#03: My TV Nostalgia

I’ll be frank, I don’t watch much TV to be honest. Well, that’s not exactly true, either. Most of what I watch is usually football games coupled with the odd show here or there. I don’t ‘follow’ anything as such. Except for Castle, I mean who doesn’t love Castle? Right?

I really should get back to the point. Yeah...

Anyway, what I really wanted to say was that there is this one show that really takes me back, that sends me into fits of laughter every time I pop a season in the DVD. It’s Friends, Goddammit!

Now this is one show I could watch till I’m 60 without it losing relevance. Honest. Whether it was Joey’s antics, Chandler’s zinging one-liners or the never-ending drama between Ross and Rachel, the show was one worth being hooked on to. Even as I watched them leaving Chandler and Monica’s apartment together in the final scene a few days ago- 7 years after the show originally went off air- I couldn’t help but stare at the screen in disbelief. It was over. And this is a feeling that revisits every time I watch that last episode.

Speaking of old shows, though, this time round as I watched Friends, it also sparked a wonderful nostalgia of the other shows I watched when I was young(er). Swat Cats, TMNT, Captain Planet, Power Rangers and even Duck Tales! Ring a bell, anyone? I’d probably be lost on kids from today if I talked about them, though. It’s kind of sad. I mean, we all had so many amazing shows back in the ’90s and even early years of the 00′s, but now all kids have to look up to these days is Hannah Montana.

What? Of course there's a comparison.

And the sad thing is, they’ll never know what they’ve missed.

Poem #01: Our Zeitgeist

Ominous and dark, they linger

Harbingers, of times of trial and test,

Looming over the horizon,

Effusion, of rain and blood and sweat.

The heart it cringes and the mind, withdraws,

Bolls; of tainted cotton

Progressing through sullen sky,

Nigh, approach the despondent greys,

Trudging above forlorn eyes.

But, as the eyes cast down in defeat,

And they laid down the arms of hope

A blade of brilliant light,

Perforates the shroud.

And on shines glorious hope!

Through the beaten clouds

And the eyes, they open towards the heavens and see

’twas destiny

that intervened.

 

*I wrote this some time before my O-level exams which, supposedly, either make or break your life. The result’s due in about a week, so I hope you’ll sympathise.

#02: Multiculturalism

When I visited Dubai recently, the first thing that struck me was its sheer diversity. Standing in queue for Passport Control, I noticed people from the world over: Indians, Africans as well as Caucasians from the United Kingdom and the States all converged onto that same speck of land. Though this may not seem noteworthy at all, epecially to those of you from multi-cultural backgrounds (this means you, Canada), however for someone from a native-dominated country such as myself, it was anything but ordinary.

Since you may put my obsession with this down to a lack of travel experience, I think I ought to tell you: I’ve done my fair share of globe-trotting but never did I come across the sort of seamless multi-culturalism Dubai effused. An example might be helpful: as I traversed through the city, be it on foot or on the metro, I saw burqa-clad women and men dressed in traditional Arabic-wear walking, talking, eating and, essentially, co-existing with those who were, shall I say, more liberally dressed and clearly not of the same descent. It seemed as if this community remained immune to the malady of discrimination that is aggravated by race, creed or outward appearance. A breath of fresh air, it was.

That’s not all, though. Across the street from my building was a, rather convenient, I must say, convenience store. While I was busy there stocking up on supplies for the week, I happened to wander into the back of the store where I found the meat section. Amidst the usual array of chicken and beef I was surprised to find slithers of bacon, as well as larger chunks of pork- something that’s not very common in countries which profess to being Islamic. A sign that hung  above the counter, though, cleared the air: ‘Pork only for sale to non-Muslims’, it read. Nodding my head in approval, I moved on.

Fin.

#01: Lahore is Beautiful

For my first post, I thought I’d give you a taste of where I’m from. Sure the camera’s a bit shaky and the picture’s a little fuzzy, but I think you’ll still find Lahore to be breathtaking as ever. Enjoy:

Fin. 

 *Update: For some reason, the video stopped playing here after about a week. Here’s the direct link.