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San Francisco Chronicle
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
The crazy true love story behind one of my favorite S.F. lunch spots
Last weekend I performed at Story Fest, a live storytelling event where journalists from local news organizations bring their reporting to life onstage. When the organizers told me the evening's theme would be 'migration,' I knew immediately which story I wanted to tell — the romance of Mohammad and Rabia Waqar, the owners of Mashaallah Halal Pakistani Food Restaurant. When I interviewed Mohammad for my review of Mashaallah Halal last year, I asked him how he came to open a restaurant in the basement of a struggling mall. He said it was all Rabia's idea, describing her as his 'fortune cookie.' I asked Mohammad about his chicken biryani. 'That's Rabia's invention,' he told me. 'I give this credit to my wife. She's so creative.' I asked him if he wanted to be identified as 'chef-owner' in the review. 'Chef-owner is fine,' he said. 'Also, I highly, highly, highly give the credit to my wife, to my partner, to my love, to my everything, Rabia.' Finally I was like, you know what? It kind of seems like you want to talk about your wife more than you want to talk about your restaurant. I asked if Rabia was there and could join the call. She was. They're always together. What emerged from the conversation was the contours of an epic love story, one which I highlighted in a video that accompanied the Mashaallah Halal review. Rabia told me that she came from a strict, conservative family in Pakistan. When she married Mohammad, who is 21 years her senior, she wasn't sure what she had signed up for. Would he be controlling and domineering? Instead, she found him to be supportive of her ambitions and independence, 'polishing' her as she studied English, got her first job at Grocery Outlet and learned to drive a car. I wrote my first draft for Story Fest, but there were lots of holes in my narrative. I had only interviewed Rabia and Mohammad once for the review, mostly about the restaurant and their food. In order to flesh out their love story, I needed to know about the first time they met and the early days of their marriage. So I called them again. Two hours later, I deleted almost all of my draft and started fresh. What Rabia and Mohammad had told me of their courtship was astounding, the stuff of Lollywood epics. In 2007, Mohammad is preparing to return home to Sahiwal, a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan, for a niece's wedding. He's been living in the Bay Area and working in restaurants for some 20 years. He's divorced and in his 40's, and he's thinking that maybe he'd be open to getting remarried. A friend from his local mosque mentions that he knows a family in Sahiwal with a lovely, educated daughter and encourages Mohammad to meet her. He'll arrange a dinner. Despite his reservations about their difference in ages, Mohammad agrees. When Rabia receives this invitation, her life is at a crossroads. When I say Rabia's family is strict and conservative, I mean you-must-marry-within-your-extended-family strict and conservative. She's the first woman in her family who's been allowed to go to college, but now that she's graduated, she can feel the walls closing in. She's in her early 20's and will be married off soon, and her ambitions will be ground to dust. So when she hears about this American guy who wants to meet her, she's eager. She fantasizes about what he might be like, imagining, she told me, that he'll arrive with a guitar, wearing pants, a shirt and 'long shoes.' (Although I'm not quite sure what she means by this, I envision cowboy boots with pointy toes.) Instead, Mohammad shows up in traditional dress: shalwar kameez, no long shoes — and no hair either. 'What the hell is this, man?' she told me she said to herself. She's not interested. But Mohammad makes an effort over the course of the evening, telling jokes — he came to America hoping to become an actor, like Al Pacino — and trying to catch her eye. By the time Rabia gets home, she's made up her mind. She doesn't know much about Mohammad, but she knows he lives in America, and this is her chance to write her own future. Rabia approaches one of her four older brothers and tells him she's been introduced to a family friend and that she wants to marry him. He's livid. His younger sister married to some old guy? No way. But Rabia convinces him to go meet with Mohammad, and some hours later, her brother returns to the family home, charmed. Okay, he tells her. I'll be your advocate. He gathers Rabia's three other older brothers and their father and says, 'Rabia wants to marry this guy, and I've told her she has my permission.' All hell breaks loose. Rabia's father and three brothers fly into a rage, rejecting the marriage. Threats are made, and a gun is produced. Rabia's brother, the one who supports her, is like a mountain. 