The state-of-denial rhetoric
I’ve been following certain blogs and media outlets of late over the state of denial that currently prevails within Pakistan. And I must say that they are very right in citing over and over again that Pakistanis yet have to come all out and united against Taliban that are posing an imminent threat to their lives and homeland and that they ought to stop blaming the recent surge of terrorism upon conjured conspiracy theories proposing Indian/American/Israeli/etc involvement in everything that’s happening in Pakistan.
However, I strongly disagree with those blaming the masses entirely for this denial and buying all the crap NYT and similar papers write out there. While doing so, we totally forget the fact that the prevailing social mindset has been shaped over the decades, sometimes even with governmental backings and being an important part of official policy. And not to forget that the popular media has only reinforced the wrong perception of events, never really taking up the courage of going astray of their course of viewership-bumping policy, showing only what people want to see and not what the facts really are.
So, honestly, do we really think this would change overnight? The ‘labor’ of decades, can it really be washed away by a few vent-out columns and awareness-aimed documentaries? Barely so! It may well be a fantasy but the reality would be farthest from it.
It might be sad and unfortunate to note and know, but it’s true that there is simply NO short-term solution to Taliban’s terrorism. We may be able to drown the recent surge temporarily with military cleansing operations, but it’s sure to resurface in time unless we make long-term policies in combating this fundamentalism in our society. And those would be towards achieving better educational structure, more literacy rate and policies towards improving economic and educational conditions here. Unless we induce these changes into our highly polarized society, sadly heavily towards religious zealotry, we may well keep writing these notes and telling the world we are a bunch of idiots denying what’s killing our brethren but that would barely make a difference. Moving towards a workable, pragmatic solution may, however, bring a change and make some difference.
Going food-way
I have always been of the sort experimenting with things at kitchen.
And as a matter of fact, I do, besides many other treats, know the ’secret’ to make some half-a-dozen delicious desi halwas, which includes Sohan Halwa, my hometown delight.
However, I do admit I’ve been quite short on the quick fixes and simple recipes for sweets one so yearns for on lazy days. And for that, I truly loved having came across this blog: http://londonfoodieny.wordpress.com/recipes/
Give it a read and you can imagine my joy at having found the site. ;)
Making long-term investments for Pakistan
Before you start reading the post, I’d like you to view the literacy statistics at this page, http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=121&IF_Language=eng&BR_Country=5860
Over the decades and through the endless ordeals we have faced over time, our nation has steadily developed a last-minute quick-fix psychology. We breed us the most complicated problems over a hard work of years and just when it get to the zenith, getting the worst and bringing to our understanding the extreme bad of its consequences, we realize it’s time to end the game – and we resort to the hunt for miracle solutions. Rather, if I may put it more accurately, we do come up with many of them, making so much noise that the real problem and it’s possible solution are buried somewhere deep beneath – and the result is that we never really get to resolve the issue fine enough.
However, much though I regret to confess, we can’t afford to take such a chance with the Pakistan of today. As things stay from worst to worst and the endless series of suicide attacks continue their trail, most of the intellectuals that are to show us the way out sit on TV shows or write incessantly through their columns about the easy-go way of dealing with this entire saga of brutality and the issue of terrorism at who’s heart such off springs breed. Only, their solutions may be papyrus-selling, hope-evoking and lot more but pragmatic and workable. Their call to ‘unite’ and fight this war together, the urge to ‘give up former alignments’ and the hope that the populace may actually do so is nothing but, pardon me for swishing away all optimism, hogwash. And much to my dismay, I see the line of thought being rephrased over and over by the smartest of our writers, never really realizing the futility of their choice of options, contemplating the alternative which is a dysfunctional by default.
I believe I may have earned the wrath of most of my reader by now – however, I stand the right to be given an opportunity to explain myself. And so I shall. I must say its lot easier to sway with the journalistic wind and stay with the current. And had I done so, I’d have been conveniently telling of the reasons why we need to unite at the moment and that how exactly we may do so. Simple and perfect – optimistic, happy-ending and very inspiring. And yet I can’t stop myself from disagreeing with what I know is not really something valid enough to feed the readers with.
Getting to the point, and being plain crude, there is no immediate solution to terrorism in Pakistan. The military cleansing, high-alerts, mild civilian activism and a lot of noise from the media will only result in a slight toning down of the turmoil or perhaps even a temporary halt to that. We may all develop a hatred for the faction we know as Taliban eventually, even the religious ones may move over to the anti-Taliban camp. However, even with the extinction of the current breed of Taliban, and I hope the claim won’t be too startling, the issue barely would have been concluded.
The whole trouble, according to me, resides deep in two acute circumstances that prevail in our homeland: poverty and illiteracy. To the first, I may have rendered it alone the culprit for it all. However, a slight analysis wouldn’t permit me the liberty. To quote a quick piece of fact, world’s 50 or so poorest countries witness barely a fraction of the violence we see at hand. What’s more is that the modern-world equipment that needs be expended to terrorist ends has to be funded by larger fishes – and these are the rich guys with big pockets and deep sympathy to a cause which, according to the, the group they’re funding pursues. An example is the alleged aid from Arab Sheikhs for the ‘jihad’ happening around here and their past monetary aids for Kashmir jihad.
Therefore, it would be safe to state that though poverty does have a significant role in tending individuals within a society to extremist tendencies, this cause alone certainly doesn’t suffice to substantiate the creation of fanatic clans of suicide bombers who kill all and sundry and call everyone an enemy. And therein comes in the factor of education. It’s quite obvious that in a land where mainstream concepts are based on obsolete dogmas and even educated personnel are quite reluctant to let go of them, those with no education are quite vulnerable to a lot of dangerous things. A gradual transition towards radical opinions may be one of the many such and considering that the prevalent culture does nothing to prohibit it openly, there’s every chance of such ‘ideological brainwashing.’ I certainly don’t claim that education can solve all problems. However, a gradual alleviation of living conditions, economic prosperity for the masses and education, together, may well be able to contain such radical traces within a society. And we have the phenomenon well manifest in western countries.
It’s about time we stopped spending hefty billions upon weaponry and took a timely policy-shift to address this issue. Operation may well be effective but at a very limited scale. Even with it’s success, the same elements may very expectedly sprout times and again at different place. For now, most of the talk has been over the short-term quick-solutions. However, what we need now is the long-term strategy by making long-term investments in education and economy. That may be the key to a better Pakistan in the coming days.
Studying contemporary intellect
‘I am inclined to think that his(Russell’s) lack of systematic philosophical education was an advantage and that nothing can do more to stultify original thinking than a thorough knowledge of past philosophers acquired too early in life; because it brings with it the deadening discouragement of realizing that most of the ideas one thinks up have been thought of by someone else before.’
Alan Wood
I couldn’t agree more. On a similar streak, I’ve held the opinion for quite some time now that people tend to be all too embracing to the accepted contemporary intellect, considering it per se and very reluctant in questioning anything in it ’s content. In fact, the whole affair of studying the ‘great minds’ start with the basic principle: they can’t be wrong. And with that start, even when one may well be capable of questioning the intellect of one of those great mind, he totally drops the option. And that, I believe, renders the very purpose of such study useless.
Cover story: Making an impact
The articles are based upon few general observations made in the course of my debating career and cited in rather simple terms. :)
Communication plays a key role in life. Through communication we interact with our friends, family and people around us, thus directly affecting our relations with them since it’s through communication we convey our messages and feelings.
When it comes to communicating effectively, the involvement of the audience is very important. Every person you talk, write or signal to, in other words every person you communicate with is your audience. And to make your communication effective, you need to understand how to get your audience involved in your speech or piece of writing.
These are few points to be kept in mind to achieve an active and successful audience involvement in your oral communication, particularly with a large audience.
Be audible
To make your communication effective and gather the audiences’ interest, you should be fairly audible to those you’re addressing — not too low-pitched to be barely audible or too high-pitched to sound unpleasant. A distance of two to three feet without mike when addressing individuals, and of three to four inches of the mike if using one, is helpful in finding a balanced voice volume.
Vocal clarity
Apart from being fairly audible, your voice must also be clear enough to be understood by the listeners. Even slight distractions such as nasal noise or an uneven tone may cause the listeners to strain their nerves more to grab what you’re saying, something which they may not like at all. And even when you’re fully audible, if such distractions occur during your speech, your effect upon the audience will be weakened and the message which you’re trying to convey will be conveyed but very ineffectively.
Eye contact
This is an old tip, I admit, nevertheless, the most important one too when it comes to making an impact upon your audience. You can cover all that’s not good enough in your speech by maintaining a confident eye contact and aligning the expressions of your eyes with your speech. This way, even when there is some ambiguity at the audience’s end, they may grasp the sense of what you’re saying, or at least a part of it, through your gaze and your communication will be in much less trouble. If, however, your eye contact depicts nervousness like when avoiding any eye contact with your audience, even when you’re talking excellently, it’ll have a very negative impact on your audience who would clearly perceive your nervous state.
Body language
Even though you may not realise it, your gestures and body movement when talking to others play an important role in how your message is conveyed. If your body gestures are swift, firm and moderately involved in your speech, it helps in getting your audiences involved with what you’re saying.
