Hasan Aftab Saeed

An integral part of education is to get called out when one says something particularly silly. Parents and siblings need to do it at home, and friends and peers need to play a similar role at school, university, or other institution. Often, this contribution is unforthcoming, and many people manage to enter middle and even old age without receiving this vital element of education, which is a shame.

That babies are born to parents with all sorts of religious backgrounds is a familiar objection that atheists raise against all religions. The argument goes something like this: Most people stick to whatever faith they happen to be born into. Since each religion declares that allegiance to it ensures salvation, it is hardly fair for those who are born to parents subscribing to the ‘wrong’ faith. There are all sorts of religions out there and nobody can speak for all of them.

The Lahoris have spoken on the shawarma vs books issue. Their verdict: shawarma, any day of the week! They announced this on the occasion of this year’s edition of the Lahore Book Fair, at which 1200 shawarmas were reportedly sold. (Eight hundred plates of biryani were sold too.) In comparison, the grand total of books purchased at the event stood at 35! These numbers could be somewhat inaccurate. In fact, they probably are.