Fatima Arif

Waste Land – The Effect of the Human Side

2012-02-05T14:48:00.000+05:00

Waste Land was in my ‘to watch’ list along with anumber of titles that I have now decided to dig in before the list gets toolong. Now from my ‘to watch’ list, it has shifted to my ‘favorite’ list.

The film is based on the journey of the renowned Brazilianartist Vik Muniz back to his home land Brazil & Jardim Gramacho, world’slargest garbage dump. Muniz’s initial idea was to paint the garbage picturesbut after interacting with them, he came up with something better. He involvedthe pickers in his project by making them work on their own pictures with recyclablegarbage. To quote Vik ‘..so that they can say we did it, not that Vik did it.’Taking their pictures in natural & semi-natural environments, he thenguided them to recreating them with the material that they collected from thedump. In the end those pictures get a top ranking exhibition & the fundshelp transform the life of some of the pickers.

It is the human factor that touches you the most, orat least that is what impacted me the most. The horror of the mountains of thegarbage was taken over by the stories of the people involved & theirstruggle & aspirations.

Generally, we make assumptions about people based onour perceptions about them as per their outlook. Nobody bothers to look deeperthan the outlook, where the true story lies. As the saying goes ‘appearancesare deceptive’. These people who are disregarded as lesser beings have ideas& philosophy of life that can put the socially accepted intellectuals toshame. Some examples from the film include; Valter who argued with people that99 is not 100. Tiao Santos, who worked for organizing the community of thepickers, to ensure that they can put their demands in front of the authorities& how he kept going when even people who he wanted to help, did not believein him. Then there was another individual, who would pick books while lookingfor recyclable stuff & bring it to the community’s centre & intended tobuild a community library. He would be shocked to see that people throw awaybooks in their garbage. The women in the group were proud of the fact that theywere earning their living through hard work & not begging or prostitution. Theseare just few of the examples.

This is one side of the human aspect that touches you;the other is the one that is reflected by Vik Muniz. People, who when they gettheir goals give back to their community & not be ashamed of their rootsare not in the majority around us. To realize that it was a combination oftheir work & luck that got them where they are. Like Vik states that a lotof these pickers are from lower middle class families & they ended up therebecause drastic circumstances evolved around them & they had to be therefor their survival. Had something similar happened to him, he could have endedup there as well. Near the end of the film Vik says that when you don’t haveanything, you desire material things & when you have everything you don’tdesire any material gains. For himself he admitted that ‘I had to buy a lot ofcrap before I could get over my complex’. This view is not shared by a lot ofpeople. A lot of people cannot get over their complex & in some cases itgets destructive, both for themselves & others around them. In my opinion,those who will watch this documentary, (& I highly recommend that everyonedoes) he will be a source of inspiration.

There is a part where Vik & other collaboratorsof the project are discussing the long term effects on the pickers at the closeof their project, as a lot of them said that they didn’t want to go back. Theoption of flying them to London was under discussing. One opinion came thatpeople are fragile & once they get to see the other side, reconciling withtheir original status would have devastating effect on them. The counterargument was that if they don’t get to see the other side, how will they worktowards getting out of their present situation. I personally agree to this viewpoint. While this is a reality of life that not everyone will get the samestatus or rewards for their input, this is no reason for not giving everyone achance to try. Hampering this chance for others should not be allowed. Everyoneis entitled to the basics & then let the nature course take its route. Thisis a kind of mind set that we have towards education in our own country whichhas led to an education crisis.

If nothing else, the viewers will take home the ideaof giving back to your community & the realization that in search of doingsomething big, we lose out on the opportunities to make a significantdifference in a few peoples’ lives, which can trigger the much needed trickledowneffect.

The Punjab Assembly does it yet again

2012-01-25T12:15:00.000+05:00

The Punjab Assembly has passed a resolution banningconcerts in institutions. During the debate they added the word ‘objectionable’to the resolution. However, no one was bothered to define the termobjectionable. So with a lot of crazy things going around in our country, thePA has given one more front to the nut cases (& we have a lot of them) touse as an excuse for doing as they please.

Suffocating the people is what seems to be theobjective of this assembly & the irony is that they are paid for it by thetax payers’ money. No matter how much we want to forget the horrors of the Ziaera, they keep coming back in one form or the other. Like always, they usedreligion to back their mindless ideas. I wonder why they don’t find anythingmentioned in Islam, about liars, hoarders, hierocracy, rapist, poverty etc,real issues of the people, so that they can pass laws for them too. Not that theseissues are not mentioned in the religion, they are but they choose to ignorethem as they will be at the receiving end then.

This is the same assembly that was discussing polygamy& trying to justify it. The same day I met a school kid whose tuition feewas due & he was out on the road trying to sell stationary to be able toraise the money. Another gem that is credited to the PA, is the lota foot ballmatch that the members performed in the grounds of the premises.

The fact that the issues of the people are neverdiscussed in the assembly, drain out hope for democracy. Institutions need timeto establish themselves, but when people responsible for them don’t show thatthey mean serious business, their survival is at stake. This is especially truefor a country like Pakistan, where a large majority is deprived of the basicneeds of their lives.

p.s Zoo & the Punjab Assembly are located in the same area, merging them won't be that bad an idea, keeping in mind the direction in which the PA is headed.

Pakistan - India Relaxed Visa Policy

2012-01-16T15:09:00.000+05:00

In this globalized world, it is quite easy tocommunicate with anyone around the planet. One can travel other countries inhours as compared to days & months. The case of Pakistan & India isdifferent. Two neighboring countries, whose citizens can’t visit each otherwith ease. The visa process is hell & one of the most difficult one. A difficulty,which is solely reserved for each other. No wonder then that SAARC is a failedorganization & has done nothing substantial for the region. How can itsucceed when both the main players have a trust deficit which no one isinterested in improving? Not that the situation can’t be approved, after allFrance & Germany were able to do it.

In an effort to improve the Indo-Pak visa policy& highlight its benefits, Institute of Peace & Secular Studies (IPSS)arranged a conference on the 14^th of January. Dr. Khalid Zaheer wasone of the speakers, who spoke on the topic ‘How will a relaxed policy helpattain peace?’ By the time I reached the venue his session was already in the Q& A phase. In answering one of the questions he said that the reason forthe success of the negative forces is that they are very much committed totheir cause, which we in the majority believe to be wrong. Those of us who arein the majority are not committed to the cause in which believe in, thus,tilting the balance in their favour.

Rtd. Professor Nabeela Kyani of Government CollegeUniverity, narrated a story titled ‘An Ink Bottle’. The story revolved aroundan old man, who had witnessed partition of subcontinent. He left his belongingsin the custody of his Hindu friend. When things settle down & they startwaiting for the stuff, the delay causes his family to believe that they willnever see their things again. The old man however, sticks to his belief thathis friend is a good & trustworthy person. Meanwhile he falls in love witha University professor & takes his mother to her place, who rejects theproposal because the girl is Christian. In the end a truck does deliver theirstuff along with a handwritten list, which even had the empty ink bottle listed& returned.

Maas Foundation performed their play ‘Surkh Lakeer’(Red Line). The play showed the story of partition in the settings of a singlehome. The children want to meet but their elders have prohibited them to crossthe ‘red line’ that marks the partition. During all the heated exchange &claims of never crossing the line, failed attempts by the younger generation toconnect; they realize that they will have to make contact for trade. One sidewill need onions; the other side will need salt. For this they agree to makesome space between the ‘red line’. Later the next generation turns this into a ‘whiteline’, signifying the success of peace & harmony.

Mrs. Rubina Ghazanfar & her children were at theconference to share their story of ‘Mother-Child Liver Transplant’. Her casewas miss-handled in Pakistan & on getting a second opinion she was informedthat she needed a transplant immediately. The only two options that were affordablefor the family were China & India, from which they picked India as it wascheaper than China & above all because there was no language barrier. Theyfound the people really caring & at times using the Pakistan card, broughtthen blood donors who were otherwise a bit slow in reacting. Mrs. Ghazanfarsaid that that visit made her realize that she should have the opportunity tovisit India & invite friends just like in case of any other country. Thevisa process was however, torturous, especially for people who are already atthe verge of their nerves due to a major health issue. The family wanted to beable to take more people with them as they were going to stay for around fourmonths, but only one attendant was allowed to look after two people who weregoing to undergo major surgeries. They were also, not allowed multi-entry visaswhich would have made it easier for the family to coordinate.

In a nut shell, around 200 people from Pakistan havehad their transplants in India, & this was just one family sharing theirstory. There are many such stories which reflect the desire of the people forpeace & normalcy between the two nations, for a better future.

Former Secretary General SAARC Chamber of Commerce,Mr. Rehmtullah Javed, in his talk also, stated that friendly relations between India& Pakistan are the need of the hour, but they need to be on equal footing.A lot of the points he mentioned are debatable. On one hand he claimed that hewas travelling to India quite frequently, & obviously that was because ofhis official position, & yet he didn’t put forward any concrete solutionfor the common people.

Sajida Mir (MPA PPP) & Arifa Khalid (MPA PML-N)were invited for the prize distribution ceremony for the easy & poster competitionsthat IPSS had conducted among a number of local schools. Saijda Mir, in heraddress appreciated the efforts of IPSS & agreed that it was a cause thatshould be pursued by the government. (My reaction: You & your party ARE THEGOVERNMENT). Arifa Khalida, surprisingly spoke very well & pointed at theright issues. She highlighted that the youth was being fed hatred for the solepurpose of political gains. The comment that got a loud applause was that sheadmitted that our education system needs to be changed. (Again my reaction: canwe take a step further from lip service only).

There was a petition aimed for the government of Pakistan, asking for a relaxed policy that was mutually agreed by all the participants of the conference.

It is hoped that around 250 people who attended thepeople, took with them the message & need for peace, & the need for themajority to seriously commit themselves to the cause they believe in & wantto see materialize. Things are not going to change overnight & therefore,it is important that the process is started today for a better & peacefullyfuture to become a reality. We have a rich heritage to be proud of, basing our identities on hatred for the other does not make us a better patriot, it just makes us look stupid & prone to exploitation. The third party always benefits when the other two are busy fighting.

In the end Wahab Shah closed the conference with his dance performance.

p.s There was a video message from the Indian partners as well but it was before I reached.

Balance between Words & Pictures

2011-12-06T15:22:00.001+05:00

A picture is worth a thousand words.

I for one am an adherent believer of this statement.However, there are some limitations to it as well & the conflict erupts whena picture is used to overpower the strength of the written word. This I feel ishappening a lot more these days. It feels that the attention span of people isreducing by the day, something that for me does not really indicate the resultof a higher evolution.

A few days back, while discussing ideas for how toget maximum traffic for the Pakistan Sustainability Network, a fact that cameacross was that a simple random picture of a spoon got around three hundredhits & if any of our blog posts get these many hits we might just hit theroof ourselves. (And NO, we don’t do boring stuff). This episode instantly tookme back to Gary Shteyngart’s novel ‘Super Sad True Love Story’. A story portrayingthe future ultra technology oriented world, where the main character LennyAbramov, is being looked down because he reads real books & has a ‘wall of books’in his apartment; instead of just streaming the stuff & covering the mainpoints. In one of the chapters when he is on a flight & opens his book, thepassenger sitting next to him tells him that the book has an awful smell!!!

Not really a bright picture.

The point is not to state as to which way ofexpression is better because there are things which can’t be compared &this is one such point, where comparison is pointless. The concentration pointis the loss of balance. Skimming through material can work at times but for in-depthunderstanding one needs to get in detail. There is no alternative to this. Alot of misrepresentation results because people don’t bother to go below thesurface and discover the details and then analyze them. All this requiresproper attention span and concentration. In this age of technology, to ensurethat this advancement is used for proper progress, people need to return to abalanced position, only then we can move from the complaining stage to solving the problems stage.

Desensitizing Ourselves

2011-11-12T05:00:00.000+05:00

The word desensitized is something that we comeacross quite frequently these days. This word rose to its share of fame alongwith the rise in terrorist attacks in our country. However, I feel that now weuse it like we use a number of other things to throw away responsibility fromour shoulders. Things around us are getting from bad to worse and all we end upwith is ‘ doesn't matter, we have been desensitized by now’.

What does this even mean?

We are in a state of desensitized mindset as long asother people are at the receiving end. When the circle tightens around our ownnecks, then there is no desensitized effect, it’s all active action and a needto respond. Double faced or Hypocrisy are the two most decent words I can thinkof for all this.

Being able to laugh at yourself is a good thing BUTnot everything is supposed to be used as a joke. Unfortunately, this is exactlywhat a number of people are doing. Some are of the opinion that this is just anextension of our desensitization. Again I don’t share this view point. I thinkthat people who think that creating and mass-forwarding sms jokes, emails etcis not funny or your way of coping with the stress. It just shows that peopleare mentally sick and in need of psychiatric help.

The sad part is that this problem is no longerlimited to a few people. The number of people involved in this is increasingand it is just reflective of our society’s mental state.

If we want to look at a better future and not justsimply talk about it then we need to cure the way to think. This is the basefrom which we need to start. For this change, we don’t need any political partyor figure to come forward. We will have to bring this change on our own. Peopleon the upper side of the hierarchy will only change once the base of thepyramid changes itself.

This piece was originally written for Jaag TV at http://www.jaag.tv/article_read.php?a=36

Educated-NOT

2011-10-19T13:19:00.000+05:00

Generally speaking it is supposed to be the educatedclass of our country from which to get the hope to hold onto optimism whenthings are hitting new levels of low every day. Lack of education is what weput at the base of almost everything that is wrong with our homeland. A factthat is absolutely true.

The question however, is what to do of the educatedclass that refuses to show the traits that are supposed to distinguish themfrom the other group? This band of ‘parhe likhe jahil’ seem to be on the rise,at least as far as I am concerned. (Maybe I am not moving in the right circles!Anyways)

On Monday, a 23 year old Shams Alam murdered 19 yearold Samar Wasti, a student of Kinnaird College and then committed suicide onthe spot. He wanted to marry her and as a reaction to the refusal from her andher family he took her life as well as his own. The rest of the details we allknow, thanks to our media who is running on the motto of ‘show it all’.

It was the reaction of people that made me smash myhead in the wall. Not the reaction of the people in generally who we know aregoing to point their fingers at the girl even before they get to know whathappened. I am talking about the reaction of our educated section of thesociety and frankly there was no difference in their opinion and that of anuneducated person. Don’t mention the degrees and you would not be able to tellthe two apart. No wonder one of our politicians is of the view ‘Degree tudegree hoti ha, asli ho ya jali’ (A degree is just a degree, real or fake).

Some of the top comments were:

Ø Thefact that the boy committed suicide proves that the girl was responsible.

Ø Girlsthese days are very good at manipulating the boys.

Ø Boysdon’t go to this extent if they are not provoked by the girls.

Ø Girlshook up then when they can’t keep it from their families back out which resultsin such incidents.

To sum it all up, it was the girl’s fault she gotkilled and it was her fault YET AGAIN that the boy committed suicide.Seriously, WTF!

The fact that the girl’s father told the media thathe knew the boy was bothering his daughter and had told him to back off. Thefact that she was on the phone with her father telling him that he was harassingher and most of all the fact, that Samar’s father heard the shots that took herlife on the phone were ignored by these people is simply mind boggling to putit in a polite manner.

Not to ignore the fact that this moral brigade isusually led by women themselves. Mothers, who nurture the basic thought processof their children and therefore, making sure that this bug is implanted intheir grey matter.

If our educated class thinks like this, then we aresurely on a speedy trip to hell as a society.

The small thoughts

2011-09-28T15:48:00.000+05:00

There are incidents and moments in one’s life thatspontaneously make you think about matters that usually never cross your mind. Thesethought provoking incidents don’t need to be big in magnitude. In fact it isthe small things that touch the cord more often.

Few days back I too had a similar experience and theidea of human beings & their general attitude of arrogance struck me. The subconsciousfeeling that humans are superior and all powerful make us the arrogant bratsthat we are. However, this though is so hollow in reality and it doesn’t take somethingvery serious to burst this bubble.

A small external infection at my lower back had completelyleft me torpid. For a week I was trapped in one posture and that was to liedown on my stomach. So even when I tried to kill my boredom with reading, Iended up cramping my neck which was not pretty, with my entire body hurtingdude to stiffness and exhaustion.

The point of this post is not to detail out as tohow I spent my last week, but to share the conclusion. Instead of staying inthe bubble of arrogance and considering it a part of our nature, we should beactually looking at the other side of our nature, which is quite humble andwants good for everyone.

It is the power of the human minds that differentiatesthem from animals; unfortunately we see that humans have used this ability tobe the cruelest animal to walk on the face of earth.

ecoWarriors by Pakistan Sustainability Network

2011-09-22T13:13:00.000+05:00

Pakistan Sustainability Network (PSN) has launched a new idea on its website. The idea is to celebrate individuals & organizations that are working for sustainability and environment in our country. A column will be posted about that individual or organization on the PSN website ( www.sustainablepakistan.org ). There will be a new profile column every week so that maximum number of ecoWarriors can be given space and their work & achievements be highlighted through this forum. Following is the link for the first column that was published.

http://www.sustainablepakistan.org/2011/09/tofiq-pasha/

p.s If you know of any such individual or organization feel free to contact me or anyone at PSN

Why be a copy cat?

