Contributors

Local Correspondents :

Khurram Maqbool: Working as a Business Analyst for a multinational by day and tangoing with his guitar professionally by night, Khurram has finally come to a point where he is letting the musician inside him out. He has chosen to start expressing himself in words as much as he does with the guitar. With a degree in Computer Science in one hand and his “AXE” in the other, Khurram is now planning to write on topics related to the music scene in Pakistan as well as other entertainment related subjects. Since he has been a part of the underground music scene for quite some time now and loves reading on the “Art and Business” that is music, he has a whole lot of opinions to put down on paper and he’s enjoying every moment of it!

Sadaf Zarrar: Successful Brand Manager with a Telecommunication company, an able rock climber and an expressive writer – Sadaf will be bringing some darn good reading material to Ink, every issue.

Aimon Fatima: A LUMS student, Aimon takes our time from her busy schedule to do write ups, interviews and profiles on various topics for Ink.

Huma Sattar

Huma Sattar: An upcoming musician herself, a full time student at LUMS and a writer whose work has the word ‘meticulous’ written all over it, Huma contributes to Ink this issue, on topics related to both local & international music.

Ayesha Ali Khan: Ayesha has much to be proud of; for one, she is Marketing Head of a multinational, at such a young age. She contributes in the form of a café review, to this issue of Ink.

Iffat Rashed

Iffat R.: Iffat has a Masters in English Literature, has been a diplomat’s wife, and traveled the world. With an array of knowledge and experience under her belt, she chose Ink as the means through which to express herself.

Yousaf Fayyaz: For a living, Yousaf works as an online marketing manager for a UK based ISP named Freezone Internet. Being in the web business, Yousaf is the brain behind launching Ink on the web. He is also working on several self-initiated web projects like pakimp3.org. He also works as an administrator for Pakistan’s largest online photography group at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/pakistaniphotographers/

Yousaf also does photography as a hobby. His flickr gallery can be seen at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/soul-healer/

Global Correspondents :

Sanam Shahid

Sanam Hasan [International Correspondent – U.K]: has over 10 years experience in film marketing, distribution and sales. As General Manager of Box Office Ltd., she marketed and distributed films for major Hollywood studios including Universal, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Buena Vista International and Warner Brothers in Pakistan. Her releases include Casino Royale, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Mission Impossible: 3 and King Kong. Sanam structured and acquired new studios to enter into the Pakistan market and grew the overall theatrical industry by 45%. The box office success of her film releases in Pakistan achieved over $2.5 million in gross- a record in the region.

Sanam organized the first US screenings of Asian/Diaspora films in New York City (NYC) including Bend it Like Beckham, The Guru and Bollywood/Hollywood as marketing fundraisers. Sanam has developed marketing and sales activities for new media companies seeking to expand their focus on Bollywood and the Asian market including Bollywood.tv and MyMovies.Net. In addition to marketing, distribution and sales management, Sanam has worked in a production capacity with documentary companies based in Toronto and NYC and is currently involved in several film projects. She holds a BA in Communications from Bennington College, Vermont and a Masters in Media from the University of London with a focus on film.

Suman Khan [International Correspondent – U.A.E]: Hailing from a liberal Pakistani family, Suman Khan, has lived all her life abroad, but has managed to always keep in touch with the Media and Music Industry in Pakistan. Having completed her education in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, she got into the world of Fashion/Music and Travel as a hobby and went on later to pursue her career in the latter with Emirates Airlines in Dubai. A wild and versatile girl with a subtle personality, she was always intrigued by the vast diversity of Fashion and Music of the various cultures globally, and therefore could never let go of them and started freelance writing for various events. For Suman, as she says, “The new experiences and people I come across, and the fact that whatever I write can actually make someone’s day is what keeps me on the move and motivated”. Her success towards writing is “You have to have a lot of perseverance, accept being rejected with a smile (it happens all the time), be responsible for what you write, and be able to inject passion into every subject. People will bribe and try and cajole you into writing stuff for them, so you have to be a person who can say ‘no’ without guilt. On the other hand, you’ll do a fair bit of convincing yourself; usually it’s in the name of a good story. Being a people person also helps as you’ll meet all types, good and bad.” Her motto towards life and her sanity as she would call it is “Remember that even though you may be hob-knobbing with the celebrities, it doesn’t make you one, otherwise it can be a little overwhelming when you come back down to earth.”

Samad Rasul [International Correspondent [U.S.A]: A doctor, a musician and an exceptional writer, Samad is currently living in the States and will be a regular contributor for Ink. He will continue to write on his favorite topic – music!

Sajida Khanum [International Correspondent – U.K]: is currently living in England, working for a local authority department in an office-based role. She studied as a Nurse for almost 5 years, she dropped out and went on to work several odd jobs including a homeless family’s refuge and worked long hours in nursing home’s before she decided to bag herself an office based job. When her current job got too monotonous, she decided to pursue writing as a hobby, and got an offer to write for The News International; she found it too irresistible an opportunity to turn down and now writes for them as a freelance contributor. She loves a good challenge and generally likes to have an opinion on everything from music and film to politics and world stock exchange whether its good, bad, politically correct or not, she has a habit of dishing out and imposing on people these free opinions which usually annoy the other party and also has the attention span of a pigeon i.e. a very short one. Her motto in life is ”Been there, done that, now get over it!”.

Amr Huussien [International Contributor – Egypt]: Amr Hussien started his writing career in 1991 and since then he has been writing for the most reputable publications in the Middle East – Egypt Today, Al-Ahram Weekly, Egyptian Gazette, Egyptian Mail, Middle East Times, Community Times, Carnival Arabia and more. As well as interviewing hundreds of local and international figures, Amr also reviewed countless works. Throughout the years his sections were the most popular according to surveys conducted by these publications. Most of his articles were related to art – movies, theater and mostly music. However, he also wrote about various issues, ranging from community to politics. Amr has been a part time announcer and producer of several radio shows, most of which were aired on Radio Cairo’s European Service. These shows include “Pro Radio” comedy show with the legendary Sherif Al-Attar and Rania Elwi, “Sizzling Sounds” variety show with radio veteran Mohammed Islam and “Children’s Corner” with Egyptian movie star Lobna Abd Al-Aziz. Amr is also a regular guest on numerous radio and television shows and was interviewed by the CNN and the BBC. He worked as a creative writer, narrator and producer of projects for numerous multi national establishments, including Coca-Cola, Sony Ericsson, Sony Bravia, Delta Insurance, Barclays Bank, Ford and many more. He also edited media personality Ashley’s debut book. He recently took to acting on the radio and dubbing serials. In addition to this, Amr has considerable experience in Sales, Public Relations and Advertising. He is also the singer/songwriter and main composer of the renowned rock band MARCH, and the writer of the Grand Prix wining song of the 2000 Cairo International Song Festival – “Rainbow.”