Tetris

The Original Tetris and it's lovely music

Watch it and see the various forms it took.

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 Sabeen Mahmud wrote a marvellous piece about Tetris.

Here it is for the who haven't read it

(and for those who loved it)

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In fact Sabeen even named her first cat 'Tetris'

Sab was thrilled when she got Tetris

Sadly Tetris died very early due to an inherited disease.
I was with Sab when it happened.
Sabeen was devastated.

(Tetris's brother died the next day at the house where she got Tetris)

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The first coloured Tetris

After Tetris died many more versions came out.

Some were free, some were pirated.

Some even had more games built into it

that included shooting the shapes.

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Now you even have Tetris on your Airplane Games.

The Start Screen

One of the 4 versions on the airplane game

Loads of fun

but not as much as the

THE FIRST COLOURED ONE

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Had Sabeen been alive,

I would have given her this new one as a gift.

She would have loved it!

Yes. It's now on my iPhone 7
as a back cover.

There are 99 different games on it that

must be interesting

(including the shooting one)

But I am stuck on the Original Tetris game

on it and I adore it!

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Thank you, Tetris, for coming back like this.

You are now on my iPhone forever.

Har baras kay "haéñ" din pachās hazār!

It is your 44th Birthday, Sab.

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I just thought I'd write a little note to tell you

how much we miss you, physically,

but hold you in our hearts every moment

and always will.

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Every birthday you used to come to our house

and we'd take a photograph of you, too.

We'd go in the evening to your house to celebrate your birthday with a delicious meal that you'd have cooked. Ragni was always amazed at your cooking (and the cake, too).

One of Sab's birthday pics at her home (with Ragni)

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Now you are no longer with us.

But that amazing place

that you gifted to us

in Karachi is here.

And it is loved!

This evening (20the June 2018) we will celebrate your birthday there. See the poster that Shaheen Jaffrani made. Its full of colours, like you were.

There will be our favourite Espresso, of course.

I will drink one for you and one for me.

There will be Conversations about you and what you did for so many people in the Open Mic session. There will also be performances by the artists you helped bring up and gave them the love they deserved and more.

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You always loved Music. All sorts. 

Wish you could see us now and see how happy we are to talk about you and your affection and intelligence and the sheer magic that you always were.

Your heart was so full of love for everything.

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Before I leave T2F I will drink The Hipster that you adored. 

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From all of us,

this is what we can give you now

… and forever.

Sabeen & Faiz

Dearest Sab, you always loved Faiz Sahab and read his Nuskha Haé Vafaa (نسخہ ہاےٴ وفا) often. We discussed his life and his politics. And you made (with me and the ETeam, which included Nuzhat's research and Jehan Ara's brilliant marketing) the wonderful Faiz CD-ROM, Aaj Kay Naam (آج کے نام) where every bit of your work was not just delightful and amazing but also remarkably fabulous.

Aaj Kay Naam

The CD-ROM

We had to invent things: No MP3 was available then; no Videos that could play full-screen at that time and were really stamp-sized. But our thanks to everyone working all night and more, we did all that. I can't forget that you had the Mac Cursor changed into a Pen Nib on that CD-ROM (I was stumped by your finding a way to do that!) …

The remarkable programming on Authorware … and its painful translation into a Windows-version was all done by you, despite your hatred for the Windows version. We all hated it, anyway. I remember that you'd written somewhere that you were 'forced' to do that because you were the youngest member in our strong pro-Apple team. Hahaha. But you did it!

The Brilliant Authorware - No Longer Available

In all of our efforts to have the CD-ROM out on time you worked very very hard. Programming the software, designing the screens, putting together my videos, and constantly talking to Muneera for the lovely booklet she produced, with Faiz's Nikaah-Naamah on the cover. Glad you brought that from Salima's house. And his only English Poem. And his audio-tape for his grand-children. Wow!!!

Our Golden Booklet

Despite everyone saying that you should go and see your grandfather - a person who loved you and someone you loved so much - since he was in hospital; but you continued working way into the night. Everyday. Until the CD was almost done.

You did see him in the last couple of days, but we lost him on Eed … and much before the CD-ROM could be launched.

•••••

There were many poems of Faiz that you read again and again. One was Raqeeb Say … a poem of the kind that I have never found the equivalent of in English or Urdu. It was sung so beautifully by Noor Jehan.

The other was a ghazal that we were crazy about and always asked Arshad Mahmud to sing it for us, whenever we met. It was, for us, a Karachi-ite ghazal to the core (although he wrote it in Lahore).

From Dasté Tahé Sang

When Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan visited our house (along with their delightful accompanists, Sudhir Nayak and Murad Ali), Arshad sang a couple of shayrs again for them.

•••••

T2F lives and will live on. Today I have taken over as its Executive Director and will continue for a while until another younger person - we hope to find one sooner (not later) - takes this over from me and stays on, following your legacy and improving and adding to its value.