2011-07-20T22:56:00.000+05:00

After graduating this June, I have all the time at my disposal until my job starts and I get to watch all the movies that have been piling up in my room and same goes for my reading list.

As far as cinema is concerned I am more of an off-beat cinema enthusiast. Therefore, when people, be it from our own industry or in general want our industry to mold on the format of Hollywood or Bollywood, the idea doesn’t attract me. After all we live in the age of globalization; one Hollywood & Bollywood is enough.

I have seen some of the work of our own independent film makers and it is amazing. There work has further strengthened my belief that instead of investing in projects that are a look alike of any of the ‘Woods’ the concerned people should invest in this talent.

In the current state of affairs of our country, this medium can be put to great use. First and foremost it can be used to tell our side of the story from our own perspective. Mostly, it is the other people telling our story from the view that they see it and analyze it. So why shouldn’t we be telling our own story. One of the screenings that I was invited to in National College of Arts in Lahore was of the film ‘Inam’. A story of a Pakistani lawyer who goes to London looking for a better future for himself and his family back home in Pakistan, and ends up as a taxi driver.

Stories like these and a lot of other ones as well, which we are part and parcel of our society are never conveyed to the outside world. Being a proud Punjabi I don’t have any issues with the use of the language in our industry. However, what currently dominates our industry is out right rubbish by all means.

As mentioned earlier I don’t see why we have to be the copy cats and limit our comparison to the already established norms. Coke studio is one example which proved that exploring our own creative talent is going to pay off and help establish a balanced image of our country.

Descending into a state of chaos

2011-06-14T14:12:00.000+05:00

Holding on to optimism is getting tough by the day. The absence of justice is the major factor that we are descending into a state of chaos. The combination of lack of justice & the blunt abuse of power by the institutions that are supposed to protect the citizens is deepening the rift between the state & its people. The most recent incident in the long list of similar events is the extrajudicial murder of a 19 year old boy at the hands of the Karachi Rangers. The video footage showing the unarmed boy begging for mercy & then dying of bleeding is heart wrenching.

The bitter reality is that this is not the first time that such an incident has taken place; and the worst part is that like all the previous cases the culprits of this horrifying incident will go free. This way the cycle will continue. There will be an incident, followed by some noise where people will express their horror, fruitless inquiry committees will be formed and then there will be silence.

Nothing can heal the wounds of those who have lost their loved ones to this violence. My personal view on those stating that time heals is that they haven’t been there themselves, & analysing situations from a distance is just too easy. What hurts more is that you know that the culprits will go free & yet more innocent people will undergo similar sufferings.

The absence of a justice system is surly the main culprit here, but we as a society need to share some of the blame as well. Our attention span is short lived, & after that limit expires we get bored of that issue. We need to get rid of our short term memory system because keeping this form of memory only aids this vicious cycle & the perpetrators of injustice.

Energy in Human Affairs, Resource Utilization & Clean Source of Energy

2011-06-04T10:39:00.000+05:00

'Energy is central to the environmental, economic, and social dimensions of human existence. Energy is a principal source of environmental stress, it is a principal motor of macroeconomic growth, and it is a prerequisite for meeting basic human needs.'

The above mentioned quote very aptly states the importance of energy in the human affairs & lays the foundation for the struggle between different nations that we witness today. If we re-visit the history of the human race we will see that the control over the energy resources has always been a major concern for humans. One of the reasons is that this control is strongly related with the survival of the humans as well.

The hunter societies were the only ones that were not harming the nature in their struggle of survival, but instead giving the nature time to regenerate itself. However, no other form of human community has given the nature its rightful chance of regeneration, not even the agricultural societies.

With the advent of technology & the rapid advancement that is taking place with time, has resulted in an increased level of energy consumption. The life style that the humans of today are used to cannot be imagined without the energy consumption. If we give our current state of affairs a closer look we would see that it is not just the macroeconomics related things that demand excessive use of energy but also our day to day micro level activities that owe their existence & survival to the consumption of insane amounts of energy. No action spares the energy.

As if consumption of energy alone was not bad enough, our concentration on the non-renewable energy is what is causing the planet earth extreme stress.The stress level stretches to the lives of the humans, clearly showing that consuming energy does not only improve our life styles but also causes distress. The harmful affect on the social fabric is something that never comes up during discussions on the topic of energy in human affairs.

The other side of the story indicates that we are not at all considering the fact that the seeds that we are sowing, their fruit will be reaped by our next generations. A kind of fruit that is going to be harmful for them & will be making their survival on this planet very difficult to say the least. We need to keep the following beautiful quote in our minds while leaving our carbon foot prints:

'The planet Earth is not something that we have inherited from our ancestors, instead we have borrowed it from our future generations' – Source Unknown

When a set of people talk about the proper use of the available resources, they are by no means against the development. The only factor they want being considered & applied is the rightful use of the resources & in such a manner that everyone benefits from them & that we leave behind enough of them so that our generations to come can enjoy them as well.

In the book ‘ The Life & Death of the planet Earth’ the authors Peter D. Ward & Donald Brownlee, draw the metaphor of the human life to explain the situation of earthâ€™s life cycle. Just like we humans follow a life cycle that starts with infancy & ends with old age, likewise there was a time when the earth was in its infancy, then early childhood where it had the maximum resources to offer but now as per their studies the planet has reached its middle age already & is heading towards the old age. This is a natural process that we can’t do anything about just like we can’t do anything about our own age. However, what we are doing is that with the way in which we are utilizing our resources & in the process producing the waste material, we are speeding up this ageing process, similar to the situation where a young individual gets some terminal disease.

Keeping this dilemma of the resource utilization let's look at what the people labeled as anti-development are talking about.Utilization of clean source of energy & incorporating them in our life style is what these people are stressing on. Encouraging the habit of

Plantation
Going back to our roots of growing our own food at least the food items that can be managed in our backyards
Maintaining roof gardens
Recycling

These are some of the very basic things that are being advocated & encouraged by the environmentalist groups the world over, who work without keeping the bars of geographical boundaries in their minds & want to save the entire planet & not just some specific part or country of the world.

One of the perspectives states that this is easy in just saying but not so particle keeping in mind the way we are now used to live our lives. Again this is just the result of the wrong kind of marketing. If we just take a break from our fast paced lives where the end goal of everyone is to be able to indulge in more & more consumerism, we will come to realize that all that is required to help improve the condition is the change in our attitude & above all the change in the way we have started to think about life & how we want to live it.

A twenty minute short animated documentary film titled ‘The Story of Stuff’ explains this cycle in a very clear & amazing manner. All we are doing is indulging in consuming stuff & then working doubly hard so that we don’t lag behind in the race of yet again consume more & more stuff.

Another vital issue that is showed in the documentary & which is at the root of the idea of the utilization of clean sources is the process in which the stuff we consume is being manufactured. With the advent of technology the sensible thing should be & the one that makes common sense is that the stuff is made in a manner that it is suitable for the environment & for the consumers. Most of all it should be of the nature that is durable. Therefore, resulting less & less change over. However, what is actually happening is the complete opposite of this. What we need is to encourage local productions & consumptions around the globe.

As the saying goes 'Think global & act local'

Originally written for The Pakistan Sustainability Network http://www.sustainablepakistan.org/?p=732

Book Review: Life & Death of Planet Earth by Peter Ward & Donald Brownlee

2011-04-09T16:43:00.000+05:00

If you think that the name was selected just to attract readers, you are out right mistaken. The book is a reality check & as the saying goes, reality bites. It’s an astrobiological take on the life cycle of our planet earth. The authors have tried to explain the state of earth by comparing it’s life cycle with that of a human being & according to their scientific research the planet earth is already at the peak of its life cycle & has entered the middle age.

The book takes the reader through a journey & tingling the imagination sketches a picture of the past & the future of earth. One of the main extracts of this book is that the earth’s evolution is taking place in a life cycle, therefore its end is going to resemble its beginning. Just like science has informed us that the start of the life form was very basic for example in the form of microbes etc, in a similar manner at the end the only life form that is going to survive will be the same microbes. They will be the only ones who will be able to adapt to the harsh external conditions of our planet which we have taken for granted.

All arguments given are supported by scientific proofs & are explained quite effectively making it possible for even a layman to be glued to it till the last page. Even though one might be left with a sense of doom & gloom after reading the book but it still is a winner & a highly recommended one, not only just for the sake of a reality check for all but also it gives us an idea as to how are we contributing to this life cycle & the need for change in that style of contribution.

Originally written for Pakistan Sustainability Network http://www.sustainablepakistan.org/2011/book-review-life-death-of-planet-earth-by-peter-ward-donald-brownlee/

Reclaiming our Culture

2011-03-21T20:08:00.000+05:00

With all that is happening around us it is very difficult to refrain from getting frustrated & maintain our optimism & yet if we wish to get through this & reclaim our sanity & country, the need is to hold on tight to our optimism.

However, just holding on to the optimism without doing anything practically is also going to prove disastrous. Contributing practically while staying positive is going to be the key. From a very long list of things that need to be sorted out I want to discuss our dying culture. When I use the term dying culture I am not just referring to some particular tradition that is going out of practice but an overall change in our society, which is letting go of everything that should under normal circumstances be a source of pride & identity.

We all get nostalgic when the time period of 90s is mentioned & for those who have witnessed the pre & post eras of Zia-ul-Haq have a much better tale to tell. If we go into deeper analysis none of these periods were problem free. They had their own set of political & economic issues. Still people state that they were better times. My opinion about this statement is that those times are considered better because our culture & diversity was fully alive. The society was not in a bi-polar scenario where either you are a right wing supporter or a left wing supporter. Long story cut short diversity was celebrated not condemned.

In the present times one of the biggest threat that we are facing is (& as some would say we already have); the elimination of our cultural diversity. No matter how difficult the situation may be we have to turn this process around. One view point that we come across regarding this topic is that it should not be the utmost priority at the moment as we need to deal with more important issues. I personally don’t think this should even be considered an argument; for the very reason that it implies that first we let the situation get worse & only then we’ll see how to amend it. This group is ignoring a very important fact that we can use our culture to help our people block the level of frustration & divert the energy of the youth which is being wasted or being directed in the wrong direction towards more positive things which will help not just our imagine but also the ground reality of our country. Also not to forget that it will help revive our cultural activities which; can do wonders for our already dead tourism industry. An industry whose reopening will help us convey our side of the story & our heartfelt message of peace to the people around the globe.

The overall environment of the society was really different when the Rafi Peer theater, concerts, fund raising events, new year programs, basant & the all the likes of these were a regular feature of our lives & not some alien concept.

The concern for security does exist & is a valid concern & one of the major reasons that we no more have these events. A responsibility, that lies on the shoulders of the government, which have failed to do so. To top it off, now we have official bans on recreational activities from the government. In doing so, they fail to recognize the fact the extent of damage that they are doing. These restrictions are not only going to prove to be the brutal murder of our culture but also they help the right wing nuts. The government is doing their job for them by suffocating people & crushing all traces of diversity that gives color & richness to our society.

Not everyone has gone nuts in this country, no matter how much this be reinforced by multiple forums. There are people trying their level best to keep these roots alive & a lot is happening which unfortunately does not get the due coverage. However, the lack of responsibility shown by the government is a big question mark that needs answering. Getting this answer is not going to be easy or simple, we know this by experience. This again cannot be taken up as an excuse for not trying. Culture as they say is a construct made by the people. In our situation the people have to make an extra effort to reclaim it.

Need to celebrate our diversity

2011-03-15T22:34:00.000+05:00

We live in complex times, where mostly events occur in the shades of grey instead of the principled black or white. Therefore, when looking at the root cause of issues it is mandatory that we have the ability of multipronged analysis. Two factors that have played a major role in creating this mess are mismanagement & politicizing everything left, right & centre. I’ll leave my rants on the issue of mismanagement for another time & talk about how politicizing has subverted all that which once used to be a source of pride for the people of Pakistan.

A rich heritage is something that forms the roots of our country & its people as we are part of a region filled with a spectrum of diversity. However, with time this factor too had to face the wrath of politicization. Anyone who has shared some general discussion sessions with their parents would know that this has not been the scenario always. If we look at it we might be the ones having better facilities & opportunities at our disposal but I feel that they were the ones who were lucky enough to spend their youth amidst a much healthier environment; obviously here my reference is before the country was taken over by the dreadful regime of Zia, the consequences of which we suffer to date. They were more close to the culture & were not facing the dilemma where they were under a constant pressure to prove their religious or ethnic identity; & what I have concluded it didn’t matter much. Being human was the most important thing contrary to what we are excepted to primarily identify as. It’s not that these different identities didn’t exist at that time, they sure did but they didn’t act as a source of hatred. Sadly, this is exactly what this diversity is being used for now a days.

How many of us can claim that we know what our country is comprised of? Majority of us can easily be labeled as tourist once we are out of the few areas (easily counted on the fingertips) that we are accustomed to. While involved in a team, preparing for a peace conference, comprising of individuals from all across Pakistan one of us made a very telling observation using her experience as an example. She said after meeting people from up north her mental notes of the people of that area changed drastically.

Are people in general outside Sindh familiar of the Sheedis, people of African descent? My guess is hardly any. And what about the Kalash Valley. Yes we do know that it is part of Pakistan but I don’t think many of us have ever thought of exploring it ourselves. These were just a couple of examples from a long list. If anyone is interested in getting into the details reading about a bit more I did recommend Empires of the Indus by Alice Albinia.

The idea that diversity is harmful to Islam & as some argue is not acceptable by Islam is absurd in my view point. How can a religion giving preference to humanity be anti-diversity; makes no sense to me atleast. How & who is interpreting & for what purpose is what should be considered before letting your judgment seep in. Unfortunately, nobody asked these baseline questions before letting the powers to be trample our diversity under their ambitious.

Whose fault is it? Well as I said earlier everything is grey here & hoping that the governments will intervene is a lost case. Let’s not accept any such improvement at least in the near future. Also as the saying goes the most dangerous words are “I am from the government & I am here to help.” Agreed that most of this diversity has been scarified, so that our politicians can achieve their petite goals but let’s give a look at the other side of the coin. Who allows them to exploit such issues? The bitter reality is that at this juncture the finger points at us. What if we the people refuse to succumb to their propaganda of hatred & instead decide to celebrate our rich heritage; something that is not an abnormal idea. All of us have friends who are from a different ethnicity & even different religious background. These relationships are perfectly compatible, so if there can be harmony at the individual level why not at the collective level, after all society is made up of individuals & there attributes are what gets transpired at the bigger picture.

Looking at the history we will come to know that change happens from bottom up & not vice versa. So as the quote is “Be that agent of change that you want to see around you”. Let’s take the initiative ourselves & not let the powers to be exploit our diversity & use it against us.

Let’s celebrate our diversity.

Reading picks of 2010

2010-12-31T21:24:00.000+05:00

I am still behind on my reading schedule. However, following are my favorite reads of 2010:

Empires of the Indus by Alice Albinia
Songs of Blood & Sword by Fatima Bhutto
Curfewed Night by Bashharat Peer
Daughters of Persia by Sattareh Farman Farmaian with Dona Munker
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer

2010-12-25T18:56:00.000+05:00

Curfewed Night by Basharat Peer is the story of love & war in the valley of Kashmir. It is a much welcomed book, as most of what has been known to the world about Kashmir has been through the eyes of foreign writers. As in the book Peer himself states this missing gap he felt as a student Delhi while visiting book stores.

The book brings to the reader the conflict of Kashmir from the perspective of the Kashmiris instead of focusing on just the political haggle between Pakistan & India. The reader is taken through the different time periods from the author’s child hood to his adulthood & the permanent changes that took place in the valley & its people.

Peer was only 13 in 1990 when Indian troops fired on pro-independence Kashmiris &, as he puts it, "the war of my adolescence started". A war, that hasn't ended, though it has changed shape considerably in the last 20 years.

Fighting and dying for freedom was as desired as the first kiss on adolescent lips." When he was 14, Peer & his friends approached the commander of the separatist group JKLF & asked to be signed up. The commander turned them away. His family heard about the incident & intervened. His father giving him the option of waiting for a few years thinking about it & then decide, if he wanted to join the fight. In the meantime he should study as educated men led rebellions as stated in the history, his father commented. This intervention was something Basharat was grateful for when he how life changed for his fellow young men.

By this time life in the Kashmir valley was burdened for everyone, from old to young children. Military checkpoints were everywhere, & humiliation & abuse from the Indian security forces towards the Kashmiri residents became an integral part of life. Many parents, including Peer's, sent their children away to finish their education away from the valley.

After completing his education & working in Delhi for a brief period Peer decides to return home; as a journalist seeing that no one was able to shelter from the damage of the war; Muslims & the Kashmiri Pandits. The loss of humanity in this conflict has never been given its deserved consideration.

PSN presenting at Rotary Medical & Community Center invited by RAC Lahore

2010-12-24T10:58:00.000+05:00

Event report:

http://sustainablepakistan.org/2010/psn-presenting-at-rotary-medical-community-center-invited-by-rac-lahore/

A Warrior’s Life (A Biography of Paulo Coelho) by Fernando Morais

2010-12-21T18:45:00.000+05:00

A Warrior’s Life, an authorized biography of Paulo Coelho gives an intimate view of the most mysterious author who attracts extreme reaction towards his work. The words ‘I told things to Fernando that I had never said to anyone…not even to myself’ printed at the back of the cover should be proof enough for the reader that nothing was miss represented. Writing about a person who attracts such contrast reactions is a big challenge in itself but it won’t be an exaggeration to say that Mr. Fernando has quite successfully dealt with this challenge.

