RAWALPINDI: For Kishwar Naheed, one of Pakistan’s greatest living Urdu poets and writers, visiting the hundreds of book stalls stretched along Rawalpindi’s main Saddar market was once a usual Sunday morning activity.
But as the stalls have dwindled and book hawkers have disappeared, Naheed and others like her have been left only with the memories and a deep sense of loss over a disappearing literary culture and what was once the center of Rawalpindi’s intellectual life.
“Every Sunday morning, Zahid Dar [Urdu poet], Intizar [Hussain] Saab [novelist], myself, all my writer friends, we used to go there [Rawalpindi book bazaar] and try to pick up books,” Naheed told Arab News in an interview this week. “It was a craze for books.”
Rawalpindi’s open-air book stalls came up in the eighties and thrived until at least 2010 when the downfall slowly began, said Fareed-ul-Haq, a 69-year-old book stall owner.
“I’ve been selling books in this market for 25 years and this roadside book bazaar has been around for 50 years,” he told Arab News, saying people used to travel from other cities to visit the stalls, browsing for hours and often arriving with handwritten notes of titles they wanted.
“I have seen the high point of this market when the condition was such that it was so crowded it was difficult to walk here. Now people bring their books and it turns out they are their grandparents’ books and the grandson wants to sell them because he doesn’t value books.”
The roadside stalls offer a wide variety of new and old books: antique volumes, school books, historical works, fiction in different languages and all kinds of magazines.
But the rise of digital media and online bookstores has impacted the viability of book bazaars, sellers and customers said, with smartphones and social media causing a shift worldwide in how people consume information and read.
“We live in an era of social media, online and virtual books and many people don’t prefer reading physical books anymore,” Noaman Sami, a media sciences student at Rawalpindi’s Riphah International University, told Arab News.
Economic factors are also behind the decline in book bazaars, according to Muhammad Hameed Shahid, a Pakistani short story writer, novelist and literary critic.
Rising rents, inflation and the increasing cost of living had made it difficult for many booksellers to sustain their businesses, while customers had less money to spend on luxuries like books. Urban development projects have also displacd book bazaars as the literary corners are repurposed for commercial or residential development.
“Ordinary people often can’t afford expensive books, but at these roadside book stalls, you would find treasures,” Shahid said. “There’s a wide variety of books available, and these vendors sitting on our footpaths deserve support so that through them the flame of knowledge stays alive and books continue to reach our children.”
The bazaar, the writer said, had been a major player in his own literary journey:
“These vendors who used to be sitting on the footpaths with books spread around them, those books, covering all sorts of topics, they played a vital role in my career, they inspired me to become a writer.”
Future generations in Rawalpindi won’t get to experience this, Haq, the bookseller, lamented.
“I’ve seen this market crowded with people,” he said as he sat alone at his stall on a Sunday morning this month, waiting for customers. “But now, it’s nearly empty.”
The vanishing roadside book stalls of Rawalpindi
https://arab.news/cxsub
The vanishing roadside book stalls of Rawalpindi
- Roadside book bazaar along Rawalpindi’s main Saddar market came up in the eighties, thrived until at least 2010
- Rise of e-books has changed reading habits, economic factors and urban development have also impacted bazaars
Saudi-helmed Ashi Studio unveils sculptural silhouettes, intricate embroidery at Paris Haute Couture Week
- Couturier’s designs been worn by Queen Rania of Jordan, Beyonce
- First designer from region to join Federation de la Haute Couture
DUBAI: Paris-based label Ashi Studio, founded by Saudi Arabia designer Mohammed Ashi, presented its Spring/Summer 2025 couture collection on Thursday during Paris Haute Couture Week, featuring sculptural silhouettes, intricate embroidery, and detailed craftsmanship.
The collection has a range of designs that incorporate voluminous structures, textural contrasts and embellishments.
