Basant (a Sanskrit word for spring) is a seasonal festival of Indo-Pak sub-continent. It is a centuries old cultural tradition of Punjab, celebrated at the end of winter to welcome spring in Pakistan. Apart from other cities of Punjab, the event is mainly celebrated in provincial capital Lahore in the month of February with immense zeal and enthusiasm. In pre-partition India, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs all celebrated Basant. Mustard blossom that is yellow in color is considered the color of spring and accordingly yellow clothes were worn; men wore yellow turbans and women yellow dupattas and saris. It was common to sway swings among Hindu, Muslim and Sikh women together and Basant’s traditional songs were sung that reflected the liveliness and romance of life in Punjab.

Kite flying is the major and most colorful event of this festival. The sky is covered with different colorful kites and sweet yellow rice (zarda) is prepared specially for this occasion. People use searchlights in the night to fly kites. All the family members gather at one single place, mostly on the rooftops, and celebrate this festival. Ancient Mughal palaces throw open their doors for all-night parties to view the kites, illuminated by spotlights slashing the sky. Stars from the local 'Lollywood' film industry perform with classical Qawali musicians at parties in traditional haveli homes. Hotels in Lahore in Islamabad are packed to capacity and quite often it happens that people don't even find a room to stay. Since not only people from all across the country, but people from neighboring countries like India also come to Pakistan to enjoy this flamboyant festival with their relatives.

Kite making has developed into a big industry in Pakistan. Thousands of people are involved in this industry and are earning their livelihood from kites and thread. The small festival originating from Lahore has now spread all over the country enlightening the welcoming festivities of spring.

Written By: Umair Mehmood

Pakistan emerged on the map of the world on 14^th August 1947, as a hallmark result of the partition of Indian sub-continent into two sovereign states namely Pakistan and India. The total area of Pakistan is 796,096 square km and sharing its borders with China, Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of Iran and with India.

From strategic and economic point of view, Pakistan enjoys a key position in South Asia. Its coastline on the Arabian Sea serves as a central position, not only for trading with South Asian countries but also with Far East and beyond areas. Pakistan being strategically located, therefore the air route between west and east passes through the country; hence Pakistan could earn huge transit revenues by providing services and facilities to these transit flights. Moreover, it is also discovered that in Pakistan there are various untapped power resources such as minerals and natural gas, which can easily be exploited and transported to other countries, to generate higher revenues. In return this will bring enormous economic and financial benefits to Pakistan.

Pakistan can be divided into six major natural topographical areas, including Northern Mountain, Western Mountain, The Balochistan Plateau, Potwar Plateau, Indus Plain and Desert Areas. Each of these areas is vital for Pakistan, as some either help to attract tourism or some have their own economic and physical importance. Furthermore, Pakistan's most popular hill station includes Muree, Nathia Gali and Gora Gali, which lies on Himalayas and is of special interest for tourists.

Pakistan's climate can be divided into four seasons, winter, summer, late monsoon and post monsoon. This, results in seasonal variation in climate of Pakistan and in return, all sorts of fruits, vegetables and other agricultural crops can be harvested in Pakistan.

Moreover, Pakistan has three major ports which include Keamari, Port Qasim and Gwadar Port. However, now there is great importance given to Gwadar port, as this is a deep water port and big ships can directly come to the harbor, hence saving a lot of cost and time. In addition, Gwadar can serve as a Centerport for Asia and currently it provides thousands of jobs and billions of rupees are circulated every year.

The fascinating valleys of Gilgit Baltistan symbolize a heaven on the earth. Five out of fourteen world’s highest peaks above 8000 meters including the second highest K-2 and some of the largest glaciers outside Polar region are located in this area. These glaciers and mountain ranges greatly contribute to the eternal beauty of whole Pakistan and making it fortunate enough to attract tourism, whole year round.

There is no doubt about the fortune and resources, that nature as blessed us with. However, it is just a matter of effectively using these resources to gain maximum benefits for our country. We as young adults should utilize our skills, talent and work with full honesty for the betterment of this country and make it a better place to live in.

Written By: Labesh Kumar

A person breaks the traffic signal, when you ask him why you did so. Yeh Pakistan hai…yahan hota hai yeh sab, this would be reply. A Person spits paan wherever he wishes be it a wall or floor, when you ask him why is he doing this, his reply definitely would be Yaar yeh toh Pakistan hai, Yahan toh chalta hai yeh…

“Yeh Pakistan hai” the most common phrase we hear these days. People do wrong things and say, yar yeh Pakista hai, yahan sab hota hai, chalta hai. I just want to ask those people that are you from Jupiter?! Aren’t you a Pakistani?