The book starts in May 2005, following Paulo Coelho through the airport heading to Budapest. Upon landing Paulo Coelho seems disappointed as no one is there to greet him. He makes the phone calls & soon enough, he gets his due reception. From here on the readers moves along a timeline from his birth through his childhood & adulthood showing all that the most read author went through.

Born in a well off family he defied the standards set for him & created his own, developing a passion to become a world famous writer. A desire that didn’t come easy to him & even sometimes became a hindrance in succeeding the jobs he managed to get in.

Landing a journalist job which he lost it to his frequent admission to a mental clinic; where he undergoes electroshock treatment, his downward spiral of depression, Satanism, sex & drugs begins. During this phase he is involved in multiple relationships & takes infinite travel trips desperate for his inspiration. Even though the inspiration he was desperate was nowhere near his sight he got in a successful career in theatre, drama & the music industry. This is followed by Paulo Coelho taking a journey of spirituality that leads him to the order of the RAM, and finally to become a world famous author.

Fernando Morais had access to journals & other material that was to be destroyed after the death of Paulo according to his will. Using these, his extensive interview with the author added with the extensive research that he did resulted in an objective insight into The Paulo Coelho.

Wibcon Lahore 2010 - Women in Business & Leadership Conference

2010-12-20T12:46:00.000+05:00

I know this is coming too late, but in my defense last year at University can be a big challenge to your management skill.

Wibcon Lahore 2010, the 3^rd Women in Business & Leadership Conference took place on 25^th November 2010 at Pearl Continental Hotel Lahore. I along with my friends from the Business School (SOM) of Forman Christian College, University got an opportunity to be a part of it.

The conference was a blend of individual speakers & panel discussions revolving around the tag line of the conference “Women in Business, Architects of Change”. I’ll just be giving a brief out line highlighting the key take away points.

Eithne Treanor, Special Correspondent CNBC was our host for the day long event & she started off by talking about “Women as Architects of Change – Choices, Chances, & Challenges in Business & Leadership”. She talked about the roles the women play both in the corporate world & their homes, successful management being the key in both the cases. The idea that women have always been natural when it comes to multi tasking was revisited. She related her own experiences & also stressed on the fact that women who were able to achieve their goals should be reaching out & helping other women to do the same, thus the idea of the need of creating a strong network should be taken seriously. As the saying goes “There should be a special place in hell for women, who don’t help other women”.

This energized talk was followed by the motivational talk of Sarmad Tariq on “Beyond Start & Finish Line”. Sarmad had an accident after his matriculation exam which left him paralyzed from neck down. An incident that would make most people believe that life is no more worth living; however he has a different opinion. His talk was about knowing your fears & learning how to overcome that so that so can achieve your goals. Something he does not just say but has done himself by representing Pakistan & the region in the wheel chair marathon in the United States. For details visit http://www.sarmadtariq.com/. The concluding statement that he made was that if a person in his condition can achieve what he wants then why can’t the rest of you.

Following this was the first panel discussion of the event on ‘Managing Your Career: Advice from Senior Leaders’. The panelist included Saadia Naveed (Managing Director English Biscuits), Kalim Siddiqui (President Petroleum, Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited), Fatima Asad (Director Human Capital Solutions, Abacus Consulting), Naz Khan (Chief Financial Officer, Engro Fertilizers), Umer Lodhi (Director Customer management Division, METRO Cash & Carry). Eithne Treanor was the moderator. The discussion took the track on opportunities available for women. The panel argued that the general perception, that the market is male dominant domain & thus resulting in the majority taking up a hostile attitude towards women is wrong. There were a lot of engineering students in the audience who stated that in their view men will be preferred for the jobs even if they have the better qualification. This was opposed by the panel who quoted examples from the business world of women who have made a mark in the “so called male preferred fields”.

This session was followed by Dr. Fazeela Abbasi’s presentation on ‘Skin Matters’. Her talk unfortunately didn’t work for me or my group. For one it was too long, too out of line from the overall atmosphere of the conference & way too technical mambo jumbo was being spilled to mostly the non-medical audience. The only thing that kept most of the eyes open during her session in my opinion were the comparative pictures she had used in her power point presentation. Agreed that advances in dermatology can be put to great use in the extreme cases where people should be using these advancements, but why for every little problem in your appearance would you want to go to a dermatologist who has the cure in every type of surgery. E.g. If you don’t have the perfect angles & centimeters between your eyes & nose, that should be an indicator for you to be rushing to your dermatologist. I mean WHAT FOR? The same amount of money can be put to much better use. And most of all her saying that people wanting to age gracefully (reference to their appearance) is getting the old news turned me off completely.

When finally after being told atleast thrice that her time is up, Badar Khushnood finally got to talk about ‘Women Technopreneurship’ in his limited time before lunch. Something he did quite nicely. He mentioned about women & students who were earning quite a handsome amount while working from their homes. However, as his time was cut short the debate over the ease of landing in the right kind of a freelance job or starting technopreneurship project was something we had to skip.

After lunch; Seema Aziz (Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Bareeze and CARE), Michel Jullerat (Head of Human Respurces, Nestle Pakistan), Syeda Henna Baber Ali (Advisor Consumer Division, Packages Ltd), Prof. Dr. S.M. Naqvi (Author & HR Consultant, Chairman, SPEL Group of Companies), Fiza Farhan (Chief Operating Officer, Buksh Foundation) discussed “Promoting Women Entrepreneurship – Challenges & Opportunities”. The session being moderated by Andleeb Abbass (Chief Executive Officer, FranklinCovey Pakistan) disused the passion that drives someone to become an entrepreneur & the obstacles that a person should be ready to face from financial ones to emotional ones. To the extent that at times your families would be advising you to drop it as the risks are too high. Starting something new & establishing it takes a lot of time & effort & the rewards don’t pour in right away. However, when they do they are mind blasting so it is worth pursuing your passion & making a difference no matter how small the impact is. A small positive impact is worth striving for.

‘Cervical Cancer – What every women should know’ by Dr. Noreen Zafar (Certified Specialist Obstetrics & Gynaecology, UK & Founder & President, Girls & Women Health Initiative) followed. Dr Noreen in her to the point presentation explained the symptoms, causes & cure of this treatable form of cancer. Her talk was quite informative & resourceful.

Shahzad Nawaz (Change Artist, Brand Strategist & Film maker) took the audience through ‘The Power of No’. Success does not necessarily depend on saying yes, there are times when saying No is the right thing to do. Another thing that Shahzad pointed at was a person’s inner self & how saying No at times satisfies that inner person. In situations like these saying yes can lead you to the materialist success but the resulting satisfaction would be short lived.

The panel discussion moderated by Ayesha Tammy Haq on ‘Handling Issues at Workplace’ turned out to be the most interactive sessions of all as the topic was relavent to everyone present. In the panel we had; Mehreen Rashid (Director Rausing Executive Development Centre, LUMS), Sabene Saigol (CEO Red Communication Arts), Jahanzeb Qayum Khan (GM, Pakistan/Afghanistan Beverages, PepsiCo), Anjum Rahman (Director Corporate Communication & Responsibility, Telenor Pakistan) & Nida Bano (Producer, DawnNews). One of the key issues under discussion was the balance between work life & home life. How organizations can pitch in came under discussion & Mr. Khan related how his company has aided working mothers by putting up cameras in the daycare centre from which mothers can keep a check on their kids even during their work hours. Small efforts made by the company can help in the long run to both sides. To one of the questions from the audiences about the women being asked about their starting a family during an interview, it was told that it was not just unethical but illegal. This leads us to the topic that we should know about our rights only then can we stand up for them.

The closing session was ‘Off the Beaten Track’ with Zeb & Haniya which I had to skip because the program was running a bit behind the shedual & it was wedding season.

P.S. Apologizes for the crappy pictures, clearly nokia needs to insert better cameras in their E series.

Butterfly

2010-11-18T21:41:00.000+05:00

My post for Pakistan Sustainability Network on Butterfly, the documentary:

http://sustainablepakistan.org/2010/butterfly/

Pakistan Floods – Lower Punjab areas

2010-11-16T23:14:00.001+05:00

My post for the Pakistan Sustainability Network:

http://sustainablepakistan.org/2010/pakistan-floods-lower-punjab-areas/

Meeting the flood effectees

2010-10-11T13:24:00.000+05:00

At the start of this month I got a chance to travel to the lower Punjab of Pakistan. This trip was part of the flood relief program of an independent organization, The Eisaar Trust (http://www.theeisaartrust.org). An organization run by doctors & this specific visit was focused on running a free medical dispensary; I jumped in as a volunteer to do the random statistical jobs for the team.

The exact locations of our visit were Sanawa & Kot Addu. As this was my first visit to the plains it was a whole new experience. The immense diversity of lower Punjab came as a surprise. Even the landscape struck me by surprise.

Our hosts who were flood effectees themselves left no stone of hospitality unturned. The point that stood out was that we were thought of as underfed (& by no standard any of us can be called that) & were overfed all that desi stuff that was available.

However, the relief situation was where the depression takes over. Seeing is believing as they say. The impact that one perceives with the naked eye can never be considered an equal of what we can see on the screen irrespective of the media coverage & other technological sources.

For one & that too without much of shock, there was no sign of the government’s presence. And when I say this I am referring to the practical working & its output not the protocol visits which are quite frequent.

Moving around & talking to the locals, their frustration was too obvious. No one can blame them & the hardest part is that you don’t find the appropriate words for consolation. How is one supposed to console someone who has lost their sole worldly possession, their homes? I for one failed at this. The lands they had or worked on will take months to dry up & cultivatable, for the next crop. Then there are people who are sitting on the rubble which was once their home.

However, even in such desperate times the dirty game of politics is the first priority of the powers to be. There is selective distribution of food supplies. Areas that are not the voting areas of the ruling group are not entitled for any relief benefits.

The private groups & individuals too missed out on a managerial point that is co-ordination. According to the locals the trucks came & unloaded themselves on the main roads thus were not able to evenly conduct the distribution. The people who were never able to reach those areas because they had to protect what was left of their homes & people who did not have the physical strength to be part of that chaos were left out. A better way of doing all this was to involve a local in your team who could point out the areas & ensure that the aid is distributed to the truly deserving.

Good & evil exists hand in hand always. While at one hand you will come across people who are working selflessly, like a local doctor we have in our team who is working for the relief all day long along with keeping his duties (both the shifts, day & night) at the hospital in Multan & travelling to & forth daily. On the other hand there are local politicians or their associates who are busy sweeping the relief supplies. Likewise, we have the truly deserving at one hand & the professional beggars for whom such events turn out to be a golden opportunity at the other. Differentiating between the two is important because otherwise the ones who will never come up to you & ask for help will never be reached.

The distribution of Watan cards is another joke. Number of cards distributed in a specific area, don’t even cover the quarter of the population. People narrated that even from that percentage the majority of the cards are presented to the local authority & tit bit is distributed & even worse those cards distributed are not even working in most of the cases. Being a business student I was tempted to do a vague cost-benefit analysis & shivered at the thought of the level of analysis or rather the lack of it our decision makers have. The cost that was spent on producing those useless cards could have been spent in more effective manner on the people but then there are always loads of “buts & coulds” when it comes to our administration.

Wrong embankments were deliberately broken in an attempt to secure the lands of the major landowners. Hina Rabbani Khar’s drama in the parliament over her treatment in her constituency, don’t think attracted much sympathy anyways but after moving amidst the people, I for one would have been glad if her car was successfully pushed over. Maybe, the others would have learnt some lesson because as it is apparent they all are blind to the writings on the wall. They haven’t learnt anything from the already existing examples that clearly show that if the justice system fails the people, nature does not.

For how long they think they will be able to fool their people? In the end even their deliberate attempt of not opening schools in their areas & keeping generations uneducated will fail because my observation tells me that the people have started to see through such tricks. For how long these cosmetic Pirs like our PM will be able to pocket votes as people fear that if they don’t vote for them their cows would stop giving milk (their main source of income). They are testing some real hot waters.

In past few months among all the various crisis that were dumped on us, the sugar crisis took up a lot of heat. But was there really a natural crisis? Hell NO!! We never were short of sugar or the raw material required for its production; it was all a farce created by the oligarchy which in intervened with our political system. Not only the sugar cane crop was in abundance but even after the devastating floods more than enough crop has survived & as always we just need some honest management. So next time they try to sell this sugar crisis or a similar one please lets scream bloody murder about it.

I would love to spoil it for all those who think that rehabilitation of these people is not our responsibility. It should be our priority because for crying out loud people who feed us are the ones who have been hit; people who are at the bottom of our food chain. They are the people who provide us with milk but can’t even take one cup of milk for themselves & are malnourished in normal circumstances & we are dealing with a disaster situation at the moment.

The focus should also be on rehabilitation now. They are the people who have lived their lives through hard work, let’s not turn them into beggars. The men should be provided with material so that they start rebuilding their homes. Some of the people we met had started to collect the reusable material from their rubble with which they plan to rebuild their homes. Meanwhile, their source of income can be shifted to the sale of the special handicrafts made by the women of these areas. Later this can be turned into a well established cottage industry sorts.

Rehabilitating them is in the interest of us all so let’s for a change think on a long term plan.

Pakistan Floods (2010), Sanawa & Kot Addu (Lower Punjab) http://faticlicks.blogspot.com/2010/10/pakistan-floods-2010-sanawa-kot-addu.html

Trying to eliminate barriers

2010-09-30T13:54:00.000+05:00

Whenever the word barrier is mentioned in our region, there is no prize for guessing what it is referring to. Barriers between the Pakistan & India have proven to be a “everyone loses” situation, however nobody seems to be making some sort of practical progress in this regard. What’s the cause? Well that is in itself a separate debate. However, the encouraging fact is that independent organizations have started pushing for efforts to normalize relations between the two countries in their own humble capacity.

A similar peace festival has been organized since past four years in Chandigarh know as the International Youth Peace Festival where students & young professionals from all over & especially our region gather in an effort to lower the barriers between their countries & to initiate a bond of peace & friendship at an individual level at least.

This year around at the 5^th International Youth Peace Festival, unfortunately the Pakistani delegation was not granted the visa to attend which was quite disappointing to say the least for not just the participants but for the organizers as well who had put in loads of efforts & their time for making the arrangements & preparations at our end. As every one of us was still down with this news a video conference was arranged with the delegates in Chandigarh on the topic “Barriers free India & Pakistan”. Though the idea in itself seems ironic, that we were talking about being barrier free while we were participating over a barrier itself, but still this conference left us with signs of hope, something that is essential for us to keep trying & not giving up when everything seems to be going against the plans.

As we started off by expressing our disappointment for not being able to attend, the same emotions were reciprocated at the other end with equal force. There on we moved on to answering some questions rather I would say misconceptions about Pakistan & its people. Major one being our stance on terrorism. Our team I hope was able to convey this quite clearly that we too have only condemnation for terrorism as we are the ones who have suffered the most at all fronts.

When we identified the barriers that exist between us which include political, logistical & physiological, I felt that the physiological barrier was the strongest. As the age old perceptions we have about each other, we are still prisoners to them & breaking away from them seems impossible to us.

The main solution we could think of & which seemed quite practical to us is “People to People’ contact, because without that the physiological barriers can’t be eliminated. The idea that we need to make friends from across the border as an initial step to the way forward. One of the delegates from India (sorry I don’t remember her name) put it quite appropriately, that we need to make friends to see & experience that all this talk of friendship & peace is worth it or not. And few of us who have some sort of experience on both sides know that answer would in most cases be that it sure is worth it.

The Indian delegation had prepared a slogan “Five days & Five years”, implying that we trying designing a plan for the next five days & then a proposal for the next five years as to what should be done in these two time frames which will help improve relations.

We made some recommendations which included exchange of email ids between the delegations to initiate a process of friendship, then an online petition in support of the easing of the visa process. Then exchange of educationist, intellectuals, & sportsmen as a gesture of goodwill. Exchange of regional cultures as both sides have extremely rich cultures & currently the exchange is limited to the music industry. We also recommended the exchange of the civil society. Friends in Chandigarh came up with a draft of the petition which was spot on & expressed our sentiments about the current situation. They too were in agreement with our suggestions & added their ideas which would help lower the barriers.

We ended on a note of hope for the stabilization of our relations & that next year the Pakistani delegation will be attending the festival in person.

Using separate lens for analysis

2010-08-30T23:16:00.000+05:00

The analysis of some recent events has amazed me. Same people have used different core concepts to define the lens through which they see things.

We have been hit by the worst form of natural disaster in our history. The devastation has been said to pass that of tsunami & the 2005 earthquake combined.

The international response to our devastation has been pretty slow, as they say too little too late. One of the major reasons for this has been attributed to the low trust deficit that our present government has. However, though there are no two opinions that this factor holds true to its core still there have been divided opinion as to how people should react. While one group is of the opinion that any aid given to the government institutions will be equal to dumping it in a deep dark pit hence the aid should be directed towards the international & national organizations which are working independent of the government & which we can be rest assured that will deliver to the needy. Therefore, people from this group have been quite vocal about this issue & have been termed as anti-government. And some have went so far as to term this lot as anti-Pakistan. American Naturalist once wrote “Patriots must always be ready to fend his country against its government”.

