This happened to be my first podcast sitting face to face with my guest who was none other than Nadia Jamil. The conversation was caffeinated, speckled with pauses, lots of tearful blotches, hearty laugher, admissions , permissions, pronunciations and enunciations. This is a 2-part conversation where Nadia candidly talks about Lahore, lessons, trusting and connecting, her lineage and her parents, her love for nature and her extreme love for words.

The beats, rhythms, rhymes of her acting career, her role as a mother, anger management and the importance of establishing boundaries in relationships.

"I started school at a Catholic convent in London and ended it on a Catholic convent in Lahore. After my A levels I went on to study under the guidance of Professor Eqbal Ahmad in the USA. I studied drama and political science with a minor in creative writing.

However my learning has come from everywhere, everyone and everything. Not just the academic institutions I have been in.

I grew up surrounded by art, culture, politics and romance. I witnessed and learned from it but also from hypocrisy, lies, violence and posturing. I saw the beautiful, the ugly and keep learning from it all. What I want to be, want I do not choose to be. I love all my plays. I’m not a deeply ambitious actor but both my times at The Globe theatre and my experiences with street theatre in Lahore are acutely important to me.

I am a teacher of mindfulness, drama, posture, expression and self confidence. Also an anchor and tv host, connection and communication is important to me. I write. I am a story teller.

I am a student. 

I am a proud survivor of abuse and learn every day that the most powerful friend and companion I must invest in, is myself. I am a mother. Learning to be a better one helps me fulfil my ambition to be a better human being. There are too many lessons being taught every second for me to name one, but an important one is to learn to get up, hold your own heart and pull yourself up. Knowing you will fall again, knowing you have to strengthen yourself to haul your self up again. And in that process look around. Your greatest teacher is Nature, let it heal you. Your second greatest teacher is childhood. The child in you, the children around  you. Learn how to bounce back from them.

Serve. Serve everything selflessly. Without agendas. Without expecting. Prepare yourself. This life is an incubation period, it is a womb. Laugh, laugh easily and in good humour. Never cruelly. Laugh at yourself, at the ridiculous, at the wonderful. Laugh because you know you CAN get up. Laugh in joy, you have the will to cut through your pain. You are a survivor. Laugh with me." Nadia Jamil

Nadia Jamil's Social Media Handles

Twitter: NJLahori

Facebook : Nadia Fazal Jamil

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Muzaffar strongly believes in ' When you hear the calling, answer it' , however, to get to this stage of belief and conviction he went through trauma, grief, untangling, unraveling but most of all he went looking for imperfection. Breaking his own mould and perception of perfection he started his journey of courage, hope and curiosity.

Muzaffar received a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Northwestern University, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2006. Muzaffar has a MBA from Institute of Management Development (IMD), Switzerland, and graduated with distinction in leadership in 2011. Muzaffar started his career with UBS Investment Bank, New York, in 2006. He later moved back to Pakistan to work in the financial services industry and was involved in asset management and commercial banking.

Having travelled to over 50 countries, attending executive education at Harvard Business School, Muzaffar knew that something was missing. He had an “aha!” moment on his trip to Finland, where he had the opportunity to spend time in Finnish schools and interact with educationists. Inspired bywhat he had seen, he imagined the way new, non-traditional systems of education could interrupt the standardized, rigid educational landscape of Pakistani education. He realized that he wanted to do something more meaningful –something transformative, something innovative. In 2015, Muzaffar found his true calling with Veritas Learning Circle (VLC).

Muzaffar is an ICF Certified Coach, RYT 200 Yoga Teacher (Bali) and a practicing therapist having completed his diploma in Humanistic Integrative Counseling from CPPD, UK.

He’s married to Aneeta and together they are blessed with three beautiful kids: Zeina (6), Meer (3) and Karam (2).

Muzaffar Bukhari social media handles:

Website : vlc.org.pk

Blog: flightofmuz.com

Instagram: muzzi_shah

 Accepting and arriving, experiencing the not so pleasant experiences, staying in the awareness of being aware, not looking for answers and not even waiting for conclusions - is what Aisha believes. 

Aisha is originally from Karachi, Pakistan and has been teaching yoga for 10 years in Pakistan and abroad. Her teaching supports reconnecting to our movement from the inside-out.  She focuses on gentle, light, micro-movements, and how to bring more of us into each shape, and transition of the body.   Her practice is influenced by life off the mat and continues to evolve and change with each season of her life.   One of the key intentions of the practice is to nourish, nurture, and move towards a resilient and balanced nervous system.  It is inclusive and accessible to all levels of practitioners. 

In our chat today Aisha takes her through her own understanding of Islam and Yoga, important tenets of sufism, spirituality, motherhood, ego management, and non-attachment.  She shares how yoga has been a stepping stone for her in so many spheres of life, how her own voice and practice, as a teacher has changed overtime.  And what yoga truly means to her in this phase of life.