We do things wrong, we make our country’s situation worse and the we ourselves blame country that its not good, rather than blaming ourselves that we are not good with our country. Why don’t we start having a new attitude and start saying that yeh Pakistan hai, aur yahan aisa nahin karne denge. Rather than saying yeh Pakistan hai aur yahan sab chalta hai….We should declare that yeh Pakistan hai aur yahan aisa nahin chalta.

What don’t we have every alternative source of energy? We do have the plenty of mineral resources…Agriculture? This is what Pakistan is famous for….Cricket? We have remained the world champions two times… Food? This is the mostly missed thing by overseas Pakistani…Everything from Kashmir to Tharparkar, from Khyber to Karachi, has a unique goodness, then why do we criticize our country for wrong things, which are actually done by ourselves. It is not the country, which is not good with us, it is we who are not good with country, and build the bad repo of the country.

The outsiders are just waiting to hear something bad about our country and make us target on those particular points and what we are doing is giving them a full opportunity and telling them that yes this is Pakistan therefore everything is done wrong here. Though the fact is something else, which everybody knows, i.e. we are hiding our faults behind the name of our country.

So my request to every Pakistani is that don’t blame Pakistan but claim it….because if we do things wrong and say “Yeh Pakistan hai, yahan sab jaiz hai”. Then obviously others would come here to do wrong things.

Don’t Blame but Claim!!!

Written By: Sohail Salim Sukhiani

Whenever we talk about cities in Pakistan we always consider first Karachi, then Lahore, and then we move on to Islamabad. But the fact is that Islamabad comes very late in the list because the third largest city in Pakistan is Faisalabad. Faisalabad is also the second largest city in terms of Textile Manufacturing and agriculture; in fact the most modernized type of systematic agriculture is practiced in Faisalabad. The city is located at a road and railway junction and has rich fertile soil. Also the Chenab and Ravi rivers have played an influential role in the development of Faisalabad's trade and economy.

Faisalabad was named after the King of Saudi Arabia who had good ties with Pakistan – King Faisal in 1977. Bhagat Singh, a famous Indian Freedom fighter was born here, at that time this place was called Lyallpur.

Faisalabad has a strong industrial base including textiles, jewelers, home furniture, and pharmaceuticals, assisted by the expanding transport network which includes the newly-built motorway and highways to Lahore, Multan, Sargodha and Islamabad. Faisalabad is one of those cities in Pakistan that have been built according to a proper plan. The city has turned itself from just being an agricultural ground, to a fully developed industrial hub where you find a textile mill and a garment store on every other road. However, the planning of these textile mills is exemplary.

The people that live here are mostly Punjabis and of Hindko descent. Punjabis generally are mostly said to be fun loving and energetic but Faisalabadis are more work oriented, they are usually peace loving people with a slower lifestyle then most of the cities and prefer tranquility and a calm environment around them.

Compared to its more tourist-attractive provincial capital, Lahore, Faisalabad is basically an industrial and agricultural city, especially in the field of textile. It is the second largest business city in Punjab and it is a region for investment and economic prosperity. There is a good large amount of sites and tourist attractions in the city;

The Faislabad Clock Tower, locally called "Ghenta Ghar", was one of the first main markets of Faisalabad and it is also the oldest area of the city. Here you can also find the remains of buildings which mainly belonged to the British Empire. This market has eight bazaars, forming a "Union Jack" (British flag), which can be seen from above. There are still structures from previous settlements such as Zoroastrian Temples, Buddhist Monasteries, Hindu mandirs and Sikh gurudwaras still visible, however, since the creation of Pakistan these have been converted into schools and museums.

"D Ground" is the second most important market after The Clock Tower. The area has been continually developing into a shopping area with many brands from all over the world. It is seen busiest at night when local people come out for an outing. There are many local and western restaurants ranging from Namwah Chinese, Bundu Khan, KFC, Al Maida, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Olive Garden, Sardines, Yummy 36, Cube and many open-air bar-be-cues.

The Jinnah Garden is probably the most famous park in Faisalabad. It is locally known as "Company Baagh". The tomb of H.E. Sir Charles James Lyall is situated here. He was the founder of this city and the city was first named Lyallpur in his honor. There are many food outlets, walking paths and cycling lanes, and a huge fountain structure. The park is often used by the local council for holding rallies, concerts, shows and carnivals.