On the other hand we have the group which is of the opinion that though the government is not reliable but keeping in view the devastation we need to keep our difference aside & help them get aid from the international forum. And one way of aiding can be that we stop demonizing the government & work with it.

My Personal opinion about the difference is that the former group has real sharp memory while group the latter has very short memories. 2005 earthquake anyone??? At that point even though the trust deficit was not that low, but the results were equally hopeless. There was aid that never reached the victims, aid that was sold in the open market, aid that went in for the personal use of a select few who were not in need of it. Something similar has started to happen. People have sported eatable goods being sold in the open market which have the UN aid for flood relief’s seal on them.

Coming to another incident, that has shocked us. The Sialkot lynching incident of two teenage brothers by the mob in the presence of the police officials & the Rescue 1122 personnel. Some people took no moment in declaring the whole Pakistani nation as savages ready to kill with just the slightest provocation. Yes, we all are & should be ashamed of what happened to those two boys; to be more specific to a family who will be living with this for the rest of their lives. However, just because the group assembled there became part of the infamous mob culture & didn’t stop the madness how does this put the blame on the whole of the nation? I have never came across countries being labeled as outright barbaric societies who have destroyed other countries just to secure their personal benefits. If this is how nations are to be defined then I think the whole human race should be declared as worse than animals as we all have been watching the massacres taking place in all the occupied countries around the globe.

Are we not looking in the wrong direction then?

As the new reports are pouring in can no one see that those involved in this brutality were acting out of desperation as well, though I in no sense mean to say that their sickness is justified; But just blaming the people & reacting by saying that all those involved should be treated in a similar fashion to serve justice is not going to help in the remotest sense. It will only aid the cycle & keep it running. Those labeling the nation as savages forgot that these very savages when go to a different country temporarily or permanently fully abide by their laws & show no signs of being the raw ready to kill types. Ever wonder why? Because they know that the machinery of law is not completely dead & people are not helpless for justice as we have become.

Justice delayed is Justice denied.

The people involved in the brutality justified their action based on the concept of serving justice as they have been at the receiving end of robbery & murder all this time & they had lost patience at this point. Had this been the result if the law enforcement machinery working for what it has been designed for; making sure that justice is neither delayed nor denied to the people. Instead the realty check is that they are part of the core problem themselves & aid this chaos which has surrounded us.

In all this analysis did anyone realize that the small children present on the scene should never be accepted to act in a calm manner when confronted with a similar situation in their own lives because what got imprinted on their raw minds would be near to impossible to change. And when the cycle will repeat itself analyst will take the easy way out & sum it all up in a single line, the nation has always been full of savages.

The focus has been on two things, one saying that we are mad people & second that were the boys innocent or involved in the crimes alleged by the people at the other end. Whichever case be true the focus should be to bring the relevant authorities too task so that people don’t continue to take the law in their own hands because if we look at the long term consequences of such a trend, we are inviting a self made disaster. Now even the all are politicians have gone silent too, who were ready to bring justice at the door steps of that family when the other side of the story surfaced. This only shows that they endorse the fact that if they were criminals treating them that way is acceptable to them.

Not much attention is being given to the protests that were held on the 24^th of Aug in Lahore & on the 26^th of Aug. in both Lahore & Karachi. Those people are part of this very nation trying to be part of the change that they want to see around them. Why have their efforts not been given the due share? Why only concentrate on the negative which only results in attracting more negativity?

Telco Wars

2010-08-29T04:04:00.000+05:00

Since long the telco industry has been indulged in some kind of a war amongst its players. The pointless price war has been on since ages. Though from the customer’s view point this is great as most of them carry multiple sims & so does the loyalty shifts with the packages. Or can this even be called loyalty??

Then hitting on each other has been a common sight as well. As can be seen in the following examples.

However, my irritation has sparked with the latest Mobilink Jazz advertisements & more so because I am a user. One of them can be viewed here. It’s not that the fun part of such ads is not appreciated but these latest additions are not even remotely funny. The only message they get across is that hey we can attack back too by making fun of the competition, the fact that it is of cheap material is another story.

This 14th August let us promise to Give back

2010-08-14T05:52:00.000+05:00

This Independence Day comes with the country being surrounded by problems with more than 10 thousand square kilometers of land submerged under flood waters. The UN has declared that number affected by Pak floods may exceed 2004 tsunami, 2005 Kashmir earthquake and 2010 Haiti earthquake combined.

The cynics are having a nice time though as according to them they have been predicting all this since long, unfortunately no one listens to them. Exactly, what have they been predicting, the national disasters or the inefficiency of the government. The latter requiring no predictions, they follow a set pattern, one we know by heart now.

So Pakistan turns 63 today, how many more years you grant it before your very favorite prediction comes true, something this lot I guess dreams of every night. Anyways sorry people you can only dream about it as we are here to stay you like it or not. The biggest reason of it being, our endurance level something which, even a former CIA official could not escape from noticing. "Pakistanis will do as they have always done. They will endure." http://tinyurl.com/2wvgzj4

Few days back I got the link of a video http://tinyurl.com/255bqho created for the purpose of boosting our ever drowning moral. Something that was staring out from that video was the fact that we are blessed by nature & individual talent. What we lack is to put all these as combine efforts which will result in the uplift of the whole. This is one area we need to work on.

Whatever the odds, hope is something which has always been a parallel to our land. Something that has proven to be a life line for us. The cynics can say whatever they want, as that is the only thing they do best, hand out free predictions. When asked to chip in any small way, you will be loaded with a long list of reasons why your very idea is a flop. Sometimes it makes you wonder how they can never be burdened for not trying. But when one sees those clinging to the life line of hope & giving back in whatever way they can, the pessimism that one just can’t help being surrounded by vanishes.

The power house of this hope lies with the people & time & again they have showed its power & effectiveness. We face a situation where we need to keep aside our age old differences & get through this together because we won’t be able to if we did not pool in our efforts. Keeping our hopes etched on to the centers which have failed us time & again is no solution. It is time to give back & in a way say thank you to the land which has never led us down even when its people were not able to return back the favor which was its due.

This is no time for calling quits. We have to be the change we want to see.

Acting on Instincts

2010-08-09T14:09:00.000+05:00

Every specie stands for their own kind except for the Homo-sapiens if we see the trend. We have mastered the opposite art; to hurt our own kind in the deadliest of the manner.

Youtube link of the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HJTG6RRN4E

New breed of Beggars

2010-08-08T11:46:00.000+05:00

Yesterday I went through the Mall area & it was a sight. I wish I could get the sort of pictures I wanted but unfortunately that did not happen. As they say a picture is better than a thousand words. However, I’ll try to create a picture with the help of words.

The recruitment process of the Taliban is now common knowledge; they feed on the vacuum that is created by the government’s lack of presence. By providing the basic essentials to the desperate people they have been able to root their ground. One of the quite repeated stories which revolved around the ever famous Osama-bin-Laden was that his picture was a constant sight in the camps which were providing food & other goods to the people of Afghanistan.

A similar sight was in view but in reversed order as far as the purpose is concerned. We get to see the dog fight on our televisions among all these champions of democracy however their camps were all set up in a line with no space in-between. Each camp including PPPP, PML-N were over-flowing with their respective flags, you even had multiple Tahir-ul-Qadris staring at you & one of these camps had arranged a sound system & one of their members was making the most useless statements to attract people to donate.

My Problem?

Why are THEY collecting from the common man.

The other day on Duniya channel a representative of the government was complaining that the out-pouring of the people is peanuts as compared to what was witnessed during the October 2005’s earthquake in the northern areas of Pakistan. Do they even have the right to make this complain?

A) People learned their lesson as donating via the government bodies is never used for the intended purposes. Reason that now even banks call their customers before the Zakat collection is due asking them to draw their money. During the earthquake had the then government only coordinated the funds of the people with honesty that would have been enough as people working in those areas said “logon ko log paal gaye hain”. And here only the faces change not the system or ideas.
B) They lied about each & everything. To cover up their failures they kept the slogan of “All is well & under control” when the reality was the complete opposite as they were never bothered to listen to the concerned people who were predicting this all the time. They are incapable of handling a situation had it been of a lesser scale even if they are born twice.

The level of frustration can be judged by yesterday’s event. In any normal (though now lines between normal & abnormal are blurring quite rapidly) circumstances it would have been embarrassing that in a foreign land the head of the state was thrown a shoe at even if the person who did is was a desi. However, this was not the case we were overjoyed & if this didn’t relayed the message to the people claiming that we have the full support of the people lets not accept that they have any plans to get over their slumber.

Here is the link (http://decentsms.com/zardari.html) of the game that was up in such a short time. My personal favorite is the level 3 & you get to play all the three levels no matter what score you have at the previous level; sounds familiar huh? Whoever designed it, did put in some solid thinking.

Coming back to the issue of the collecting spots & my problem with them. Yesterday the amount that Zardari announced to contribute to the Prime Minister’s fund & the funds that two of his children have opened is peanuts as compared to what his financial status is & same goes for the Nawaz Shariff. As mentioned earlier we know where this one is going. People who are genuinely working for the victims did not put up collection camps with their banners & pictures putting up a show of civilized beggary, whose main purpose is to get as much media coverage as possible. They contacted people they knew & the amount & things they were able to collect was amazing, showing just the only string of hope we are left with; the people always rise up & unite at the hour of the need no matter where they are living over the globe. The government has not been able to provide the required security to such bodies whose people have left their jobs & business to a halt & do what the tax-payer’s money pay the people they have sent to the offices for; so now they have to take along a couple of people who act as the security personal.

So while our democratic parties did find the recruiting system of the extremist copy worthy they missed the essential part; the reason of success behind the camps of the extremist is that they give to the people not the vice versa.

Mother Nature's multi-pronged assault

2010-08-01T20:19:00.001+05:00

Floods, land sliding & Islamabad plane crash; It’s like Mother Nature decided to wage a multi-pronged assault on us. I guess you can’t blame it after all we haven’t been acting in the best of manners either. However, the point under discussion is not to decide whether all this is a punishment or not but how we acted & reacted.

Yet again it has been proven that we are not either equipped or trained to handle a disaster situation, be it natural or man-made. The thing that is bothering me the most is how much time it will take us to actually understand our situation & construct our institutions accordingly. For one monsoons are no surprises, they come every season so why were we not prepared? Then didn’t earthquake of 2005 teach us anything? And what about the more than 90 thousand IDPs situation we faced & still are facing thank to the continuous drone attacks. Not to forget the fact that we have passed the limit where a suicide attack get’s a title for remembrance like 9/11, 7/7 & 26/11 etcetera because for us it has become a regular feast & if we marking these dates our calendars will be overflowing.

Coming back to our recent troubles.

While watching the coverage of all that is going on & as usual when the statement was announced that the army has been called in to manage the situation, one of the voices in the room announced that it seems we recruit supermen in our army. A senior voice replied that there was a time we were trying to train everyone to be a superman. When explanation was demanded the discussion was dragged to the good old days before Zia-ul-Haq decided to ruin the basic fabric of this nation & turn it into something that resembles a herd. So as always the details started off by a solemn ceremony praying that he burns in hell for eternity.

Then the explanation drifted to the system of civil defense which now only exists in name like most of other departments. There was a time when civilians were part of such groups which enabled them to fully equipped to handle such calamities which we are currently facing & no one seems to find an effective solution as there is no organized platform which can supervise the relief efforts. There is no doubt that individual efforts are always prompt & filled with complete sincerity in our country, unfortunately until & unless they are canalized.

Students from high schools, colleges & universities were part of different organizations like girls guide; boys scout which were active participants in the relief activities during the floods in East-Pakistan which is now Bangladesh & elsewhere.

Some serious though should be given to the revival of such organizations, as they are the need of the hour. Till this point the official figures of the people who have lost their lives in these floods is 800, & we know that the real figures are definitely high & by the time this will end there will be a lot of people about whom we won’t even know what happened to them. Local people are managing the relief work on their own as we can see that there is no sign of the presence of the government. Something that is not new, whenever the country has faced some kind of catastrophe the government runs away from any practical work, all they do is get their photo sessions & release statements. In the present moment both the so called biggest political parties have grabbed it as an opportunity for point scoring, without realizing that nobody cares a flying rats ass at the moment when all that people can see is misery of their fellow countrymen.

To those who think that as far as this problem is not their personal one, they can relax they too better wake up. They might be sitting safely in their homes but that does not by any way is a grantee that they will not be affected. The areas that have been heavily affected will result in the sky rocketed prices of food items. Our memories are too short, that’s why we have forgotten that when we bombarded our northern areas we suffered the shortage of meat products because those areas are out supply lines for them. Same will happen for other food items now.

Everything is connected now so we should get rid of the theory that as far a situation that does not effects us directly, we need to stay out of it as now each & everything effects everyone.

With Freedom comes great Responsibility

2010-07-28T15:16:00.000+05:00

We all have been siding with the term freedom quite aggressively. Be it the ban on the social networking site or the press by the Punjab Government. Having said that one thing that has also been highlighted is that with freedom comes great responsibility. Those who are able to keep the balance I am all out for there support. However, those who have started taking this for granted that to people will support their freedom just to show the world that we too are from the same sane category & not from the stone age, have got it all wrong.

There is & cannot be any justification of the abuse of the freedom & those who try making these justifications are an utter fail.

Today was another sad day, an Airblue’s flight crashed at Margalla Hills, Islamabad. 150 people were on board. There has been no major large scale suicide bombing & I guess the daily target killings in Karachi & the murder of the only son of Kyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Information Ministery were not good enough stories to keep the people glued to the news channels. Therefore, this crash provided a nice opportunity.

Watching the coverage it was obvious that most of the journalist have forgotten that there were real people sitting in that flight. Humans who were connected to other humans in multiple network of relationships. Normally in such relationships what happens is that you care for others & if something bad happens to them a part to you hops on the balance too & the phase of not knowing the exact facts is nerve recking to say the least. How difficult is this to comprehend? What is so philosophical about this basic instinct that anyone with an average I.Q fails to relate with?

Neither it is the absence of the IQ nor the concept under discussion is too difficult, it is just about keep a control over your work ethics in crisis situations. Showing the live manifest of the flight was not really a nice way to for the families of the victims to know about their loss. And the animation by Geo was really really an act of a sick mind. Then another journalist stated that he’ll be showing the two identity cards that he found from the crash site. I fail to understand what was going in his head.

Agreed that this is the commercial age but still somethings & situations are not for sale & sure death tops the list.

People vs People

2010-07-27T15:04:00.000+05:00

Last Sunday while on my way back from a sleep-over at a relative’s home I got stuck in a traffic jam, whose cause was unknown for approximately twenty minutes. The first rumor (we are an expert in here & spare no occasion to relish in satisfaction of our tongue) that circulated was that there had been an accident & this news helped in lowering the boiling tempers. However, the odd thing out was that there were no ambulances screeching around, only one passed by & that too in the opposite direction. This & the popping heads finally announced that there was no such thing even remotely resembling an accident ahead.

So what the heck was the problem?

This was answered when we saw police mobiles move around & after a brief session of hue & cry the traffic started to inch forward. During this it was told that there was a protest going on & this entire blockage was its resultant.

Cause of the protest?

In an area (whose name I couldn’t get confirmed) the sewerage lines were blocked due to the rains resulting in the water submerging everything in its proximity & to add to the miseries of the residents there was no electricity at stretch from last two days. Thus, the people had all the right to protest.

What my problem is?

My objection here is the method of protest, there location & the obvious fact the result of such protests is ZERO. The people in the administration who are supposed to listen couldn’t care less as lately most of them have gone tech savvy & the people in the concerned departments would have been enjoying their Sunday too.

Who actually suffered?

People on the whole as always. However, in this situation & other like it people become the cause of suffering for fellow equally suffering people. That is why it is said that although there more good people in this world than the bad ones but the latter are the organized lot, hence they get to subject the majority.

Real Books Rules; E-books Drool

2010-07-25T10:38:00.001+05:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/poll/2010/jul/21/amazon-ebooks-kindle

Bingo!!!

I am so glad to see the result of this poll conducted by the Guardian. If you are even remotly considering that this is coming from someone who is anti-tech, think again, because I am not & I can present ample proof of it. Anyways the point here is some things are not just meant to change, no matter what & this stands true for the Real-books. I fail to understand how are people able to connect with e-books; when you can’t feel the book in your hand & can’t wheeze through the pages & not get lost in it while folding yourself in whatever posture you want.

My experience with e-books has been torturous to say the least as there is always a limit to which you can continuously stare at the screen which limited & to some extent effected my review of the book. Though I am one of those who agrees with a lot of what Bill Gates says & does, his statement about e-books being a better option is something I won’t be agreeing with as far as I can see.

Long live the REAL BOOKS!!!!

Power of New Media

2010-07-14T21:19:00.000+05:00

It’s been a while now that there is a buzz around the concept of “New Media” & how it has revolutionized the business world. For starters which I doubt exist in the present time & age, new media is defined as “catch-all term for all forms of electronic communication that have appeared or will appear since the original mainly text-and-static picture forms of online communication” (for those interested in details or re-reading the details they already know on their tips http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_media) ,to put it in absolute simple words our time spent on facebook, myspace, linkedin,twitter & blogs etc is all part of the new media hype.

When we say revolutionized; it’s not just at the business end, the customer end has been equally affected. From every perspective the thinking patterns have changed dramatically, from the business to customer relationships to the way people view their privacy in general. The facebook issue that made headlines lately can be used as a perfect example here. The facebook people took for granted their popularity & used a loose hand on people’s privacy which turned out to be not a great move. Though people have shown a trend towards beings less finicky about their online privacy settings but that too has a limit resulting in a sort of outcry when facebook took a self assured leisure.

A branch of new media which is at the top is Word of Mouth (WOM). Everyone uses it, be it a business with lots of money at its disposal; those who can barely touch break even, start-up etc. this concept is not new in any way, just the way it is applied, has been modernized just as everything else that we do or have around us.

Those of you familiar with the old life styles in general & of the sub-continent in particular, WOM played quite an important role from the day to day gossip, to exchange of important news to praise or defaming of the quality of the traders who used to sell their stuff (which ranged from vegetables to the most expensive silks) by going door to door. s

Now our social networking sites & blogs play a similar role & that to on a much bigger scale; on a global level as now there are no boundaries as far as businesses are concerned (our politicians blabber is an all together a different story & ironically there are business motives of an industry behind it too). We see the concept of “Corporatocracy” given by John Perkins in his book “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” unfold around us ruining lives & countries.

All this has resulted in customers playing a bigger role in the decision making of the business, from the attributes of their products to the increasing trends of businesses associating themselves with different causes & giving back to the society, showing that after all money making can be done in a positive manner as well, keeping a balance & maintaining the balance is what we currently need to get rid of the problems that we are facing from left, right, centre at every level.

New media has the credit that it has helped create awareness among the people & aided them in exchanging their information across borders.

Some people are there to stay

2010-07-14T21:10:00.000+05:00

I only had my maternal grandfather for a small period of six years of my life but the memories that I have of those years will always remain fresh. Being the first grandchild in this side of the family I had the privileges of a star where I was the center of everyone’s attention & got away with a lot of things; & the helm of these grants was the blessings of my Nana Abu sometimes to the annoyance of my mother (who was hell bent on not letting me get away by capitalizing on my single child status). The memories of his treating me goodies, I being glued to him while my parents were off to work, he volunteering trying to put me to sleep during late nights when I refused to sleep while my mother had her night shifts in the hospital, & I having his uninterrupted attention while I showed my useless skills at my musical instruments; often comes back to me.

With the passage of time he has turned into an ideal more than the adored grandparent I knew as a kid. Looking back at his life never fails to amaze me. Coming from a well established family of Jammu & Kashmir, a graduate of Aligarh College who joined the freedom movement along with his father giving it all his energy. Then on his father’s instruction he had to leave his land, fulfilling the duties of being the eldest child & make sure his mother & four siblings would be safe in the new land which would be their home for the rest of their lives. From here on he balanced his life between the freedom struggle & settling his family. Then he had to deal with the loss of one of his younger brother to whom he was attached the most.

He was a very progressive father, treated all his children equally & gave them full liberty to choose which ever profession they wanted to pursue. From his letters to his children, one sees his far-sightedness as he gives them guide-lines how to face life standing firmly on their ideals & never backing out. On the other hand one sees a soft hearted father who knows his children’s date sheets by heart & secretly worrying like hell how his daughter is going to cross the heavy trafficked road between her medical school campus & hostel.

Fast-forwarding to my memory lane. I saw the peak of his strength in 1993 when the baby of the family (my youngest uncle aged 25) came home wrapped in the flag of the country on 15^th January; result of the Sui (Dera-Bughti) operation in Baluchistan. By this time Nana Abu had a stroke & had lost his speech. Even in this condition he was the pillar to which his devastated family was clinging for strength. Without being able to say a word he consoled them trying to pull them out of their grief & back to life. In all this he kept his pain to himself, something I guess he was now used to. And maybe this time is was a bit too much as he followed his son just five months after his son on 10^th July 1993.

Everyone has to leave this world when their time comes, but some leave such legacies that they live among those they have left behind forever. My grandfather lives on & I feel him around when I read books from his collection, when I read the notes that he has scribbled on their sides, his letters, articles & most of all when I see my mother pass on his bringing up & principles on to the next generation in a similar fashion.

Wild Man or Confused Man

2010-07-14T21:06:00.000+05:00

Tom Wells took a big challenge in writing “Wild Man” (a biography of Daniel Ellsberg, whose sole claim to fame was releasing the Pentagon Papers) about such a complicated personality but he went too far in dealing with this challenge & not for best mostly.

To sum up Ellsberg’s personality one can say an intelligent man detracted for his whole life. Main reason behind this being his relationship with his mother who’s expectations knew no limits & never showed satisfaction with her son’s achievements. The main reason why Ellsberg was never able to produce results which paralleled his intelligence levels.

His self-centeredness (a characteristic which forms the bases of his persona & affects his relationships) was also the result of his mother’s training. He was treated as the most important member of the family & everyone else was considered secondary. Daniel was never able to break through this feature, considering only what he was saying or doing to be the most important thing of the time; which needed everyone’s attention. Nothing else mattered. Also his lack of analyzing situations from a multi-dimensional viewpoint was an extension of his self-centeredness.

The self-contradictory element of this personality is seen in the fact that at one hand he is a hundred percent self-centered person & on the other hand he needs the approval of others around him constantly. This he never found & he took refuge in reconstructing the events of the past. None of his accounts (or if one has to be polite you can say ninety-nine percent) match to the recollections of the other individuals involved in those events.

Daniel Ellsberg’s whole life it seems is spent in trying to prove himself, in which ever way he felt he could make a mark. In this quest (for which again one finds it impossible not to point the finger at his mother’s role) he missed out the little things which produce huge effects & are core essentials of the humane aspect of mankind; which is where you start to feel sad for Dan. Most of his actions produce the opposite reaction from what he desires are shouting examples of the things essential for a normal brought up which he was denied.

His lust for being in the lime light & power are seen dripping out in his attitudes towards keeping secrets & his exhibitionery attitude with regards to his sex-life. Buying extra copies of the papers to distribute among peers just to make sure that they see him in the news, sending his drafts to people all around are all indicators.

Once a part of the system & a complete supporter of the Vietnam War, his 180 degree turn towards being an anti-war activist (this might not be the right word for him as during this phase of his life his main objective remained being the solo star on the stage, something quite contrary to the attributes of an activist who in general would love to be standing in a team) makes no real sense. His emotional imbalance is evident everywhere but one fails to point out one solid core reason for his conversion.

Combination of these reasons made people doubt Ellsberg’s real intentions behind the only act which brought him his 5mins of fame, the release of the Pentagon Papers. And you can’t blame them for their cynicism as it is well rooted in rational justifications.

The book is interesting from a physiological analysis view point but to consider it a complete political biography is to overestimate the book’s cardinals. The author has done quite an extensive research & as most of it presents the exact results the book gets quite repetitive & the organization of these same points narrated form different people spread in different chapters make it a difficult read as it gets extremely boring & is not able to keep the reader gripped to the story. Joan Hoff in his praise of the book stated that “…Wells’s biography will save him (Daniel) from becoming a mere footnote to history”. However, after reading this account one wonders whether his becoming a footnote in the end is such a bad idea.

Everyone has a story & every story is worth listening but Tom Well’s over did Daniel Ellsberg’s story in 604 pages as it was not really worth this much space in the archives of the history.

Weapons of Mass Deception

2010-06-13T13:24:00.000+05:00

We always debate about freedom of speech in general & freedom of press in particular. A staunch supporter of this freedom myself, I think that we have seen that this blind faith in the media has not always given us the desired results.

A media that needs to be an independent source of information & criticism has unfortunately been converted into yet another business unit which has resulted in lack of objectivity in a profession which needs to have objectivity as its core value. But can this medium be trusted now?

Personally, I no more trust it, especially after being cheated on several occasions. With time as the number of channels increase the quality of the information has decreased, like some inversely related math equation. It has become a sort of rat race for them to pour in news or is data a better term? From the standpoint of Pakistan we are well accustomed to seeing through the news (not that it somehow helped our situation in any manner). Our political rollercoaster which has somehow been able to affect every other sphere of life & made it equally unstable has made our nerves a bit too hard. We like any other viewer around the globe take in the preset information but our opinion poll is not based on it. This point won’t correspond to any poll results that are shown to represent us because most of the time they are ghost polls & we are too busy now to even challenge them.

By this time, you might be thinking what prompted me to write this post. Well as far as the prompting point is concerned I recently watched Control Room( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_Room_(film))& Weapons of Mass Deception(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_Mass_Deception) , back to back. And the main point that I want to make here is that what is the result of all this debate? Pros & Cons. Real Journalism v/s Not so real journalism (corporatocracy backed journalism). Both these documentaries that I just mentioned had the “Iraq war” as their core subject. All the lies that were sold & we bought them hungrily. WMD, Operation Iraq Liberation (abbreviated as OIL ironically), the behind the scenes ugly side of corporate culture etc etc. In all this the effects somehow become just a footnote. They are not given the attention or the space they deserve. They are referred as part of the long list of consequences not as a major fallout.

Ok, finally the truth has been unveiled; there was no greater good for which people were fighting, the whole dam world supporting the champions of freedom & similar theories. So what did this discovery do for those footnotes? What changed for them? How were they compensated? Any answers? I fail to find one.

Nothing in this world can compensate for the physical & emotional loss these people suffered; the loss of their loved ones, homes, cultures, identities; nothing can bring them back to normalcy. This damage is irreversible, but the worse part of it is that no one seems to be interested in learning some lessons & to make sure that this is not repeated. All we tend to do is bring out more analysis for further fruitless debates. All that won’t make even the tiniest of the difference.

The world is hell bent on ending extremism. Pray tell me how the hell is that going to happen when we are ourselves responsible for creating them, & further breeding them by simply defying basic human rights. Everyone states that the extremist are in a minority. I agree sure they are; the planners surely are in a minority but the people they use are recruited by playing on these basic deprivation that has been created. Another irony the design theorist behind d these folks of extremist so resemble the politicians. Their common bond; their talent of lying.

Is the stress on ethical & moral values in every sector just a cover up to pretend that we do care about these things while in reality we don’t. In yester years when the pressing topic was not the protection of ethical & moral values people used to practice them by default anyways. So is the process of advancement & information age heading us to deterioration or progress?

In all this darkness the light can be seen through the fact that people in general have started to filter out & scrutinize the information that they are force fed. But then that is it. This change in attitudes is not reaching out to the areas where it is most required. People are still being killed in the name of the greater good & despite the fact that apparently maximum resources are poured in to fight terrorism no sold results have been reached. And until & unless the root cause is not hit we better not just hold to our empty optimism but be prepared for a further slip in the dark slide.

Easy Said than Done

2010-06-01T19:29:00.000+05:00

Often we tend to advise others to Let Go & Move On; & the intentions behind this advice are most of the time with the best interest at heart for that person. However, this advice is getting a bit to common place & people tend to think it is the solution of every dam thing that goes wrong in your life. IT IS NOT!!!!!

There are things you can’t just let go & STFU with regards to them. You learn to live with them but you can’t forget them as they hang in the very air you breathe. Everything in this world does not depend on rationality so trying to rationalize each & everything is not just stupidity but adds insult to the injury.

So when someone is repeating it time & again the underline message is to honor that memory, to make sure that the particular life had value & others better keep this thing in mind so that the same thing is not repeated. What advocates of “Let Go” policy forget is that by not keeping it fresh in the memory they allowing it to happen again & again & again.

Obviously Not Worth the Protest

2010-05-28T16:40:00.000+05:00

Another Friday will go down the archives as the day of massacre during the jumma prayers. But ofcourse this is yet another incident which does not deserve to be taken immediate notice of neither it is worth country wide protests. We have much more important issues to consider like who is making cartons to trigger us or to make sure we make excuse of every possible incident & turn it into a well established attention diverter. After all we have are priorities well set.

Pakistan made headlines by reacting in such an absurd manner to the blasphemous content published in a foreign country, but I am pretty sure that like before we won’t see similar kind of protests for the massacre which took place today in two mosques of the Ahmadi sect in Lahore. So far as the operation is still going on hardly any mainstream public figure has come out with an open condemnation. Why? Yes, we are now desensitized to all this madness (not a fact to be proud of but still a bitter fact) but isn’t this factor being abused by the power to be, by not doing what is supposed to be done. To make an example out of the culprits so that more & more don’t follow suit. Something that is done to the activist of this country. But I guess I am asking for too much.

Questioning the authorities has proven to be of no use time & again so let’s just keep it aside for the time being. I am very much interested in checking the morals of the people in general at the moment as I felt like being slapped hard in my face when general people were questioning each other’s religious values when some of us choose to disagree & refused to join the bandwagon of the crackdown on the freedom of speech & choice. Will they be protesting this incident with the same intensity & make sure that they pressurize the authorities (or actually scare them) into cracking down on these self proclaimed elements so that more blood is not spilt the way it has been for some time now, & which has been repeated today again? The unfortunate answer that I can see coming is NO, they won’t.

So far the body count just from a single location (Model Town) is 27. This is not just a simple body count or even 27 individuals. Consider this the destruction of 27 families for whom life is not going to be the same. And we won’t protest this showing that this issue is not worth it.

Acting self proclaimed protectors of our religion when we mock it better than anyone else. Engrossed in labeling other religions as threats to Islam & its followers we ignore the real threat that is our own selves. A fact majority won’t accept as reality bites.

Facebook Fiasco

2010-05-20T11:30:00.000+05:00

I had decided not to join the bandwagon & give space to this Facebook fiasco (apparently the most critical issue my country is facing) on my blog. Unfortunately, I was not able to stick to this idea of mine. The trigger point for this post were the replies that I got for an article that I forwarded by Adil Najam (the article can be accessed here http://pakistaniat.com/2010/05/19/facebook-draw-muhammad/comment-page-1/) on the issue which I found to be the most logical piece on it by far.

Going through those reactions brought me to the following conclusion: The way our collective thinking process works, who the hell needs enemies, we do the job for them & in a much more effective manner.

We have shown that we are insulated & won’t let history teach us one bit. Why haven’t we been awarded the champions of experts in shooting their own feet? Time & again our style of protest has damaged the cause instead of helping it achieve its target.

Agreed there is a fine line between freedom of speech & abuse of it, & surely the abuse of it should be condemned & protested BUT in the right manner. Taking absurd measures in the name of condemning the abuse of this freedom is even worse. Plus it does not highlight the difference between your view point & those responsible for the offense.

And to top the list of the results of this mindless response, we have yet again failed in registering our protest, to explain why people should abstain from hurting our feelings. Though in my personal view ignoring the issue would have been the best policy as it is us; the self proclaimed saviors who did the marketing for these people & that too for free. I am ready to bet that they would have failed miserably to get to this hall of fame on their own.

No wonder Zia-ul-Haq was able to devise the idea(or whoever in his advisory board came up with it, as the self appointed Ammer-ul-Mominen’s creative skills were non-existent) of giving out important news in-between cricket match intervals so that people would not bother reacting as they had their priorities set in the reverse order. We have voluntarily chosen to live with the ghosts of our nightmares & show no signs of planning to break away.

Incompatibility with the Concept of Institutions

2010-05-18T12:20:00.000+05:00

The other day I came across an article where the writer trying to describe our institutes states that to put it in a polite manner “they are developing”. Well I think he was being too generous, they are non-existent & are showing no signs of development. And this case scenario is not just limited to our very famous government institutions. Lately I had a personal experience with some nonprofit organizations & was surprised to see the level of bureaucracy & the infamous one man show they followed. During one of the ranting sessions about the limit to which we had to suffer following these two systems the idea came up that there is something direly wrong with the thinking process of our region & specially our country. Nobody seems to be interested in forming a system whichever area of expertise they are working in. A lot of time & energy is wasted in creating the nuisance value of individuals.

Ayub Khan in an attempt at defending his dictatorship once said that democracy doesn’t work in hot countries. A statement mirroring more of his intentions rather than reality but the unfortunate fact is that his idea has to some extent incorporated itself in the foundations of our system. A vicious cycle, from which cutting loose seems next to impossible. The worst part being that this concept is penetrating to the sectors which should be capable of blocking this system.

A business manager once said “If one is not able to train a better manager than himself, that manager has failed miserably”. This stands true in every case scenario & I think this should be made the criteria for judging one’s success story rather than the traditional standards that we have been following since ages. And if start judging according to this we’ll see that the failure rate is immense. Humans are mortal & this is no breaking news. How hard is it not to see the obvious & digest the fact that one day each & everyone of us has to pack up & leave that too empty handed. So sticking yourself with the elfi when you get to a position is basically pointless.

Those who have realized this theory are in a much better situation, as they create for themselves a permanent place without compromising their identity of mortality. They don’t get killed at the hands of history, which is the worst kind of death.

However, a single person can only have the intention & start off an effort for establishing an institution & until & unless he is supported by a team the efforts are fruitless, this is a fact cut in stone. Whenever, a system is dependent on a single person the resultant is nothing less than disastrous & I think we in Pakistan can claim copyrights over this phenomena.

This can’t be lived on with.