Be interactive
Adding an interactive touch to your speech is very useful in directly involving your audience. This can be done by basing your speech upon effective group-activity methods, such as brain-storming or similar techniques where you may ask them to voluntarily cite their idea of some concept that is part of your speech. Not only will this keep them attentive and active, but it will also have a pleasant effect on them, making them feel being an active and constructive part of a group activity.
Dressing
While the way you dress or your appearance may not seem like a very important part of effective communication, nevertheless, it can ruin your impact if it goes against the decorum of your environment.
For instance, if you go speaking on a formal forum but are dressed casually, it will leave an unpleasant impression. Similarly, being too formally dressed on an informal occasion is not a good idea. People will be paying attention to your appearance rather than what you are saying, consequentially leading to an ineffective audience involvement.
Feedback
Last, but certainly not the least, feedback forms a very important part of your speech. Feedback has two advantages — you not only get your audience involved in letting you know how well your communication was, you may also gather authentic data about how good you are and what you need to improve.
Published at November 7, 2009 in Young World, Dawn: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/in-paper-magazine/young-world/making-an-impact
Oratory skills
In today’s world, communication skills have become a very important part of students’ life. It helps them communicate effectively during their academic years and if they have good oratory skills, it becomes a plus point for them later in their career in a competitive world where thousand others have the same degree.
During school, college and university life, there are many moments and opportunities which allow students to nourish and improve their communication skills. And if availed effectively, they turn out to be very useful. One example is debating clubs or societies that exist in many schools and colleges. These clubs provide students with a chance to hone their verbal skills, and test them in front of a large audience. When participating in debates, one has to put all his/her efforts into making a speech as effective as it can be, touching as many hearts as possible and impressing the jury enough to award a prize.
One form of public-speaking is oration, which is particularly widespread in Pakistan, unlike other countries. This is a very interesting genre of debate in which you are given a topic and a few minutes to prepare yourself to have your say. And unless there are certain things encompassed into your little speech, you can’t win the audience’s hearts or a trophy.
Here are a few things that an oratory speech must have:
Uninterrupted smoothness
Try not to stop while delivering the speech. Even if you forget the point you are making, simply carry on with the flow and switch to the other point smoothly, not letting the audience know that you were stuck because you forgot something or got confused.
Your rhetoric
The dictionary meaning for the word rhetoric is ‘using language effectively to please and persuade’. And that’s indeed how language is used in an oration. It is utilised to excite the audience and also to convince them about the topic you are speaking on. And for this, you need to know how exactly people feel about the topic, observe their facial expressions then add the right phrases, words and sometimes, verses accordingly.
You are successful in your rhetoric when you see your audience giving you an enthusiastic response. Remember, ordinary or commonly-used words do not do the trick. You have to research to find the correct vocabulary that not only contains the meaning of what you want to say, but also adds a certain beauty to your delivery.
Time management
Finally, never lose track of the seconds while making a speech. You ought to have rehearsed an oration time and again before, and when it’s the time to make the speech, you must be able to accurately correlate your speech and the time allotted. Speakers often lose track of the time and speak too much or not enough in the mandatory time which affects how they are judged by the jury. You should always have some back-up points to be inserted into the speech in case you fall short of the content. Or be ready to skip a few unnecessary points if you see that you’re falling short of the time. — S.L.
Published at November 7, 2009 in Young world, Dawn: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/in-paper-magazine/young-world/oratory-skills
Iqbaliyat
Most of us know Dr. Iqbal in the capacity of a great poet whose poetry inspired millions. No doubt, he is one of the best poets in the history of Urdu language and his poems brought a social revolution in the ranks of Muslims. However, Iqbal was a philosopher of no less a calibre. Fewer would have read his books on philosophy, the most notable of them being the ‘Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam’.
It isn’t surprising that because of his immense popularity as a poet, Iqbal’s numerous other qualifications are usually overlooked. Iqbal went for higher education to a foreign university, and also completed his doctorate in philosophy at a time when Muslims were quite backward in the pursuit of education and barely made it to the universities.
His final thesis titled ‘Development of Metaphysics in Persia’ clearly depicts him as a man of excellent knowledge in the fields of both history and philosophy. It also affirms his love for Persia and the Persian language. Not many of us have read Iqbal in Farsi and those who have, know well that the beauty and eloquence of his poetry in Farsi is far superior to his verses in Urdu.
Being an adept scholar, Iqbal wanted to bring an intellectual revolution among the Muslims. His poetry and prose both incessantly stress upon the need for Muslims’ mental renaissance so that they could once again become the pioneers they had been in all modern sciences such as medicine, physics, chemistry, biology, history-writing and philosophy. For that, he proposed the reinstatement of the institution of Ijtehad within the Muslim Ummah, something which had been entirely abandoned by the Muslims.
