Intellectual crisis!

A tagline from this drama of HUM TV got quite popular, and I'd often see it in tweets and status messages:

وہ محبت ہی کیا جس میں إلہام نہ ہو ؟

Whenever I got to read this I'd wonder what about Allah's love then? Does he disallow 'إلہام ' now? Or does He still speak? That being a long debate should better be left aside. 

Though I'd prefer to read a philosopher on 'happiness' rather than watching a Pakistani drama (if its a matter of choosing the lesser evil), I just got to watch one episode of this one by chance. They happened to be 'divinely' running away in that episode. I call their running away as divine because it was portrayed as such. They were shown as the warriors of truth, The girl who runs away was shown as the righteous person. Another time when i saw this drama I thought it could not have been love perhaps the girl has some mental problem! 

The only objection I want to present is that Pakistani dramas are tormenting the values of relationships and on top of that trying to re-establish moral values. Since when did betraying your parents (whatever the reason might be) become legal? Since when did running away with someone become not only legal but 'divine'? Since when did elders started blessing the run-away couple? Since when did 'friends' have started to be defined as those who assist you in your love affair? I was surprised and wondered that this is the stuff that must be banned! but we rather want to ban sites! we prefer restricting access to certain sites to save the Imaans of Momineen!

We need to see what we're watching because we might be teaching the wrong things to young impressionable minds. Our entertainment industry is suffering from an intense intellectual crisis. There used to be a time when writers like Ashfaque Ahmad would write quality stuff but now its a creative depression. Perhaps we don't have as many readers and hence not many quality writers.

Further this drama deepens my resolve that the bigger purpose in life should better be 'big' otherwise life leaves you wandering aimlessly in all the worldly, secondary unnecessary and smaller purposes. So we must seek the bigger purpose and the company of those with a 'big' purpose that being journey towards Allah! 

Class Terrorism

I have always thought of a 'classroom' as an amazing place. It is a place where a whole lot of diversity comes together. There is a lot of learning at both ends, i.e. the teacher and the students. There is a certain sanctity of the class environment, the relationship between students and teachers is that of 'spiritual parenting'. It is a place which has to be honored and respected. 

The incident we all have witnessed in Peshawar is a certificate for us that 'shariah' is not our issue in Pakistan. we as a society are starved of humanitarian values. It was extreme disrespect of classroom, educational institute and on top of it humanity! We lack moral values. No we don't lack, we have lost all the moral values, I simply can find such an example in wherein such brutality was carried out. 

It was not just the suffering of those present there, every one can relate to it. We all feel the pain and misery, we all feel sad that the children should not have been the victims of this horrific war. Not to speak of the minds of the survivors, how will they ever manage to come out of it?, how will they let go of the dark memories? No answer at all! May Allah bless the young impressionable minds! May Allah bless their families!

There are endless narratives that we hear and read about the incident, as time passes by one feels further strangled in the horror of this carnage. One can simply not find words to describe it, I honestly feel that even animals are better off than the human beings who can carry out such brutal acts! This is not even terrorism, we need a new word to describe it!

The most troubling factor is that this unmatched brutal incident takes place in an 'Islamic' republic! done by those who uphold the name of the Prophet of the highest stature, Mercy for entire mankind The Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.W. Shameful!

But the question is after all this media coverage, all that we feel, all that people are writing and expressing, will anything change? Will those who occupy influential position do anything? Will we ever think that how have we wronged ourselves as a nation? will it bring about a changes in us as persons? Will  these concerns be addressed?

This post can possibly have to words for conclusion!

We Protest!

The shameful movie by some Americans showing disrespect to our Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.W. shows the extent to which 'freedom of expression' unbound by moral values can take us to. They have shown what the teachings of their religion are, and what is the stance of their faith when it comes to respect for other faiths.

Sad was the reaction of Muslims, the other day I received an sms from a friend (a forwarded message basically) that people in Libya burnt some American official alive and what have we done for the respect of our beloved Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.W.?

