International - India & World   

Indian’s blogsite creates waves in Pakistan

Islamabad: It took Mayank Austen Soofi just two visits to Pakistan to fall in love with the country and its people.

And now the Indian, in his 20s, is keen on portraying the “enemy” in the right light for which he runs a dedicated blog to “point out those aspects of Pakistan which nobody notices.”

New Delhi-based Mayank, who runs the “Pakistan Paindabad” blog, said: “My first Pakistan yatra was a great learning process as I finally came face-to-face with people who are identified by most Indians as ‘enemies.’ The country is great, and the people are kind.”

The going, quite obviously, has not been smooth for Mayank, even though he has over the past year managed to build a cadre of Pakistani writers who contribute to his blog.

“The reactions to Pakistan Paindabad range from gratitude to disbelief to out-and-out suspicion. Indians are often puzzled at why am I writing such stuff on Pakistan. Some think I am a Pakistani living in India, others send me e-mails calling me an ISI agent,” Mayank said in an e-mail interview .

“If somebody feels I’m a spy I just ignore them. If they e-mail me, I do not bother to reply. If they leave nasty comments on the blog I let them stay in the spirit of democracy,” he said. The blog offers an eclectic mix of articles and photo-essays on diverse topics, including Karachi’s beaches, the minority Hindu community and Heera Mandi, Lahore’s red light district.

The blog has also stirred up heated debates in cyberspace, especially with its posts on controversial issues such as dating in Pakistan.

About the origin of the name Pakistan Paindabad, Mayank said, “I have often heard Pakistanis shouting the slogan ‘Pakistan Paindabad’ during cricket matches. I think it’s quite a catchy line. Like Hindustan Zindabad!

“Paindabad is a Persian word and it loosely means ‘to stay’. As you see, despite its critics, despite all the doomsayers, Pakistan has endured. And it will endure. ”

Mayank was born with a different last name but his passion for Jane Austen and his yearning to be a “Sufi-hearted human being” led him to adopt his current name.

He has got support from Pakistanis from all walks of life — columnists, journalists, artists, students, photographers and of course bloggers — the one person he really looks up to is columnist Irfan Husain for his elegant and courageous writing. (The blogsite can be accessed at http://pakistanpaindabad.blogspot.com.) — PTI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Putin warns against attack on Iran
Disinformation, says Benazir party
Lib-Dem leader quits
Nepal session deferred
30 LTTE cadres killed, says Army
Japan slashes aid to Myanmar
Iraq to crack down on foreign security guards
China protests U.S. award for Dalai Lama
Do not let radical view affect nuclear deal, says Ackerman
‘India Observatory’ launched at LSE
Salary, cellphone norms for Indian maids in Bahrain
Indian’s blogsite creates waves in Pakistan

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu