Tag: Cannoli

  • Learn from Pathans how to own your language, says Yasir Hussain

    Learn from Pathans how to own your language, says Yasir Hussain

    Yasir Hussain recently schooled a social media user over their comment regarding English language being a necessity, asking them to be proud of their language.

    A social media user recently commented that though “Urdu is our language, English is the part of our education, and we need to learn English too instead of ignoring it.”

    Responding to the comment, Yasir said: “Do you know anything about China? And Russia? And Spain? And the rest of Europe? They don’t speak English.”

    “Apni zabaan pe fakhar karo [Feel proud of your own language],” added the actor.

    Later, sharing his response, Yasir further remarked: “Ziada door na bi jayen, humein Pathan bhai sekha dein gay zaban ko kesey own kiya jaata ai [You don’t have to look far. Our own Pathan brothers can teach us how to own your language].

    Earlier, Yasir had said that “we have made Urdu a symbol of illiteracy,” and the “English language cool”. Sharing his thoughts on the Cannoli incident and the criticism the owners received for humiliating their manager, Yasir said: “[The] interesting fact is that owner of Cannoli made fun of their manager’s English and everyone (including my actor fraternity) raised their voice in English.”

    Meanwhile, ever since the video of Cannoli owners mocking their manager went viral on social media several celebrities including Adnan Siddiqui and Sheryar Munwar have come forward to condemn the incident and slam the women for their distasteful comments and behaviour.

  • Class and privilege

    Class and privilege

    A video of two women, who are the owners of Cannoli by Café Soul in Islamabad, mocking the café’s manager for not being fluent in English went viral on the internet this week.

    #BoycottCannoli trended online and even Prime Minister Imran Khan weighed in on the issue when he said on Thursday that he doesn’t use English phrases in public because it would be disrespectful to the majority of Pakistani citizens who don’t speak or understand the language.

    The elitist and classist owners were criticised on social media as well as mainstream media, but it seems that they remain unfazed by all the backlash. An ‘apology’ was posted by them on the café’s social media pages but it was anything but an apology. It said that this was just a banter with a team member.

    “We are not required to prove or defend ourselves as kind employers. Our team has been with us for a decade, that should speak for itself,” it said further. This non-apology led to more outrage and rightly so. There was no remorse in the apology, no acknowledgment that they did anything wrong, no sincerity. The thing that the owners need to realise is that not just their video but their so-called apology reeks of elitism, classism and workplace harassment.

    Unfortunately, these two women are not the only ones who are elitist but that as a class-based society, which is very conscious of status, many of us are very much part of the problem. We forget that we have no control over where we are born and being born in a privileged family is just an accident of birth.

    We have complexes about speaking in English, how being fluent in the English language opens up a lot of doors for us in the job market as well as society, how a certain accent would show that we come from a privileged background because we went to the ‘right’ schools and colleges.

    We all make fun of Meera jee’s English, we criticise our cricketers for not speaking proper English (remember Inzi’s ‘boys did well’?), we don’t treat the English language as just a medium of communication but as a status symbol.

    We hope that all of us have learned something from this unfortunate incident, which is to treat our employees with kindness and compassion and also not insult someone for not knowing the English language. Our society needs to break the barriers of class and be more tolerant and less judgmental.

  • We have made Urdu a symbol of illiteracy, says Yasir Hussain

    We have made Urdu a symbol of illiteracy, says Yasir Hussain

    Yasir Hussain has said that “we have made Urdu a symbol of illiteracy,” and the “English language cool”.

    Sharing his thoughts on the Cannoli incident and the criticism the owners received for humiliating their manager, Yasir said: “[The] interesting fact is that owner of Cannoli made fun of their manager’s English and everyone (including my actor fraternity) raised their voice in English.”

    “Did anyone think why the manager needed to speak English?,” he questioned. “From where did this complex come into our society?”

    “We have made English cool and Urdu a symbol of illiteracy. It is something to be ashamed of,” he added.

    In the viral video, the owners of Cannoli Café Soul in Islamabad, Uzma and Diya joked that their manager, who has been working at their café for nine years, has taken three language courses until now and still cannot speak fluent English.

    The two ladies asked the manager Owais to introduce himself in English and when he struggled with speaking fluent English, they made fun of him by commenting on his salary. Owais was visibly uncomfortable in the video.

