Lost in Space !

What is happening ! Nothing seems alright. It seems that some change is about to come and all that is happening around is a sign of that. I just pray that whatever is going to happen will be something that is nice. It has been a while that something new has happened. It just seems as if life is suspended in space. It is all so stagnant. We were not created by Allah to stay just one way. We were supposed to be changing, evolving, adapting, but what are we adapting ? what are we evolving into ? Doesn't it fell sometimes that we are all turning into demons, demons that have been let out loose so that they can rampage on earth. But we all forget that the Creator is watching all this from up there and when He will ring the bell, it will be game over for all. Why is it that we are Muslims, member of a religion that is such noble and serene, yet we don't seem to have adapted anything much substantial from it into our lives. Why ? I guess that answer lies in the fact that we have become lazy, we are not into investigations anymore as were our forefathers, the great Al-Razi, Bu-Ali-Sina. We don't have time to even investigate what is written in the Holy Quran. Reading just the Arabic will definitely not help very much if we don't understand what is written too. We don't need any cleric to understand the teachings of Islam. All we need is to research ourselves and then i am sure that we can all come out of this time lapse and play an active role as members of this planet. Sphere: Related Content

KIDS!!!! YESTERDAY AND TODAY.

Well, imagine what an interesting topic i have right now in my mind, but it happens that i have been giving private tuition for the last 18 years along with my academic life and have also taught in a school for 4 years, thus i feel qualified enough to talk about the time, when i was a kid and today. In my days, kids normally had an ideal ahead of them whom they used to follow. Everyone had an ambition in life and that ambition was the talk of the day, all the time, because no one wanted to lose his/her vision. As there were very few TV Channels, Radio Stations and Computer/TV games, kids usually played outside, or at home and had lots of time to sit with their family and interact with them. This helped them in learning family values, socialization, and strengthened the bond between the siblings. It also increased their confidence as they were able to talk about everyday matters no matter how petty with parents and get an experienced outlook about them. This made them more optimistic as they always had the moral support and encouragement of their parents and their elder siblings behind them.
Now lets take a look at today's kids. They are all the time busy with their cells, PS2s or Computers. They get much lesser time for picnics, sports, family gatherings, and their socialization is also limited to just their circle of friends, due to which they have very little tolerance for the society. The violent media of today has transformed them from innocent kids into time bombs who can explode at any time if not dealt with carefully by their parents, friends or the society. I am not saying that computers are bad, or PS2 has got just negative points in use, however, there should be a balance in life, don't just sit in front of the TV or the Stereo, give time to your family, your studies, fitness or sports. They should be tolerant towards society, take more interest in social work and restrict TV watching to a minimum. Books should be more in as well as letter writing between friends to promote literary advancement. Thus they will be able to maintain a balance between academic, social and family life. Sphere: Related Content

Time Stopped for the Contestants of Indian Idol 4

With the ongoing strike by the Indian Stage and Cinema technicians, one just gets to look at all the previous episodes of all the favourite soaps and reality shows including Indian Idol 4. All the top 14 contestants, must be having a breather and also plenty of time for practice which means that we are definitely going to see more rehearsed, composed and serious contestants when the strike comes to an end. All my favourite contestants like Ananya Mishra, Mohit Lalwani, Rajdeep Chatterjee, Sourabhee, Tullika Gangully, Torsha Sarkar, Prasenjit Kosambi, and the "Chota Don" Remo must be enjoying the time together as this is a great and well timed break for all of them. They are among the best in this lot of 14 in my humble view as i feel their enthusiasm is very top class and up to the mark. I want to send my best wishes to all these 14 contestants and a word of advice that don't take this break as granted, but practice more and more so that you can be a force to reckon with, once the show resumes. I am sure that we all viewers are gonna get a treat from these 14 completely charged up packages of fire once the show is up again, so see ya till then. Ciao. Sphere: Related Content

Regional Trade

The region where India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China are located is one of the most productive regions in the world, both in terms of resources and in terms of manpower. With a combined population that may be more than half of the worlds population, this region should have been the economic and trading leader for the rest of the world. However, unfortunately, due to the so so many differences between India and Pakistan, this could not happen. OK! I admit! That there were a lots of differences at the time of creation of India and Pakistan, but what now! Why do we still fight ? The whole of Europe was not once but twice inter-engaged in two of the greatest wars the world has seen, yet today it is all bound by the EC (European Commission ). All of them have forgotten whatever happened in the past and just look at the future now. Who can forget Wellington and Napolean in the famous battle at Waterloo, but what about the repercussions, have the British and the French stopped talking to each other ? or have they stopped trade ?
Thus, one has to forget the past and look at the future, which open arms and hearts, so that both the countries can benefit from each others capabilities. The youth of both the countries has this greatest challenge to bring these two nations closer together, they have to shed all the hatred, the differences, and turn a new leaf so that a new era of economic, social and cultural progress can begin its epoch. It is only then that we both will be able to survive in the best manner and tell the world about the grandeur of our common ancestors. Sphere: Related Content

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

BACK ON TRACK!!!

