Doherty turns to Islam in jail April 26, 2008

DRUGGIE jailbird PETE DOHERTY is reading the Koran to get him through his days in the slammer.

The BABYSHAMBLES singer has turned to the Islam holy book after being imprisoned at London’s Wormwood Scrubs.

Potty Pete requested a translation after being put in an isolated cell at the tough prison last week. And the rock junkie is now “lapping it up”.

A pal revealed yesterday: “He’s been reading the Koran since he went into segregation.

“He’s got a lot of Muslim friends and they’ve been on at him for ages to study it. Now he’s on his own he’s got time on his hands to study it.

“I’m surprised how much it has calmed him down as he was very on edge inside. He definitely seems more chilled. He’s lapping it up and really interested in it. I think it’s helping him in there.”

The former LIBERTINES frontman has been having a torrid time since beginning his 14-week sentence for breaching probation by taking drugs.

Drugs

The Sun revealed he’d been having heroin in prison before lags who gave him drugs on tick threatened to maim him and he was segregated for his own safety.

In the past Pete has also read up on weird cult Scientology after being introduced to it by his then girlfriend NADINE RUDDY.

If Pete ever does think about converting to Islam, he’s going to have to make some radical changes to his outrageous lifestyle.

Maybe he’s yet to get to the bits in the sacred book that rule out alcohol and mind-altering drugs.

Eating any meat which is not prepared the halal way is also banned.

Considering the only food I have ever seen Pete scoff is a Big Mac, I’m not sure what he would plan to eat.

And as Muslims are advised not to wear any tight-fitting clothes, all those skinny jeans would have to go straight down to the charity shop.

And putrid Pete will also have to sort out his disgusting dirty fingernails, as the book guides followers to stay clean and well groomed.

Saad Haroon- An artist with a social motive. April 26, 2008

9/11 no doubt changed the lives of many, and for the elite educated class in Pakistan it was a blessing in disguise. It was in the aftermath of this tragic event that Saad Haroon who had recently came back home from NY, realized the need to make people laugh.

His curiosity for improvisational theater brought about Blackfish. Blackfish was just the start of things about a year and half ago he left his day job and took up comedy as a full time career. His claim to fame on television has been the Real News. The Real News is Pakistan’s first ever English comedy show, The show is created by Saad who also hosts the show along with Danish. The show makes fun of actual news events using political and social satire. Apart from The Real News, Saad has also traveled all the major cities of Pakistan delivering stand up performances. Saad along with Danish Ali are well know for delighting the crowds everywhere they go with their fast paced comedy action.

Saad acknowledges the fact that he targets a niche but at the same time believes that ‘a niche market in a country of 160 million is a country by itself. Also then if you take into account an expat population the numbers rise exponentially’. His niche is very educated as he puts it and mostly consists of students, young professionals and expats. Saad believes comedy is a very powerful tool which can be used to educate people and addresses important social issues but also accepts that we live in a country where emotions run high almost every day of the year and so we think up an idea, and if we think the public will enjoy it we take it on therefore his ‘first objective is always to make them laugh, not to prove a point’. Although saying that Its nice to see that the new generation of upcoming artist realize there social responsibility.

Saad refers to the Pakistani society as being dis balanced as he puts it ‘A society in which the ratio of artists to other professions is ridiculously low’. they recently tried to do their part by putting together a small workshop where they trained about 60 to 70 young people in the art of comedy, all in one room! However, it is not easy’. Saad spent a lot of years training Black Fish and claims that it is a “very long and hard process of training people and is extremely exhausting. Saad feels that Art is very important for a country as venerable as Pakistan. He believes ‘We are a poor country, but culturally we are quite rich and we need art that reflects that. Art is never a luxury, it is a necessity. The more art we have, the prouder we will be of our country and the better we will fare’. He also applauds governments efforts and says Musharraf has largely been responsible for seating up Arts schools too making arts a priority. He intends to continue his workshop for aspiring improvisational performers, as soon as he returns to the country after a tour of the States.

Currently he is touring northern America where the response has been good so far. The material has been pretty similar to what he uses in Pakistan, he just has been tweaking it a bit to suit to the regular American. He maintains that it is the Pakistani expat community that he connects to the most, although he maintains it will take lots of work and lots of new material to be able to attract the masses. Its good to see that he is optimistic about the future though.

As soon as he gets back to Pakistan he intends to roll on with the third season of The Real News, as a matter of fact he notified us that Danish Ali is currently working on getting together the new material. Further more his stand up comedy documentary-Saad Haroon: Very Live!- would be Airing soon, hes also optimistic about writing a comic movie for lollywood in the near future. He finds the idea of acting in one of them rather amusing but feels it will take a bit of time before he starts getting any offers. He feels that he is not quiet ready yet to take on the mass market but at the same time he says that you dont need a masters degree to be able to watch his show.

He is my Young Brother ,Harbhajan Says after Mohali Row April 26, 2008

Sreesanth alleges Harbhajan hit him April 26, 2008

The Indian Premier League faced its first on-field controversy with allegations that Harbhajan Singh hit Sreesanth, his India team-mate and IPL rival, after Friday’s match between the Kings XI Punjab and the Mumbai Indians in Mohali. While Yuvraj Singh, Sreesanth’s captain, said Harbhajan had apologised after the incident, it remains to be seen how the IPL will handle it as a disciplinary issue.

Sreesanth, who took two wickets for Punjab, was spotted in tears after the match – which his side won – and later confirmed the incident to Cricinfo. He declined, however, to comment on it.

Sources close to him said that after the match a smiling Sreesanth walked up to Harbhajan – the captain of the losing Mumbai Indians – and said “Hard Luck”. “That was enough for Harbhajan to lose his cool and hit Sreesanth under the eye,” said sources close to the fast bowler.

Harbhajan refused to answer questions on the incident at the post-match press conference. “Can we have questions on just cricket,” he said in response to questions relating to the incident. His opposing captain, however, was clear in his view. “This is really an ugly incident,” Yuvraj said, “this is totally unacceptable.” He added, though, that Harbhajan had visited the dressing-room after the match and apologised to Sreesanth.

“At the end of the day, players shake hands. But today saw more that from Harbhajan and Sreesanth,” said Tom Moody, the Punjab coach. “The positive thing is that Harbhajan had a long chat with Sreesanth. But I am not sure what ramifications this incident will have.” Cricinfo has learnt that Sreesanth complained about the incident to officials of the Mohali franchise, including co-owners Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia.

However, IS Bindra, the president of the Punjab Cricket Association, denied an official complaint has been lodged. “Some media people have asked me about this incident. No official complaint has reached me yet. I believe what happens on the field should be sorted out by the players on the field itself,” Bindra told Cricinfo.

On-field relations between Harbhajan and Sreesanth appeared strained during the India-South Africa Test series as well. Sreesanth had dropped Hashim Amla off Harbhajan during the Chennai Test to which Harbhajan reacted with displeasure after which he was seen motioning towards Sreesanth after making a diving save at point.

This is the second time in the last six months that Harbhajan has been at the centre of controversy. Earlier this year the Australians accused him of racially abusing Andrew Symonds during the Test series Down Under.