Books
- I subscribe to leadership and management magazines, but apart from that my main interest is Scottish politics, which I follow closely. I am reading Salmond Against the Odds by David Torrance, an excellent book about the life of Scotland’s first minister. In my spare time I blog on Scottish independence and current affairs.
Music
- Apart from English, I am a fluent speaker of Urdu, Punjabi and Hindko, and enjoy music and poetry in all four languages. My favourites include Flower of Scotland, Scots Wha Hae, Scotland the Brave and Highland Cathedral. I love music and it depends on my mood and the lyrics of a song. It depends so heavily on lyrics because I love poetry - I have been told that I use a great deal of Urdu poetry to express myself when I am speaking in Urdu. Some of my favourite poets are Robert Burns, Roy Williamson and Faiz Ahmed Faiz (pictured).
Film
- Being multilingual is a big bonus - I enjoy watching movies in different languages. Favourites include The American President and The War Room, but instead of watching movies I devote time to better causes. I do a great deal of community work, including promotion of peace and harmony, and charity work for various causes. I have been involved in organising events including the 2011 Peace for Humanity conference. In order to bring different communities together, last year I was involved in a multicultural event with Shawlands Academy Parent Teacher Council - Shawlands Mela. The aim was to bring communities together. It was on St Patrick’s Day and kicked off with Irish dance, followed by Gaelic music, Indian Bhangra and Urdu songs.
