Reading Comprehension || RC PRACTICE SET - 9 || CAT 2021 || 24 April

Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain word (s) are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.

The international ice hockey federation (IIHF) has said it will not hold this summer’s world championship in Belarus, amid concerns that it would be a propaganda coup for the country’s hockey-mad dictator, Alexander Lukashenko.

In a statement, the federation said it had made the decision “in the face of the growing safety and security concerns related to both the rising political unrest and Covid-19”. Minsk and the Latvian capital, Riga, were due to co-host the tournament in May and June. The decision comes just a week after the IIHF president, René Fasel, dismissed pressure to cancel the tournament after Lukashenko’s ruthless crackdown on a huge protest movement in recent months. Fasel warmly embraced Lukashenko on a visit to Minsk and said he wanted the tournament to go ahead as planned.

Fasel said he believed Lukashenko was committed to serious reform in the country, something most observers of the country over recent months think highly unlikely. “Personally, I think that lot of people are underestimating the capacity of the Belarus government to move forward, modernise, and build a new constitution in the country,” Fasel said, after meeting the Belarusian leader.

The IIHF’s sudden change of heart appears to have come about only after businesses sponsoring the tournament started to pull out, wary of negative publicity. On Saturday, Škoda said it would withdraw as a sponsor of the tournament if it went ahead in Belarus. “We’ve been a proud partner to the IIHF world championship for 28 years. But we also respect and promote all human rights,” the Czech car manufacturer said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested, beaten or forced to flee the country since unrest began in Belarus after rigged elections in August. Hosting the tournament would have given Lukashenko a boost at a time when he has become an international pariah. He is passionate about ice hockey and is frequently pictured on state television playing the game.

“This is a very wise step – to support human rights & fair sport, not to ___________ with the regime in Belarus,” wrote Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the exiled opposition politician, on Twitter on Monday.

Until Monday, the IIHF had insisted the tournament should be kept separate from politics, but this was always unrealistic in the current climate. Latvia recently banned the head of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation, Dmitry Baskov, from entering the country after he was alleged to have been present during an attack on the protester Roman Bondarenko in Minsk in November. Bondarenko later died of his injuries. The IIHF has said it is carrying out its own investigation into the incident.

The hockey federation said it would announce soon whether the tournament would be held only in Riga, or moved to a different location entirely.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/18/belarus-axed-as-host-of-ice-hockey-tournament-over-security-concerns

Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain word (s) are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.

The international ice hockey federation (IIHF) has said it will not hold this summer’s world championship in Belarus, amid concerns that it would be a propaganda coup for the country’s hockey-mad dictator, Alexander Lukashenko.

In a statement, the federation said it had made the decision “in the face of the growing safety and security concerns related to both the rising political unrest and Covid-19”. Minsk and the Latvian capital, Riga, were due to co-host the tournament in May and June. The decision comes just a week after the IIHF president, René Fasel, dismissed pressure to cancel the tournament after Lukashenko’s ruthless crackdown on a huge protest movement in recent months. Fasel warmly embraced Lukashenko on a visit to Minsk and said he wanted the tournament to go ahead as planned.

Fasel said he believed Lukashenko was committed to serious reform in the country, something most observers of the country over recent months think highly unlikely. “Personally, I think that lot of people are underestimating the capacity of the Belarus government to move forward, modernise, and build a new constitution in the country,” Fasel said, after meeting the Belarusian leader.

The IIHF’s sudden change of heart appears to have come about only after businesses sponsoring the tournament started to pull out, wary of negative publicity. On Saturday, Škoda said it would withdraw as a sponsor of the tournament if it went ahead in Belarus. “We’ve been a proud partner to the IIHF world championship for 28 years. But we also respect and promote all human rights,” the Czech car manufacturer said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested, beaten or forced to flee the country since unrest began in Belarus after rigged elections in August. Hosting the tournament would have given Lukashenko a boost at a time when he has become an international pariah. He is passionate about ice hockey and is frequently pictured on state television playing the game.

“This is a very wise step – to support human rights & fair sport, not to ___________ with the regime in Belarus,” wrote Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the exiled opposition politician, on Twitter on Monday.