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I was deeply amazed and terrified having received two to three similar messages. It was even sad to see how some self-destructive people in our country reacted and destroyed our own property and resources. How easy it is for them to spread unrest in our country that they don't even need to come here! We are self-destructive! Just the trigger needs to be known! And I so totally feel ashamed of the show going on at the diplomatic enclave, I wonder how the overseas Pakistanis bear with such frequent shames! The result of such a protest is that the shameful movie got sidelined and the acts of voilence are highlighted and discussed.

Here is the contrast between Turkey and Pakistan!

[Source] Protest in Turkey

[Source] Protest in Pakistan

Protest should 'show' whom we are protesting for, the great person, the unmatched example Hazrat Muhammad S.A.W.W. In fact our day to day matters should showcase the superior teachings of Islam and its a pity that we are far from implementing Islam in our lives. Each of our action against the teachings of Islam shows disrespect to Islam and Hazrat Muhammaf S.A.W.W and not to mention how everyone adjusts and changes the religion to suit his/her need and lifestyle! Our protest should show what his teachings were. We are the ambassadors of Islam they are the ambassadors of Christianity. They showed what they had to show and it was our turn to show our grace but we have lost the opportunity. So lets grab whatever is left and lets protest!

Lets protest through every possible media, lets use whichever discussion forum, networking site we have joined. Lets tell them that freedom of expression has to be within moral bounds, lets show them how to respect other faiths, lets teach the secular states a lesson. Our actions will not only speak but slap even! Lets protest through every peaceful mean. Lets recite as much Darood as we can as it is the demand of the time. Lets spread the teachings of Islam to every corner of the world, Lets try and bring our actions more and more in line with the teachings of Islam, Lets pray that may Allah bring the evil minds to justice and guide them towards the right path.

And finally lets thank them for bringing us closer to our religion and our Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.W. And lets thank them for uniting us!

What makes women age conscious?

Age is just a number if you have not grown through life rather you've just gone through it, but for women (men too these days) this is the top secret and they just don't want to go beyond a certain figure! yeah! they want to stay young all their life! Being your own age makes you more attractive if the purpose is to be 'attractive forever'!

It makes me wonder that after all what are the solid reasons that make women age conscious?, why would they try to remain trapped in a younger age? The motivation behind this post is interaction with such people! and again this is post is a light one not meant to ridicule anyone just give my personal views which could be wrong as well. 

[Note: the reason I am using the words 'they', 'them' and not using 'us' is that Alhamdulillah I am not age conscious being 25 and ready to turn 26 any moment!]

1. The most obvious one: They would like to live forever, so, are we Muslims? The aim should be to try and  stay fit for good deeds. 

2. Being attractive forever, I think we need to redefine 'attraction' and 'beauty' because I feel that beauty of a person needs to be understood than just be seen. Beauty is not just one thing called appearance. As for attraction the people you carry themselves according to their age are more attractive than those reverting to a younger age.

3. The probably think that old age would deprive them of the blessings of youth, I feel that every stage of your life is better than the previous one provided you grow through your experiences and discover the charm of every age. It is a fact that you' re bound to move towards decline its a law of nature that cannot be avoided but only accepted as something from Allah. 

4. A very common argument "Dil jawan hona chahiya" meaning that you should be young at heart. it is not the figure called age that makes you dull or lifeless with time, it is your reaction to happenings that makes us so, so the heart should be strong and filled with Allah's love to be full of life forever! ready to forego anything anywhere for HIS sake, the confidence you get with such a sense is the real confidence which would never let you become lifeless!

5. The most horrible reason is to increase your 'market value' in order to get married! Well, commitments should be based on truth alone other wise such commitments are bound to break, and also harm the families involved. If someone has to reject you based on your 'specifications' then its best to be rejected!

Eagerly looking forward to comments and criticism!

"Switch off your phones" Day

Of all the days, including friendship day, fathers day, mothers day, earth day, valentines day, sisters day etc., the day being suggested in this post would have the most positive effects!

There should be a day celebrated when we switch off our phones and switch off a lot of tension and get connected to those around us!

we never realize the amount of time our cell phones consume and the extent to which they disconnect us from  the near ones. I am sure that on such a day we would discover many new things in our selves and in our homes. We'd get into many other activities and get away from a network of restraint, the network of mobiles.

The idea is not to advertise against the use of mobile phones but the proper and moderate use of the device!

Neo-Colonialism: Valentine's Day in Pakistan

Apparently the British left the divided sub-continent, but their superiority stays. We are still a victim of cultural colonialism, as is also stated by Imran Khan in his Book "Pakistan; A Personal History".

Valentine's day is a full fledged part of our culture thanks to the media! because 'love' is in the air because its 'on air' on every channel. One argument that one gets to hear in favor of this day is: whats the big deal, after all its all about "love". The thing is that its not about love its about the detriment of our religious/cultural and social values. Because our religion states that each day is a day of love for a Muslim. A Muslim means endless love for humans, relations, humanity and Allah Almighty, and we must strive to set better standards of this love every moment. For a Muslim love and its expression is NOT restricted to 14th Feb! its a round the clock matter!

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Imagine all the school going children and teenagers watching all this campaign on the media and the decoration of shops and the sale of gift items. What sort of a focus shift this would cause! There is tremendous difference in the environment of the schools of today and the schools to which our generation went to. All this is due to misconceptions about Islam and lack of understanding about the values that our religion gives us.

This concept is very tempting, its easy to spread these celebrations, the youth can easily fall in this trap, but we need to spread awareness.

I think things can be made clear if we start calling the day "St. Valentine's day"! maybe then our attitude towards it might change and we might stop blindly following the west.

The only positive thing that I enjoy each year about this day is that the deserving flower shops earn a lot!

Lessons from the roads

There are many similarities between roads and life! no wonder so many poets call it "roads of life" (though poets relate life to a 'book' also)

These are the similarities I've drawn between roads and life:

1. Road is a mix of technique, patience and luck! so is life.
2. There can be sharp turns but we can never turn our car in anticipation. So we should never get worried about issues in anticipation.
3. Sometimes you've to pay the price of other's mistakes. Yes sometimes we do suffer or bump into another car due to someone else's mistake, thats why I included 'luck' in first point. That reminds (as I learned from one of my teachers) me that Allah's name is 'Al-Adal' (The Justice) and not 'Al-Aadil' (The Just) so as far as I conclude Allah is the 'criterion of justice' so He is in himself 'Justice'. Hence we need to keep moving along no matter the tests that await us!
4. An excerpt from Paulo Coelho's book "Aleph" : "Life is the train not the station". So the road should better keep us moving!
5. Anger on the road is an absolute 'NO' , anger means expectations, so have have expectations who pass us by on one of the roads and would probably disappear forever! So we should better understand who is there to share our journey and who is just 'passing by'. So similar to what life offers!
6. Straight roads never make good drivers they say! So is life boring without challenges and courage to meet up with those challenges!
7. Always expect the unexpected from the most known and understood roads, they might have made a new speed breaker overnight!

That's all i have gathered up-till now, as a further advice don't think about all this while driving! :P

Are women mentally suppressed in Pakistan?

Being a 'woman', and being a 'woman in Pakistan' are two different things having completely different meanings!

There are many shortcomings of our society that we do not even realize easily. There have been many questions to which I fail to get a sufficient answer, initially I used to think that Islam suppresses women, but later on came to know it is Islam which empowers us. It is our society which does not give women a healthy atmosphere. These are not minor factors as these factors limit the horizon for women, its like women getting a quarter of the canvas! How can we expect women to be having healthy minds and thoughts unless they're given a healthy environment to   live. Here go my questions (these are not with reference to the few selected elite living in main cities of Pakistan or those living in gated communities)

1. Why can't a girl travel by her own bicycle to her institute? I always wanted to do so whenever i used to miss my bus, and i used to dream if only I could clamp my books to the carrier of a bicycle and paddle all the way! and we would often scoff about this situation, but we can't change anything!

2. Why can't women girls/women go to a nearby park to play? why can't I play badminton in the open? or any other game? are women lesser humans?

3. Why can't women/girls walk or exercise on their own at a public place? I have always been dreaming of plugging in my headphones and going on a steady walk! but of course I can't! but why?

