Lahore is fast becoming the Mumbai crowd’s top holiday destination. From youngsters looking for a cheap vacation to film stars and writers, all are looking forward to crossing the Wagah border in the near future.

Bollywood’s Mr India, Anil Kapoor, revealed his old ties with Pakistan. “My mother is actually from Lahore and we still have a family home in Peshawar,” he said, adding that travelling to the NWFP and seeing the places where his mother spent her childhood were his main reasons for wanting to visit Pakistan. Anil admits that despite this connection, he remains unfamiliar with Pakistan’s traditions and that the extent of his knowledge goes no further than what he has observed in a few films.

The absence of music academies is a major factor in the present state of affairs. The traditional ‘ustad shagird’ relationship is the ideal method of learning, but in its absence, music academies can serve the purpose, as is being done in Bangladesh and India

The Pakistan chapter of the UK-based international NGO, Oxfam, has recently begun broadcasting a radio series aimed at raising public awareness of honor killings. In general, women fall victim to a variety of assorted crimes carried out under the common name of ‘honor’ across the country, argue rights activists.

“This series of feature programmes, to be aired twice a week, will cover different aspects of the ‘honor’ killing issue through very interesting and moving stories,” Farhana Faruqi Stocker, Oxfam’s country representative, said in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, noting it would highlight the role of government bodies, civil society, traditional community leadership and the public in eradicating the practice over the next three months.