'He's standing in front of me,' she told me. ''Anybody have a problem, deal with me.'' Rabia doesn't sleep that night. She knows that if she closes her eyes and drifts off, there's a real risk that she will be killed for dishonoring her family. The next morning, she's more resolved than ever to escape, and that's when her father announces that he has news. Overnight, he has arranged her marriage. To his sister's son. Rabia's sister, mother and the brother who is on her side immediately go to Mohammad, telling him that all is not well back at the ranch. Rabia is languishing at home, steeped in misery, when her sister suddenly reappears. 'Go to your cabinet, get your one dress, and come with me,' she tells Rabia. Then, they run, hand-in-hand, to a car that's parked around the corner, and they drive directly to the courthouse, where Mohammad is waiting. And just like that, Rabia and Mohammad get married. They're basically strangers — Rabia doesn't even know his full name — but as she signs the marriage certificate, Rabia feels lightness. 'I feel like, 'I got it,'' she told me. 'Now I feel freedom.' She returns home, goes to her room and finally sleeps. The next morning, when the fighting starts again, she says to her father, calmly, firmly, 'Enough. I already married him.' She packs up all her belongings and meets Mohammad at the marriage hall, where she has her makeup done, puts on beautiful clothes and has her wedding photos taken. After all the strife of the past few days, she allows herself to relish the moment. 'Allah made something beautiful for me, something nice for me,' she said. She was no longer scared. I wish I could say that it was all smooth sailing from here on out, but there is so much more tumult to Rabia and Mohammad's story. They're essentially in a long-distance marriage for eight years before her visa situation is sorted out and Rabia can, finally, join Mohammad in the Bay Area. And when she gets here, there's still one problem, in her mind — she never gets to see her husband. Mohammad goes to work early in the morning, they see each other for a few hours before bed and then repeat the same thing all over again. Rabia tells Mohammad that she's done spending time apart. She thinks they should start a business so they can be together every day. This is why Mohammad calls Rabia his fortune cookie. Their restaurant, Mashaallah Halal, was her idea. First she convinced him to buy a food truck, then they expanded into the basement of the mall, which is where I found them together, behind the counter, dishing up plates of palak paneer and lamb korma. Soon they'll open another location a few blocks away. I asked Mohammad if it ever felt like too much, working side-by-side seven days a week. 'We enjoy each other's company,' he said. 'We love each other. Rabia does not let me go even to the bathroom for 10 minutes peacefully. Five minutes will have gone by and she'll say, 'Waqar? ' 'Yes? ' 'Are you okay? ' 'I'm in the restroom.' So that's life.'
India Today
14-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Asim Munir has won, Pakistanis have lost, again
The latest India-Pakistan conflagration ended in a ceasefire and Donald Trump ran away with the trophy, leaving the contestants confused. The curtains have fallen, the smoke has cleared, and the scorecards are in. India has delivered a knockout in a clear win, reasserting its dominance and resetting the Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif declared "he won" before the marks were fully counted. The streets from Peshawar to Chichawatni erupted in celebrations, blissfully unaware that their airfields now resemble Swiss cheese and their military sites have been given a rather aggressive facelift by Indian strikes. Who needs facts when you have a PR machine that could make Lollywood blush?advertisementOn this side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Adampur Airbase to debunk Pakistan's much-touted claim of reducing it to rubble. Modi's photo-op was the diplomatic equivalent of a mic drop. There are no winners or losers in 21st-Century wars, only parties left with more damage or less. This four-day war had a winner: Asim Pakistan's military licked its wounds, Munir has spun this debacle into a personal coronation. The man who recently stood on a stage, invoking the two-nation theory and vowing to "crush the enemy, inshallah," has delivered not victory, but something far more valuable: ARMY'S REVENGETwo years ago, on May 9, 2023, the unthinkable had happened. Supporters of the jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan turned against the army. They rioted with such ferocity that they desecrated military symbols and stormed the homes of top officers. For the first time, the Army, once revered as the nation's saviour, was the villain in the public's Asim Munir is his predecessor General Bajwa's revenge on Pakistan and Imran Khan. The Bajwa doctrine was a shift from Pakistan's rigid "bleed India with thousand cuts" as he realised Pakistan was reduced in stature after every skirmish with India. He wanted a moratorium till Pakistan was economically strong enough to stand on its own feet. But Khan, the most popular, and Bajwa, the most powerful, fell out and, on his way out, Bajwa installed Asim Munir in his the saying goes, the Pakistani Army has never won a war and never lost an election. True to form, Munir's Army orchestrated a compromised election, banned Khan's party, and installed Shahbaz Sharif as Prime Minister. The people grumbled, but the Army marched addressing a meeting of overseas Pakistanis, suggested