Iqbal believed that Muslims needed to become mentally exalted. For, the moment they became mentally depraved, as happened after the Spain’s golden reign, they were pushed down the road to decadence, both moral and mental. He wanted to revive the spirit of progress and education in Muslims and wrote and worked endlessly to that end.
His message was not that of aloofness or intolerance. Never losing the universal perspective of the entire humanity, his message was simple: Muslims, having all the ideological capacities to do great service to humanity, ought to exploit this capability; they ought to lead the humanity towards a better world by excelling both in modern sciences and in their knowledge and understanding of Islam and its message.
In today’s Pakistan, Iqbal’s message becomes all the more relevant considering how we have to face the issues of fundamentalism and terrorism because of the wrong perception of the individual few. Iqbal’s philosophy can be a very useful tool in tackling these issues on a social level and to educate our youth about the intellectual and academic face of Islam.
Iqbal’s whole life was that of a struggle — to further a message to the humanity in general and Muslims in particular. Till the end he clung to this ambition. Here’s a translation of a poem Iqbal wrote for the youth which truly contains the trace of that fire of redemption which, when ignited in the hearts and minds of individuals, leads their nations to the zenith of excellence and marvel:
Beyond the stars are even more worlds
There are still even more tests of passion
These expanses are not devoid of life
Here there are hundreds of other caravans, too
Don’t be contented with the world of colour and scent
There are other gardens, other nests, too
If one nest is lost, what’s the [cause of] grief?
There are other occasions for sighing and lamenting
You are a falcon, flight is your task
Before you there are other skies as well
Don’t become entangled, and remain [so], in this day-and-night
For you have other times-and-places, too
The days are gone when I was alone in the gathering
Here, now, I have other secret-sharers, too
‘Academic’ moments :D
Computer Architecture is one of the most boring subjects I am having this semester. It does get funny when I try to discern something through the mumblings of the teacher and catch some real crazy words (of course, a fabrication of my imagination.) But I am not to be blamed – the guy talks like he’s whispering some dear secret to some darling. -_-”
However, things got better as Muazzam purchased this mobile with the ‘Sudoku.’ And so I’m hooked up to the game for the most part of the lecture – the rest is spent in humoring myself with the lecturer’s crazy gibberish and trying to find more names for him. So far, the general consensus of the class rests upon ‘NASA chief’ (because he seems to have come from Mars), ‘Titli’ (never knew the reason to that one :D), chitta, shehzada gulfam. Now what’s most interesting is that he wears the most striking dress every day – and in the finest fashion too! Blue shirt tucked into green pants pulled up to an abnormal length! And well…that quite reveals the ‘features’ of his existence, physical of course, to leave for the commentary of the students who quite liberally discuss and form opinions over it.
Nevertheless, besides the subject’s being boring, the class is some fun. :D
In the land of confusion
Amid all the confusion that has resulted as an outcome to the terrorists assaults recently, there’s another confusion that’s breeding within the hearts of Pakistanis. That of a failure or uncertainty in observing the reality or being conveyed it in a verifiable form. The chief source of this confusion, perhaps, is the fact that the mainstream media, both newspapers and TV channels, are still covering the entire saga of terrorism in a very immature manner feeding their audiences only that what’s ‘spicy’ enough to attract a better viewership and always switching their stances to either side, depending on the public’s mood. (Examples are the prominent instances of Lal Masjid saga, swat operation and media’s take on these issues, before and after their concluding episodes.)
A connotation to this is that the masses are totally unsure as to what version of truth, if there’s one at all, they are to stick to. This, together with the ideological alienations of majority of the masses which has recently put them upon a line of hard choices – that between continuing their support for the Islamist factions, now allegedly the militant terrorists or to shun the stance in favor of the military operation to cleanse them – has created a situation where most of them, still, are unable to vouch for a definite side. In fact, this is furthered by the fact that even the two sides are shrouded in indistinctness, both because of the pre-conceived biased views and the continuous rhetoric from the religious leaders and unqualified politicians.
Another contributing factor is the media, print media in particular and certain quarters of electronic media too, that always adds a parallel, deeply-right-oriented and always anti-liberalist perspective to the more realistic view of things. Much less tolerant and more readily offended by the slightest take against the right itself, this cluster of media entities always succeeds in catering to, and gathering the sympathies of, the popular religious sentiment of Pakistan masses. Although the facts presented are as less exact as those from the opposite camp, rather at times, more so, the rhetoric that establishes the basic premise of this side of argumentation usually compensates well for it. For the audience largely consists of members of religious parties, madressah students or teachers and the likes.
All this has wrapped the common man in the confusion he lurks in currently. With such diverse perspectives and the bulk of convincing material from both camps, the sheer volume of which well makes up for the lack of substantial validation in either, it is hard even for a fairly reasonable and astute person to form a definite stance over the issue of terrorism and the actual culprits. Although there’s been a U-turn in the pose of many media outlets ever since the commencement of recent series of suicide attacks, the populace is not going to take to it so silently this time, since a large number of them have deep affiliation with religion. And to favor a military sweep against a group of people who call themselves Muslims, albeit only proclaimedly, stops them short on an awkward reluctance.
The anti-US feeling, too, has a strong impact upon the general mindset of the lot. The usual US-is-responsible scheme is deployed by this lot to all that happens around them and provides them a good excuse to stand off the segregating choice. They tend not to blame either of the camps, and do away with a slight admonishing of both though in the end, always placing the final verdict upon American intervention in our lands, even when knowing the fact that the said claim, too, lacks any solid confirmation.
What we are witnessing here, is the transition from one vox populi to another – a shift that’s shaking deep-rooted opinions of a majority of population who, naturally, is quite reluctant to let go of them. From supporting the Talibans militarily to officially to unofficially and eventually, not at all on the governmental level, we have come a long way in our policy maneuvers. The public follow-up, of course, is not to be so easily accommodated and swiftly customized as the foreign office’s adaptation to external pressures, both from our ‘mentors’ and the international community.
The obvious outcome is that amid social disintegrations, not only have the divisions between the ‘left’ and the ‘right’ grown acuter, many intermediate factions have also mushroom-grown, each of them not very extreme in its ideology or disposition yet always never belonging to the either camp and hence, playing a futile role in the shaping of a definite national take on any issue. The fragility and inactivity of such groups, which constitutes a considerable number of our people, also is one reason why a handful of militants have garnered strength here. What is a dangerous part of this posed neutral alignment is that, at any instant in time, such beings may drift to either side of the tide – and provided the already deep-trenched religious sentiment, the chance that they may drift off to the militant’s camp are much more than their taking a position otherwise.
Hence the government faces a two-edged sword right now. At one side, the feasible time bound is fast approaching beyond which, continuing the operation in Waziristan would be tantamount to strategically committing suicide. The weather change and the growing winters would render it absolutely impossible for the army to carry on an effective assault. The remaining lapse for the vocation is something between four to five weeks, according to security analysts.
While that remains the operational constraints, the public ratings are not very good, though on a slight rise ever since the series of blasts. The youth, particularly, has claimed an open opposition to the killings and extended its full vocal support to the army’s operation. However, the government still has been severely criticized, this time for its utter inability in tackling the security concerns – the closing of educational institutes has only added to the public resentment, proving that government is trying to snatch off a temporary respite without taking a serious step in putting to hold the bomb blasts.
The social transition that seems manifest in our society and the societal polarizations that are happening as a result of this is a clear indication of the fact that we are still far from having achieved a national solidarity over a vital issue which has put the very existence of Pakistan at risk. It also proves that we have a long way to go and a dire need for a well-chosen leadership that can define the right orientation for the masses and steer them out of the eye of the storm.
Twilight-finally!
DISCLAIMER: To all the fans of this fantasy-tale saga, I am declaring in advance that if they wish not to be offended by my rather disrespectful remarks towards the series, they may as well not read further. However, those who can take the critique are all welcome to continue and I’d love to take their criticism of my criticism of the book :P
So, let’s talk twilight. I’ve been nagged since eternity by all the with-the-wind friends and acquaintances of mine to read the book on a top-priority basis. That’s nothing too extra-ordinary. What’s extra-ordinary is the amount of romance they pre-conceivedly filled me in with, before I even laid my hands on the book. I must admit I was pretty awed about the book and quite anticipated the moment I’d get to read it. This friend of mine, for example, stood up like a heroic figure on a rough Isb evening and told me: “Man I tell you this book is out of this world! You read and the world this writer paints and the hero and the love and it all – it’s simply like getting into an altogether different world.” O.O An over-dose of fantasy, eh? :P
So here I was, this very morning, after all these “fan-fiction” say about the book. The book’s top looked quite contrary to my taste with two hollywood-movie figures pasted atop it – however, displacing my chagrin elsewhere, I attended to the book. What spoiled it for me already, perhaps, was that I had seen the movie first and was reading the novel now. Nevertheless, I believe I can rely on my critical abilities in judging a book, even when least amused by or interested in it.
Well….in the start, I tried puffing in some interest in the read by reminding myself the ‘obvious fact’ stated by innumerable people that the book was awesome. However, that couldn’t work beyond the first thirty pages. And soon, I could no longer persuade myself of the book’s greatness. Really, like….what on Earth is so interesting in a tale where a girl falls in love with the vampire?! The same old tale with the same old setting. A villain, a good vampire and the envied girl.