Getwala Park is a small park situated on the edge of Faisalabad. It is popular for family picnics and relaxing. Canal Park is on the west bank of the Rakh Branch Canal. It is also a good place for families.

Happy Land Water Park is an amusement park built to international standards, a complete entertainment centre for families. It has the biggest water slides in Pakistan equipped with swings for both children and adults. Aqua Land Water Park, the latest water park to open in Faisalabad, stands on the Canal Road and attracts many tourists and families. Sindbad is an amusement park located near the Iqbal Stadium. It has an indoor bumper cars, flume rides, train rides as well as large gaming arcade room to suit all ages.

Rex City is a huge computer shopping mall dealing with everything computer related. Here you can find a computer at low prices. There are service shops, as well as CD and mobile shops and computer software and hardware experts. There are also internet services from well known companies such as "Cyber net", "WOL-net", "Dancom", "Nexlinx" and "Satcom".

Kohinoor One is a newly constructed shopping mall located on Jaranwala Road which has many retail outlets, restaurants, clothing outlets and home furniture stores. Am Tex Waterfall is to be found at Am Tex Squire, Abdullah Pur.

The majestic "Chenab Club" is the outing place for the elite of Faisalabad. It was the first such club established in Faisalabad. It stands in the beautiful surroundings of "Jinnah Garden". The club is situated in the heart of the city, just a short walk from the Railway Station and within walking distance from the Clock Tower.

There are also a few monuments still fully erect in many parts of Faisalabad such as Gumti Water Fountain, Qaisery Gate (Entrance to the Eight Bazaars), Ghenta Ghar and various Sikh Gurudwaras and Hindu Mandirs still visible in the older part of the city.

Iqbal Stadium, is last on the list but not at all the least, it hosted its first test match in October 1978 which was Pakistan against India and its first One Day International Match again hosting Pakistan against India in November 1974. The ground has a seating capacity of 2500 people and is not one of the most famous grounds in the world because the weather conditions here have been a major reason for matches not being played in this ground, therefore only 25 Test and 14 ODI matches have been played here. It became a good spot for leisure activities for the Faisalabadis when they started screening Pakistan’s matches in the ground and charged only a minimal amount from the public. The former name of the ground was Lyallpur Stadium then it changed to City Stadium and now it has been kept as Iqbal Stadium after the famous Muslim poet Allama Iqbal.

Another site to be seen in Faisalabad is the University of Agriculture. It was formerly called the ‘Punjab Agricultural College & Research Institute, Lyallpur’, which was established in 1906 and was the first higher educational institute in the field of Agriculture in the whole of subcontinent. It has various departments which focus towards the field of agriculture and its supporting activities. The university building depicts the touch of British 19^th century architecture and unusual but fortunate the building has been maintained throughout this period and is now centrally Air-conditioned. The library is also considered to be one of the best in Pakistan, a double story separate building which is again centrally Air-conditioned which contains 385 publications from FAO and 307 publications from World Bank.

Other Beautiful University buildings include Government College University Faisalabad, University of Faisalabad, Government College of Technology and the most important one for the success of Faisalabad, National Textile University, which is spread over 62 acres and is located around 12 kilometers away from the city centre. It was formed in 1954 when the major industrialists realized its need in the city who then donated funds for its creation while the government of Punjab provided with the huge piece of land previously owned by them. The government of UK provided with the equipment and machinery along with their experts to teach in the university and provide with technical assistance.

Amazed by the facts of the developed Faisalabad up till now? Here’s some more, the city also provides an Arts Council. It has an auditorium - Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Auditorium with a seating capacity of 500 people. Arts council organizes many cultural events including exhibitions and cultural shows.

The Food:

Faisalabadi cuisine is the same as Punjabi Cuisine. The Samosas of Faisalabad are different from any other place because of the chatni variety they offer. The very famous name Chacha Samosay Wala is also in the D Ground. Dahi Bhale is prepared by a hawker at Jinnah Colony, near Chatri Wala Ground which is very famous and is usually filled with customers at evenings. Gol Gappay is another famous offering by the Faisalabadis. The most famous is a person who sells gole gappe is at AminPur bazaar. A sour drink called "khatta", which is almost the same as Limca that we get in other cities of Pakistan is served with them. There are also some Punjabi drinks like lassi, limo pani and sugar cane juice which are famous in Faisalabad. A lot of famous fast food and foreign restaurants along with Bundu Khan exists in the city as well.

The Transport System: