The Winds Of Change

Upon reading the title you must be thinking that this entry will be about the change that has come on the political scenario, but this time i am talking about the weather change that is coming in Karachi. I remember that when i was a kid by the month of November, we used to have a very low minimum temperature, around 10C to 15C with the maximum temperature mostly around 22C to 22C. It used to be a very happy time for us kids, because me and most of my friends loved wearing cardigans, and sleeping in the blankets. My mom used to make "Halwas" and lots of street hawkers selling different nuts and stuff like "Gajak", "Til ke Ladoo" etc. Soups were normal in everyday's menu as was fish which my dad used to bring from the market. The owner of the fish shop was a obese guy and that was why the shop was known as "Pehalwan's (wrestler's) shop". But apart from being obese, he was a very honest person and only used to bring the freshest fish from the market, there were so many varieties like Rohu, Thaila, Paplet etc. Then another place that i remember was the sweetmeat shop from where we used to bring Halwa Puri on Sundays, i have never ever eaten such tender and crisp puris. Oh yes! how can i forget coffee, that was also a very regular item. I am damn sure that in those year, the winters lasted a full 3 months atleast. I have always loved the winters, they bring a sort of very gloomy weather with them, people talk less in winters giving you more and more time to think for yourself. I have since my childhood preferred sitting alone because it offers a great opportunity to do a self analysis of yourself. I used to sleep a lot at my Granny's house where my elder uncle Tahir and i used to play cricket. He was a very hard hitter and when it was his turn to bat, i just used to hide behind the mango tree after bowling the ball cause he used to hit it so hard ! My Mamoo (mother's brother) was a very loving person ( I am sure he still is ) and had a great influence in my English. He used to read me articles from Newsweek and Times and also recommend me good books to read. It was he who took me for the first time for my eyesight check, i was in class 5th then, what a sight it was when i got my first pair of glasses, everything seemed so clear and crisp. He got me my first digital watch and my first autowind camera. Anyhow, this year November has come to its mid but still there is no sign of winters. It is all because of us, we have disturbed the delicate balance of nature so badly that rainfall, snow, winters, springs all have lost their taste and timings. May God have mercy on us. Sphere: Related Content

Indian Idol 4

Indian Idol 4 is going on making waves with the dazzling performances of its contestants and a very qualified and dedicated bench of judges. A lot has happened since my last post about the reality show. The number of contestants has short listed to some of the most competitive youngsters Indian Idol may have ever seen. All of these youngsters are fully fueled up, charged from top to toe to give in their bestest to book a seat in the final. I certainly don't doubt at all the musical understanding of our Indian brethren, however once again as always, the voting has been a bit erroneous and people are voting more on the basis of regional affiliation rather than judging the singing capabilities of the singers. As a result we have seen so many talented people walking out while some rather ordinary singers still in.
Remo Ghosh aka the chota don who has always been criticized by the judges for his kiddish voice, shaky performances is still there in the line up, while Sandeep, Roshan and Bhavya who were definitely much better than him are out of the show. The same goes for the 'Fauji Bhai', Kapil who is still in despite his only_a_little_above_average performances while Prosenjit and Sreejita are gone, history.
However, still the quality of the show has not been compromised, thanks to Tullika, Bhanu, Rajdeep and Torsha who are still their fighting for the crown. They are definitely in for some great performances and i am sure that it will be a great fight to the end.
In the end, i would like to say a few words about the judges, Anu Malik , Javed Sahab, Kailash and Sonali. When i first came to know that Alisha was being replaced with Sonali, i wondered if Sonali could fill in the vacany well, but she has proved that she is not just a lovely sweet face. Javaid Sahab, with his lovely smile, is there looking after the pronunciation as well as other attributes. Kailash is very to the point in making his comments yet is very credible. And Anu jee, wow, he is such a show stealer, he know how to put in his act at any point of the show. Hats off to all the judges, contestants and the people at Sony Entertainment for putting up this wonderful show. Sphere: Related Content

Realizing Responsibilities !!!

This is a continuity of my previous blog.
It is about something that bothers me so much, i.e realizing one's responsibilities. Here in Pakistan, we all never realize what our responsibilities are. We just wait that some other person may come forward and do what we are supposed to do. As a result, there are so many obligations that have to be fulfilled but remain pending while very few are willing to fulfill them. Just think about cleaning inside and around our homes. Had everyone just realized this and did his/her job, then we would have been living in a much cleaner place as compared to this junk yard where we all are living now. You go to any corner of Karachi, and you will find huge garbage dumps and piles. I sometimes wonder that we are all the time talking about recessions and financial crisis but we on the other hand are perhaps one of the largest producers of garbage dumps in the world. Another interesting fact about this garbage dumping is the swooshing shoppers full of garbage that sometimes are seen just flying over from inside of houses toward the streets where sometime some unlucky wanderer or a unfortunate vehicle becomes the prey.
Now talk about electricity crisis. Ok, i admit that the government has been very lazy regarding production of additional Megawatts but what about us ? Did we realize that we have to conserve, so that others won't suffer ? No Sir ! No way !!! When we are paying the bills then we have the right to use as much electricity as we want to. One AC for the parents, one for the silly son, one for the bubbly daughter, one for the chinese chef ( who had at the time of employment asked for an AC in the kitchen ), and don't forget the Doberman, it also has its own 1/2 ton LG for its kennel. Afterall, we can afford it na !!! Just think for a moment about the poor old retired postman who lives with his wife and daughter in a poor locality and has just a fan and a bulb in the house, but due to the lavishness of the rich, he does not get more chance to turn them on for more than 6 or maybe 8 hours a day, thanks to the loadshedding. If the rich can conserve electricity, it will decrease the load thus reducing the loadshedding and thus allowing the poor and the less fortunate people in the society to get some relief from the fan in the scorching summers. But who cares !!!
Water ! wow, how much we love to play with it, just give someone a hose with running water and he will comeup with a hell of a lots of water tricks, except that he will never realize that there are so so many people who are without water for so many days, and for whom this falling water on the ground is " l'eau de vie ".
People wake upppppp! Jagoooooooooooo, how much i love that ad from Tata tea about election. So wake up people and save this nation before it get late and out of control. Sphere: Related Content