collaboration with Liberty Books on the third day of Back to School Festival. The launch of the 8^th Harry Potter book was held on Harry Potter’s birthday, 31^st July.  The response was staggering; the event saw a union of three generations of Potterheads. From five year old HP fanatics flaunting painted scars on their foreheads, to tweens donned in wizard’s robes - even grownups didn’t shy away from swishing their wands and crying out ‘Wingardium Leviosa”.  Fans lined up at 9:30 AM to receive their copy of the awaited book on this unique occasion where Harry Potter fandom was so majestically celebrated in Pakistan. Thematic décor, wands, hats, trivia games, giveaway for the best dressed fans and countless photo opportunities with a truly magical ambience and music, the event was a memorable one.

Dolmen Mall capitalized on the organic pull of Harry Potter fandom and took Back to School Festival to a whole new level. The event exceeded expectation on all fronts, and provided visitors with three days of festivity in a completely family-friendly environment. Dolmen aims to continue surprising its visitors with more such events in the future.

Bloggers and Key Opinion Leaders were hosted by Dolmen Mall and given out special Harry Potter themed giveaways. They shared the impact the book has had on their lives and also relived their back to school memories. They were provided refreshments in the form of crispy and grilled chicken from Golden Chick and delicious cupcakes and coffee from Lals. Everyone left the vicinity of the mall happy and content, with their copy of their favourite book with them.

Daraz shares Eid with the underprivileged

Press Release: 


In spirit of Ramzan and Eid, Daraz.pk sought to give back to the community with donations to the nation’s upcoming and leading organizations Daraz.pk, the leading e-commerce platform in Pakistan, spent Eid this year by sharing the festivities with the underprivileged community. The Daraz team distributed clothing items as Eid gifts amongst young students at The Footpath School and the Seylani Welfare Trust, organizations dedicated to the welfare and development of society. Daraz distributed clothing items to over 300 students at the Footpath School, an initiative of Ocean Welfare Organization to educate underprivileged children in the area. Additionally, over 1300 clothing items were donated amongst people at the Seylani Welfare Trust, a leading charitable organization. This was Daraz’s way of spreading smiles across faces of numerous young children and their families, to mark the spirit of Ramzan and Eid. Daraz is dedicated to contributing towards the welfare of the people, with a keen focus on the less fortunate, and will continue to give back to society via various CSR campaigns in the future as well.

 

Kaymu.pk celebrates 3rd anniversary

Press Release

Kaymu.pk celebrates 3rd anniversary 

Feb 23, 2016: Kaymu.pk, Pakistan’s largest online marketplace, is celebrating its third year of operations in the country with a website update, week-long anniversary sales and giveaways every day for the week Feb 22-Feb 29, 2016.

The new website design promises enhanced user experience, allowing complete communication between buyers and sellers. “We owe a huge part of our success to our buyers and sellers. Website redesign coupled with week-long anniversary sales is our way of celebrating this milestone with them!” said Ali Zain Sheikh, Country Manager, Kaymu.pk

Sheikh further added, “Kaymu has seen incredible growth in the past year. We have scaled up to over 250,000 product listings to showcase the largest variety one could find. We also introduced wholesale to enable easy access to traders. We are already catering to over 230 towns/ cities in Pakistan and are striving to cover all of the country before our next anniversary.”

Kaymu.pk has enabled over 15,000 sellers digitize and expand their businesses since its launch three years ago. In the coming years, Kaymu.pk aims to continue playing a strong, positive role in the development of e-commerce in Pakistan by empowering businesses to reach wider audiences.

--END—

About Kaymu.pk

Kaymu.pk is the largest online shopping community in Pakistan which connects and empowers buyers and sellers to take advantage of the best deals on an extensive range of products including electronics, mobile phones, fashion items and gadgets. It has enabled around 15,000 sellers and over 300,000 buyers from all over Pakistan.