that he had a surprise for India and the Hindus. The Pahalgam terrorist attack in Kashmir followed. No direct link. Yet all intelligence suggests somebody in the ISI, Pakistan's subversive spy agency, greenlit the gruesome massacre of 26 tourists set the stage for this latest flare-up. India vowed retaliation and launched pinpointed strikes on terrorist hideouts in Pakistan, carefully avoiding civilian and military targets. Pakistan promised escalation and tried to attack India's military installations and cities with drone swarms and missiles. Nearly all of them were thwarted. India followed up with a devastating pummelling of Pakistan's military assets, so bad that the US stepped in and brokered a VILLAN TO DARLINGadvertisementMunir has turned this military drubbing into a public relations coup. The Pakistani Army, battered and bruised, is once again the nation's darling. The same public that was burning effigies of generals two years ago is now rallying behind Munir, including Imran Khan's is the great unifier, and Munir has played it like a virtuoso. The propaganda about shooting down Indian jets, however dubious, has worked wonders domestically. With a media firmly under control and a chorus of paid "foreign analysts" singing his praises, Munir has convinced the masses that Pakistan emerged victorious, and it's all thanks to his steely sins of the past -- rigging elections, jailing Khan, strangling democracy -- have been washed away in the blood of soldiers killed in action. The civil society that once dared to question him is now grovelling at his feet. Munir, a hafiz who never misses a chance to recite Quranic verses, has positioned himself not just as an Army chief but as a religious beacon for a nation, high on piety and low on official military spokesman, in a press conference, declared Islam and jihad as the Army's inspirations. Munir, with his cold, cunning calculus, has tapped into Pakistan's religious fervour to cement his status as the country's what of Pakistan itself? The economy is more battered than the Markaz Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, the polity more fractured than the hangar at Shahbaz Airbase. Yet, Munir stands taller than ever, a colossus astride a nation that remains lost in the fog of its own contradictions. Every time Pakistan's democratic forces grasp the rope of hope, the military, with a scimitar sharpened by war and religion, cuts it Sindoor ceasefire of May 2025 has given Munir what he craved: a lifeline to his "supreme leadership". The tragedy of Pakistan is not that it lost a war; it's that its people, time and again, lose their future to men like him. Democracy was a far cry and it's farther now. Their political future is in the hands of a hafiz. Hafiz Khuda InMust Watch
India.com
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
This woman was daughter of tawaif from Heeramandi, became highest-paid item girl, did mujra on screen, was brutally murdered by..., she was..
When Sanjay Leela Bhansali released Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, a different and rebellious side of courtesans was shown to the world. The audience loved the reel version of the courtesans. However, do you know that even in real life, there was a woman who belonged to the lanes of real Heeramandi in Lahore? She rose to fame and became Pakistan's famous item girl. But, as it is said that fame comes with a cost, and this is exactly what happened with this woman—she had to pay a higher price than what she could ever imagine. For many, the name Niggo aka Nargis Begum does not ring a bell, whereas for others who have a keen interest in history and have studied deeply about Heeramandi, knew who Niggo was. Niggo was born in Lahore, Pakistan. During that time, women belonging to Lahore were often the first choice of filmmakers for their movies. Women who knew how to dance joined the industry. Called Lollywood, the industry began pre-partition but after 1947 became a dominant film industry, producing films in Punjabi and Urdu. At that time, it was a common trend among filmmakers to bring in tawaifs from Heera Mandi and cast them as lead actresses in their films. Niggo also came from the lanes of Heeramandi. Her mother was a courtesan and she used to do Mujra. Initially, Niggo also followed in the footsteps of her mother. However, during one of her performances, she was noticed by a film producer who gave her a chance to become an actress. After this, Niggo's career reached its peak, and she fell in love with film producer Khawaja Mazhar. The two eventually got married. However, it was Niggo's mother who did not approve of this relationship, as tawaifs getting married was frowned upon. In order to save her daughter from being with the person she got married to, Niggo's mother faked illness and got her back to Heeramandi. Later, she brainwashed her to stay in the same place. On the other hand, it was Niggo's husband Mazhar who wanted her to come back. But due to family pressure, Niggo refused to do so. On January 5, 1972, Niggo's husband reached Heera Mandi at her kotha. While trying to persuade her to return home with him, Niggo refused, which enraged him. In a fit of anger, he opened fire, killing Niggo. Her uncle, a musician, was also killed in the attack.
