Dinner@Zouk

No NASSCOM hasn't been in town. But the delegation--or 8 of us from the delegation--met for dinner at Cafe Zouk in Karachi.

This was the second meeting for the delegation since our return from India. The first round of socialising was conducted in Lahore where Jehan Ara, Nadeem Malik, Sadia Khan and Lutfullah Khan, alongwith Sultan [the delegate who could not make it] had what I heard was a good time at The Ugly Duckling, the Gymkhana and a formal PASHA meeting.

Dinner last night was thrown by Nadeem for Owais Zaidi, Sultan, Allauddin Sahib, Shahida Saleem, Jehan Ara and a-very-late Asad who was left grappling with a few Buffalo Wings.

All thoughts and concerns about work were barred from the table [since there was a committee meeting planned for today] and the ensuing conversation focused on a 'news announcement' [scary], Owais and Shahida threatening me with dire consequences for lack of adequate coverage in Spider, and complicated developments on the PASHA forum. Owais insisted that I have developed hate for him since the Indian visit while Shahida pointed our a grave typo [My company is Catco International] in the final write-up. The conversation easily fluctuated between how PASHA should "chill out" in various ways conducive to the future of IT to contents related to the "announcement". Sultan, managing a very cheese-filled course, resorted to meditating in a corner [praying for salvation for his dining colleagues].

Missing from dinner: Anwer and Navaid of Kontact. Anwer had thrown a private party according to news reports reaching my ears. Reports suggest he had installed invisible PASHA blockers around his property to prevent his old friends from gate-crashing. We missed you too Anwer!

In a seperate development, the FPPCI-IT committee was successfully concluded at iWays, Karachi. Attendees identified dates for several key verticals to be conducted this year. Potential sponsors and networks were listed and a strategy to follow up the first event coming up in April were drawn up.