Until Monday, the IIHF had insisted the tournament should be kept separate from politics, but this was always unrealistic in the current climate. Latvia recently banned the head of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation, Dmitry Baskov, from entering the country after he was alleged to have been present during an attack on the protester Roman Bondarenko in Minsk in November. Bondarenko later died of his injuries. The IIHF has said it is carrying out its own investigation into the incident.

The hockey federation said it would announce soon whether the tournament would be held only in Riga, or moved to a different location entirely.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/18/belarus-axed-as-host-of-ice-hockey-tournament-over-security-concerns

Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain word (s) are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.

The international ice hockey federation (IIHF) has said it will not hold this summer’s world championship in Belarus, amid concerns that it would be a propaganda coup for the country’s hockey-mad dictator, Alexander Lukashenko.

In a statement, the federation said it had made the decision “in the face of the growing safety and security concerns related to both the rising political unrest and Covid-19”. Minsk and the Latvian capital, Riga, were due to co-host the tournament in May and June. The decision comes just a week after the IIHF president, René Fasel, dismissed pressure to cancel the tournament after Lukashenko’s ruthless crackdown on a huge protest movement in recent months. Fasel warmly embraced Lukashenko on a visit to Minsk and said he wanted the tournament to go ahead as planned.

Fasel said he believed Lukashenko was committed to serious reform in the country, something most observers of the country over recent months think highly unlikely. “Personally, I think that lot of people are underestimating the capacity of the Belarus government to move forward, modernise, and build a new constitution in the country,” Fasel said, after meeting the Belarusian leader.

The IIHF’s sudden change of heart appears to have come about only after businesses sponsoring the tournament started to pull out, wary of negative publicity. On Saturday, Škoda said it would withdraw as a sponsor of the tournament if it went ahead in Belarus. “We’ve been a proud partner to the IIHF world championship for 28 years. But we also respect and promote all human rights,” the Czech car manufacturer said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested, beaten or forced to flee the country since unrest began in Belarus after rigged elections in August. Hosting the tournament would have given Lukashenko a boost at a time when he has become an international pariah. He is passionate about ice hockey and is frequently pictured on state television playing the game.

“This is a very wise step – to support human rights & fair sport, not to ___________ with the regime in Belarus,” wrote Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the exiled opposition politician, on Twitter on Monday.

Until Monday, the IIHF had insisted the tournament should be kept separate from politics, but this was always unrealistic in the current climate. Latvia recently banned the head of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation, Dmitry Baskov, from entering the country after he was alleged to have been present during an attack on the protester Roman Bondarenko in Minsk in November. Bondarenko later died of his injuries. The IIHF has said it is carrying out its own investigation into the incident.

The hockey federation said it would announce soon whether the tournament would be held only in Riga, or moved to a different location entirely.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/18/belarus-axed-as-host-of-ice-hockey-tournament-over-security-concerns

Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain word (s) are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.

The international ice hockey federation (IIHF) has said it will not hold this summer’s world championship in Belarus, amid concerns that it would be a propaganda coup for the country’s hockey-mad dictator, Alexander Lukashenko.

In a statement, the federation said it had made the decision “in the face of the growing safety and security concerns related to both the rising political unrest and Covid-19”. Minsk and the Latvian capital, Riga, were due to co-host the tournament in May and June. The decision comes just a week after the IIHF president, René Fasel, dismissed pressure to cancel the tournament after Lukashenko’s ruthless crackdown on a huge protest movement in recent months. Fasel warmly embraced Lukashenko on a visit to Minsk and said he wanted the tournament to go ahead as planned.

Fasel said he believed Lukashenko was committed to serious reform in the country, something most observers of the country over recent months think highly unlikely. “Personally, I think that lot of people are underestimating the capacity of the Belarus government to move forward, modernise, and build a new constitution in the country,” Fasel said, after meeting the Belarusian leader.

The IIHF’s sudden change of heart appears to have come about only after businesses sponsoring the tournament started to pull out, wary of negative publicity. On Saturday, Škoda said it would withdraw as a sponsor of the tournament if it went ahead in Belarus. “We’ve been a proud partner to the IIHF world championship for 28 years. But we also respect and promote all human rights,” the Czech car manufacturer said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested, beaten or forced to flee the country since unrest began in Belarus after rigged elections in August. Hosting the tournament would have given Lukashenko a boost at a time when he has become an international pariah. He is passionate about ice hockey and is frequently pictured on state television playing the game.

