It was a superb event. Fantastic and humorous emceeing, songs from 50s to 2010, dress competition and lively band. People did not want to leave even at 1AM.

Photos By Shariq Qureshi

Photos By G. Nasreen

By G. Nasreen

More pictures from Shariq Qureshi HERE

Photographs by G. Nasreen’s art thru the lens

PACC in cooperation with ICC organized a fun-filled family entertainment program, Basant Jashn-e-Baharan, on Sunday, May 16, 2010. The event provided a wonderful opportunity for both Indian and Pakistani American communities of South Asian descent to mix and mingle and celebrate their shared heritage and culture. The highlights of the event included an unprecedented mix of South Asian cuisines on the same floor ranging from dosas to katakat, a huge collection of ethnic clothes and jewelry, live music with famous Indian and Pakistani tunes, children songs and dance performances, and of course lessons and competition for kite flying. The event has already been recognized by the regulars as one of the finest put together by PACC. It was also the largest event PACC has organized so far, with an estimated total attendance of over 2500 people. The event was conducted with invaluable support from community members, sponsors and especially the volunteers. It is due to the committed and dedicated supporters that PACC was able to bring the finest in South Asian culture and entertainment to the community, and we hope to continue to provide the same with your continued support. Please see a large number of photos of the event HERE. More will be posted as we get them.

Following are some pictures from the event (Courtesy: Nasreen Aboobaker; Copyright: Thru-the-Lens):

The Pakistani American Culture Center or PACC organized Pakistan Day 2010 on April 2, 2010 at Chandni Restuarant in Newark, CA.

Following are some pictures from the event (Courtesy: Nasreen Aboobaker; Copyright: Thru-the-Lens):

The Pakistani American Culture Center or PACC has done it again. Pakistan’s pop superstar Ali Zafar’s first ever San Francisco Bay Area concert was a smashing success, with more than 500 people in attendance in Palo Alto.

The evening started with Nasaal, a young rock band from LA, that had previously played at PACC’s Independence Day celebration. Afterwards, Ali Zafar took the stage for a highly energetic performance that the left crowd on its feet, dancing and clapping. The concert got progressively louder and more exciting with each song; a couple of fans danced on the stage with Ali on Dekha. Masti got everybody on their feet, and the finale of Channo got even the most shy ones clapping and moving.

You can relive the excitement and energy of the concert through a slideshow, available in the sidebar. Some readers may even catch some candid shots of themselves! A special thanks to all of the sponsors, and especially the volunteers, for their hard work, especially those who spent the last two months putting this program together.

Following are some pictures from the event (Courtesy: Nasreen Aboobaker; Copyright: Thru-the-Lens):

The Pakistani American cultural center celebrated its 3rd annual event in honor of Pakistan’s 63rd Independence day on August 9th at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale. The event as usual was of a caliber that PACC is famous for, providing entertainment and interesting segments for all ages. This was all thanks to the efforts of an enthusiastic and spirited team of officers and volunteers.

The children’s segment was a hit as usual with a combination of singing, folk dancing, and a humorous skit about Karachi and Lahore. The event included a wonderful performance by NASAAL Band, who came from L.A. for this event. They completely enthralled the crowd by singing familiar, upbeat Pakistani songs which had the young girls and boys (even Aunties!) in the crowd, singing and clapping till the end. Zaki Syed came all the way from Sacramento and entertained the audience with his creative and spontaneous rap songs on various topics. Our local artist, Rafi Ansari entertained people with his songs and dance.

Booths were set up by a variety of vendors offering unique and traditional products and services. With the sunny and warm weather, kite flying was again very popular and looked like a continuation of Basant. Food was provided by Mehran, a sumptuous treat indeed! The aroma of biryani, barbeque chicken boti, and fresh naans at the tandoor were pulling throngs of people to the food stalls. To top it all off there was refreshing mango lassi and kulfi to beat the afternoon heat.

All in all, it was a fun and festive event, and it was heart-warming to see so many Pakistani American families from different walks of life coming together to celebrate Pakistan’s Independence. PAKISTAN ZINDABAD. See pictures of the event at http://picasaweb.google.com/maboobaker1/Ind09Pix# or http://picasaweb.google.com/hussainshujaat/PACCIndependenceDay2009?feat=email#

Following are some pictures from the event (Courtesy: Nasreen Aboobaker; Copyright: Thru-the-Lens):

Following are some pictures from the event (Courtesy: Nasreen Aboobaker; Copyright: Thru-the-Lens):

What a day of celebration last Sunday!!! Baylands park was filled with more than 1500 people in colorful attires, smiling faces, music, dances and of course sky filled with kites. The day started with delicious food from Mehran and Gyros Express, vendors selling jewelry, cloths, Hina painting and other ethnic items. Jumper house, face painting and many more games were super hits with children. Kite lovers started coming in droves around 2:30 with parallel music and children stage program starting. Musical program was conducted by PACC singers Almas, and her team: Manohar and Krishnan. People loved the lively musical performance by all the singers. Children of the community took part in kite parade, songs and traditional Pakistani dances. There were more entries for kite competition than there was room or time available. The winner of the competition with first prize trophy was a young men Mohammad with 26 kills beating last year’s record of 13. Music with dances and kite flying continued well after the official close at 5:30PM. And to top it off, we collected more than $300 for SWAT displaced people. A memorable event indeed!!!