I so want to go out someday, sit on some bench under shady trees and read a book for as long as i may like but that seems a distant dream!

There are the, like many others, opportunities which we don't even think that we could have had, Me being active supporter of rights of women would like to see some positive change in our society so that women should be treated something more that just 'objects'!

[Related Post]

What Pakistan can learn from China

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The motivation to write this post comes from the book I have read pretty recently called “Chaltay hou to Cheen ko chaliyay” a travelogue by: Ibn-e-Insha In this book he narrates the story of his visit to China as a part of cultural delegation from the government.

China has come a long way, and has struggled a lot to come to the place where it is today. Its an economic power which is expected to help in euro-zone crisis, though the countries are afraid that China might take over their market but as an editorial in a paper read "Beggars are not choosers" hence they have no other option but to seek help from China.

Though there is no comparison between China and Pakistan due to the fact that they are a lot maturer than us as a nation because Pakistan was formed in 1947 and the Long march in China dates back to 1949. This means that almost when Pakistan was formed there was a revolution in China. This fact makes China much more mature as a state and nation.

If we briefly go through the history of the land now called Pakistan, the people have been ruled by invaders sometimes the Aryans sometimes the British. In other words we have always been waiting for someone to come from outside and rule the region! And we can see the glimpses of foreign rule even today!

Fundamental Difference between China and Pakistan, which I have felt while reading the book, is that China’s cultural norms and traditions are aligned with their national goal and this has been a key factor in their success, whereas here in Pakistan we follow the trends and traditions of India, dressing is inspired from the west and our deeds are not accordance with our religion but our nationality is ‘Pakistani’! I feel we are in a state of confusion! This confusion can be overcome by strong leadership which provokes nationalism in the people and earn their commitment and dedication. Unfortunately we don’t lack but are somehow devoid of a strong leadership.

In China, as told by the author, dressing is decent and simple, and everyone seems to be dedicated to his/her work/study/profession. Whereas what we can notice in our country is that universities are becoming fashion houses! And such dedication cannot be seen in everyone but few.

He further says that there were thousands of doctors in China who had left luxurious life in America and Europe and came back to their country to serve their own people. Moreover writers, Doctors and intellectuals have to spend two months per year in villages. I wonder what would be the reaction if such a condition is imposed in our country and I further wonder if any such thing would ever be implemented even if imposed by law!

Health standards are very high in China which is a result of healthy habits in which drinking hot water is top of the list and continues with healthy food.

Though China has a leader behind the revolution but the prosperity has been taken forward by the people at the grass roots and their commitment and dedication, which continued even after mao tsi tung. A leader can only give a vision which needs the power of the people (willing people) to implement the vision. If this vision is empowered by ‘public will’ then the results would be pretty similar to China!

Caricaturing the Sacrifice

        Each year on Eid-ulAzha we sacrifice our dignity, sense and respect by making fun of the sacrifice by all means. From adverts to dramas the sacrificial animal is used to sell the channel. And that is what we are teaching the next generation about this event.

Today I got this message from Ufone:

       

 “Win a blackberry Bold 9000! Just MMS funny videos of your sacrificial animals to ….”

This was enough to make me write this blog post!

       And I am pretty sure that the Eid transmission of various channels would be full of people mimicking the sounds of animals and making fun of the sacrifice by all possible means, and frankly to me (I need to use some harsh words here) these programs stink. Sacrifice has become a matter of fun, a  matter of competition and show off, which is against the very spirit of sacrifice.

        Humor is something very positive and constructive as i have stated in another post earlier,  but there has to be a line that divides the things we need to make fun of and things we don’t make fun of. Airing all such programs dramas and adverts even , do we have any right to protest against Islam being caricatured by other religions? No! we don’t, we first need to set our rules and vision right.

          Hazrat Ibrahi A.S. was a Prophet of very high stature, the Quran uses the word 'Hanif' for him, i.e. focused & committed and his commitment was nothing but oneness of God. He spent his life in trials and tribulations but he never let go of his cause. He was the ambassador of oneness of Allah for the ancient man. Even he did not give up in front of a powerful ruler Namrud, which for he was sentenced to be thrown into fire, but that fire could not bear the fire of tauheed(oneness of God) in Hazrat Ibrahim A.S. and turned to flowers.