What was most disgruntling to me was the fact that a book like this even became a best-seller. I mean….fantasy is meant to be an opium to give people a respite off the real, pragmatic world. But even then, some writers manage to do it with such tact that their works merit obvious literary acclamation (talk of Tolkien). And there are those who have some evident objectivity in the claims they make or things or notions they cite in the novel, again Dan Brown being one example. At least his novels bring some food for thought.
Twilight, on the other hand, is far from ANY literary or academic facet. Any at all, I repeat. It’s an expired tale re-done with slight amendments. Only the vampire is a different one this time – more unnatural, to be exact. The story line is as mundane as a children’s story could get – and the expressionism, the way the story line is tackled is no good. Talking about Harry Potter, at least the writer came up with a very novel concept: A very new kind of magic school. I never read that in any other magic-fantasy novel I had read earlier. And so HP afforded me quite an interest. The vampire saga, on the other hand, fails to bring in any novelty to the idea.
What really surprises me is that how can people even become barely interested in a love-story of a 16-year old, let alone their becoming fanatic fans of the book. Even the love depicted in the book is such a common-place representation that I wished I hadn’t even read it! It simply had me groaning with utter discontent!
Finally, I admit fantasy is actually meant at fooling people – at taking them out of the real world and giving them a well-selling notion to read and earn dollars in return. It’s all about who can fool well enough. And I am sorry to say that the writer of this book used a very ordinary idea in a very ordinary manner to attract readers – only, she knew the high-school creed in this world amounts to millions and so would the book’s sales be. And she was right. Apparently, there are many who’d pay money to read the love-tale of a 16-year vampire-lover. Duh!
In the end, to all those who recommended me this book: I am utterly disappointed!!
But well…on the brighter side, it gave me an indulgence of few idle hours nonetheless :D
Absolute identity
It’s our misfortune that we all have to exist within contexts – perceptual frames which are never our own choices. And yet we, unknowingly, unwillingly, exist through those frames through the course of our lives. Made to mean, made to exist, made to stand centre-stage of foreign perceptions, stripped and stuffed at will, altered and redone. What’s most saddening is that it’s the very perception of other’s of us that renders us be – our being depends upon this very assignment of role or we are nothings among other entities. In a way, it’s the same villains that play with our roles which also grant us our identity – the mantle which brings us from non-being to being, from back-stage, invisible to center-stage, known, yet at the cost of being vulnerable to exploitation and manipulation.
It’s hard, very hard, granted, but not impossible that someone, some day may stand you aloof from these garments of self-conceived, misconceived perceptions and render you in our own entirety – your own originality. To most, it seems like the impossible, to shed so much of that what has become a permanent part of our consciences – relative credence. Yet when it happens, it just happens. Someone, on a random, unimportant day understands you in your own frame. The simplicity of it is simply astonishing. And you are left wondering, amazed; ecstatic at the new, pure feeling it breeds within you. It is empowering, affirming and very new – as if discovering one’s self anew. And that stranger that does that for you always has a special place in your heart, for all the years of life to come.
December curse
The time of the year with mahogany shades of sepia taking over the dull green is back – and so are the nostalgic memories of your remembrance. Once again, the silent moments of my loneliness are borne with thoughts of you, whispering to me like a dear sweetheart.
I have tried to pour my agonies over scratch papers, I have. And yet it has never helped. Somehow, those words glare back at me with an even intensifying pain – which only mounts with every reread. The lines etch deeper into my skin and the undertones of parting are too hurting to bear. Like the reddening sienna of the December eves. Before the brown carpets are laid again upon the dead leaves, I want to hold you close again – so close that all my agonies would touch you wordlessly, at least this once.
But the days close on and winters cover up with the familiar ruthless swiftness. Second seclusions, yours and mine. Trapped in the aloofness I never desired and you never chose. Pawns to the chances of fate, aren’t we? And yet it’s only me left to face the Decembers this year too – and the many countless ones to come.
The bond
I am the fickle persistence
You, the humble grace
My silence, borne with the sounds
Yours, always healing my screams
I dance my way, away, far away
You hold on to the frail thread
And I can’t
Never can, move away
Here’s to the Kerry Lugar Bill – a reality check!
There has been a lot of ranting, lately, over the famed Kerry Lugar Bill passed by the US congress about the aid package to Pakistan. As usual, Pakistani politicians and masses took to protest and retaliations over the bill, because of the usual silly argument of the bill being from US. Most of those ranting loud claims of the bill’s connotations and it’s inevitable implications are the ones who haven’t yet even read the bill in it’s totality – and well….that makes about 90 percent of the total opponents of this bill.
