#10: On Murder and Loss

About a month ago I was writing a post entitled ‘Dengue and Death’, however couldn’t finish it because of insufficient material. I won’t clarify what that means. Thank God we’re in Pakistan, though, where life doesn’t count for much: A penny for your thoughts and a nickel for your soul. It’s been two days, as I begin typing this post, since a girl was murdered atop an overhead bridge on Jail Road.

Stripped down to the bare minimum, it was this:

A girl and boy dated.

Boy proposed.

Girl refused.

He persisted.

She refused.

He shot her.

She collapsed.

He shot himself.

And it was done.

Don’t call me insensitive. That’s all it was. Sad still is what it means to the average Joe- or should I say, Bashir- in Pakistan: a traffic-block on Jail Road. Don’t call him callous. That’s all it was.

#09: Lessons Learned From A Roadside Paradox

A stone’s throw away from my house, there stands a mosque. It is small and white, yet magnificent in manner and thronged regularly following the muezzin’s call. Across the road from it, bold and presumptuous, is SAFMA’s high-walled edifice- the home for Lahore’s own Film and Literary Club. On the face of it, there’s not much to see. Nothing out of the ordinary, but two buildings sharing their common periphery. It’s only when you delve below the surface, as I did a few days ago, that you realise there’s something to be learned here. A lesson not without application.

The conflict isn’t so much physical, as you would assume, but abstract. Suffice to say, Film, Literature and other such ostensibly ‘liberal’ pursuits have never gone hand-in-hand with religion. Expressions of heresy and errant opinion have always seemed to find their footing in the Arts and Science- fields, which people believe, religion intends to suppress; a notion that holds certain conviction when applied to within our own borders.

Unfortunately, because of extremist pressures- among other things- freedom of speech, thought and action related to socio-religious issues have not flourished in real-world Pakistan, being limited to the confines of theory and cyberspace. Anti-loadshedding demonstrations and needless tyre-burning do not count. When have you ever seen a group of people brandishing picket fences in hand, protesting against substandard education, the dominance of the Taliban or something of the sort? It’s such issues that are left unaddressed, from which intolerance towards opinion brews.

An accrual of such has led to Pakistan becoming what it is today: a country where not only women, but men too are told what they can and cannot wear, what they can and cannot do, what they can and cannot think. It is a country where everything seems to have been subjugated because of a lack of education, both temporal and religious. In the midst of all this, though, there is still hope for the future- if you have the vision to see it.

Returning to the example of the Masjid and Media Center: most would not see it as an example for something, let alone consider it worthy of any special notice. However, it within itself is an example of an ideal country; a paragon of how both religion and the humanities are capable of conflation, given the proper catalyst. Both share the same area without any disquiet of the other and effuse reverence that is due and expected. An anomaly, I concede, but if such an example can exist within even a fraction of this country, why is it wrong to think that it cannot be imbibed throughout?

Fin.

#05: Music

To begin: I don’t like music. I love it. Hmm, a bit too cliched, haina? Screw it.

When it comes to music, I like vintage stuff. Let me be clear: the ‘80s were the best decade in the history of music and if you don’t agree, you better leave right now. Alright, maybe I’m being a bit harsh. You can stay. When it comes to music, I like love Queen, The Police, Pearl Jam, Billy Joel, The Beatles (Yes, I’m aware they’re not actually from the ’80s) and Elvis (him too). I know what you’re thinking: Elvis? Really?! What are you, 65?

No, I’m 16. And offended. I’ve been listening to him since I was about 8. Why? I’ll save that story for a rainy day.

I don’t think music is what it used to be. It’s not about emotion anymore. Commerce is all that it is. Though what is considered good music is contingent upon a person’s individual taste and experience, it has to be agreed that in all genres- trance being the only exception- exceptional lyrics are vital. Instead of furthering the argument, allow me to proceed directly to the evidence:

Now there’s always the one-song-cannot-define-a-decade argument. Rebuttal: Yes it can- if it’s picked well enough. Of course there will always be exceptions: there were bad songs in the ’80s and even in today’s commercialised, pop-crazed industry you can still find a few singers/bands worthy of being dubbed “artists”. Mumford And Sons are a prime example, I think.

I mean, one of them plays the electric banjo. You can't beat an electric banjo.

Fin.

#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.