When not allowed to walk on traditional ways, some people establish and make their own paths in society. Awais Samdani and Khubaib Samdani – two brothers – did the same and launched Self Projections.
While talking to The Nation about the journey of launching their own online magazine, Awais said that he once wrote a piece on a rather sensitive topic in May 2015 and sent it to different newspapers, online magazines and media outlets, but all refused to publish it because it was against their ‘policies’.
“One newspaper, after having agreed to publish it, made me wait for weeks. In the end they simply refused to publish it,” recalled Awais.
Software engineer by profession, Awais thought about how he or his like-minded people can have a platform where logically argued pieces, blogs, stories and articles are published.
“After discussing it with Khubaib, we decided to launch our own online magazine which will give a proper platform to young writers to share their stories and thoughts without fear of rejection,” Awais said. “And that is how Self Projections magazine came into life.”
Awais Samdani
Talking about the journey and the real thought behind this magazine, Khubaib said they wanted to establish a bridge between two extremes in our society – leftists and rightists. “We started writing on different subjects, which most of media outlets are afraid to discuss, but with logic and proper reasoning. Because we don’t want our project to be a place for illogical thrashing of others,” Khubaib explained.
“Furthermore, we want to highlight the positives of Pakistan as most of the time there is negativity about our country, which gets published and propagated,” he further explained.
While explaining Self Projections, both told me that there are two major portions of their magazine. One titled Society & Happenings deals with social issues, gender problems, breaking taboos topics and stereotypes of our society.
“The second one Life Enthusiasm deals with motivational stories and interviews of people who are making or trying to make a difference in our society,” shared Awais.
Both youngsters further shared the early journey of their venture. “We printed posters, used Google forms to call for young writers and slowly we started to get a response from students, youngsters and fresh writers who want to speak out on a proper platform,” said Khubaib.
“Gradually it got momentum and now we have writers from across the country and from prominent educational institutes like Kinnaird College, LUMS and LSE,” shared Awais.
Khubaib Samdani
About future plans for their magazine, Awais said they will do video interviews of young prominent personalities. “We have done a few already but we will properly streamline this in the near future,” they said.
Furthermore, Khubaib, who is a medical student in Rawalpindi, is running a 60 Minutes Club where he and other youngsters gather, share their stories and indulge in educational and motivational discussion. “The club is also slowly expanding as many not only want to share their stories but also because it helps in building their confidence,” Khubaib explained.
“Our message of life to youth is simple and that is believe, because when you believe in yourself, you will do wonders,” said Khubaib.
“Believe in yourself and set a goal. This will give you a remarkable life."