Reminds me of some urdu poetry:

Be-Khatar Kood Para Aatish-e-Namrood Mein Ishq
Aqal Hai Mehv-e-Tamasha-e-Lab-e-Baam Abhi

Translation:

Love fearlessly jumped into the fire of Namrud
Intellect is absorbed in the spectacle from roof‐top still

The sunnah of such a Nabi of such high stature must never be made fun of.

We need to bring the true essence to the lime light, make the people realize the sunnah better and enhance the knowledge of the new generation on this rather than laughing at the idea and hence let the world laugh at us!

 May there be 'sacrifice' in every ‘slaughter’!! Ameen.

Time Value of Greeting Cards

Once in financial accounting class I was surprised to know about the 'time value' of money, i really disliked the concept that 'money' is already given lot of value and its value should not be incremented with time, however those were hard facts of material world! same is the case with greeting cards their value increases exponentially with time, This fact was disclosed unto me once i came across a bunch of cards in my possession!

Quitters never win!

We are so used to some habits that we never realize being habitual to it.

Whatever goes wrong in our country there is one clear demand that surfaces from people in general: ‘resignation’. We demand people to quit where change of faces can give us nothing when we need change of policy! And it’s a general trend to appreciate quitters. Those who resign are appreciated by everyone, though in some situations a resignation really is required but it is not a generic solution to every problem.                  

This attitude continues at personal level, for me at least, when I initially started my job my immediate reaction to stuck work used to be ‘I am quitting’ without realizing that it is easier to find a solution then to cry over the problem. This goes on, something goes wrong and I would de activate or delete my Facebook account assuming that I can’t face the world, I can’t answer what people would ask, such and such xyz people would remind me of such and such xyz incidents, and justifications go on.  Every time I would seek refuge in deleting or deactivating my account to get distracted or to hide whatever. Which was wrong totally wrong, they say winners never quit and quitters never win! True indeed. One should rather face the music rather than hiding from situations.

So I have decided one thing if one is good at quitting then one should quit being a quitter.

Bomb Psychology

I happened to see my nephews and nieces playing one day, they were all ready for some sort of an act, their seriousness made me observe more closely (without having been noticed of course). All of them are under seven years of age, here goes their scene: the youngest of them was walking when suddenly the other one made the sound of a bomb explosion! The passerby fell down then everyone else rushed to help him, pick him up and one of them very thoughtfully stated making the police siren sound!! The little bomber also ran with them and was seriously prompted by the eldest that “you’re dead; you’re not supposed to wake up” though a lot of innocence was involved in this act and they looked so cute while performing but this was really shocking to see.


I was really astonished to see their familiarity with the whole process! I mean they knew that first a person blows himself up, the police always comes ‘after’ the incident, and people get hurt.  For once I literally thought someone should play Rehman Malik in this scene!

To me this is the bomb psychology that this generation is growing up with; they are being brought up with this insensitivity towards the value of ‘life’, promoting the general attitude of not bothering unless you are actually a part of it! After all it’s their childhood game. Unfortunately, this insensitivity is gradually being promoted among all of us in Pakistan.

And we don’t even see the writers, the thinkers from the new generation to come forward and jerk the sleeping humanity. We have seen lots of work from the poets, writers, thinkers belonging to the pre-partition era though the situation we face now is even worse, but no one bothers! Those who dare to read at all are more inclined towards the likes of wasi shah and many have yet to return from the world of harry potter, while other have got their headphones on so they might not be in a mood to think or do anything! and not to mention thoe virtually living in bollywood. Our attitude needs to be revised.

But still lets appreciate when someone tries to make us think, this video and song is artistically done, ‘mein to dekhonga’ is an absolute click! Though ‘dekhonga’(I’ll see) should be replaced by ‘karonga’(I’ll do), still it has awesome lyrics especially the punch line ‘jab roti sasti hogi aur mehngi hogi jaan’


The effects in this video paint the picture of a desert, sunny and dried up, but they talk of hope! hope for the future! as they have the next generation in front of them. 

