Masud Alam

The father of taboos

Growing up exposed to sexual abuse is considered a necessary rite of passage - you have to survive it to become a man. Published 26 Jul, 2013 06:12pm

Growing wings in a bus

‘Give my salam to your mother,’ she hissed to the man who molested her. ‘I have taught you a lesson she should have.’ Published 20 Jul, 2013 06:24pm

Consulting for love

My clients all speak differently but all of them use the noun love and the verb fail in the same sentence. Published 04 Jul, 2013 06:34pm

Dreaming the dream team for Pakistan

A country of nearly 200 million is teeming with talent. We need 18-year-old men, not 30-something-year-old boys. Published 22 Jun, 2013 05:02pm

Spice it up for Mama

"I am in a select group that inherits, expands and passes on to the next generation, a thing called the vote bank." Published 13 Jun, 2013 05:02pm

Electoral terrorism wins … for now

This country’s voter stared terrorism in the face and went out to vote. They have discharged their responsibility well. Published 16 May, 2013 12:06pm

Electoral terrorism wins … for now

Whether or not ECP can do the right thing, will decide whether or not this country’s voters will show faith in democracy for a long time to come. Published 14 May, 2013 05:03pm

It’s your fault

The media in this country is the way it is because we, the consumers of media demand and happily receive trash. Published 04 May, 2013 02:36pm

Youth, dreams and reality

At stake is not just democracy and the credibility of state institutions, it’s the future of our coming generations. Published 25 Apr, 2013 04:14pm

The hero who didn’t die young

While it was a chronic lung ailment that killed Alam-the-man, it was longevity that killed Alam-the-hero, much earlier. Published 16 Apr, 2013 09:52am

Broadcasting blues

"I'm always picked to do the most well paying job in the business: operating broadcast studio during live, limited-over cricket matches." Published 07 Mar, 2013 01:16pm

Confessions of a lonely taxi driver

“I bet you found the subject titillating. I have a book in my head that goes by this title about the mystique of a taxi driver that I want to exploit as an author.” Published 23 Feb, 2013 05:45pm

Love in the time of lakra kakra

On Valentine’s Day when lovers come to me their minds are occupied, not with matters of the heart but with those of budgeting. Published 15 Feb, 2013 02:01pm

Spit on shine

Clean and shining shoes only belong in the show cases – polishing a shoe which is in use is like spraying air freshener in an open sewer, a wasteful act. Published 07 Feb, 2013 05:06am

View of Jinnah Avenue from Uzbek Hotel

“The choice before the people of Pakistan is not between military and civilian rule, it is between the dictatorial and anti-democracy mindsets.” Published 28 Jan, 2013 02:16pm

The talkative dead

The Alamdar dead’s voice rose as one and asked: “What started with the Ahmadis is not going to end with the Shias. Who is next?” Published 17 Jan, 2013 11:32am

Sad generations

Little wonder, then, that Pakistani youth is attracted to free food and military training, narrowing their employment choices down to the armed forces and militant organisations. Published 10 Jan, 2013 01:40pm

To be a feminist … in Pakistan

I grew up in a nondescript locality in a small city where every woman was khala ji and had the right to slap you in the face if she heard you swear or caught you smoking. Published 03 Jan, 2013 02:24pm

Three reasons to party hard this New Years Eve

The choice is between living to die and dying to live. Choose to live and eventually die, or keep shivering in fear, and die every minute of your life. Published 27 Dec, 2012 12:09pm

It’s your fault

The media in this country is the way it is because we, the consumers of media demand and happily receive trash. Published 20 Dec, 2012 04:27pm