For further information, please contact:

Mariya Dada

PR Manager, Kaymu.pk

92-300-0704284

mariya.dada@kaymu.pk   

The Divine Magic

25^th December 1954

Karachi

Julius Fonseca went by the name of The Amazing Fonseca. His name was well known to all those who loved magic acts and went to see them performed live in the garden of Metropole Hotel. He was much sought after, but boss Cyrus forbade him to perform anywhere but Metropole.

On that night of 25^th December, he had just finished his act and was planning to get some alone time at Lido’s Bar on Queen’s Road and celebrate a lonely Christmas with an Old Fitzgerald.

He walked out of Metropole to be greeted by the crisp and cold night air of Karachi. Well to do couples walked by on the sidewalk holding hands. Corduroy Sport Coats, acetate and rayon crepe lined Box Jackets, Tafettas and pleated skirts populated this side of Metropole while kurtas and dhotis made up the opposite footpath. 

He walked on for some time towards the nearest bus stop of the route where his bus would take him to Lido’s only to see a gaggle of men, flash lights in hand, checking passing cars until they stopped a teal Frazer sedan with a seemingly well to do family sitting in it.

“Kamal Ahmed! “, barked one of the men in the mob.He was dark complexioned with a goatee. "Brothers, does he look like Kamal Ahmed?", he asked around the group. One scrawny teen in a white kurta peered into the car and recognized the driver. The driver of the car was indeed Kamal Ahmed along with his family.
Excitement rippled through the crowd as if they had sensed blood.  “Kamal Ahmed, get out now or we will burn you and your family in this car!”. The man with the goatee said in a loud cold voice.

Kamal Ahmed, a middle aged french-bearded doctor who worked at the Civil Hospital, stepped out of the car with a terrified look on his face and shivering from head to toe. His wife immediately locked the car from inside turned back to calm down her two children who had started to cry.

“Kaafir! Stop promoting your blasphemies to our sick folk, we warned you last time about the consequences but you haven’t stopped. You keep talking about your fake prophet to our family folk who visit you. We cant take this anymore!, cried the goatee'd fellow. Another piped up, " It’s time to cleanse vermin like you from Karachi like our brothers have done in Lahore." With each word being shouted at his way, Kamal shrank in size, it looked.

“But..I am not that person...I didn't… “, stuttered a positively terrified Kamal only to be punched in the face by the man in kurta pajama who seemed to have crossed boundaries of reason. Perhaps seeing his victim so terrified and not even trying to put up a fight provoked him.
"Check his car", he ordered  the scrawny teenager. The teenager tried to open the car but it was locked. " Open up",he said to the doctor's wife inside. She didn't open. He looked at the man in kurta pajama. The kurta pajama man punched the doctor again who promptly fell on the ground. His wife inside shrieked and immediately opened the door, but thought better to not come out of the safety of the car.
The teenager opened the car and looked around inside it. Opened the glove box and fumbled inside it trying to find anything- anything to justify the violence which he was promised before the group had set out on the hunt.
His hands found a pamphlet. 
He stepped out and showed the pamphlet to the kurta pajama man. The teen couldn't read.
Another fellow shined his torch on the pamphlet and the kurta pajama man read what was written in it.
It was pamphlet which had some quotes from a man named Ghulam Ahmed Qadiani.
Kamal Ahmed, it turned out, was an Ahmadi.
Others didn't need any signal or cue and promptly descended upon the poor doctor, kicking and punching him.

Julius Fonseca stood there looking at scene unfold infront of him. He thought of calling the police for help, but the police would never get in time and the other people would not risk their faith in defending an Ahmadi, so he decided to take the matters in his own hands.

He took off his coat and tie, stuffed them in his bag and placed it under a wooden pole. Without his coat and tie he looked like an office clerk.
He walked towards the site of violence.

“ Assalam u Alekum brothers”, he called out to the group, whose one member now had the doctor in a chokehold.

“For Allah’s sake, stop beating this poor man, what has he done to you?” he asked them in his most concerned voice.

“He is a Kaafir Qadiyani! That’s what he has done to us”, said the man in kurta pajama.