No doubt we are made of a very strong wood, after all how else could we have been able to survive this long. But why just survive? Why not progress & change? All the required ingredients are present, so why let a behavioral defect ruin it all. As Leo Tolstoy said:

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself”.

High time we stop our drawing room change activism & get some real work done.

First published in: http://www.pro-pakistan.com/2010/05/15/incompatibility-with-the-concept-of-institutions/

Our love affair with medicine & engineering

2010-04-25T15:48:00.000+05:00

This is no secret that to date majority of the children are given two choices as to what they can do with their lives, A) they can become a doctor B) if math comes easy to them they can become engineer. The C, D & E options can only be looked at if the first two are failed at miserably & by no means(legal & illegal) can one be pushed in those gates.

Here the preference of quantity over quality has far exceeded the breaking point. The ever increasing number of private medical schools just in Punjab should serve as an eye opener. There fee structure is yet another debate.

The question marks are that if we have this huge number of doctors then why parts of our country still deprived of even the very basic medical facilities. Yet the number of private clinics & hospitals are on the rise & not to forget the ever increasing issues of ethics in the profession.

I am not against the profession in any manner, the point I want to make is that it is high time that we start creating a balance in this case. This country is in need of IT professionals, business managers, economists, writers etc as much as it needs doctors & engineers. High time the institutes stop propagating the age old idea & show some proactivity by breaking away from this clinched concept.

Life After 18th Amendment

2010-04-23T11:54:00.000+05:00

Epic!!!!!!!!

Source: The News, Thursday, April 22,2010

People Resist Change

2010-04-16T21:51:00.000+05:00

These days in our Management Information System (MIS) course we indulge in one of our favorite conversations “scrutinizing our university’s administration” which is 99% times not unreasonable. What’s the link here? Well in the above mentioned course we are actually trying to learn how to improve business or any other systems transforming them into a more efficient process. However, the point of this post is not to give a summary of what happens in my MIS course or to give a detailed account of how my university chooses to frustrate its paid captives. It’s a reflection that flashed through my mind in one of those moments when I am actually trying to concentrate on my course work which ends up in my sitting infront of my computer screen facebooking, tweeting & surfing side by side.

During one of the session we were discussing the hurdles that hinder the process of shifting a process onto new & up to date technology & one of the reasons which showed up was the behavioral aspect. According to which people resist change as they feel threatened of losing their power & nuisance value & above all the fact that they are comfortable in their old system no matter how tiring & useless it is. COMFORTABLE!!!!

This very word started acting as an irritant in my upper compartment. Living in a time when all we get to here on our good for nothing talk shows is urgency for change. Ironically people who are called upon to be the advocates of change seem to be so comfortable in their old positions & roles. So the time & again rant made by us in our discussion sessions which are the best time pass during power cuts of why we aren’t headed towards a change in system rather than further falling in the dreaded dark pit; I kindda found my answer.

But again pointing fingers is the easiest way out. So yes blame transferred that the same old brats sitting on our heads that’s the root cause of all our problems, case closed. Oh did someone just point that same good ol’ finger at us? Who’s been comfortable with the same old brats, labeling them as champions forgetting that they have been disgraced before too many times to be given yet another chance. Still trying to re-direct the good ol’ finger? Agreed that there are powers that play a pivotal role in this entire decision making but they do it with our support so let’s stop re-directing the finger as it is bound to one day gets its directions without fumbling.

So when we rant about the people who are only bound to opt for slogan morging as far as change management is concerned, we forget that they are able to achieve their goals because we are ready to buy their crap in the same old packaging time & again. Therefore, what makes us think that they’ll change; they won’t because we are not interested in breaking out of this vicious cycle.

The Role of media in promoting Democracy & Truth

2010-03-06T08:28:00.000+05:00

On the 3rd of March the Rotaract Club of Forman Christian College organized a seminar on the topic “The role of media in promoting democracy & truth”. Our speakers included Dr. Khalid Zaheer (http://www.khalidzaheer.com/) & Kamran Shahid (an academic, author of the book, Gandhi & the Partition of India & host of the show Frontline). The format of the seminar was set as such so that maximum opportunity is given to the students (who were the main audience) to present their view point & get their confusions cleared. For this both our speakers first presented to the point talks which were followed by a detailed & highly charged Q & A session.

Dr. Khalid spoke first & he turned out to be a complete optimist. He spoke about the positive aspects of the freedom of media. He did the comparison between the two time periods. One when people were not used to questioning the facts presented in front of them be it religion, politics or anyother aspect of life & the present age where each & everything is scrutinized before being accepted. Dr. Khalid was a strong advocate of self correction. The basic crux of his talk was that when we will, both as individuals & collectively as a nation straighten our path, we’ll be able to solve majority of our problems & also deal with external threats in a much better way. He quoted verses from the Holy Quran to support his view point.

His talk was followed by that of Kamran Shahid. Continuing the message of the need of self-correction he pointed out the immense responsibility that resides on the shoulders of the young generation. He said that he rends all of his hopes on them for an improvement as the present condition is quite disappointing to put it in the most polite manner. Mr. Kamran also pointed out some of the limitations that the system put on the journalist & other working in the field in the various form of censorships & other related complicated aspects.

When the microphone was transferred to the audience a debate opened up. There were people who agreed with the speakers & some who didn’t agreed, added to this some other political questions were also touched the most important of which was the lack of democracy in the political parties claiming to be champions in the field. Here students belonging to the Gilgit Baltistan area raised the issue of the lack of media coverage for their protest for saving Gojal. There was a heated debate on the issue of Dr. Afia Siddiqui even amongst the students, some favoring her case others asking for a more through debate on the issue which has been previously ignored because of the use of emotional appeals backed by different political parties. There was disagreement on the creation of symbolism & slogan morging. One opinion that was highlighted was in favor of these emotional provocatives, as it keeps a nation alive & aware to the issues revolving around. The opinion presented in the rebuttal was that the general people are the ones who can put an end to all this by not responding to such sensationalization (be it by political heads or the media) & ask for objectivity. Dr. Khalid being the optimist that he is said that he believes that in the coming years people are going to reject all this which will result in the people responsible for creating it to change their course.

It was a nice experience which the club is really proud of & has encouraged us to further work on creating such similar events which will keep the thought process of students alive & teach them to respect the view point of others.

Inspiration from the real world

2010-03-03T09:01:00.000+05:00

Saw this video on facebook & the person's efforts are truly commendable. Also, these sort of people should comprise our list of people who we look up to.

People in our government are always complaining of lack of resources (obviously they forget to check their own pockets) & their defenders want people to stop pointing fingers at them as the government is not supposed to everything. A well rehearsed statement they always present is that the people in general don't contribute; well here you go an example set by a common man. Is the government willing to learn a lesson? I have my doubt.

Protest outside Lahore Press Club for Protecting Gojal

2010-03-01T19:15:00.000+05:00

Gojal (part of Gilgit) is threatened by heavy flooding & several villages have already been swiped out.The government, as usual has done nothing to curb the situation. Following are the pictures of the protest outside Lahore Press Club to pressurize the government to take the appropriate steps.

Those interested to know about the details of the areas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gojal

It's high time that practical steps are taken to preserve our assets & our northern areas form a major portion of it. High time they get their share of rights & protection that the job of those claiming to be elected representatives.

Credit for pictures: Nisar Ahmed IRC co-ordinator film & TV department.

Title-Less

2010-02-21T11:16:00.000+05:00

Think even before you consider using their services!!!

Global Survivors Network

2010-01-14T17:16:00.000+05:00

Yesterday we had invited Mr. Tahir W. Malik (Global Survivors Network), for a talk on how can the youth contribute towards the victims of terrorism, like they did in case of the 2005 earthquake or the IDPs to our University. Won’t go into each & every detail of what he said; will stick to a brief outline.

In his talk Mr Tahir didn’t even touched the aspects which we all love to discuss, the minute we come across the word Terrorism, the blame game, the roots of it, how to stop it, where to stop it blah blah blah; long story cut short we didn’t have a live session of some talk show that eats out our brains. What we did come across was something that I personally have actually not given some real thought or seen or heard people ponder over in their drawings rooms or whatever place they love to indulge in political intellectualism because they have nothing better to do.

The crux was: HOW TO HELP THE SURVIVORS? These are not the sort of victims & survivors for whom we need to collect donations (or even if we do, that is not their primary issue). So the question still hangs on, let’s phrase it in a different manner, WHAT SORT OF HELP THESE PEOPLE NEED? The answer is SUPPORT. Another question arises WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT? The answer to this came from Mr. Tahir’s talk. Base line of which is that to let the other person know you really feel about their loss, to be ready to listen to what they want to vent out, to give them a comfort zone where they don’t have to be careful with their words & most of all their emotions.

Emotional help is the only front we can help; rest is now getting out of our hands. For all the optimism in the world at one side, it is time to go for a bit of reality check. At this point in time we are not in a position to point our finger at one particular source, to make them accountable for all this craziness around us. Some are pointing the religious extremist, some the extreme leftist, some shift the blame to the economic factors, some to the political corruption. Each & everyone of these is judging on a bias. And also this is a debate which can go on forever.

Death is never entirely comprehendible to the human mind. We learn to come to terms with it with the passage of time. The form of death we are coming across is something one can’t come to terms with & my personal take on this is, we SHOULD NOT come to terms with it. Because it’s not normal & our desensitization towards this will, with time give the license of normality. And as society is a molding structure we might end up making this a norm & for this history will never forgive us. For this we need to come together. And coming together is the founding idea behind the Global Survivors Network, to come together & support each other.

The present times we are living through, we can’t just look at things from just one angle; we can’t afford to do that. So while we are trying to figure out ways how to handle the issue of terrorism in itself, let’s not limit our efforts for the victims & survivors of this insanity to few minutes of remembrance & candle vigils.

For details about the Global Survivors Network please visit:
www.globalsn.net
www.gsntahir.wordpress.com

Another year goes by & another is on its way

2009-12-30T16:35:00.000+05:00

It’s yet again time when people will be making new resolutions so that they can be broken even before January ends. Knowing myself I have stopped following this ritual for a couple of years now. And guess what it helped because the burden of guilt is lighter.

As the year 2009 ends its at least time for reflection. This ritual will help those who are still keen on resolutions & even for the likes of me, because at least it outlines for you to some extent the dos & don’ts for the next year.

My reflection left me quite depressed. Last year goes down in my memory lane as one of the worst years of my life; & my guess is history is not going to categorize it any different. I can’t give an outline of my individual self & the picture around me separately. Both of them I found being integrated to the core. A realization that hit me hard, even though being extensively discussed in my sociology courses. And I felt like joining the camp of those sociologists who give maximum weightage to the society’s role in the life of an individual.

Things happening around us from the recession to the political atmosphere changed the outlook of people’s take on LIFE & what they want out of it. Uncertainty is a term even a kindergartener can spell now. And the thing that is bugging me the most is that none of is planning to ask “What did we do wrong”. This is not just the case of our politicians (for whom hopeless is an understatement now) but even at individual level, our family level etc. we are moving at such a fast pace that we don’t even have time to stop or even slow down & just see what our pace has done, not just for the present but the future as well. Being a business student we are always taught to look at situations from both a short-term & long-term perspective. While in discussions, case studies etc we always mark the long term benefits as the more suitable, but when it comes to real life practice, we leave behind our lessons in the class room, why? I still haven’t found an answer to this.

Another dark spot this year carries is the desensitization of the loss of life. Yes, we still feel low when some maniac decides to take a direct flight to the heaven (which lands on the opposite turf for sure) but compare our present reaction to when all this was not to frequent. One such incident would in the past radiate its impact; you could feel it in the air. My mother, who’s an anatomist for the past 25 years couldn’t sleep for days. Now, the death toll is just becoming a figure for everyone. I feel if we individuals don’t take back the control over the society & instead tell it keep monitoring us, we’ll never get out of this web, which to some extent we too have contributed in.

And yes individuals do have the capability of doing this. I have experienced it. If 2009 will ever make me smile, it will be because of this single contribution that it brought to my life. I landed up in a friendship bond with Karishma from across the border, a country with which my land has never maintained a permanent good relation & currently the situation is nowhere close to getting better. Our bond strengthened under the circumstances when our politicians were having a tough time even shaking hands & smiling for the press; something they are a master of. That’s when the power of individuals struck me. Both of us don’t agree on everything & no one can challenge our love for our respective motherlands, but still we have a blast together & thank our lucky stars for our chance encounter. Infact our encounter too is based on agreeing with the ideas of an individual (Fatima Bhutto). With setting our base on this, we have grown to the point where we plan to make our contribution (even though quite small an effort compared to the vastness of the issue at hand) to show that regaining sanity might not be that difficult.

My personal experience pulled me back to the camp of that ideology of sociologist who are of the view point that individuals form the society, therefore have the power to control it & change it. Basing our quantity on quality is going to be the key for the change we are looking for.

Hoping, that 2010 goes down my memory lane with the tag line, “When it changed for the better”.

The Role of Education in the present Times

2009-12-25T14:19:00.000+05:00

“Education plays a vital role in every aspect of one’s lives, so we should give our hundred percent to it & not waste our time in useless activities”. Sound familiar? I can’t imagine if anyone comes up & says nope, they weren’t inoculated with this statement. Most of us spend a large portion of our lives acquiring academic excellence so that we end up in jobs which in return provide us with our standard of living which takes a step up the ladder the minute we reach the one below it. There’s a cut throat competition & Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest best suits the explanation of all the fast & furious lives we all are living. And being equipped with the best education is a key tool in one’s survival in this system.

So if we just give a glance to our definition of education, it centers on academics. The grades you score by being drowned in the text books etcetera etcetera. Who’s to be blamed then when education is not producing the results it should? We have our basics set up in the wrong foundation. When we refer to education majority of us don’t even have the mental grooming of an individual at the back of our minds. We are referring to the superficial success of that individual.

Though the literacy rate is on the rise on an average but what good has that done? An educated society should have put an end to the double standards which formulates the roots of most of the issues the world in general & our country specifically suffers from. The irony here is that even the educational system is not cured from the double standards. In every country there exists schools which have a higher standard of education & then there are institutes which are not up to the mark; & mostly people who can’t afford to send their children to good schools end up sending their children to these lower quality schools. So in this way from the start of one’s life foundation of double standards, discrimination etc are laid in individuals who’ll be forming a society & integrate in them these qualities which were grinded in them from the very start.

No doubt the globalized education system is breeding top notch professional but this system is eating up the humans inside these professional. There is absolutely nothing wrong in being ambitions & competitive but when the rule of “everything is fair in love & war” is applied everywhere, the results are the surrounding we are living in. Our current system is promoting individualism to such an extent that people have started hurting the society to fulfill their personal goals. Under such circumstances people are ready to relocate, even denounce their nationality if it is creating even the slightest hindrance in their path, taking refuge in the increasing stance that the world is a global village. If so then why can’t these very same people stop stereotyping people of a specific state or religion if really we are following the path of globalization.

To this date, where we claim that we are the most civilized, highly educated lot we still haven’t agreed to disagree. Followers of each separate ideology consider it to be the best & want to impose it on the rest of the world. And for that all means become fair. Be it manipulating a country’s political system or waging a war based on false accusation. All this being not just conducted by the most educated lot but also supported by the educated class around the globe. To satisfy our conscience we do tend o wage verbal protest by using unpractical means. We have organizations whose mandate is to monitor peace & to keep a check on the ambitions of states. However, they have failed to do so.

We haven’t used our education for radiating a positive impact. The issues which should have our utmost attention are the last on our list. We haven’t shown any progress on the increasing environmental issues at the level which is the need of the hour. Intolerance exists. There are so many imbalances on this planet. At one side we have such rich countries that cannot even imagine any scarcity; they exercise immense power around the globe. And then there is this other extreme where people die of ailments which aren’t even considered issues in the other parts. This imbalance results in the rise up of resistance which takes up the ugly looks of terrorism. Individual we term as terrorist aren’t necessarily following an ideology, their economic conditions play a vital role in their changing camps. We have the history of Afghanistan to prove this point. The core bodies of extremist organizations are present where the state should have been playing a role. Malcolm X is another perfect example. A product of an unequal, unjust & dual faced system, which produced such hatred in him & his initial mentor Eljha Muhammad was able to spun him in his camp by hitting on the right spot.

It might burst our bubble, but the reality is that our current educational system is not at all playing its due role. Revisiting the system is the dire need of the time. Though used inappropriately educational system if used properly, it can play a very positive & healing role to our global village.

First published in: Pro-Pakistan
http://www.pro-pakistan.com/2009/12/24/the-role-of-education-in-present-times/#more-5618

Minarets are Banned in Switzerland

2009-11-30T11:56:00.000+05:00

So finally the Swiss decision came up of banning the minarets. A blunt act of discrimination which is being defened by hiding behind a referendum & sugar coating it in the name of a debate. An architectural religious symbol being defined as a political symbol, while those it belongs to reject this definition. Why only limited to the minarets the? What about the symbols of other religions? When are they gonna be banned in the name of politics? Well guess its time for me to get out of my day dreaming.

On a second thought isn't this pointing towards a fact that Islamophobia is a political stunt rather than an ideology of Islam; something even a COMMON MAN has been declaring at the top of his voice. It took a lot of years & destruction for a Sectary of State of USA to admit the blunder her government committed with regards to Afghanistan; so admitting this foul play will take a lot more years as well. In the meanwhile discrete discrimination will rule.