And we have learned to laugh!

           Ever since the Musharraf regime started to allow licenses to private channels the options of channels to watch from continues to increase. This welcome to new channels by the then regime was very good, Media has urged the people to think and learn, though this has not been their objective! Media does at times get misleading and controls the focus and attention of the people about various issues. But overall this media boom is beneficial for the people as the ‘poor and the plenty’ do get a chance to voice their concerns. Economic benefits are also visible as it flourishes as an industry.


        In the quest to compete, better sell their channel and come up with something different few channels came up with some sharp, witty and humor filled shows about the political scenario. These shows would show the exaggerated and sometimes true version of the situations our country was facing. Which was good, as humor is the only way to say it all without saying anything or without pinching.

I am a firm believer of the fact that ‘humor’ should be really taken seriously, specially at academic level such activities should be promoted. At times you realize that some time pass activities in the classroom ‘every one tells a joke’ really are useful. This is the best way to make students think about new and funny aspects of the things. Making someone laugh is a creative activity which requires sensibility. Plus humor also allows us to ‘laugh off’ many complications in our life and one would probably take a relaxed back seat.

There was a time when you got the feeling that we really have ‘learned to laugh’ while highlighting the issues on media. Later on this became a success formula for any TV show i.e. mimic, caricature everything everyone, every situation! And the show will sell out very well! The situation now is that in some shows the anchor persons and participants laugh at serious issues, they laugh to the extent of insensitivity! Sorry if I am being harsh but this laughter seems a little hysteric! This approach has become somewhat ineffective in bringing issues to the lime light. The practice of mimicking and caricaturing as increased pathetically and showcasing our non-seriousness to the world! And probably those who were being laughed at have started to laugh with us!

The element of ‘ridicule’ has overshadowed humor. Putting aside the fact that people being ridiculed are worth this, but moral values should not change from situation to situation or person to person. ‘do-nots’ for a person or organization should be according to self-standards not according to others!

Such shows should be continued and no way ‘stopped’ but they should definitely be ‘controlled’ as excess of everything is bad!

Apologize, Forgive and Smile!

Mannerism and etiquettes have always been the defining feature of us ‘humans’ and the reason that we think and can differ between right and wrong dictates us our values.I remember bouncing into many people while rushing towards my class in university and even though my immediate reaction used to be “Sorry!” but I seldom got a: “Its OK” or “no problem” in response. The problem in our society when you apologize is that people assume that you have done something wrong which makes you guilty and apologize in return. This thinking is most probably due to the fact that ‘apologizing’ is not a common practice and hence when some one does apologize he/she might get a deep glare in return rather than few nice words! This reaction is not just seen in minor incidents but also in bigger issues of life. If this habit of forgiving gains roots then this would not just merely be general mannerism but it would change our attitudes for good. I think that every apology should be followed by forgiveness. An apology should not always be treated as a confession! It could be a gesture as well! An effort from someone to make you happy and the positive side goes on.

The little issue with forgiving is that we do forgive but we don’t forget because we don’t want to forget. Some hard core freak in us keeps us reminding that such and such happening must ‘not’ be forgotten and that simply means that we had not forgiven in the first place! All we need to do is to tell this hard core freak that this can and should be forgotten. This does not in any way mean that you should forget the lesson you learn from someone’s behavior but this is about how to think and minimize grudges, as they say that “a grudge is the heaviest thing you carry around”!

All that is said about apology was only when some one does apologize! Interestingly most of us feel really bad about apologizing and we find it extremely difficult to admit that “yes, I was wrong” This is the outcome of extremely rational and mature behavior that one has the courage to admit that he was wrong. Such brave people are bound to improve as improvement begins from realization.

Many philosophers and thinkers have been thinking about happiness, how to be happy or satisfied in a complicated world today. To me happiness lies in simplicity, the simplicity in you, your thoughts and conduct. Sometimes we complicate the things and situations around us unnecessarily. We are inherent to go for a complicated approach where a simpler one would fit in better. This simplicity would cause us to thank, forgive then forget, apologize and consequently smile!