Thank you, not just from me but everyone in Pakistan, for having conceived this place. We all so wish you were here.

•••••

Sabeen's Grave Today

I am reminded often of what LBJ said, when he took over as President of USA after JFK's assassination: "All I have I would have given gladly not to be standing here today."

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The Killing of Sabeen Mahmud (Salman Hameed)

24th April 2015

This is an incredibly sad day. Sabeen Mahmud, the director of an incredibly amazing place of culture and science, T2F, was shot dead today. I know that Sabeen Mahmud was behind all sorts of cultural activities in Karachi. I would just add that she was a phenomenal supporter of science as well. I first met her in the early 1992, when she helped us in organizing International Space Year Activities. She was still a teenager at the time. But more recently, our urdu astronomy series Science ka Adda came out of conversations with her and Zakir Thaver (her organisation PeaceNiche is listed as one of the sponsors of the videos). She was an astronomy enthusiast and got tremendous pleasure in knowing about the enormous scale of the universe. I'm sure the universe misses her enthusiasm and her lively indomitable spirit. I'm still gathering my thoughts - and will have more to say later. In the mean time here is a short clip where you can hear Sabeen talking about T2F and on fear in Karachi.

Since she was killed right after hosting a panel on Baluchistan, there is a justified speculation about the role of ISI in silencing her. Here is a short piece that looks at her killing and state terrorism:
Many liberals on social media have condemned the attack and placed the blame on state agencies. This was responded by others who protested that these are unfair accusations being cast with complete lack of evidence. While it is too soon to know for certain who was behind Sabeen’s murder, this cowardly act is the perfect time to talk about the role of state terrorism.

One of the most common responses to accusations against ISI responsibility is why would ISI kill Sabeen Mahmud when they could have killed Mama Qadeer? The answer to this is obvious: Killing Mama Qadeer would make a martyr for Baloch separatists. Killing Sabeen Mahmud sends a message to the rest of us not to ask questions about Balochistan. And why not? Why should we not ask questions?

The answer lies in the very subject of the talk that got Sabeen killed. Human rights organisations across the world have reported on kidnapping, torture, and murder of Baloch by Pakistan armed forces and intelligence agencies. Our own Supreme Court has been forced to threaten contempt proceedings against the government for failing to comply with orders on missing persons. When agencies think it will be good to kill Mama Qadeer, they will kill Mama Qadeer.

But I want to leave you with two things. One (that you saw above) was a post about T2F from 2 years ago that linked to an NPR story about this coffee shop. And two, a Bruce Springsteen song because Sabeen absolutely loved Springsteen! She lived a full life and enjoyed every second of it. I'm glad to have had the chance to meet with her on several occasions. Here is the post from January 2013:
I have been lucky to have given three talks at one of the coolest cafes in Pakistan: The Second Floor (T2F). I have always found the atmosphere electric and a very high level of questions and discussions.

One of the persons behind T2F is Zaheer Kidvai - and I have known him since 1989-90. He helped and guided us in organizing AMASTROPAK - our nascent amateur astronomical society in Karachi. In fact, he provided us with some space in his office as well.

So it is an absolute pleasure to know that in the midst of all the negative news from Pakistan, NPR discovered T2F. Here is the story: Pakistani Cafe is Oasis in Desert of Civil Discourse. Congrats to Sabeen Mahmud, who is the backbone of T2F.

A little over a year ago, Sabeen went to a Bruce Springsteen concert and she wrote this on her Facebook page:

Apologies for all the hyperbole that shall follow but there is no way to describe a live Bruce Springsteen experience without excessive verbal indulgence. Bruce is a powerhouse of raw, unbridled energy. At 64, he has the tightest, sexiest ass I’ve ever seen and a lean, hungry body that brings to life the notion of strapping your hands 'cross his engines. He burst onto the stage at 7:15 pm and did not stop leaping, bounding, running, and being all kinds of awesome, until 10:30 pm. 3 hours and 15 minutes. Non-stop. Who does that anymore? In a world of synthesised, over-produced, stage-managed shit, a Bruce Springsteen concert is pure, unadulterated, old-fashioned (but not cheesy) rock and roll at its wondrous, glorious best. The way he enunciated that he is "a prisoner of the everlasting eternal ass-kicking power of rock and roll” … oh god, my heart stopped for a nanosecond. He makes every single moment count. Every single moment is special.
...
I was reminded starkly, of what really matters and what’s important. My politics were reinforced. I made leaps of faith in my head all over again. Bruce Springsteen’s music has defined my life - my hopes, dreams, aspirations and struggles. To be in the same space as him was nothing short of magical.

This just gives a small glimpse of the liveliness of Sabeen. Since she explicitly mentioned Springsteen's Hungry Heart at one point in her post, I will post a live version here. Here is Boss for you Sabeen.

From Tunis … With Love

Everyone remembers you, Sab!