Several looks emphasize architectural shapes, including a voluminous ivory skirt paired with an embroidered cropped jacket in shades of blue, adorned with floral beading and gold detailing.
Other designs include structured corseted gowns with sheer lace panels and sculpted sleeves.
The collection also features darker tones, with black and gold embroidery on form-fitting dresses. Strapless gowns include intricate hand embroidery with landscape motifs.
Metallic fringe elements and shimmering embellishments contribute to the textural variation within the lineup.
Alongside heavily adorned pieces, the collection includes streamlined silhouettes, such as a deep burgundy velvet strapless gown and a turquoise column dress with matching gloves.
Ashi became the first couturier from the region to join the Federation de la Haute Couture in Paris as a guest member in 2023.
The couturier’s designs have been worn by celebrities including Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Hudson, Kylie Minogue, Penelope Cruz, Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, and Queen Rania of Jordan.
Saudi artist Muhannad Shono to take part in California’s 2025 Desert X
DUBAI: Saudi artist Muhannad Shono has been selected to take part in the fifth edition of Desert X, the international site-specific art exhibition which will take place across California’s Coachella Valley from March 8 to May 11.
Produced by non-profit organization The Desert Biennial, the event will feature artistic talent from across Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East.
Curated by artistic director Neville Wakefield and co-curator Kaitlin Garcia-Maestas, the 2025 iteration will feature themes of temporality and nonlinear narratives of desert time.
Shono’s work, “What Remains,” explores the ever-changing nature of identity and land. The piece features long strips of fabric infused with native sand, allowing them to move freely with the wind. As the wind shifts, the fabric twists and reshapes while the sand forms dunes.
“The land of Desert X is no longer the mythical and endless expanses of the American West but has come to include the effects of our ever-growing human presence,” said Wakefield.
“Artists continue to be inspired by the idea of unadulterated nature but … they have also come to recognize that this is an idea and that the realities of the world we live in now are both more complex and contested. Time, light and space permeate every aspect of this work but so too does an urgency to find new sustainable approaches to living in an increasingly imperiled world.”
The full list of participating artists is as follows: Sanford Biggers, Los Angeles, California; Jose Davila, Guadalajara, Mexico; Agnes Denes, Budapest, Hungary; Cannupa Hanska Luger, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara and Lakota, b. Standing Rock Reservation, North Dakota, based in Glorieta, New Mexico; Raphael Hefti, Neuchatel, Switzerland; Kimsooja, Daegu, Korea; Kapwani Kiwanga, Hamilton, Canada; Sarah Meyohas, New York; Ronald Rael, Conejos Country, US; Alison Saar, Los Angeles, California; Muhannad Shono, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Huda Kattan launches ‘Huda Hotline’ — a podcast for honest talking
DUBAI: Huda Kattan, the mogul behind Huda Beauty, is breaking new ground with the launch of her “Huda Hotline” podcast.
Launched on Jan. 30, the podcast marks her first major project outside her beauty empire, offering a space for candid discussions about self-worth, beauty standards and personal growth.
Speaking about her motivation, Kattan told Arab News: “I wanted to do this for so long, it’s been a dream of mine for so many years, because I just had so many people from my community asking me to do a podcast, telling me they wanted to see a place where I could share some of my experiences.”
She added that her community has always been deeply connected by a shared passion for development and hard work, something she has learned from statistics and surveys conducted on her META platforms. They revealed a significant percentage of her followers are women striving to start their own businesses.
With “Huda Hotline,” Kattan said she was aiming to give back by being more vulnerable and open about her journey.
“I also have realized that my vulnerability and accepting that I don’t know the answers is something that people also have appreciated from me,” she said.
Initial episodes will explore topics such as entrepreneurship, overcoming fear and redefining traditional beauty standards.
Kattan also talked about the impact her beauty brand has had on diversifying the industry. She said: “I definitely think we were a big part of leading this conversation, and it was difficult at first. It was very, very difficult to be based in the Middle East and trying to break through to the US, break through Europe, and that was extremely, extremely challenging.”