Fonseca walked towards the doctor who who was still in a chokehold. His head was bleeding and his tailored suit was torn and stained.
He looked at the doctor. And he stood there and just looked at the doctor.
" Release him for a moment", he quitely asked the man who had the doctor in a chokehold. The man looked at the kurta pajama guy who nodded. The chokehold was released.
" Are you a Qadiyani?", Fonseca asked the doctor.
The doctor nodded. Speech had left him it seemed.

“He is a Qadiyani, and he must renounce his faith, otherwise he must be killed as the Shariah demands”, Fonseca looked around and spoke to the men.The crowd chanted Yes in unision.They seemed more interested in the killing than conversion.

“Yes, if he renounces his blasphemies then he will be spared”, said the man with the goatee and the mob only murmured its agreement. Most of the men just wanted a killing. The thrill. Killing a kaafir was a thrill, but it seemed that the goatee'd fellow commanded a measure of respect.

“Very well” said Fonseca. He looked straight and hard into the eyes of Kamal. “Brothers, I sense something”, Fonseca called out to the mob still looking at Kamal.

The group now looked at Fonseca excitedly.

“Help me Allah”, said Fonseca.

He grabbed the doctor’s head in his hands and shouted, “Kaafir! From this day henceforth you will renounce your faith in your filthy ideology and lead the life of a good Muslim. Do you wish to do so?”

Fonseca did the smallest of nods which the doctor, who was now looking at Fonseca with dazed eyes, copied.

The mob shivered with excitement.

“Do you renounce your faith infidel?” Fonseca shouted at the doctor. “Say, I renounce my faith”.

The doctor, still dazed, said in a robotic manner, “I renounce my faith”.

The mob erupted into shouts of Allah u Akbar.

The doctor looked around with dazed eyes.

The man in kurta pajama came up to Fonseca and asked in a reverent tone,” Mashallah brother, you seem to have Allah’s blessing in your hands, what is your name?"

“Syed Umer Ahmed”, lied Fonseca without any hesitation.

“Mashallah, that explains the whole thing, of course. Allah performs his wonders through the hands of Syeds. Subhanallah”, somebody in the crowd said. The rest chirped in agreement.
" It seems that our task is done", said the goatee'd fellow. " But if you ever convert back to your vile ideology, we will kill you without warning", he said to the doctor in a menacing voice.
The doctor nodded. Still in a daze.

The mob then started to disperse and when the last person (the man in kurta pajama) had left, Fonseca looked at the doctor and snapped his fingers. The doctor jerked and seemed to have come out of the daze.

“Who…what…who are you...what happened...he blurted out. “ Who were those men?” he asked Fonseca.

“Bhai, those were just some Ahraris who had come out to attack you. But Allah finally intervened and put his fear in their hearts so they walked away”.

“Uh?”

“Yes, see, they have gone now. So dont worry. Allah always looks after those who believe in the promised Messiah”, said Fonseca in his most pious voice.

“Let me help you to the car”.

The wife who was seeing the two men walk towards the car, threw open the door and helped the doctor in, thanking Fonseca profusely. The doctor also thanked Fonseca while wincing from the pain of bruises.

“What is your name brother?” asked the tearful wife.

Fonseca replied, "My name is Ghulam Ahmed”, lying easily, again.
" Are you...umm...Are you Ahmadi sir?", the doctor asked, somewhat hesitantly.
" Yes I am with the grace of Allah", the magician replied with a smile.

“Mashallah, such a blessed name, it’s the Jamaat members like you who strengthen my faith everyday”, said the Doctor.

After many thanks and requests to drop him home (which Fonseca declined), the family finally drove away leaving Fonseca alone on the street.

“The Amazing Fonseca”, he said, with a smile playing along his face as he went on his way to Lido’s Bar for a good night’s Christmas drink.