Express Tribune
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Hania Aamir showcases bridesmaid skills in video
Hania Aamir is a woman of many talents, and she's not afraid of flaunting it. In a video clip shared by the newlywed singer Maria Unera on Instagram, the Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum star was filmed dealing with some wedding business on the phone, and cementing her status as a hard-at-work bridesmaid. "Good morning. Please send someone over to pick up our stuff. Quickly, please, really quickly. Our nikkah is getting really late," she said. After a brief pause, she added, "No, no. We're not checking out. Just going downstairs. Okay, thank you so much, bye." Once the feat was accomplished, Hania leaned into the hand on her hip and struck a hilarious impromptu but confident pose, earning a laugh from the bride herself. "Our nikkah is getting late," Maria quoted. Happy with her contributions, Hania re-shared the post and boasted, "I think I'm really good at this bridesmaid stuff." But this wasn't the Dil Ruba actor's first shot at a meaningful gesture for her friend. Earlier this month, she organised a surprise mayoun ceremony for Maria. Posting photos from her special day, the No Roses singer wrote, "Bestie threw me a surprise mayoun." Held outdoors under golden sunlight, the setting featured vibrant genda phool garlands, earthy floor seating, and matching yellow outfits that made the entire event feel like a scene straight out of a classic Lollywood film. Hania wore a white, pink and orange ensemble, lightly embroidered and effortlessly chic, proving once again why she's a reigning style icon. Maria, who married Saad Bashir earlier this month in an intimate ceremony, has kept most of her wedding events private, but the mayoun and sangeet festivities have been all over social media, thanks to Hania. A now-viral clip from Maria's sangeet shows the Mere Humsafar star leading a high-energy group dance to Ding Dong Dole, the early 2000s Bollywood banger. Fans flooded the comments, hailing her as the "life of the party" and praising her grace, charm, and stamina in a heavy lehenga.
Express Tribune
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Hania surprises Maria with mayoun ceremony
Pakistani heartthrob Hania Aamir once again captured hearts this weekend - this time not with her acting or dance moves, but with her thoughtful gesture for her best friend, singer Maria Unera. On Sunday, both stars took to Instagram to share photos from a surprise mayoun ceremony Hania had thrown for Maria. The pictures were an explosion of yellow, marigolds, and pure joy. Maria, glowing in traditional bridal yellow, captioned her post simply: "Bestie threw me a surprise mayoun." Hania chimed in with her signature playful tone, referencing the soulful Bollywood hit Kabira, and penned, "Banno re banno meri chali sasural." Needless to say, the mayoun was a dreamy affair. Held outdoors under golden sunlight, the setting featured vibrant genda phool garlands, earthy floor seating, and matching yellow outfits that made the entire event feel like a scene straight out of a classic Lollywood film. Hania wore a white, pink and orange ensemble, lightly embroidered and effortlessly chic, proving once again why she's a reigning style icon. Maria, who married Saad Bashir earlier this month in an intimate ceremony, has kept most of her wedding events private, but the mayoun and sangeet festivities have been all over social media, thanks to Hania. A now-viral clip from Maria's sangeet shows the Mere Humsafar star leading a high-energy group dance to Ding Dong Dole, the early 2000s Bollywood banger. Fans flooded the comments, hailing her as the "life of the party" and praising her grace, charm, and stamina in a heavy lehenga. The bond between Hania and Maria is no secret. The two have been close for years, often appearing in each other's social media posts and events. Whether it's casual hangouts or life milestones, Hania has consistently been by Maria's side - and this surprise Mayoun was just another example of their rock-solid friendship. Last month, Hania received a Recognition Award at the UK Parliament, celebrating her impact on entertainment and global audiences. Hosted by MP Afzal Khan, the ceremony saw Hania thank her peers, honour industry women, and express pride in representing Pakistan. "It is an absolute honour to be here and it means a lot to me," she said. "I hope we continue to entertain people through our work and make Pakistan proud." The star went on to thank women in the entertainment industry who paved the way for the next generation. "I will do everything in my capacity to make it easier for others to come," she added. Hania last starred in the well-loved drama serial, Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum, alongside Fahad Mustafa.