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Pakistan's first super model, Atiya Khan, shares her experiences as a model back in the Zia regime of 1980s, a counter narrative, a different stamp on the global modelling landscape leading up to her inward journey. The epiphany, her Sufi teacher, her personal life crumbling but the direction was clear and calling. Atiya also shares with us various insights leading up to her documentary "Qalander Code" and her future plans.

Atiya Khan has achieved a high level of acclaim and success, undertaking a leadership and pioneering role in the fields of TV production, direction, acting, modelling and presenting. She has been directing and producing for the Advertising and Television industry in Pakistan since 1994. Her expertise in the media merged with her interest and knowledge of Sufism have led her to promote Sufism and moderate Islam through a wide variety of channels.

Atiya Khan's social media presence

atiyakhan.com

www.facebook.com/atiya.khan.524596

qalandarcode.com

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In this podcast we chat with the Internationally renowned head and neck oncologist, Dr. Scharukh Jalisi. He shares with us his knowledge and experience of dealing with cancer patients, the most pressing causes for head and neck cancer, immunity functions & nutritional requirements of the human body. He also talks about the importance of compassion and empathy not just for the cancer patient but also for the caregiver/s and family. We end the chat by Dr. Scharukh giving out advice to the youth in order to change lifestyles and prevention of the disease.

Dr. Scharukh Jalisi is the current Chief of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School/ Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is also the Director of the Head and Neck Surgical Oncology and Program Leader for Head and Neck Oncology at Beth Israsel Deaconess Cancer Center (a member of the Dana Farber Harvard Cancer Center). He is an internationally renowned head and neck surgical oncologist and skullbase surgeon with special expertise in Robotic Surgery. His research interests include Outcomes of Skullbase and Head and Neck Surgery and Microvascular reconstruction. He is an author of three Otolaryngology textbooks and has written multiple book chapters and papers. He has been an invited speaker at national and international venues. He is also the founder and developer of low cost high quality Urgent Care Clinics providing acute care medical treatment.

Dr. Scharukh's Social Media presence

bidmc.org/centers-and-departments/cancer-center/cancer-center-programs-and-services/head-and-neck-cancer-program

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Jonathan Tudge was educated at the universities of Lancaster and Oxford (UK) and Cornell (USA), and is a professor of human development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA.  He has long been interested in the relations among culture, everyday activities and interactions, and development.  His books include The Everyday Lives of Young Children: Culture, Class, and Child Rearing in Diverse Countries (Cambridge University Press, 2008), and he has co-edited two other books related to culture and youth development.  With Lia Freitas (professor of psychology at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul) he has been studying the development of gratitude in children and adolescents for the past decade, with generous support from the John Templeton Foundation.  Their most recent book is Developing Gratitude in Children and Adolescents (Cambridge University Press, 2018).

Our chat was most intuitive and conscious talking about different ways, forms and levels of gratitude. Cultural differences in the expression of gratitude and how Professor Tudge is making efforts to inculcate the practise of conscious gratitude in young children and adolescents. We also talk about how gratitude can help the societies to move from 'Me centered' to 'Us centered.' And in the process create a sense of wellness globally.

Professor Jonathan Tudge Social Media Presence

hhs.uncg.edu/wordpress/hdf/people/faculty/jonathan-tudge

morethanthanks.wp.uncg.edu/

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Shazia was born in Karachi, Pakistan in the early 70’s. Nomadic trails led her and her  mother to Kuwait where they settled for a few years. Later life brought them to London as she discovered the nuances of British boarding schools and a life here in England which she came to love. Shazia qualified from University with a Bachelor of Journalism, Hons. in the U.S. and returned to London where ultimately, she enjoyed a career as an Account Director in advertising . After her wedding in 2001, she gave up work to be a full-time Mother to her two sons back in England by 2002. In February 2018, Shazia was diagnosed with aggressive, triple negative breast cancer. By June 2019, she completed 18 months of cancer treatment which she endeavoured to get through with a spiritual energy that could inspire in times of adversity. 

"The root of all my intention has always been to spread the power of positivity and self-awareness throughout this journey" - Shazia Calvert-Davies

In this episode of 'dhaani' we chat with Shazia, regarding cancer, emotional and immunity functions and finding purpose through adversity. Shazia candidly talks about her experience dealing with medication, chemotherapy, lifestyle changes, having faith in modern medicinal care and the one thing that kept her consistent, positive and grounded. She explains her purpose, intention and a rejuvenation within regarding her future. The chat ends with some interesting "Fill-in-the-blanks"

Shazia's Social Media presence :

Website/Blog: breastcancersmiles.com

IG : breastcancersmiles

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Carrying on from the last episode Adnan talks about the social and cultural construct around masculinity. We talk about expectations, breaking male imagery, parenting skills, self acceptance and self care as tools to break the "BE A MAN" effigy. Adnan shares his own experiences from childhood to college days to the current , the voices from the past, the one movie that made him think and re-think to finding authenticity in his own voice.

The podcast concludes with some interesting "Fill-in-the-blanks"