It’s a commonly observable phenomenon in this society of ours that the top 10 percent that’s bestowed with the bite in the governmental cake, even when entirely undeserving of being a parliamentarian or a senator, usually are entirely incapable of intellectual dealing with issues of vital national and international importance. This becomes manifest times and over again at several instances when these suit-clad ignorants try to play their usual rhetoric towards something which totally lacks the capacity to contain such a dimension – and the result is that they form opinions and make decisions without the slightest trace of conscience of the issue at hand and this ignorance persists throughout the tackling of it – even after it’s being implemented.
And what to say of the masses. They are the rest of the 80 percent deaf and dumb beings who are played with by the earlier cited 20 percent. They are like a disoriented group of humans each of whom clings to what seems the most attractive on the surface – some move on to the Shareef group, impressed by Shahbaz’s rhetoric and his short-term, ill-planned reforms. Other take to JI’s stance, fooled like always through the popular religious sentiment which JI has been cashing in since ever.
Coming over the issue at hand, namely Kerry Lugar Bill, it all stands pretty true. The latest in the series is JI’s so-called referendum against the bill. After Juma prayers, I was able to snatch a peek at the poll JI had installed in front of the mosque for the purpose. And not surprisingly, it were only the turban-clad, bearded madressah students voting a ‘namanzoor (unaccepted)’ for the bill. And one can be pretty sure not a single one of them would have actually read the bill. Let them alone, the higher-ups of JI, ranting incessantly against the bill’s anti-Pakistani undertones seem barely to have read the bill(from the nature of their objections). Even our parliamentarians are quite unaware of the exact clauses of the bill, hunching wildly in favor or against it – and that pretty much hints at their methods of opining and decision-making.
Now here’s to some popular myths about the bill, as received through frequent msgs on my mobile for the last few days:
1 – Army will not interfere in politics:
Well…that’s true – the bill asks for a mechanism to keep army at bay – at barracks, to be exact. But is that not exactly what we want? I am quite unable to grasp why would a sane being even object to it!
2 – Army’s major postings will be approved by US:
BULLSHIT! I wonder what sort of idiotic morons make those rumors – but then again, in a nation where Christian towns are burnt to ashes over a tiny, false rumor, it is understandable why people give space to such lameness. Well…..as a matter of fact, there’s no such clause in the whole bill. The bill only asks for the army postings to be done by the civilian government, as is done in all democracies around the globe and as is very desirable in our country too.
3 – There will be no restrictions to US citizens(black water) in Pakistan.
Again, nonsense. There’s absolutely no clause in the bill that asks for such a thing. All anti-terrorism operations within Pakistan are not even to be co-ordinated together with any US force or personnel. Within Pakistan, Pak army is to tackle all security issues.
4 – There will be access of US to any person related to nuclear energy. (A Q Khan)
The bill, in it’s connotations, only implies that US will keep an eye out for the possible occurrence of a nuclear proliferation from our end and if so happens, will cut short the aid package, stopping the immediate next installment.
5 – Aid will be given to persons, not Pakistani government.
Persons is an intended replacement for non-governmental organizations that the actual aid package talks about.
“PREFERENCE FOR BUILDING LOCAL CAPACITY— The President is encouraged, as appropriate, to utilize Pakistani firms and community and local nongovernmental organizations in Pakistan, including through host country contacts, and to work with local leaders to provide assistance under this section”
That’s precisely the original statement. However, the aid is still to be doled out to the government when it’d have been far better off in the hands of standard, well-reputed NGOs working here, considering the corrupt reputation of the current government. Nevertheless, the myth is a mere rumor, albeit sadly so.
6 – ISI will be under American joint of chief staff.
Now that’s the most hilarious one. I am, literally, quite baffled at the creativity of the original creators of these rumors.
Having done with that, I’d say that there’s nothing wrong with the bill, really, when considering it in it’s entirety. True, the language of the bill is somewhat commanding and hence rude, but then again, it’s us who need the money – and beggars don’t complain. Those whining over the language actually need to complain against accepting aids and taking yet another temporary opium injection for our crumbling economy, for that’s what all the recent aid had been. No long-term planning is done through this aid package and it’s one half vanishes with the governmental affairs and accounts (no wonder – we boast of having, afterall, the largest cabinet) and the other half never makes it to the actual reforms it is intended for.
The only thing about the bill that’s unacceptable to our masses is that it’s straight-forward. There are two ways of saying ‘aid us in Afghanistan’ – one is by asking Pakistan for being an ally in Afghan fiasco- and the other is to ask Pak army to protect US operations in Afghanistan by taking care of this side of the border. That’s what the bill does and that’s where our false patriotisms are stirred. So much for this pretense!
Therefore, the sentimental gibberish of the so-called patriots with their falsely-inflated patriotism which’s actually a miscolored ignorance over the bill-issue, needs to rest! They have absolutely no idea about what they are talking about, and unless they do, to engage in a debate with them is nothing but like stooping to the level of a stupid to prove him wrong – which, in turn, only results in one being defied for they are far more experts at being stupid.