“This is a very wise step – to support human rights & fair sport, not to ___________ with the regime in Belarus,” wrote Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the exiled opposition politician, on Twitter on Monday.

Until Monday, the IIHF had insisted the tournament should be kept separate from politics, but this was always unrealistic in the current climate. Latvia recently banned the head of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation, Dmitry Baskov, from entering the country after he was alleged to have been present during an attack on the protester Roman Bondarenko in Minsk in November. Bondarenko later died of his injuries. The IIHF has said it is carrying out its own investigation into the incident.

The hockey federation said it would announce soon whether the tournament would be held only in Riga, or moved to a different location entirely.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/18/belarus-axed-as-host-of-ice-hockey-tournament-over-security-concerns

Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain word (s) are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.

The international ice hockey federation (IIHF) has said it will not hold this summer’s world championship in Belarus, amid concerns that it would be a propaganda coup for the country’s hockey-mad dictator, Alexander Lukashenko.

In a statement, the federation said it had made the decision “in the face of the growing safety and security concerns related to both the rising political unrest and Covid-19”. Minsk and the Latvian capital, Riga, were due to co-host the tournament in May and June. The decision comes just a week after the IIHF president, René Fasel, dismissed pressure to cancel the tournament after Lukashenko’s ruthless crackdown on a huge protest movement in recent months. Fasel warmly embraced Lukashenko on a visit to Minsk and said he wanted the tournament to go ahead as planned.

Fasel said he believed Lukashenko was committed to serious reform in the country, something most observers of the country over recent months think highly unlikely. “Personally, I think that lot of people are underestimating the capacity of the Belarus government to move forward, modernise, and build a new constitution in the country,” Fasel said, after meeting the Belarusian leader.

The IIHF’s sudden change of heart appears to have come about only after businesses sponsoring the tournament started to pull out, wary of negative publicity. On Saturday, Škoda said it would withdraw as a sponsor of the tournament if it went ahead in Belarus. “We’ve been a proud partner to the IIHF world championship for 28 years. But we also respect and promote all human rights,” the Czech car manufacturer said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested, beaten or forced to flee the country since unrest began in Belarus after rigged elections in August. Hosting the tournament would have given Lukashenko a boost at a time when he has become an international pariah. He is passionate about ice hockey and is frequently pictured on state television playing the game.

“This is a very wise step – to support human rights & fair sport, not to ___________ with the regime in Belarus,” wrote Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the exiled opposition politician, on Twitter on Monday.

Until Monday, the IIHF had insisted the tournament should be kept separate from politics, but this was always unrealistic in the current climate. Latvia recently banned the head of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation, Dmitry Baskov, from entering the country after he was alleged to have been present during an attack on the protester Roman Bondarenko in Minsk in November. Bondarenko later died of his injuries. The IIHF has said it is carrying out its own investigation into the incident.

The hockey federation said it would announce soon whether the tournament would be held only in Riga, or moved to a different location entirely.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/18/belarus-axed-as-host-of-ice-hockey-tournament-over-security-concerns

Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.

Saddique used to work as a production manager in a football production factory in Sialkot, a town close to his village of Shahpur in the state of Punjab. Every day, he would get on his bike and travel for an hour and a half to cover the distance of 50 kilometres. He happily gave it up to focus on his new full-time job – creating what he calls “reality cooking shows”, giving out “centuries-old” family recipes.

When Saddique started in January 2017, money was not on his mind. He didn’t even know that he could earn from videos shot on cell phone.

“I want the world to know my family’s secret recipes,” he told Images on the phone from his village, where he lives with his family – a wife, three children, his parents and a younger brother (another works in South Korea).

His first video explained how to make mooli parathas. Since then, he has put up 350 videos that show how to cook not only regional culinary delights but even burgers and pizzas (he baked the buns and pizza base in an earthen tandoor built from scratch). His seekh kabab recipe has so far been the biggest hit with 3.4 million views.