Book Review: Go Set A Watchman

There have been a few books written which have captured the minds and imaginations of people all over the world through gripping storytelling and gone on to become classics. One such book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which was written in 1960 and is still popular all over the world. A classic in a true sense, To Kill A Mockingbird shows the racism and lack of a just system prevalent back in 1930s when the author was only 10 years old. Such was the success of the book that it went on to become a motion picture and won 3 Oscars in the process.

The author of one of the greatest books ever written is back with her recent book, Go Set A Watchman. Released in July 2015, the story is sort of a prequel to Kill A Mockingbird. It was written before the classic novel but was never released. The book shows several characters of To Kill A Mockingbird at an earlier time. While marketed as a sequel to the book, Go Set A Watchman is set at least 20 years back in time than the original work.

Set in the backdrop of the civil war, the story explores the events in the life of a young woman, Jean Louis-Finch, who return home to her ailing father. Her father has raised her well but at times of moral crisis, like racism in those days, even the rational minds lose their focus. When she debates with her father about issues bothering her, especially women’s rights and racism, she is surprised to find her father supporting the other side. She also discovers some shocking things about her family and community. 

For anyone looking to get a deeper look into the classic novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, this book is a great way to understand the dynamics of the society at that time. Go Set A Watchman gives you a deeper understandings of the issues faced by the characters in To Kill A Mockingbird and the role society plays in determining the decisions of individuals.

For all the fans of To Kill A Mockingbird as well as followers of great American literature, Go Set A Watchman is a must read book. It is a book you must have in your library. Just a few months into its launch and it has become a best seller in USA. It is also the most preordered book on Amazon. In Pakistan, you can buy the latest work of Harper Lee from all leading bookstores as well as online marketplaces like Kaymu.

Paper is Permanent, Digital is Temporary

You are sitting at a café and having a nice cup of coffee. You have your kindle

on your lap trying to finish the first chapter of a book by your favorite author that you waited six months for. You look at the screen trying to read the last bit but something keeps you from getting into your reading zone. Exasperated, you lift your face and look to your side and see a book shelf with a number of books of on it. They catch your attention, you get up to see what is there. You spot a book by the same author and take it to your table and open the first page. The next thing you know two hours have passed and you have read half of the book and you don’t want to put it down. It is late so you leave the book and go to the nearest bookstore and get the paperback version of it. Then you realize that the paperback took you to your reading zone. That is the beauty of a physical book!

There has been a huge ongoing debate since the invention of the E-reader about the difference between the paperback and the digital book. Many people have chosen their sides but many are confused. A study from Scholastic revealed that the percentage of children who have read an e-book has almost doubled since 2010 to almost half of all kids aged 9 to 17, while the number who want to continue to read books in print instead of electronically declined from 66% to 58%. This points to the decline of the paperback but that is not always the case.(http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/kfrr) Although the digital book is in fashion but it is just temporary as nothing can beat the traditional feel of holding and reading a book in your hand. Many different online portals such as Kaymu have a wide range of books available that avid book readers can choose from and enjoy!

Why the physical book is better than the online one?

1. They give the experience!

Paperbacks give you the real feel of reading a book. You can hold it in your hand and flip the pages with your own will. You can even earmark the pages the way you want and feel them with your own hands which enhances the tactile feeling. When you read a paperback you can get really engrossed in it and get the sense of the characters and the situations in it. You can keep the classical value that it provides and gain a wholesome experience.

  

2. You can collect them!

Printed books are collectible and they last with you through the ages. Every copy that a person owns has its own level of uniqueness. Some of the books in people’s collections are so rare that there are no other copies. Another additional factor is that you can loan your book to a friend but you would never lend your e-reader, it is an obvious fact.

3. You can save and spend elsewhere!

Printed books always cost a fraction of what the e-books cost; and paperbacks are even cheaper than the hardcovers. Also you don’t have to charge a printed book as compared to an e-reader. You can take it anywhere you want and use it anyway you want to. 

Nothing can beat the physical beauty that is present in a book or the feeling that it gives the reader. That will always remain eternal. It might seem old fashioned to read a paperback but it gives the overall satisfaction of actually reading something worthwhile.