Where is this global village headed?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8384835.stm
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-swiss-minaret30-2009nov30,0,5417813.story

Bachana by Bilal Khan

2009-11-13T21:41:00.000+05:00

Inspiration!!!!

2009-11-11T16:22:00.000+05:00

"We will compromise on almost anything, but not on our values, or our aesthetics, or our idealism, or our sense of curiosity"

- Anita Roddick

Marketing at its WORST!!!!!

2009-11-09T10:59:00.000+05:00

This is absurd to say the least. And I am so much looking forward to shredding this ad in my next marketing lecture. My irritation includes the unnecessary presence of women, the flying act (which is performed by the air forces) while the name of the brand is "Diplomat".

Me thinks that tobacco companies along with the banking sector need to review their marketing departments without any further delays. As both of these cooperate sectors seriously challenge one's common sense.

Social Change

2009-10-25T16:55:00.000+06:00

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours..."

Cesar Chavez

The Madness Continues!!!!

2009-10-21T21:36:00.000+06:00

The chaos & uncertainty that has become the global phenomena has shown its ugliest form in my country. We have been standing in the front lines since this war on terror started & still the rest of the world is not satisfied & wants more from us. But i guess that they themselves don't know what is it that they want under the notion of MORE or they pretend that they themselves have no role to play.

Who are these species(human beings is wrong terminology for them), for whom the biggest gift of the All Might has no value? But then again is this not something that we have been asking from the day one all this started? Only questions are being asked no one is trying to come up with any answers. Specially those who are elected to answer such questions are the most clueless beings.

From a personal view point this situation is reminding me of the incidents that I have heard from my parents who had lived through Zia's regime. When their institutes were shut down, when the youth of that time turned towards the drug mafia to vent out their frustration, a time when they were left clue less as what to do with their lives, when a batch with under normal conditions would have graduated from medical school in five years took seven years; all thanks to the political instability of that time.

The present situation might not be that bleak(just one week) but isn't it just the start? When are we gonna learn from our history?

We can conduct as many operation as we like & kill as many terrorist as we like but until & unless the people who train these kids(majority of the suicide bombers are teenagers or in their early 20s) we are landing nowhere. And ha anyone of us though about the roles played by economic factors here. No agenda, no ethics have any value when you & your family is suffering even for the basic needs. Something a few of us take for granted.

During the earthquake of 2005, we saw the absence of the State, in Afghanistan it was the absence of the State which brought the Taliban the support among the masses that they have. So who's to blame?

The Younger Generation Trying to Make a Difference.

2009-09-22T11:23:00.000+06:00

Chances are minimal if any that these people will actually do something about what this teenager threw in their faces, but still it is encouraging to see that our generation is not only about the latest models of cellphones, junk food & all that pure capitalism has to offer.

Here's the link, do pass it on in your circle as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Q-PvJgacs

Disgraced to the last limit!!!!!! Ferdos Ashaiq Awan

2009-09-18T23:28:00.000+06:00

I couldn't think of any other title for this post. The language used by Dr Ferdos Ashaiq made me sick. Most of the time we are arguing that it is the lack of education that has brought to the point where we are, but what is to be done when even education can not mend one's attitudes.

The more pathetic part is that these are the sort of people who are claiming to be representing the people of Pakistan. I am seriously loosing my love for this sort of dummy democracy (better termed as DAMACRACY). Where the hell are we heading???? When the world is talking about changing the minds of the people & the politics of this globalized period calls for playing mind games, our self professed democratic rulers are playing the roles of a stereotyped subcontinental mother-in-law & daughter-in-law.

Ferdos Ashaiq has not only embarrassed her newly adopted party but also her teachers at the Fatima Jinnah Medical College. However, something that was new for me was that the faculty at F.J.M.C remembers her as someone who was uncivilized as a student as well.

So was she a politician in the making from day one, if yes at least she should have spared one of the most respected profession of our country. A country where every second person wants to become a doctor or engineer.

Speaking Fluent Urdu

2009-09-10T10:21:00.000+06:00

Hope this provides some sort of inspiration to our Djs, Vjs & all those wasting their energies on fake accents!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOEKkKClQH0

A conspiracy against my father- Ijaz-ul-Haq

2009-09-09T15:32:00.000+06:00

It is high time that Ijaz-ul-Haq wakes up from his slumber. Trying to glorify his father who happens to be the most hated person in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. And this hatred is not just limited to the generations who had to live under his regime. I am in no position to comment on points he raised about the internal dealings of the ISI but my question is why is he shouting all this at the top of his voice now? Wasn't it all fine & part n parcel of the process when Zia was in power or when the party of Ijaz-ul-Haq's choice was in power?

According to Mr Haq, his father was a true Islamic icon of this country & was eliminated by the enemies just because of this. He needs to be reminded that the majority of the people hold a drastically different view; according to which Islam was distorted the most by Zia to gain political support. He used Islam to justify his coming to power, the way he did; to gain support for the Afghan war whose price we as a nation are paying to date.

Adding to his list of achievements are introduction of the drug culture, the Kalashnikov culture, our own version of Taliban, lack of tolerance for other's believes & view points, wide spread of Madrassas which were left unchecked & instead of fulfilling the duties which are assigned to this institution in theory in our religion, majority of them were producing mindless extremist & not to mention a whole generation of youth which had no clue as to what they want to do with their lives. All thanks to Marad-e-Momin Zia. The creation of extremely corrupt political parties which are looming on our heads today, leaving us with no other alternative to choose from is an achievement of Mr Zia which has contributed to our present rotten political system.

Mr Haq is pointing fingers at the USA for their involvement in his fathers murder, but then who's responsible for making them our big daddy. Wasn't it Zia who bowed before them so that he could rule the land of pure for eleven years & the continuous support for his version of Jihad. What about the interrogation cell constructed under the Lahore Fort, what about all that torture suffered by people just because they disagreed with the regime.

Ijaz-ul-Haq wanted the late Benazir Bhutto's government to bring to justice those involved in the plot. Wasn't he demanding too much or has he forgotten that Zia executed Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto on trumped up charges?

Another funny thing in his writ up is that he wants a Truth & Reconciliation Commission to cover & examin our national history & in his list of assassinated politicians he refused to enlist the names of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto & his two sons.

Then according to him as his father's funeral was such a grand one that showed what a great & loved leader he was. Had his father not stopped SZAB's children attend his funeral let alone the people; the reality of his statement would have been clearly exposed.

However, one point with which I am in agreement is where he states that external powers do commit conspiracies but it is the internal people who make them materialize. How True. BUT wasn't his father part just a similar conspiracy? So I guess it was not unfair when he was told that to find the answers to his questions he should look towards the Almighty.

In the closing paragraph Mr Haq had the audacity of justifying hid father's dictatorship, by calling him a benign dictator. Ask those who had to live with this benign dictatorship.

"If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem...It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool... all of the people all of the time..."
Abraham Lincoln.

We as people might be helpless infront of our bloody regimes but we aren't fools, so STOP mocking at our sanity but throwing light on the history of this country as it suits you.

The Customer is ALWAYS Right!!!

2009-09-06T09:22:00.000+06:00

"The Customer is Always Right" is the first phrase taught to business students. And believe me it does not sounds that bad in the comfort zone of your classroom. However, the situation takes a 180 degree turn when it comes to good ol' real world.

My yesterday's experience at my internship made me curse the genius who added this phenomena in the phraseology.

When human beings become customers, they loose most of their rationality & tend to become those irritating kids who are just not satisfied no matter what you give to shut-up.

The bank where I am interning is centrally connect to Karachi as their server is installed there. Yesterday, due to some unknown reason the system was not working (unknown because the IT dept at the Karachi head office thought best not to attend their phone & share in the bashing). Also as it was the last date for submitting the gas bills & people tend to wait for the last moment to get the things done our branch was in chaos.

A few was the very frequently statements thrown at us were:

1- Thoada system hamesha he down honda aay (Ur system is always down)

2- Karachi walayn nu kayo apna server samandar vich sut dain (Ask ur Karachi office to throw their server in the sea)

3- Me Karachi jate he apne panchon accounts band karwa don ga, koi customer relations ka dahan nahe ha tum logon ko ( I'll close all my five accounts as soon as I reach Karachi, you guys have no sense of customer relations)

Our operations manager turned himself into a cashier, the PBAs (Personal Banking Advisers) were filling out the slips, the internees were running all over the place dividing their time between floor timing (the most pathetic work as this position was the most vulnerable for customers bashing), attending phone calls & standing in line with the customers bills & cheques who were not interested or too important to stand in line with others AND STILL WE HAVE NO IDEA OF CUSTOMER RELATIONS......

This world is definitely not a very fair place.

In Memory of the Second World War

2009-09-01T20:14:00.000+06:00

Today the world marks the World War 2's horrors. Army bands of different countries took part in the event. Speeches must have been made & the usual stuff that is common to all such events.

But has the world really learnt its lesson from the past? With truck loads of books & movies high lighting the events of these wars ; the impact that they left on the survivors haven't stopped us from repeating our history without alteration. Instead we repeat it with additional cruelty.

World Wars 1 & 2 at least left survivors to mourn but with the latest technology in progress & the sole most popular business of arms around us, what sort of survivors are we gonna leave behind?

Account # 420

2009-08-28T18:55:00.000+06:00

Planning to major in marketing as I just can't stand numbers didn't made an impact on those who recruited me for internship as they placed me in a bank. However, by the end of my first week I have realised that accounting is not that boring as it seems in the four walls of the classroom.

However, this post has nothing to do with any further details of my love-hate relationship with the subject. It is about the extent to which people are still connected to the age old hysteria of superstition.

A man in his late 40, decently dressed up came up to the desk next to where I, along with another internee was totalling some amounts & my calculator was giving me a hell of a time. Suddenly our ears picked up the sound of our next seat neighbor getting all charged up for getting the operational code as 420 for his new account. And he wanted it immediately changed. As this was not possible according to the system protocol he decided to close the account (whose checkbook had not yet arrived) & open another account so that he can get rid of that number.

Apart from the momentary laugh that we all enjoyed due to that customer's reaction to a mere number it also made me think that what difference does education make in such type of matters? The gentlemen was an educated person & it made no difference to him. What's lacking in our system (& I mean apart from the ratafication system which makes the foundation of our educational boards).

Things that matter

2009-08-26T20:52:00.000+06:00

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter".

Martin Luther King, Jr.

We Shall Live To See !

2009-08-18T12:27:00.000+06:00

We shall live to see,
So it is written,
We shall live to see,
The day that’s been promised,
The day that’s been ordained;
The day when mountains of oppression,
Will blow up like wisps of cotton;
When the earth will dance
Beneath the feet of once enslaved;
And heavens will shake with thunder
Over the heads of tyrants;
And the idols in the House of God
Will be thrown out;
We the rejects of the earth,
Will be raised to a place of honour.
All crowns’ll be tossed in the air
All throwns’ll be smashed.
And God’s word will prevail,
He who is both present and absent
He who is beheld and is the beholder.
And truth shall ring in every ear,
Truth which is you and I,
We, the people will rule the earth
Which means you,which means I

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
January 1979

Independance Day Greetings

2009-08-14T17:26:00.000+06:00

This was posted on facebook. Thought it was worth sharing.

WAITING TO BE LOVED LIKE BEFORE

2009-08-14T15:24:00.000+06:00

Having witnessed intense love for itself, the present ignorance is not acceptable. This widespread attitude is confusing & humiliating. In every love story the gorgeous beauty wants to be pampered & admired; if this demand goes unheard the lover suffers the consequences.

Now a days we all are cursing our beauty in one way or the other. For once, let’s change our lenses & look at the situation from the Pakistan’s perspective. Surviving the dark times on the energy imparted by the glorious memories, the country misses its true lovers. What an ideal love story it had experienced. Her admirers were ready to go to any length to get her & after the happy union every possible measure was adopted to protect it. In return our soil stayed loyal in all its capacity.

Fast forwarding the story lets look at the present scenario. 60 percent of the nationals’ aren’t really concerned what happens to this country. Out of the rest who claim to be all conscious people are only concerned to the level to which they are affected, beyond that who cares. How many of us are practically active about the situation in Bajur & other similar areas? None of us; we don’t care if a part of us is being striped off us. It’s because our intensity of love is vanishing day by day. Most of us are waiting for or struggling for an opportunity to get out of here because this land no more fulfills our desires. This implies to both the so called leaders & the citizens (of all classes). No one believes in the following statement of a leader of this nation:

“Courage is in our blood, we are the children of a rich heritage. We shall succeed”.

Moving on the path that we are currently following how can we even think that this soil should reward us with more and more resources to exploit? Haven’t we been fed enough? If you close your eyes & skim through your attitude’s history I believe that someone who has the slightest concisions won’t be able meet his/her own eyes in the mirror. We have been getting more than we deserve & still our complain cell sees no limits. There are countries whose deprivation level exceeds our wildest imagination & yet they are loyal to their countries & serve it in the best of their abilities. And what do we do? We are ever ready to serve other countries but when it comes to our own land we want to be served like kings. If I am exaggerating, would anyone like to explain that why people belonging to upper middle class of Pakistan are found happily working at petrol pumps in the western countries?

It’s never too late to start afresh and change the direction of our destiny. At the moment our gorgeous beauty is demanding that its lovers; Believe where others doubt; Work where others refuse; Save where others waste & Stay where others quit. We don’t have to become philosophers who only interpret the world in different ways instead we need to become agents of change which is the need of the hour. Depending on our rulers is not the right decision because none of them has learned to become our leaders & there is an immense difference between a ruler & a leader. The following quote of George Bernand Shaw in my view point clarifies this difference:

“There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were & ask why not?”

Criticizing others won’t bring us solutions. And why criticize others when deep down we know that one of the reasons that we don’t take an active part in this situation is to avoid others criticism. This is a human instinct which leads us away from our proud destination of success. There are two successful ways of living. One is that you take someone as your guide & follow in his/her footsteps or you yourself become the guide for others & lead the way. As we quite clearly know that for us the first option is almost non-existent hence we all need to be pro-active & take up the second, more difficult path of life. This is the only way we can survive, rekindle our love for Pakistan & prove that, courage is in our blood, we are the children of a rich heritage & we shall succeed.

P.S: Written 4 my University mag. (Folio)

14th Aug.

2009-08-11T12:19:00.000+06:00

PAKISTAN means:

"The land of pure" where each day the sun rises with a new hope, with an enduring majesty as the rays of light flushing down towards the snow caped peaks of Himalaya's & Nanga parbat. A land where love finds a meaning in the heart warming hospitality of people.

A land where history & ancient civilization mystifies one's heart.

A land where spiritualism unveils its mystery at the shrines of sufi saints.

This will be the front of Islam.

This is the land I belong to,

This is the land I will die for &

This is the land that defines my identity.

As our Independence Day is on its way so the forwarded sms are all so full of optimism. Out of all those messages this one really touched me.

If we come to think of it, this completely defines our origin as a nation & what most of us believe in at bottom of our hearts. However, the reality checks give us a far different picture which cannot be AND should not be overlooked. But how to change this picture???

What most of us do is blame; something that our government is an expert. There are those who have lost hope & are leaving. Those who are left behind aren't interested in changing things around them & are by now I guess completed tuned to just adjust with the way things are.

If we desire to see a change, we better start taking the initial steps now because this mess cannot be cleared is a short span of time.

God Bless Pakistan.

To be Disappointment OR to be proud of????

2009-08-09T17:10:00.000+06:00

Published in The News dated 6th Aug.

What happened to the standard of Rotary????

Beating G.W Bush

2009-08-07T22:46:00.000+06:00

This duo is completely determined to surpass the status of G.W Bush.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WgIdQaNLBw&feature=related

All in the HEART

2009-08-06T10:07:00.000+06:00

"Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve...You don't have to have a college degree to serve...You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve...You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love, and you can be that servant..."

Martin Luther King Jr.

Taxi to the Dark Side

2009-08-01T13:25:00.000+06:00

A documentary film which won the 2007 Academy Award for Documentary Features. It focuses on the murder in custody of an Afghan taxi driver by American soldiers. This feature however, has nothing to do with that film or the concept used in its theme. We have our very own “Taxi to the Dark Side”. A taxi that we have ridden to the dark side even when the rest of the world was celebrating financial prosperity. Taxi of youth unemployment. As with everything else that happens here for this case too we are always looking for a scapegoat instead of rectifying the fault.

The root cause is the lack of proper education. Our educational system & content is not up to the International standards. More than half of the 54 percent population which we mark as the literate class is only capable of writing their own name leaving only around 10 percent people who are literate in the real sense. With the day night progress in the IT sector, products & services are delivered in a very much techno oriented manner. More than 70 percent of our population is not even remotely aware of these improvements.

Other contributing factors point the finger at the government. If you are part of so & so’s family tree or know so & so via so & so, you have nothing to worry about unemployment. However, those of us who reject this formula because a) they don’t know anyone & b) they are those lame ones who still believe in merit & justice, are the ones who are going to be interested in this article(as they have nothing else to do). Our former President in one of this interviews stated that we should not worry about the brain drain. As our country does not has enough resources we should let are people go & when the country will be back in gear these people will return to the land of pure. Unfortunately, the mother land never came back in her gear & at the present the chances don’t seem that bright. What Mr. Musharaf overlooked, was the burden this brain drain caused. These doctors, engineers, IT people, MBAs etcetra are educated here, get their training here but the fruit is enjoyed by others. What’s left for Pakistan is the leftover, those who were rejected or didn’t have the right resources.