Unpretentious, wearing a clean shalwar kameez with his signature yellow flip-flops (these were replaced by a blue pair after the yellow ones broke), he admits he does not possess a “hi-fi kitchen or fancy equipment”. His knife skills too are no match for professional chefs. In an early video, he is seen using a wooden takhti, or tablet, instead of a cutting board. But this is why many of his channel’s over 500,000 subscribers find him “distinctly disarming”.

The videos aren’t performances for the viewer. You can see chickens being slaughtered and Saddique’s unmindfully using his hands to mix everything. Unlike television chefs who talk incessantly, Saddique works quietly with organic produce from his kitchen garden, against the beautiful backdrop of his village. Viewers say they love his YouTube videos for the “simplicity” of the “content”.

What he cooks is heartily eaten by the family. Every two weeks though, he cooks in large quantities and treats the less-privileged children from his village. In one video, he baked a huge bun with several regular-sized ones and put together “zinger” burgers that were then distributed among the patiently waiting children.

Saddique has come a long way since the first video he uploaded. “In that, I did not speak at all, it was a very basic video,” he said. Gradually, he started mentioning the ingredients he used and today, he says, he confidently talks to the viewers, but only when necessary. A one-man production team, Saddique shoots and edits his videos, though his wife (who never comes on screen since she observes strict purdah) often helps him in filming.

He has become more tech-savvy over time and has invested in a better microphone. His new equipment includes a drone “for aerial photography” and an electric rice cooker that were sent by his brother from South Korea, he said excitedly.

At the end of each show, his father, who he calls the “life” of his shows and who is also his chief food taster, looks into the camera and exclaims, “Zindabad puttar, maza aa gya (Long live son, loved it)”. Saddique says his viewers love this tagline, but insists he has never ever told his father what to say.

source: A Pakistani villager’s cooking channel on YouTube has made him a food celebrity

Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.

Saddique used to work as a production manager in a football production factory in Sialkot, a town close to his village of Shahpur in the state of Punjab. Every day, he would get on his bike and travel for an hour and a half to cover the distance of 50 kilometres. He happily gave it up to focus on his new full-time job – creating what he calls “reality cooking shows”, giving out “centuries-old” family recipes.

When Saddique started in January 2017, money was not on his mind. He didn’t even know that he could earn from videos shot on cell phone.

“I want the world to know my family’s secret recipes,” he told Images on the phone from his village, where he lives with his family – a wife, three children, his parents and a younger brother (another works in South Korea).

His first video explained how to make mooli parathas. Since then, he has put up 350 videos that show how to cook not only regional culinary delights but even burgers and pizzas (he baked the buns and pizza base in an earthen tandoor built from scratch). His seekh kabab recipe has so far been the biggest hit with 3.4 million views.

Unpretentious, wearing a clean shalwar kameez with his signature yellow flip-flops (these were replaced by a blue pair after the yellow ones broke), he admits he does not possess a “hi-fi kitchen or fancy equipment”. His knife skills too are no match for professional chefs. In an early video, he is seen using a wooden takhti, or tablet, instead of a cutting board. But this is why many of his channel’s over 500,000 subscribers find him “distinctly disarming”.

The videos aren’t performances for the viewer. You can see chickens being slaughtered and Saddique’s unmindfully using his hands to mix everything. Unlike television chefs who talk incessantly, Saddique works quietly with organic produce from his kitchen garden, against the beautiful backdrop of his village. Viewers say they love his YouTube videos for the “simplicity” of the “content”.

What he cooks is heartily eaten by the family. Every two weeks though, he cooks in large quantities and treats the less-privileged children from his village. In one video, he baked a huge bun with several regular-sized ones and put together “zinger” burgers that were then distributed among the patiently waiting children.

Saddique has come a long way since the first video he uploaded. “In that, I did not speak at all, it was a very basic video,” he said. Gradually, he started mentioning the ingredients he used and today, he says, he confidently talks to the viewers, but only when necessary. A one-man production team, Saddique shoots and edits his videos, though his wife (who never comes on screen since she observes strict purdah) often helps him in filming.

He has become more tech-savvy over time and has invested in a better microphone. His new equipment includes a drone “for aerial photography” and an electric rice cooker that were sent by his brother from South Korea, he said excitedly.