As for the podcast’s future, Kattan envisions she will eventually bring in guests.
“I definitely think there may be some people, but not right away,” she said. She said she was interested in featuring experts in health, self-improvement and biohacking, giving her audience a glimpse into her personal passions beyond beauty.
“I’m so ready for this,” she added.
Emirati artist Rami Farook on his Jeddah solo show ‘A Muslim Man’: ‘This is a living exhibition’
JEDDAH: Rami Farook’s solo exhibition ‘A Muslim Man,’ which runs at Jeddah’s ATHR Gallery until March 25, is a deeply personal sequel of sorts to a film he made in 2015, and traces the evolution of his life, identity and creative practice over the past decade.
The original project, a 64-minute conceptual feature comprising 16 vignettes, has now been reimagined as a labyrinth-like multimedia experience featuring 85 pieces, each of which is based on a scene from that film.
The self-taught Emirati artist was 20 in 2001 when he lost his best friend. Four months later, while living in the US, the events of 9/11 drastically altered his life. As a Muslim, Arab-looking man, he recalls: “I became noticed, vilified… it shifted everything.” These events inspired a deeper exploration of his faith and identity, themes that are central to this show.
“It’s about a Muslim man’s relationship with God, self, society and family,” he tells Arab News.
Following the events of Oct. 7, 2023, and the outbreak of genocidal violence in Palestine, Farook turned to painting as a coping mechanism. “I painted daily, summarizing the news,” he says. This renewed urgency also shaped the exhibition’s tone. The ‘Muslim Man’ is portrayed as both a victim and a hero.
Farook describes the show as “an immersive, intermedia experience.” It is his first attempt at blending multiple mediums into one cohesive journey. “For me, this was a fun curatorial process, way more magical than just watching the film,” he says.
The “docufictional” exhibition is structured like a film, however, and unfolds across seven sections: context, protagonist, cause of conflict, conflict, response to conflict, climax, and moral, Farook explains.
Here, he talks us through several works from the show.
‘Aerial View’
This is the poster for the show; the reason I like it as the poster is you can look at it in any of the seven sections I mentioned earlier — context, protagonist, cause of conflict, conflict, response to conflict, climax, and moral — and it could be in any of them. The character is a Muslim man. This shot presents him as a hero — because we’ve seen the villain side too many times in the last 25 years or more. This show is showing the other side. He’s on a ladder that looks like it’s not in the greatest shape. The village he’s looking at: is it alive? Is it dead? There’s the mystery. And whether he is looking to see what’s going on to eventually maybe protect it, we don’t know. So there’s a lot of mystery.
‘Caring for His Father’
This is a closeup of me holding my dad’s hand. He wears white, I wear black. My dad cannot see; he lost around 50 percent of his eyesight in the last 40 years, and then he lost another maybe 40 percent in the last four or five years. He just sees light at this point. So, I care for him, especially recently. And I just felt like I wanted it to be here. This exhibition is docufictional — it can be about me, but it’s also general.
‘Alone’
I made a mattress that’s exactly my height, my width and my depth. It literally just fits me. It’s the idea that rest, contemplation… it all happens lying down in bed. Later, I thought it also kind of looks like a casket. Originally, it was going to have a fitted sheet or a cover, and a pillow; I made a pillow that’s just the size of my head. I try to strip things down as much as possible to just the absolute basics. Maybe I’ll add it later. This is a living exhibition; I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up adding things later — there are some things here that weren’t planned.
‘The Siege of Jeddah/A Determined Defense’
This captures the moment the Portuguese tried to invade Jeddah. The commander at the time, they put up a determined defense for about 30 to 35 days. It’s significant to showcase it here because there’s only two works in the show that are Jeddah-specific. So for me, it’s beautiful. Jeddah is a city that I love very much. It makes you wonder, if the Portuguese did occupy Jeddah, how everything would be different now.