While interviewing some of the locals we got to know that the majority stops their education after intermediate level only few continue with their bachelors. And they leave their jobs & prefer opening their own shops of grocery, drive rickshaw etc because their jobs don’t pay them more more than the minimal wage. In our view point all these young people should be taught the meaning of the quote “Don’t expect until & unless you deserve”. Though if you look at the circumstances its agreed that most of the blame resides on the government but unfortunately our generation X are no angels. They have diverted their energies in the wrong direction.

Exceptions do exist. Some of these have turned the odds in their favor & showed the world Some of the best examples of enterpernurship. One of these examples is Muhammad Azfar Ahsan (CEO of Nutshell Forum; country’s leading conference management and training resource organization, he had organized more than two hundred national and international conferences, seminars, training workshops and group discussions in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Dubai and Bahrain). People like these should be inspiration enough for the rest of us to follow.

Margaret Mead said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has”.

Therefor, its high time that we stop crying about what the majority does & change the south Asian pace with which things happen in our part of the world.

Michael Jackson Memorial Service

2009-07-08T14:22:00.000+06:00

As stated earlier that I don't belong to MJ's fan club. However this part of his memorial caught me.
The thing that bothered me was some of the comments posted on youtube about him. They were humiliating. Isn't death time to make peace? Some people prove that homo sapians are the worst being on planet earth who are capable of inflicting maximum pain with great joy.

233rd Independence day of the United States of America

2009-07-04T20:40:00.000+06:00

In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

(http://www.nhatky.in/233rd-us-independence-day-4th-july-12339909)

United States is seen the world over as the leader of the world & this is one image that its government & people believe in very strongly. However, this position that they have occupied for so long has started to damage others & created mistrust for America in the minds & hearts of the rest of the world.

While today they are celebrating true democracy in their country & verbally proclaiming that they endorse & support it the world over, it is not a hidden fact that USA has been supporting dictatorships in countries where it suited its interests. And more dangerously supporting weak & dishonest democracies. Our own country being the biggest example.

Although we can't blame everything on USA. Every country is always going to watch for its own interests in the first place, if we allow them a soft target its our own fault.

I would suggest that when celebrating Americans should give few seconds & think about all those people who have just not been deprived of democracy but also of their basic human rights mainly because of the decisions of their government.

Fourth Battle of Pani Pat!!!!

2009-07-03T12:35:00.000+06:00

The News didi it again....

This was published in the edition of 30th June 2009.

Heal the World by Michael Jackson

2009-06-28T10:02:00.000+06:00

It is said that Thriller was his best. I am no Michael Jackson fan but this song is a real contribution as far as I am concerned.

T20 World Cup 2009....BELONGS TO THE MEN IN GREEN

2009-06-22T14:53:00.000+06:00

Last night was simply crazy. It reminded me of the old days when we used to be glued to the TV screens because of the good ol' cricket match. But with time as our team's performance graph slummed & the frequent changes made in the team made most of us just drop out from the game....

However, last night the glory had returned after 17 years. Not a single shot was missed. I had the added responsibility of a friend who had to go for a dinner at the Golf club last night. She was being given updates after 2min. (Thank God the sms package still worked).

This was a victory we all were so desperate for & it was celebrated to the perfection. The people had forgotten about the miseries that engulf our lives in one way or the other. There was no hatred, no ethnic rivalry even the IDPs were celebrating. I just hope that as the international media covers the insanity that goes around us; it covers our celebration in the same manner so that the world knows that we are capable of celebrations as well.

As for our team WAY TO GO, the nation is proud of you. It was a perfect gift(as Younas Khan said that the cup is a gift to the nation from the team) in such times. AND yes who can ignore BOOM BOOM AFRIDI.......

Before going to bed I was tempted to complete the chapter of "The Rainmaker" by John Grisham. As my mp4 was laying with the book I tuned in to the Radio & almost every station was playing our patriotic numbers:

Dil Dil Pakistan

Jazba Junoon

Hum han Pakistani etc.

& it REALLY REALLY FELT AWESOME....

Lahore Management Summit 2009

2009-06-21T18:59:00.000+06:00

Fortunately I got the chance to be in the organizing committee of Lahore Management Summit 2009. This event was hosted by Nutshell & TIE. The theme of the conference was “Management in Turbulent Times-The Way Forward”. All the speakers had a chosen a topic which revolved around this main theme. It’s not possible to write about all that was disused there, however I am going to try & narrate the crux of the 9hr long event.

One thing on which everyone agreed & believed was that we should not give hope in any case. Yes, these are difficult times but then these are the very times when success is available if you are able to provide solutions.

Another focus point was the leadership. Here again examples were quoted about some of our great cooperate leaders which made me realize that we need to stop whining about the lack of leadership qualities of our people. A bit of organization is required to bring this talent to the for-front.

The role of a positive media was also discussed & during different presentations specially that of Badar Khushnood, Country Consultant Google Inc. Pakistan we got some very positives aspects of our country which I believe that our media has failed to promote. For example the fact that we are at number 3 when it comes to the usage of the internet even with one of the lowest literacy rate.

These were the three main points which turned our pessimistic approach to a more optimistic one for which I was personally quite glade…;-)

Now for small summaries of the topics which different speakers spoke on.

As the summit was divided into three sessions. I was not able to attend the first one as I was at that in the team which was handling the registration of the guests. The topics of that session were:
Recession, Survival & an Opportunity.
Managing in Turbulent Times-The way forward

The second session was a panel discussion on “The Leadership Challenge-Sustaining Growth., Expanding the Boundaries”, The panelist talked about different challenges that we all are facing not just in Pakistan but the world over & how with innovation these challenges should be faced. Every company will go through the cycle of good & bad times but it’s the way that these companies specifically their leadership’s reaction to such circumstances, that determines whether they are to survive of perish just like some of the very grand names that we have witnessed collapsing. During this session emphasis was also given on the use of blogging for discussions.

Mr. Haroon Bhatti (Director People Excellence & BPI, Telenor Pakistan) presented on “Why Change is Bad”. His main point was that most of the time change does not produces the intended results & also the company does not reviews whether the change introduced has been approved by the customers or not. He said that his statement was not to be taken as a thumb rule but that according to his observation & experience, as in organizations personal interests exceed the organizations interests.

This was followed by Mr Tahir Basharat Cheema (Managing Director, PEPCO) who talked on “Efficient Energy Use in Turbulent Times”. He gave a much elaborated presentation loaded with statistics about the past & present situation. He also told the audience as to what are the measures that he is taking to improve this situation & what potential exists.

Mr. Fredrik Nillson (Managing Director, Oriflame Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited was the first speaker of the third session. His topic was “Harnessing Sustainable Growth in Emerging Markets”. He took the example of his own company & explained that it is not compulsory to follow the pattern which everyone is following. Being a cosmetics company their main marketing style is by the word of mouth & their stronghold is direct sales. Adopting this approach has proved fruitful for them & they have invested happily in Pakistan & don’t regret the decision.

Next was Miss Sheeza Mohsin Dhanani (CEO, Complete Solutions & Leadership Strategist, USA) & her topic was “Managing Talent & Organizational Conflict during a Downturn”. In her interactive presentation she first laid the ground work by discussing the common patterns which we adopt for conflict management. Then she cleared the difference between what’s the right strategy & what’s the wrong one. The conclusion was that you should not just be depending on one individual which in the most cases is the boss to look after the conflicts. Instead every individual should develop this habit to become a conflict manager. Adopting this patter will help in the efficiency of the work.

She was followed by Dr. Khalid Javed Chawdhry (Member; Board of Trustee, TiE Global Inc). His topic was “Entrepreneurship opportunities in the Downturn”. He’s a MBBS doctor & a banker as well. He served in USA for 26 years & then came back to Pakistan. His focus was how to exploit the opportunities which still exists it’s only the matter of exploiting them. Answering to a question he said that his concern was that we have a lot of talent but the problem is of financing & he is concentrating on this aspect.

Mr. Badar Khushnood (Country Consultant, Google Inc., Pakistan) presented on “Marketing in Challenging Times”. He was the one who gave the figures on where Pakistan stands on internet usage etc. Focus on blogging & other tools related to the IT were his focus as new mediums for marketing as the trends are changing.

The ceremony was closed with the address by Sartaj Aziz.

This was the first time that this conference was taking place in Lahore. Before this event has always taken place in Karachi. Hopefully everyone left the Crystal Hall of Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore full of optimism as when we were entering the hotel the addition of security measures was a sight. The change in the entrance gate, sand filled drums etc. However, after listening & interacting in with people who were full of hope & ready to materialize their imagination the mood changed with a 180 degree angle.

Fasi Zaka

2009-06-18T14:16:00.000+06:00

Mal-Icky Security

The Pakistan report card by Fasi Zaka

Mal-Icky heads security in a troubled nation. Gill-Lonely is the isolated premier.

Mal-Icky: I have solved the problem of the lethal drones.

Gill-Lonely: Good, no more needless deaths.

Mal-Icky: Yes, both Sher Afghan Niazi and Wasi Zafar have promised never to speak on television again.

Gill-Lonely: What on earth have you done! I was speaking of the American drones. What incompetence!

Mal-Icky: Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. At least what you just called me is not as bad as the name they would shout out at me in England.

Gill-Lonely: What was that?

Mal-Icky: Waiter!

Gill-Lonely: What were you doing working in a restaurant?

Mal-Icky: I was gathering intelligence.

Gill-Lonely: What did you learn?

Mal-Icky: That pakoras don't cook well in canola oil.

Gill-Lonely: Why did you go into exile, was it a matter of principle?

Mal-Icky: Yes, the principles of NAB.

Gill-Lonely: So what are you doing about Pakistan's most dangerous enemy?

Mal-Icky: PML-N?

Gill-Lonely: No! No! No! The Taliban!

Mal-Icky: Oh them, yes I am doing everything right now to defeat them.

Gill-Lonely: OK. So who is battling the Taliban?

Mal-Icky: The army.

Gill-Lonely: And who is fighting the expansion of the Taliban into new areas?

Mal-Icky: The locals.

Gill-Lonely: Where do we get our intelligence about the Taliban from?

Mal-Icky: The Americans.

Gill-Lonely: And pray tell what is it that you can do if everyone else but you are fighting them?

Mal-Icky: I can make you a nice pakora. Wait! Wait, stay still! I see a foreign hand in this room!

Gill-Lonely: Don't worry about that. It's just the president pulling his puppeteer strings on me.

Mal-Icky: Sir, I don't like the tone of this conversation, it seems you are suggesting I have done nothing.

Gill-Lonely: Well, what have you done?

Mal-Icky: I have provided jobs to the poor IDPs.

Gill-Lonely: Nonsense. Give me one example.

Mal-Icky: Sir, I have reinstated all of our displaced illegal appointments to the IB under our previous tenure removed by Nawaz Sharif.

Gill-Lonely: Well done! So what is your long-term policy?

Mal-Icky: Strategic depth.

Gill-Lonely: Explain.

Mal-Icky: I want us to build huge underground bunkers to hide from the Taliban.

Gill-Lonely: We have captured all these terrorists, why aren't you releasing any sensitive information to the public?

Mal-Icky: But I already have, Shoaib Akhtar has genital warts.

Gill-Lonely: Listen, do you have any special qualifications for this job?

Mal-Icky: Yes, in class two I came second in the hundred-metre race.

Gill-Lonely: How on earth is that helpful?

Mal-Icky: It's how I escaped justice last time around.

Gill-Lonely: And now?

Mal-Icky: It's how I escape the anger of the people.

Gill-Lonely: You don't take this security business very seriously.

Mal-Icky: I do, I have 64 guards at my house.

Gill-Lonely: But what about the people of this country?

Mal-Icky: For them I have the most powerful force in the country.

Gill-Lonely: Which is?

Mal-Icky: Allah.

And so they decide not to eat more pakoras, because they will be hard to find in Dubai.

Simply loved it......

(The was originally published in The News)
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=183516

Inspiration is the GAME

2009-06-17T14:55:00.000+06:00

As i am on vacations & have no plans of taking my summer ,semester this time around. I am watching movies & seasons non-stop. And finally I was able to get hold of a copy of Stepmom. My friends have mocked me at every possible opportunity which made me feel like the only living soul who had not seen it.

Finally, when I got to see the movie two days back I was not at all disappointed as in most of the cases where everyone just loves the movie. It was full of emotions which you could relate to.

However, the thing which is worrying me is that the good old BOLLYWOOD is going to make a copy of it with the following cast:

Kajol
Kareen
On the last count(Arjun Rampal)

I guess we all can imagine the results...;-(

What is Rotary?

2009-06-15T16:59:00.000+06:00

Following is the link to a video which answers the question; What is Rotary?

http://www.rotary3270.org/this-is-rotary-video-690

Being a part of Rotaract myself this video is not just a nice promotional video but it also revives the spirits of the existing Rotaractors & Rotarions.

President Jimmy Carter

2009-06-10T14:49:00.000+06:00

Rotman School of Management's magazine (Spring 2009) published an interview with Jimmy Carter basically revolving around their edition's theme; Staying Power. I'll quote the last question & lets hope that the right people are listening.

Q-Looking around at the world today,what gives you the most hope?
A- I would have to say it is the restoration of America as a super power, in many aspects of that word. At the moment, we are still a superpower militarily, since our military budget equals the combined budget of all other nations on earth; & despite current troubles,we still have a powerful economic machine. But I would hope & expect that in the future, we will once again be seen as the champions of peace in the world. My goal would be for any nation on earth that had a problem to naturally say, "Why don't we go to Washington to settle this, because the United States is the champion of peace, or the world's leader in human rights, or because that greatest nation leads the world in protecting the environment & combating global warming". These are the kinds of things that I hope & pray will occur in the future. This would make us a superpower in every aspect of the word: for peace, for democracy, for freedom,for protecting the environment, for alleviating suffering & for championing human rights.

We will not go down!!!!

2009-05-31T10:42:00.000+06:00

Michael Heart's song "We will not go down" is a song dedicated to the people of Gaza but I think that its meaning perfectly fits the struggles of other oppressed nations as well. AND the present situation of our Northern areas to some extent.

For mp3 version:
http://www.airmp3.net/search/michael_heart/we_will_not_go_down/mp3/aXa3

Pictures speak louder than WORDS

2009-05-30T18:36:00.000+06:00

Published in "The News" dated:30/05/2009

Who says change is for the better???

LAHORE BLASTS!!!!!!! 27/05/2009

2009-05-28T18:55:00.000+06:00

Yesterday Lahore was hit again. By this time everyone would be knowing the facts & figures about it. My idea of this post is not to add to the already long list of statistics. I want to share my personal observation of that day which is based on two poles apart reactions.

My day started of with a hectic schedule as the last week of my semester is on. Around 10:15am sittting in an empty class room(turned common room), the door suddenly burst open & the windows started rattling. This continued for around 35secs. One of my friends responded by saying "Zalzala aya ha" (Is it an earthquake) & we all gave the most weird looks that we could muster. And as soon as we had slummed back into our world of laptops & group studies the phones started ringing one by one with the news of the real world. ,

However, the mood of the room wasn't affected much. Some of the spontaneous reactions were:

1- "Oh..."

2-"Kahan pe huwa"

3-"Kitne loog mare?"

4-"Chalo jee, yeh kam phr se suru ho gaya"

AND then we were back in r own worlds.

My mother is a doctor & works in Fatima Jinnah Medical College which is quite near the location of the blast & was also affected(this I came to know after I came home)

The first slight realization I had of the situation was when some of my relatives called me, worried about my mom as they were not able to get her on her cell-phone. Getting worried I too started trying her cell but to the same result. I was calmed down by my father's call informing that all was well concerning my mother.

Being an Anatomist my & going through similar situations(FIA blast, 5th Oct. 2005) she is able to handle t1he stress attached with such calamity. This time around SHE out of all the people was shaken to the core. Her narration of the situation made me feel ashamed of our reaction.

We are now no more bothered until & unless it effects us. Aren't we ourselves helping the preparators of this chaos achieve what they want? ,This desensitization of our Nation is Insanity.

The Other Side of Pakistan!!!

2009-05-24T23:32:00.000+06:00

We should take inspiration from such people, way to go guys keep it up:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/world/asia/19trash.html?_r=1

Double Face

2009-05-24T20:14:00.000+06:00

"Manufactured Outrage" is defined as A falsified righteous outrage at things that are basically unimportant and meaningless, frequently employed by politicians, political activists, or the media. Politicians and talking heads use it to garner support for their causes, to claim the moral high ground and to tar their opponents; the media often just uses it in a cynical bid to increase ratings.

This definition is given by the Urban Dictionary.

P.S: After creating hatred & disunity among different provinces our rulers(they don't deserve to be called leaders) brag of National Reconciliation?????? The people of Pakistan are with the IDPs & our JAWAN(soldiers of PAK Army).

The Blame Game!!!!!!

2009-05-23T23:16:00.000+06:00

This video was supposed to be shown at the end of our mock trial presentation of PLSC 101 course BUT unfortunately the laptop's media player refused to cooperate & we ended up showing it without the background music.