"They used the gas from my motorbike to power the generator," complained Shah Hussain, father of three, describibng his family's craze for the Indian TV Serial, "Tulsi". Shah lives in Kabul; his family, like many families in the Afghan cpaital, is obsessed with the Dari version of the serial run on one of the local TV stations.

The serial portrays the lives of three-or-so generations of mothers-and daughters-in-law, living together in a large family. Tulsi, the protagonist of the play, has achieved such a wiodespread fame among the Afghans that the serial is now known after her name; few people recognize the serial by its original name, Because Mother-in-law Has Also Once Been a Daughter-in-law

Despite the severe power shortages, people stay glued to their TV screens every night at half past eight. Such is the frustration of a power failure in the middle of the show that curse words are uttered without any fear of consequences even in the "strictest" and "noblest" of families.

Many families–even some of the poorest ones–have gone as far as purchasing generators in order not to miss an episode. Because of the "reality" and "closeness" of its theme to the peoples' lives, they think its worth the purchase and the subsequent fuel cost.

Girls mimic the lines at schools, men both young and old watch it and women are big fans. "Tulsi" is the subject of conversations even at some government offices. Women spend hours commenting on the outcomes of events.

Posters and postcards of Tulsi and some other characters of the play are now being produced. Despite the higher prices, Tulsi aficionados don't mind buying them.

After Delhi and Islamabad, "Tulsi" has taken Kabul by fire. Considering the length of the serial, it can be foretold that this new media craze is likely to continue for many more years to come.

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This is a story I did when I was in Kabul a couple of weeks ago.

Since some of you my friends inequired about my exam, here I am, writing about it. What do you think? How may have I done? Well? Badly? Fifty-fifty? Well, before those speculations go too far, let me disclose the real deal: I wasn't able to take the exam at all. Yes, I didn't take the exam; they didn't let me take it.

After a long and hard go at the legal stuff of acquiring a passport and a visa, I was hopeful (and happy) that I would take the test, but they didn't let me take the test because there was a name mismatch  on my passport and my admission ticket. However, back luck is like an epidemic; once it strikes, it spares almost no one. I took a special 30-minute exemption time from the test administrator to go to the Afghan embassy to get a 'letter of correction', but it was closed. All embassies in Islamabad are closed on Saturdays (and Sundays). Then I frantically tried to call College Board--the organization that administers the SAT--to get things fixed, but it was night time in the US and it was Saturday. Then I tried to call the Princeton Review--a test-prep company which offers free advice--only to hear an answering machine babbling! That was the last hope. And it faded away. Then there was me crying over my luck and wasted time, money and efforts.
The 'supervisor' told me he sympathized with me, but he wouldn't let me take the test because I had "done a mistake" in registering for the test and that it was out of his jurisdiction.

Right now, I am in negotiations with College Board to fix the problem and get another admission ticket, in recognition of my previous registration, for the next test administration date.

Image: http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:ifj1syvMiZHdFM:www.rlrouse.com/pic-of-the-day/mother-baby.jpg

Reports suggest that the Taliban are getting more organized as the weather gets warmer in Afghanistan. Admitting this, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, Combined Forces Commander in Afghanistan, said that the Taliban were regrouping in the south of the country. However, what remains unanswered is, why, even after four years, the Afghan government only holds notable control in a few provinces and cities and why are the Taliban able to regroup in Afghanistan in the presence of a government, its security institutions, and the international forces?

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