Teeth Maestro by Dr. Awab Alvi

My article published in yesterday’s The Friday Times [26th December 2008] where i shared the evolution of Blogging in 2008

There was once a time when most people in Pakistan had no clue as to what the word ‘Blogging’ actually meant, this ‘un-heard off’ word was often greeted with a confused and stunned silence, quite frequently followed with an innocent desi‘ish utterance Blaaging?. An avid blogger like me, who has been dotting the blogosphere since 2004 would instantly get those dreaded stomach binges to sum up the courage and go out on the usual two minute revolutionary spiel promoting the art and science of blogging, it was also an effort to educate the educated. In those days, back then, the two minute sales pitch would often fade into a distant whisper, leaving both parties scampering for other talking points as this geek fad discussion would not last an entire conversation.

Then came the martial law of 2007, most, if not all, Pakistanis were up in arms condemning this heinous political change, including the relatively unknown community of bloggers who too joined the outcry on the digital landscape and penned their protest, little did they know then, that this political tragedy may very well have served them with an unexpected christening right here in the ‘Islamic Republic’ of Pakistan. Whilst the Lawyers and Journalists were taking a battering on the streets, the media could not report and the press could not print, it was these previously unrecognized lone rangers of the blogosphere who stepped up to the plate and offered an unhindered and uncensored news from ‘the streets’. The media blackout had in fact catapulted the community of citizen journalists to become the ‘media’ for Pakistanis hunting for the real uncensored news about the political circus taking place within Pakistan.
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