Following are some pictures from the event (Courtesy: Nasreen Aboobaker; Copyright: Thru-the-Lens):

PACC Cosponsored a program for the benefit of Pakistan’s original pop singer Alamgir Haq. Co starred by TV personality Bushra Ansari and Behroz Sabzwari with special appearance by Saima Khan, a Canadian born Pakistani singer. The program was a sold out event with about 500 peoiple in attendance. Alamgir sang his famous numbers from 70s and 80s. Bushra captivated the audience with her all rounder talent; an excellent singer and a comedienne with help of Behroz. Saima sang many popular numbers from India and Pakistan. The group got audience in uproar many time with thunderous applause and dancing. It was one of the most memorable Pakistani variety shows with famed artists in SF bay area.

Following are some pictures from the event (Courtesy: Nasreen Aboobaker; Copyright: Thru-the-Lens):

PACC organized a program with legendary Pakistani Ghazal singer, Asif Ali. Asif Ali is the last of great ghazal singers from Pakistan. After sumptuous Pakistani dinner at Mehran Restaurant in Fremont, Asif Ali mesmerized the ghazal lovers with his own famous ghazals like ‘Ab ke saal punam’, Darwaza khula rakho’ and other ghazals sung by Mehdi Hasan, Habib Walimohammad and Jagjeet Singh. An audience of about 200 stayed there until almost 1AM.

Following are some pictures from the event (Courtesy: Nasreen Aboobaker; Copyright: Thru-the-Lens):

On the occasion of the birthday of our founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistani American Culture Center of Silicon Valley, California organized Founders’ Day Program. Attendees of the program were encouraged to dress up as one of the founding fathers or mothers. Many people came dressed up as Quaid-e-Azam, Allama Iqbal, Fatima Jinnah, Liaqat Ali Khan, Begum Rana Liaqat Ali Khan, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Chaudhary Rehmat Ali. Program started with national anthem of Pakistan and United States sung by children of the Pakistani community. After that children presented facts from the life of Quaid-e-Azam. Young Ahmer Jafar presented the speech of Quaid-e-Azam with such perfection and enthusiasm that people felt a very strong sense of patriotism. Noor Ali interviewed Quaid-e-Azam (acted by Kashif Salim) in a very entertaining and fun dialogue.

Later, Noreen Tariq, Secretary of PACC, presented the activities organized by PACC in the year 2008. Farrukh Shah Khan, President of PACC, thanked the sponsors who supported the organization and made the event possible. Iqbal Qasim of the PTV fame, was the main Ghazal singer for the night and Syed Arshad performed on Tabla.

Following are some pictures from the event (Courtesy: Nasreen Aboobaker; Copyright: Thru-the-Lens):

PACC celebrated Pakistan Independence Day on August 17th at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale. Large number of Pakistanis and other nationalities attended the program. The enetertainment was provided the singer from LA, Hanif Noormohammad. Children of PACC captured the audience with national songs and provincial dances. Representative Pete McHugh presented PACC with proclamation from the Board of Supervisors of Santa Clara County. In addition to the delicious food, there were booths of different merchandise and many non-profit organizations.

Following are some pictures from the day of the event (courtesy of Shariq Qureshi):

On May 3rd, over one thousand people gathered at the Baylands Park in Sunnyvale to celebrate a memorable and colorful Basant festival. Basant, also known as Jashn-e-Bharan, has recently garnered broad appeal in Pakistan. The event is traditionally known for colorful kites and kite fighting competitions. Many people flew traditional Pakistani kites and showed their children how to fly these paper-thin kites and do ‘paicha’. PACC also organized the first kite competition in the South Bay Area. People enjoyed food fresh off the BBQ grill, while Ajay Academy performed traditional Panjabi Bhangra and Gidda dances. Community children decorated the park with kites, participated in the kite parade, and won prizes for their kite decorating skills. With this event, PACC, under the leadership of Uzma and Suhail Sardar, has started a new annual tradition of Basant in the South Bay.

Following are some pictures from the day of the event (Courtesy: Nasreen Aboobaker; Copyright: Thru-the-Lens):

Following are some more pictures from the day of the event (courtesy of Shariq Qureshi):

PACC celebrated Pakistan Day on March 21st 2008 at Chandni restaurant in Newark, CA. The program started after dinner with children’s performances which were extremely entertaining. They closed the section of the program with national anthems from Pakistan and United States. Chair of PACC Board of Trustees, Asghar Aboobaker ask the audience for a moment of silent prayer for Abdul Sattar Rydhan, a beloved community leader who passed away two days earlier. Then president of PACC welcomed the guests and invited Mayors of Fremont and Milpitas to come to the podium and say a few words. Ausaf and the Aura band performed popular Pakistani songs. Dr. Agha Saeed gave a speech on the significance of the Pakistan resolution and its connection to the Pakistan’s constitution and how it compares with the US constitution. President of PACC, Farrukh Shah Khan gave the history, the current activities and the funding requirements at the PACC. PACC then conducted a short fundraising drive for the first ever Pakistani community center in California, the Pakistani American Culture Center. The program concluded with main performer for the night, Iqbal Qasim, entertaining the audience with his magical and melodic voice signing the ghazals, punjabi songs and lively jokes.

Here are some of the pictures from the event (Courtesy: Nasreen Aboobaker; Copyright: Thru The Lens):