At the end of each show, his father, who he calls the “life” of his shows and who is also his chief food taster, looks into the camera and exclaims, “Zindabad puttar, maza aa gya (Long live son, loved it)”. Saddique says his viewers love this tagline, but insists he has never ever told his father what to say.

source: A Pakistani villager’s cooking channel on YouTube has made him a food celebrity

Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.

Saddique used to work as a production manager in a football production factory in Sialkot, a town close to his village of Shahpur in the state of Punjab. Every day, he would get on his bike and travel for an hour and a half to cover the distance of 50 kilometres. He happily gave it up to focus on his new full-time job – creating what he calls “reality cooking shows”, giving out “centuries-old” family recipes.

When Saddique started in January 2017, money was not on his mind. He didn’t even know that he could earn from videos shot on cell phone.

“I want the world to know my family’s secret recipes,” he told Images on the phone from his village, where he lives with his family – a wife, three children, his parents and a younger brother (another works in South Korea).

His first video explained how to make mooli parathas. Since then, he has put up 350 videos that show how to cook not only regional culinary delights but even burgers and pizzas (he baked the buns and pizza base in an earthen tandoor built from scratch). His seekh kabab recipe has so far been the biggest hit with 3.4 million views.

Unpretentious, wearing a clean shalwar kameez with his signature yellow flip-flops (these were replaced by a blue pair after the yellow ones broke), he admits he does not possess a “hi-fi kitchen or fancy equipment”. His knife skills too are no match for professional chefs. In an early video, he is seen using a wooden takhti, or tablet, instead of a cutting board. But this is why many of his channel’s over 500,000 subscribers find him “distinctly disarming”.

The videos aren’t performances for the viewer. You can see chickens being slaughtered and Saddique’s unmindfully using his hands to mix everything. Unlike television chefs who talk incessantly, Saddique works quietly with organic produce from his kitchen garden, against the beautiful backdrop of his village. Viewers say they love his YouTube videos for the “simplicity” of the “content”.

What he cooks is heartily eaten by the family. Every two weeks though, he cooks in large quantities and treats the less-privileged children from his village. In one video, he baked a huge bun with several regular-sized ones and put together “zinger” burgers that were then distributed among the patiently waiting children.

Saddique has come a long way since the first video he uploaded. “In that, I did not speak at all, it was a very basic video,” he said. Gradually, he started mentioning the ingredients he used and today, he says, he confidently talks to the viewers, but only when necessary. A one-man production team, Saddique shoots and edits his videos, though his wife (who never comes on screen since she observes strict purdah) often helps him in filming.

He has become more tech-savvy over time and has invested in a better microphone. His new equipment includes a drone “for aerial photography” and an electric rice cooker that were sent by his brother from South Korea, he said excitedly.

At the end of each show, his father, who he calls the “life” of his shows and who is also his chief food taster, looks into the camera and exclaims, “Zindabad puttar, maza aa gya (Long live son, loved it)”. Saddique says his viewers love this tagline, but insists he has never ever told his father what to say.

source: A Pakistani villager’s cooking channel on YouTube has made him a food celebrity

Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.

Saddique used to work as a production manager in a football production factory in Sialkot, a town close to his village of Shahpur in the state of Punjab. Every day, he would get on his bike and travel for an hour and a half to cover the distance of 50 kilometres. He happily gave it up to focus on his new full-time job – creating what he calls “reality cooking shows”, giving out “centuries-old” family recipes.

When Saddique started in January 2017, money was not on his mind. He didn’t even know that he could earn from videos shot on cell phone.

“I want the world to know my family’s secret recipes,” he told Images on the phone from his village, where he lives with his family – a wife, three children, his parents and a younger brother (another works in South Korea).

His first video explained how to make mooli parathas. Since then, he has put up 350 videos that show how to cook not only regional culinary delights but even burgers and pizzas (he baked the buns and pizza base in an earthen tandoor built from scratch). His seekh kabab recipe has so far been the biggest hit with 3.4 million views.

Unpretentious, wearing a clean shalwar kameez with his signature yellow flip-flops (these were replaced by a blue pair after the yellow ones broke), he admits he does not possess a “hi-fi kitchen or fancy equipment”. His knife skills too are no match for professional chefs. In an early video, he is seen using a wooden takhti, or tablet, instead of a cutting board. But this is why many of his channel’s over 500,000 subscribers find him “distinctly disarming”.