I had been very busy lately and couldn't find time to vent out myself, but atlast today i am here and it is already feeling so refreshing. So much has been going on in the country, prices are going up mostly, i don't know how the poor are managing it, but still feel so sad and guilty about it, anyhow, whatever i can manage to do to help them, i am doing it. I remember reading once somewhere that among those who will be thrown into the pits of hell first will be the rulers who were not able to look after their citizens. I wonder how can all these rulers who claim to be stout Muslims forget all these quotations, and still carry on their corrupt activities ! They sure have been made pretty strong and stubborn by satan.
After selling our house 1 year back, now we live in Mr. Siddiqui's house at C-95. He is a very fine gentleman. Yesterday, he was standing on his terrace when i was about to enter home so he came down and started talking with me. He has spent most of his life abroad and therefore very rightly feels misfit here in this unruly pakistani society. One of our neighbours parks his car right in front of Mr. Siddiqui's gate due to which he feels great difficulty to take out his car. We were discussing that people have become so irresponsible and have forgotten our obligations and just take our social and moral duties as granted. I guess it is one of the reasons that we, Muslims, who were the heirs to such grand and regal traditions and customs, and whose manners were quoted as an example in the west, have now become so much degraded and are being insulted everywhere. It is all so simple that all one has to do is to just fulfil all his obligations, just his own, and leave the rest to Allah. I am sure that we can also come back on track as Pakistanis. Is this the Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam struggled so much for ? Is this the Pakistan that was visualized by Allama Iqbal ? No ! No ! No !
I wish so so much that we Pakistanis can understand what type of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam dreamt about so that we can fulfil his long awaited dream and so that his soul can rest in peace. Sphere: Related Content

What Nations are made of ?

I remember a very famous poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson titled "A Nation's Strength" which i would like to quote here,

What makes a nation's pillars high
And it's foundations strong?
What makes it mighty to defy
The foes that round it throng?

It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand
Go down in battle shock;
Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,
Not on abiding rock.

Is it the sword? Ask the red dust
Of empires passed away;
The blood has turned their stones to rust,
Their glory to decay.

And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown
Has seemed to nations sweet;
But God has struck its luster down
In ashes at his feet.

Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor's sake
Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly...
They build a nation's pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.

Imagine such beautiful ideas and thoughts for a moment and you will yourself feel the strength that this poem puts into you just by reading it once. Really these are the men of honour. I wish that we had such men here in Pakistan. Ever since i joined the Call Centre Industry and had interactions with all these foreigners from so many countries working here in Pakistan, i got some very interesting remarks about us Pakistanis. They were all of the view that Pakistanis are very helpful, very kind and courteous, but on the same time very forgetful, very unpunctual, never fulfilling their promises. These attributes really tended to decrease our credibility in their minds. Sipke, who is a Dutch national and has been here for such a long time, loved being in Pakistan when he first came here. However now, after he got a chance to visit Mumbai, he is of the opinion that Indians are far better as far as human attributes are concerned. I agree with him from all my heart. We Pakistanis say Insha Allah after every promise we make but never fulfill those promises, due to which these foreigners started getting this idea that whenever a Pakistani will say Insha Allah it means that forget that promise or that commitment. This is all so sad. Why can't we cultivate the Ideas that Iqbal has been given to us in his revolutionary work. Look at this piece,

آواز غيب

آتي ہے دم صبح صدا عرش بريں سے
کھويا گيا کس طرح ترا جوہر ادراک!
کس طرح ہوا کند ترا نشتر تحقيق
ہوتے نہيں کيوں تجھ سے ستاروں کے جگر چاک
تو ظاہر و باطن کي خلافت کا سزاوار
کيا شعلہ بھي ہوتا ہے غلام خس و خاشاک
مہر و مہ و انجم نہيں محکوم ترے کيوں
کيوں تري نگاہوں سے لرزتے نہيں افلاک
اب تک ہے رواں گرچہ لہو تيري رگوں ميں
نے گرمي افکار، نہ انديشہ بے باک
روشن تو وہ ہوتي ہے، جہاں بيں نہيں ہوتي
جس آنکھ کے پردوں ميں نہيں ہے نگہ پاک
باقي نہ رہي تيري وہ آئينہ ضميري
اے کشتہء سلطاني و ملائي و پيري!

I wish that we can all base our lives on this philosophy. I wish we can change the perspective that the west has for us. Ameen.