‘Allah So Determined And Did As He Willed’
This, honestly, is a (phrase) that is my cure to any worry. We all look back at our lives — especially at the big things that we invested time, money, or whatever, into, and we could always ask: how could we guarantee that things — business, relationships, or anything — would have been better if we changed something? This phrase actually helps me to not live with regrets.
Saudi artist San Shyn unveils mural on wall of Saudi embassy in London
- ‘Street culture welcomes everyone as they are,’ says Saudi street artist
JEDDAH: Saudi street artist San Shyn has unveiled a bold and colorful mural in the heart of Mayfair, London, outside the Saudi Embassy.
The piece, created in collaboration with London-based graffiti artist Cept, is part of an ongoing cultural-exchange initiative between Saudi Arabia and the UK, and follows other embassy commissions such as Rashed Al-Shashai’s luminous sculpture in its garden.
Commissioned by Khalid Bin Bandar Al-Saud, the Saudi Ambassador to the UK, Shyn’s mural will be on display until mid-February.
The opportunity to create such a significant piece came through Stephen Stapleton, founder of Edge of Arabia, a platform known for bridging cultures through art.
“Stephen connected us and showed some of my work to the ambassador, who was really happy with it,” Shyn tells Arab News. “I’m so happy that he allowed me to express my art as it is, in a very unique location in London.”
The mural is a major milestone for Shyn, and came as something of a surprise.
“In the beginning, the plan was to create many art projects and murals inside Saudi Arabia — to be known in different cities in the country. The next step was to create something internationally, but I thought it would take longer,” she says. “I was really happy to be chosen for this project, and I hope in the future to create murals in many cities all around the world and leave a legacy.”
The creative process for the mural began in December. Shyn worked closely with Edge of Arabia and Cept to define the direction of the piece. “We discussed what kind of look and feel we wanted — something colorful, bold, and creative,” she says. She developed sketches, decided on the color palette, and refined the concept before bringing Cept into the project.
“It was a very smooth process because Cept is a very professional artist. He implemented my work exactly as I wanted it. I’m really grateful for his participation in this project,” Shyn says.
The mural is deeply rooted in the values of street culture — a movement Shyn has been drawn to since childhood.
“I remember seeing someone doing a kickflip (a skateboarding trick) in a movie, and I thought, ‘What kind of sport is this?’ That led me to discover hip-hop, breakdancing, and graffiti,” she says. “Street culture welcomes everyone as they are. It doesn’t care about your background, what language you speak, or whether you’re rich or poor. That’s something I’ve always loved about it.”
Growing up, Shyn used art as a way to process and express her emotions. She created characters to represent different feelings, a practice she continued into adulthood.
“Whenever I had difficulty expressing certain emotions, I would create a character for that emotion. One of them, for example, was called ‘Sappy,’ which was a mix of sadness and happiness,” she explains. “When I had a job that didn’t require much creativity, I felt restricted and I realized I needed a way to express myself, and that’s when these characters became part of my art again.”
The mural outside the Saudi Embassy embodies Shyn’s belief in the universality of street art. “Street art is a universal language. It’s not specific to a certain country or culture — anyone can understand it,” she says. “That was my intention with this mural. I wanted to create something that anyone can see and connect with, (wherever) they’re from. It should tell a story that doesn’t require words.”
This project is part of a broader initiative by the Saudi Embassy to promote cultural exchange through art. “Saudi Arabia is changing, and the rise of dynamic street artists like San Shyn is a great example of this,” an embassy statement reads. “Art is a bridge between cultures, and this mural demonstrates that Saudi Arabia and the UK have more in common than we might imagine.”
Stapleton highlighted the importance of such projects in a statement, saying: “This playful, joyful artwork … reflects a new era of cross-cultural collaboration between the UK and Saudi Arabia. The language of art transcends the borders that divide us, and we need that language now more than ever.”
