Culture Archives - Page 18 of 29

Tea: The most celebrated drink in the world

30May

By Aqsa AzamNo Comments

Culture, Global, Latest

Tea: The most celebrated drink in the world

Tea, the world’s second most consumed drink after water, has a complex history, deeply rooted in Chinese culture. There are numerous legends and tales about its origins, centered around the first cup of tea that was ever brewed. The history of tea dates back to ancient China, almost 5,000 years ago. According to legend, in 2732 B.C. Emperor Shen Nung discovered tea when leaves from a wild tree blew into his pot of boiling water. He was immediately interested in the pleasant scent of the resulting brew, and drank some. Legend says the Emperor described a warm feeling as he drank the intriguing brew. As if the drink was investigating every part of his body. Shen Nung named the brew "ch'a", the Chinese character meaning to check or investigate. In 200 B.C. a Han Dynasty Emperor rul...

23May

By Aqsa AzamNo Comments

Culture, Latest

A unique tale of loyalty and Friendship in royal court

The close relationship between Queen Victoria and her young Indian attendant Abdul Karim was deemed controversial and scandalous by the royal court. After the Queen passed away, the family evicted Karim from the home the queen had given him and deported him back to India. Shrabani Basu, a renowned UK-based journalist notices a unique detail while touring Victoria’s Isle of Wight summer home in 2003. She saw a brown man standing next to Queen Victoria with a posture of a nobleman. She noticed that he is holding a book or important paper rather than a serving tray. This intrigued her and eventually led her to the details of Karim and Queen Victoria's scandalous yet eccentric friendship. This duo from the royal court is removed thoroughly after her demise. An assistant clerk at Ag...

‘Tere Bin’ trending on twitter for manifesting marital rape

22May

By Aqsa AzamNo Comments

Culture, Latest, Pakistan

‘Tere Bin’ trending on twitter for manifesting marital rape

Pakistani drama Serial 'Tere Bin' is trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons. It opened a new argument all over the social media. Ladies from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are raising their voices to register on this major crime. In episode 46 of the popular drama 'Tere Bin'. We see Ali's character, Murtasim, apparently forcing himself on his wife Meerab (Zaidi) as the credits roll. Moreover, in the promo for the next week's episode, it's implied that Tere Bin will now include the theme of marital rape. The said sudden change in a fan-favorite character has sent shockwaves through the fanbase of the drama serial. Many called out the show and its writer for the unnecessary downfall of Murtasim's character arc. However, the latter has now opened up about the criticism. As ...

What happened to the Tawaifs of Lucknow?

11May

By Aqsa AzamNo Comments

Culture, Latest

What happened to the Tawaifs of Lucknow?

These highly skilled courtesans sang, danced, wrote poetry, and were the purveyors of all that was considered good taste and high fashion. Tawaifs, the Awadhi term for highly skilled courtesans, rose to prominence between the 18th and 19th centuries in the royal courts of Awadh, part of present-day Uttar Pradesh. For the majority of us, our exposure to tawaifs and their way of life has mainly been through their depiction in popular Bollywood cinema. When we come across the word ‘Tawaif’. The first image that comes to our mind is that of a sensual seductress, equivalent to prostitutes. Iconic movies like Devdas, Umrao Jaan, Pakheeza, and Mughal-E-Azam portrayed the tawaif as a fallen woman. Wrapping up their stories with admonitory diktats on morality. Their existence in these narra...

Qabarsafai.com: A great initiative or negligence of norms

9May

By Aqsa AzamNo Comments

Culture, Latest, Pakistan

Qabarsafai.com: A great initiative or negligence of norms

Pakistanis always come up with unique ideas and initiatives. Recently a great yet out-of-the-box startup came into the limelight named Qabarsafai.com. You can contact them to maintain your loved one graves while you are away. The world is full of people who don't think on a straight path. They excel because sometimes it's a necessity of time but people tend to ignore its need. In the same way, Wasti Brothers from Pakistan implied a new initiative in the market. They name it Qabarsafai.com, loosely translate to cleaning of grave services. Millions of Pakistanis live abroad. They cannot come to their homeland more often as well as visit their loved ones' graves. Most of the graves then get destroyed due to rain or any natural disaster. To cater this problem they developed a webs...