Sphere: Related Content

Silence

Something has happened. It seems that i am out of words. Or maybe, i am a satisfied man from inside once i know i can say whatever i want to here, the fear is gone, the sense of loneliness is gone. I am at peace. But wait! You all must have heard about the eye of the storm. When you are in the eye, it becomes so peaceful and serene, as it has become just now, but once it passes away, then you feel the wrath of the storm. Whatever is happening around me is just like a state of Deja Vu, in which i feel that things are repeating again and again, as if time is standing still. I guess i really really need to move away from here. To some place where i can meditate, where i can cleanse my thoughts. I wish i could move to a deserted island where there would be no one but me. Only then would i be really know what it is like to be away from all this hustle and bustle. I am sick of this fast, selfish, stagnant life. I want something new, and i am sure that i am going to get it. All I need is to take the first step. yeah, it can be so simple. But what about the loved ones! how will i be able to leave them behind, my family, my beloved friends, this is like trying to steer your boat with your anchors down. I am sure that God has something very nice for me in store and i will get it soon, Insha Allah. Sphere: Related Content

INDIAN IDOL 4

The 4th season of the most awaited reality show "Indian Idol" has started with a must tougher lineup this time. As compared to the previous one, this time competition is going to be a very severe one with everyone from the start has been putting in all his/her efforts. It seems that they have learnt a lot from the previous seasons as the song selection is much better this time. It seems that the judges will have a really tough time this season in deciding about who is gonna be among the top two. However, here is my prediction! Yes! From the previous season's experience when the much more experienced and versatile Amit Paul and Emon Chatterjee could not make it to the top because of our 'policewala' Prashant Tamang who despite all his weaknesses had the support of the entire police force behind him.

In my personal opinion, Amit Paul should have been the ultimate choice as he has such a great melodious voice with such a great projection and throw and good understanding of notes and octaves. It will really be a bad luck if he does not rise from among the runner ups as unfortunately he does not have any large sponsors on his back at this time. Emon was also such a great voice as was Chang, and Ankita. They were all much more stronger than Prashant. On the other hand, Prashant has uptil now failed to make his mark.

This year, we have so many good singers in the competition, like Ananya Mishra, Rajdeep Chatterjee, Sourabhee, Tullika Ganguly, Bhanu Pratap, Sandeep Ubale, and the very cute teddy carrying Sunaikshi Raina. Among them Bhanu Pratap is a veteran of 4 auditions out of which the previous three were unsuccessful but this time he has made into the top 30 contestants who will now run the show. But then we have "Kapil Thapa" our Fauji Bhai ( as written on his profile on the official Indian Idol site www.indianidol.sify.com/contestants ) who will have the entire armed forces behind his back. In such a biased situation, Kapil will always have this advantage behind him, and Ananya, Rajdeep, Sourabhee, Tullika, Bhanu, Sandeep and Sunaikshi ( picture above) will have to put in all of their effort plus lots of extra effort to survive this onslaught. I wish that the armed forces personnel in India will also be very sensible in making their selection on the basis of merit rather than affiliation so that we can get a really really competitive winner at the end. So lets keep our fingers crossed and see that will my prediction come true or the very sensible Indian people who have a great understanding of music will make a just decision in selecting the Indian Idol. Sphere: Related Content

Beggers are not Choosers !

At this time when i am writing this blog, our honorable ambassadors around the globe, our ministers, and all our government officials are trying their best to get some financial aid to support the deteriorating economic situation. Within a very small period of 6 months, the Forex Reserves of our nation have plummeted from a record high $17 billion to less than $8 billion. This is really such an alarming situation, considering the fact that the present government has come into power with claims of full support of the public, thus commanding their full cooperation and still is unable to bring about any financial reforms for them. I just happened to read in today's newspaper that the Indian government is going to reduce the petrol and diesel oil prices upon which all the Indian airlines have announced to decrease the airfares by 30%, whereas over here in Pakistan, the dollar has risen to a record high Rs. 86 per dollar, fuel prices soaring, all food grains nearly out of reach of the poor, and the economy about to slump until someone will come to our aid. I am no supporter of any of the political parties nor of the Army, however for the last 8 years during the tenure of Musharraf, i had never ever seen such an alarming price hike that i am witnessing nowadays. Such is the state of confidence of the public on the present state that people are on the verge of liquidating all their forex reserves from the banks, thus adding more to the misery of the government. In all this mayham, our honourable columnists of the various newspapers are still just concentrating on either the former Chief Justice, or making stories out of the stories of ppl like Aafia Siddiqui, Mukhtaran Mai, Sonia Manhas, or the man who sold his children, or the person who set himself on fire. They feel NO responsibility at all in contributing in this state of affairs, and instead are just concentrating on their story telling and composing skills. The industrialists, the economists, the financial analysts, someone must have some idea to pull us out of this or else we should look abroad for foriegn consultancy if we can't take care of our matters. Sphere: Related Content