Lessons from Egypt

The egyptian nation came out of the 18 days long struggle victorious when on 11^th feb 2011 President Hosni Mubarak Steped down.

This was a moment of pride for us muslims that a Muslim country had shown so much discipline and character and remained steadfast to achieve their rights.

Those moments in Tahrir Square were simply not explainable when the news about the ouster broke, Thoug at first the televised address by Mubarak  a day earlier greatly shattered the spirits of the people and ignited their wrath but later on their efforts did pay off.  All of the noteable international television channels kept airing the celebrations live.

The few very impressive aspects, as I have noticed, of this struggle are worth mentioning:

 Conceived and Led by the Youth: The youth had came forward and using the internet and technology gadgets led this movement in a very organized manner. The most important factor behind the success of this movement was the ‘vision’ of the youngsters which was really clear and they knew they were fighting for their own rights and they used all possibles means to do so and turn up with a massive movement.  A youth when questioned that what did the president do which brought the nation  to protest, In response to this he said: Its not about what he did its about what he did not do and should have done!

Peaceful protest:The protestors showed their class and showed that they valued their people and their asssets and remained very disciplined and peaceful.  This was again due to the clarity of their vision they knew their objective was not to spread violence and unrest but to get their rights.  This vision led them to success.

Army/Police remained neutral:This was acknowledged by a protestor while talking to BBC news amid the celebrations.This is the right thing that the law enforcement of any country should do when people are protesting, they should just strive to maintain peace. The youngster was kean to go back to his friends a become a part of the celebrations but the host managed a few minutes of attention  from him. He said that the army remained neutral and was out there just to maintain law and order.  He also added that this was a people’s struggle not particular of any faith but of the nation.  

Islamabad painted Autumn!

Natural beauty is normally associated with greenery and water, but nature knows how to play with Autumn colors and re-create the green scene. When natures paints Islamabad Autumn, the photographer in you wakes up! The shades and hues of Autumn create such a beautiful effect that everyone is bound to notice the scenic beauty.
A few captures follow

Nature's art beautifully shaping the branches of the tree

Its lovely walking on roads carpeted with dried leaves

The hues of Autumn on an otherwise green tree

The beauty of a tree does not die if it loses its greenery

Thinking about the poor and the plenty

        There still are people who think beyond their personal wishes and goals, and such an example that captures your attention is seen in the sector F-6 in Islamabad.

        This person Mohammad Ayub runs and teaches in an open air school. He runs a roofless school amid lavishly done pieces of architecture in the posh sector of Islamabad. Children from a katchi abadi nearby benefit from his free school.

        This unique school one of its kind has a history of 26 years! It all started when Ayub offered two children in supermarket to teach. These young boys were cleaning cars.

        Mohammad Ayub born in Bhera near Sargodha, studied in Mandi Bahaudin’s degree college till FA. Later on he did a teaching course and left studies incomplete when he was a student of Allama Iqbal Open University. He probably is more ‘educated’ than many of the degree holders who pass put from well known universities of our country!

        Initially Ayub was the only teacher here but later on as many of his students graduated they also started to join the noble cause. Now this school has almost 330 students.

        Most of the children are taught between 3-5 PM and later on Students of 9^th and 10^th class arrive and Ayub reaches home around 11PM. His ‘home’ is a store in his office in secretariat where he works during the day and earns Rs.9500.

        This school continues to operate in open air even in Chilly weather as of now, There is an offer for a bigger place for which he needs Rs. 150,000 out of which Rs. 25,000 have been paid by him.

         There is lots to be learned from this example for everyone especially for students who complain about their institution and teachers who complain about their wages, we should also stop complaining and start doing! As our efforts can change the lives of the deprived and underprivileged whose sufferings never seem to end but are equally human.

        Even if we can’t be like Ayub still we can be amongst those who support his cause and help him out.

Location: Street 9; F-6/3 Islamabad (Near Hill Road)

The 'Person' today

Society consists of interconnected interacting individuals. There is a wide array of the reasons of interconnection, and not talk about the ever increasing modes of interaction with the passage of time.

