Words talk

M.M Alam passed away in March 2013? Hadn’t he passed many years ago? I did know that he was a war hero. Perhaps I would have never known of him hadn’t the famous road of Lahore, on which all the posh and famous eateries are located, been named after him. I don’t even know what M.M Alam’s full name was? Or why is he our hero? Which war? The feeling of remorse kept growing as I pondered upon it. So, I sat down and looked up his name on the internet. Our media is too busy hosting topics that improve the ratings that they conveniently trimmed the air time and newspaper space this news required. Of the obituaries and other material I found; I was impressed, astonished and most strongly of all, ashamed. Mr. Muhammad Mahmood Alam, sitara-e-jurat’, was North American Aviation F-86 Sabre flying ace . Mr. Alam, also known as the ‘little dragon’, gunned down five Indian fighter jets in 55 seconds in Indo-Pak war of 1965- world record unbeaten till date. He was a Bengali Pakistani wh...

Today is my birthday and I have turned 25. I have become more indifferent and blind to what’s happening around me. I am comfortable in my cozy bed knowing I am safe. All these killings and violence are just numbers. I don’t watch TV because I don’t want to get upset. The most disturbed I get is when my breakfast is not served on time. The most tense I get is when I am waiting for my visa for the vacation in Paris. I don’t read newspaper because there is chance the news would ruin my mood. The most I do is copying a Facebook status which says “I strongly condemn sectarian killings”. Something that means to me is wearing tags. I would attend 2 parties every month on an average where as a social welfare I would ask people to pray for Pakistan. I wasn’t like this. I used to go light the candle in hope for Pakistan. Is Pakistan taking its revenge for what I have done to it? I was actually planning on voting this year. I had finally realized that I have no right to comment on the poli...

NUMBER 1 As much as I love my people and my country I sometimes fail to understand why we do something we shouldn’t. Something like telling a beggar to *&#(#)@!. Now, If you don’t want to give him the money don’t! You do not have the right to judge and insult him. If he was annoying you by rubbing his nose on your car window and pointing a finger towards sky and saying ‘ Allah k name pae dae dae’ (Please donate in name of God), that’s why they are called beggars. Here, Ignore! The same ignorance we have adopted towards the injustices happening around us. If you have to say something, say something like ‘ Allah hum dono ku dae’ (May God give us both). Beggars are smart; they won’t waste any more time on you. NUMBER 2 Why is the whole country in such a rush on the streets? We are always late for birthdays, parties and not to be mention weddings. If the phattak (railway crossing) is closed, you will only be able to cross once the train has passed. Remember! Closing of rail...

Jan end is the perfect time to announce 2013 resolutions as you have seen how the year would be and now you are in a position to say something about it. DON’T FROWN! I tried to justify my procrastination by being funny- it didn’t work. No need to rub it on my face! Actually I have been craving to write but have been too busy doing things I don’t really like, to not find time for things I actually like. Well, the former are the ones you get paid for. And also for the record I do like 55 percent of my job if not 70. [ This statement is the precautionary-legal-statement-disclaimer-thing which is shield for any consequences whatsoever ]. Anyhow ( pronounced as any-hu ), I want to state the resolutions I have for 2013 but even more I want to evaluate 2012. 2012 has not been my best year but it also hasn’t been my worst. I have learned a lot professionally; everything from systems to people. Of course, there is a long way to go but it has been a good start. I have matured [ Trust ...

“It was probably close to Isha prayers, it would have been 7 or 8 at night. I went in there and I couldn’t believe there were about a 1000 people at the mosque. I thought subhan Allah look at this religion, look at how strong they are! [pause] it was the first night of Ramdan [laughs] ‘Ramdan Muslims’.” Abu bakr shares his feeling about the night he converted Islam. Sadly! we are slowly losing the entitlement of even being termed as the ‘Ramdan Muslims’. The zeal with which we should look forward to Ramdan has been replaced by the resentment on season, environment and time of year Ramdan has arrived at. Of little that I know about Islam, I know it is not a religion of imposition or force. Well! I think a lot of people know that already, they do practice it for skipping fasts for sure.  Eid has become another day for us on which we can sleep late, have food and send in Eid messages. It’s a gift from God for someone who has kept fasts in the holy month of Ramdan, which is f...

Iffi, our 16-year-old American born desi cousin was always questioning his roots. One day when the patriot kid was complaining how his parents had kept him away from his culture, the Pakistani couple instantly decided to send Iffi to Pakistan in summers. We and my aunt live together in a joint family system; so Iffi instantly decided to stay with us. Zain and Iffi are the same age so naturally, Zain was responsible for Iffi’s religio-socio-cultural tour in Pakistan. After partying till dawn, Zain and Iffi would go to sleep after having sehri. The fast was easy, Zain only got up to offer prayers and recited the holy book half an hour before iftar. Iftar was delicious and the nicotine doze afterwards made it soothing. Zain’s routine to me is pretty usual. She does well at school and her parents are happy with her. Iffi was a branded gora kid so he instantly became popular among Zain’s friends; who at one end hate American policies for Pakistan but on the other fancy their lang...

I have reached Abbottabad safe and secure. It’s 1 a.m. and it was indeed a long day. The weather here is as cozy as I was expecting it to be; the sky is as clear as it was 12 years back when me and my friends used to lie down on the water tank tops and stare at the stars for hours; my niece and nephew are cuter than ever and their excitement to see me washed away my tiredness from all the travelling. The day started with a call-come-alarm by a sales man at 8:30 a.m. I was late for work, 9: 15 a.m. and I was office. The usual pouring of calls started and it was 12 noon already. I had by than planned the production for the next 2 days. With much excitement, I circulated the mail of my chutti, among the concerned, and seconds later I was on my way home. It’s been six months since I have entered the professional world; IT IS as harsh as they say, but it’s worth the experience and exposure. Our sales force is master of their art and they demand the same from me. It was insa...