The videos aren’t performances for the viewer. You can see chickens being slaughtered and Saddique’s unmindfully using his hands to mix everything. Unlike television chefs who talk incessantly, Saddique works quietly with organic produce from his kitchen garden, against the beautiful backdrop of his village. Viewers say they love his YouTube videos for the “simplicity” of the “content”.

What he cooks is heartily eaten by the family. Every two weeks though, he cooks in large quantities and treats the less-privileged children from his village. In one video, he baked a huge bun with several regular-sized ones and put together “zinger” burgers that were then distributed among the patiently waiting children.

Saddique has come a long way since the first video he uploaded. “In that, I did not speak at all, it was a very basic video,” he said. Gradually, he started mentioning the ingredients he used and today, he says, he confidently talks to the viewers, but only when necessary. A one-man production team, Saddique shoots and edits his videos, though his wife (who never comes on screen since she observes strict purdah) often helps him in filming.

He has become more tech-savvy over time and has invested in a better microphone. His new equipment includes a drone “for aerial photography” and an electric rice cooker that were sent by his brother from South Korea, he said excitedly.

At the end of each show, his father, who he calls the “life” of his shows and who is also his chief food taster, looks into the camera and exclaims, “Zindabad puttar, maza aa gya (Long live son, loved it)”. Saddique says his viewers love this tagline, but insists he has never ever told his father what to say.

source: A Pakistani villager’s cooking channel on YouTube has made him a food celebrity

Direction: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.

Saddique used to work as a production manager in a football production factory in Sialkot, a town close to his village of Shahpur in the state of Punjab. Every day, he would get on his bike and travel for an hour and a half to cover the distance of 50 kilometres. He happily gave it up to focus on his new full-time job – creating what he calls “reality cooking shows”, giving out “centuries-old” family recipes.

When Saddique started in January 2017, money was not on his mind. He didn’t even know that he could earn from videos shot on cell phone.

“I want the world to know my family’s secret recipes,” he told Images on the phone from his village, where he lives with his family – a wife, three children, his parents and a younger brother (another works in South Korea).

His first video explained how to make mooli parathas. Since then, he has put up 350 videos that show how to cook not only regional culinary delights but even burgers and pizzas (he baked the buns and pizza base in an earthen tandoor built from scratch). His seekh kabab recipe has so far been the biggest hit with 3.4 million views.

Unpretentious, wearing a clean shalwar kameez with his signature yellow flip-flops (these were replaced by a blue pair after the yellow ones broke), he admits he does not possess a “hi-fi kitchen or fancy equipment”. His knife skills too are no match for professional chefs. In an early video, he is seen using a wooden takhti, or tablet, instead of a cutting board. But this is why many of his channel’s over 500,000 subscribers find him “distinctly disarming”.

The videos aren’t performances for the viewer. You can see chickens being slaughtered and Saddique’s unmindfully using his hands to mix everything. Unlike television chefs who talk incessantly, Saddique works quietly with organic produce from his kitchen garden, against the beautiful backdrop of his village. Viewers say they love his YouTube videos for the “simplicity” of the “content”.

What he cooks is heartily eaten by the family. Every two weeks though, he cooks in large quantities and treats the less-privileged children from his village. In one video, he baked a huge bun with several regular-sized ones and put together “zinger” burgers that were then distributed among the patiently waiting children.

Saddique has come a long way since the first video he uploaded. “In that, I did not speak at all, it was a very basic video,” he said. Gradually, he started mentioning the ingredients he used and today, he says, he confidently talks to the viewers, but only when necessary. A one-man production team, Saddique shoots and edits his videos, though his wife (who never comes on screen since she observes strict purdah) often helps him in filming.

He has become more tech-savvy over time and has invested in a better microphone. His new equipment includes a drone “for aerial photography” and an electric rice cooker that were sent by his brother from South Korea, he said excitedly.

At the end of each show, his father, who he calls the “life” of his shows and who is also his chief food taster, looks into the camera and exclaims, “Zindabad puttar, maza aa gya (Long live son, loved it)”. Saddique says his viewers love this tagline, but insists he has never ever told his father what to say.

source: A Pakistani villager’s cooking channel on YouTube has made him a food celebrity