Technology has empowered this ‘individual’ to his full and the person today is not what he was a decade back. Despite the intentions behind technological advancements is not concerned with the betterment of mankind but is a result of ever increasing competition and race to be ahead or to leave others behind. This empowerment comes through media, communication technology and internet. So let’s have a detailed look at what this empowerment means and how it can be beneficial.

One is more connected through ever increasing options of communications. You can virtually meet your relatives living abroad through a variety of free software through which you can talk to and see the person at the other end without having to pay for it. All you have to pay for is the internet! Moreover telecommunication is becoming more and more affordable. Telecom companies offer competitive packages and deals for their customers.   

Being connected the person today is more informed about what is happening around him. Information and news reaches each and every individual through media, internet and most interestingly text messages. Many news channels now provide the facility to get important news through messages. Apart from news information is the cheapest commodity today, though validation of information is slightly an issue for researchers. Name the topic and you can get plenty of information and opinions within a few clicks.  Despite the fact, that media has its own agenda and follows its own vested interests, it definitely has encouraged people to think and speak.

Short messaging is gradually emerging as a phenomenon and many a time one comes across very though provoking and meaningful messages, which in turn helps to initiate a thought process within an individual. Many important issues regarding society, religion, governance and so on are raised by these messages, so much so that our interior minister had to take note of it!

                People are more opinionated today, a decade back most of us either knew nothing about something or even if we knew, the meaning was never clear. But today a person likes to have an opinion; the availability of information urges the person to think. We can scan through a variety of different opinions and thoughts presented by people. But there arises another implication that once you have an opinion some thinking then our feelings require to be conveyed and the person wants to be ‘heard’. Most importantly media represents clash of opinions, which is something really vital to make a person think about his surrounding and circumstances.

An individual is ‘being heard’ today, if you have feelings or thoughts then there are plenty many exhausts, text it to your friends in bulk and the message would definitely reach many people easily and if you want to go global then facebook, twitter, MySpace are always there. Sharing is so easy and flexible now, thanks to the internet. Post your thoughts as your status message, a note, a tweet or start a new group on facebook, start a blog and you will get response and more insight from what others think and perceive. Plus media has taught people that they should and can protest and they will get exposure, though media has its own agenda and goals but still it has taught people to think, and speak for their rights. That is why we see on television people protesting and presenting their demands. Now the maturity to protest peacefully would come of time. The first step was learning to protest and the next hopefully would be learning how to protest, because if not in the correct way the protest won’t get you anywhere!

Now the utilization of this empowerment is left to the individual himself, either the individual chooses to capitalize the opportunity or leaves it unnoticed! This rosy part of the picture also has another side, the side we should be aware of.

Today we are more exposed than we were ever before, intelligence agencies, or other government organizations can turn to social networking web sites to gather information besides the security loopholes these websites pose. Privacy policies of social networking websites are continuously revised, most users are not aware of this, so users should continuously review them. Social trends and mindsets can be clearly seen from these websites. So, one should be very careful before making your information public.

People can now pretend more, that web gives a person undue anonymity and one should not take unjustified advantage from this anonymity. A person can pretend more in this age and can pretend to be any one anywhere and fool others. It is a nice practice to comment on Blogs etc with your real name. If you have something to say you should be able to say it from your true identity.

Besides pretention one can be miss-understood more, your tone can never be clear in the text you write,  that is why an ‘n’ has been added to etiquettes and a new term has been evolved called:  netiquettes. Briefly it tells how to make your tone clear in your text like using emoticons, avoiding upper case text (it would be taken as shouting!)  And so on.

Gradually we are becoming more and more impatient and intolerant. We unintentionally demand mechanic precision and accuracy from people as well! And want the speed and authority that only a machine can give!  Furthermore people are becoming more anti social; the need for social interaction is reducing as a new mode of so called social interaction is emerging, the interaction through social networking sites, which is to the detriment of our social existence.

Now the person should learn to fight with the drawbacks and exploit the advantages of present age on him.