    Soon after the video was posted on social media, people started calling out the women for their elitist behaviour and though they later issued an apology, people called them out for their “arrogant non-apology”.

    Several celebrities including Sheheryar Munawar, Adnan Siddiqui, Sarah Khan and Ahsan Khan among others slammed the women for their distasteful comments and behaviour.

    Meanwhile, Ameer Gilani took to Instagram and shared details about his meeting with Owais. In a story posted to his Instagram, Gilani said that Awais is a very nice and positive man. He also urged people to focus on the good side to eradicate the wrong.

  • PM says doesn’t want to disrespect masses by talking in English

    PM says doesn’t want to disrespect masses by talking in English

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that he doesn’t use English phrases in public because it would be disrespectful to the majority of Pakistani citizens who don’t speak or understand the language.

    The PM said he has an objection to using English as a language of communication because most people do not speak this language. “I would be fine with addressing events in English if everyone would speak the language,” the PM added.

    The remarks by the prime minister came a day after a much controversial video went viral on social media wherein the owners of a posh cafe in Islamabad were seen ridiculing their restaurant manager for his inability to speak English.

    Uzma and Diya, who own Cannoli Café Soul in Islamabad, have been at the receiving end of outrage for mocking and ridiculing their restaurant manager for his English speaking skills. In the video, the two women explained how their manager has been working at their café for nine years and has taken three language courses until now. 

    They then asked him to introduce himself in English and when he struggled with speaking fluent English, they made fun of him by commenting on the manager’s salary. The manager, Owais, was visibly uncomfortable in the video.

    They also issued a half-hearted apology after strong backlash.

    ‘INHERITANCE CERTIFICATES’:

    Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad on Thursday, the PM announced that inheritance certificates would now be issued within 15 days to make life easier for a common citizen. In past, it would take two years to get this letter issued, but now it will be done in two weeks.

    According to Radio Pakistan, the law ministry has devised a mechanism to establish Succession Facilitation Units in collaboration with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for the issuance of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates within 15 days of initiation of the application by the legal heirs of the deceased.

    The PM also emphasised on reforming the civil procedure court, criminal justice system and ensuring women’s inheritance rights. “People friendly law reforms were being considered crucial by the present government aimed at ensuring justice through people-friendly legislation.

  • Twitterati slam Cannoli owners for ‘non-apology’

    After the owners of Cannoli Café Soul sparked outrage for mocking their manager for his English speaking skills, they issued an apology which reeks of privelege and arrogance.

    In an official statement, the café said: “We are saddened and appalled by the reaction of the people, how they have misconstrued our banter with a team member.”

    The owners explained that the video showed “casual gup shup” between the owners and their team, adding: “This video depicts the gup shup between us as a team, and is never meant or taken in a hurtful or negative way. If anyone was hurt or offended we apologise, however that was never our intention.”

    The statement further said: “We are not required to prove or defend ourselves as kind employers. Our team has been with us for a decade, that should speak for itself.”

    “We are proud Pakistanis who love our language and our culture,” the statement concluded.

    However, social media users are not buying Cannoli’s apology, with some wishing they had never issued one.

    One user had predicted the entire apology statement.

    https://twitter.com/MirTharkiMir/status/1352214340087279619?s=20

    https://twitter.com/Shehzad89/status/1352231146638225421?s=20
  • ‘Elitist’ Cannoli owners mock restaurant manager’s ‘English’

    ‘Elitist’ Cannoli owners mock restaurant manager’s ‘English’

    Uzma and Diya, who own Cannoli Café Soul in Islamabad, are at the receiving end of outrage for mocking and ridiculing their restaurant manager for his English speaking skills.

    In a now-deleted video from the café’s Instagram page, the two women explained how their manager has been working at their café for nine years and has taken three language courses until now. 

    They then asked him to introduce himself in English and when he struggled with speaking fluent English, they made fun of him by commenting on the manager’s salary. The manager, Owais, was visibly uncomfortable in the video.

    Soon after the video was posted on social media, people started calling out the women for their elitist behavior.

    Even Shaniera Akram stepped in to defend Owais and said that she “knows what it’s like being put on the spot to speak another language”.

    Later, #BoycottCannoli began to trend on Twitter as netizens called for people to boycott the restaurant.

    Meanwhile, Cannoli Lahore has said that they are not linked to the Islamabad Branch and that they condemn the incident.