What’s more, without accepting this aid package, we are left in an economic crisis where we have yet again to get a hefty loan from IMF which, obviously, we then have to return with the interest – which means another strain on our economy for the decades to come. I guess accepting this aid package, then, wins out to be a far better package especially when it doesn’t ask of the government to increase electricity charges and petrol charges, as opposed to IMF’s conditions.
Thrash it out – APDC ‘09
Debating is an important facet of a student’s co-curricular life. It plays a very important role in exposing him to all sorts of audiences and giving him confidence. Further, debating also instils in a person tolerance for differences in view-points. Considering these healthy connotations of debating, Quaid-e-Azam Debating Society (QDS) at University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, decided to host an All-Pakistan Bilingual Declamation Contest. QDS was created in 1998 and has won, ever since, nearly all the prestigious trophies of the national debating circle. However, it was time to play host. And hence, the idea for APDC ‘09 broached.
It was a first of its kind event in the history of the university and the QDS members worked around the clock to put together the contest. The university admin, too did all that it could in turning this dream into a reality.
By the night of Oct 9, out-station teams were picked from Islamabad and Rawalpindi and transported to the hostel facility where they were shown into their lodgings.
The trophy Federer lost :D
The event started at 11:00 next morning. It kick-started with the house-opening humorous speech by Muhammad Waqas who had all the audience into fits of laughter. After the house-opening, the arena started leaping with the roaring passions of heated debates. Teams from all across the nation spoke in both Urdu and English, entertaining the audience with their brilliant eloquence and sentimental arousals.
The speakers were under compulsion to speak in a team-combination of English humorous and Urdu serious or Urdu humorous and English serious. The serious topics were tackled through a fiery oratory by the speakers, the topics being quite rhetoric, such as ‘it’s not slumber, I am dead’ and ‘when beggars die, there are no comets seen.’
The humorous topics were no less intriguing. With the “poor” President of the house seated right at the stage as per the tradition, being the victim of all hilarious gags, the speakers had the entire house in stitches throughout with their witty humour. The topics were the likes of ‘Come to UET or go to hell’ and ‘Love aaj kal.’
The session took place in two slots with the first slot ending by 2:00 p.m. The judges for the session were the acclaimed debaters of yesterday and renowned personalities of today. The panel included Syed Ali Abbas, the founder of QDS, Awais Iqbal, currently an anchor of Ghamidi show at Geo TV channel, Ishtiaq Ahmed, former president of FC college’s debating society and currently a Registrar at Ali Institute, Yasit Latif Hammdani, a fiery debater in his university days and a political activist and Ali Wajahat, a former executive member of QDS.
The Chief Guest for the event was Mr. Sahir, the Dean of Mechanical Department at UET, Taxila. About 16 teams tapped the dice in the first session and another 14 in the post-lunch slot. It was a spectacle indeed to witness seasoned speakers from institutions such as Punjab University, FC College, GCU, Lahore, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad International Islamic University, Lahore School of Economics, Military College of Signals, Army Medical College and Allama Iqbal Medical College and many other institutes.
The first day ended with five teams, namely IIU, AIMC, AMC, NWFP UET and MCS and two individual speakers in both English and Urdu categories qualifying for the finals.
AMC with the winner trophy
The final session started on Oct 10. The Chief Guest of the final session was Mr. Iftikhar Arif, the renowned literary icon and presently, the Chairman of National Language Authority.
As per expectations, the debates were of the finest fashion as the final contestants engaged into a war of words and battled for the team trophy. Some of the most captivating performances were by AIMC’s humorous debater who totally rocked the show with his witty six minutes speech. Raffay from MCS presented a very unique interpretation to the topic given and the oratory of Tauseef from Punjab University generated immense applause.
The session came to an end at about 1:00 p.m. and all the final contestants waited with held breathes for the announcement of the winners. Two additions to the panel of judges were Sana Taskeen Gulzar, a producer at Dawn News and Gohar Iqbal, an anchor at PTV.
Finally, the results were announced and Army Medical College bagged the gorgeous team trophy. The first positions in individual categories were both taken by PU debaters, Tauseef in Urdu and Sham’aoon in English. Raffay of MCS had the second position in English and AMC’s speaker grabbed the third place. In Urdu category, again AMC’s Faran had the second place and IIU’s Nafeesa stood third.
Considering the fact that it was the first all-Pakistan at UET, Taxila, the event was a huge success, coming with its very first occurrence in the list of Pakistan’s largest Declamation Contests.
Published in Us magazine, The News on Friday, October 23, 2009.
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