Thirst of a life

~It’s the coffin I am in~
~Every nail in it taking my breath~
~Darkness has overcome my sight~
~I was but now I am no more alive~
~running blood, sewn needle~
~and the touch of the burnt coal~
~It’s the part of the death~
~or the conscious of my soul~
~a rope is wrapping along my feet~
~every sting of it drowning my beat~
~it’s a venom or a bite of a snake~
~nothing lesser than the nibble of a hake~
~shrugging my shoulder, moving my toes~
~raising my wrapped feet~
~just a failed try or unable to feel the heat~
~loosened my feet, numbed my senses, closed my eyes~
~for running away from death, for the thirst of a life~

My condition is not better than the person, counting his last breaths on his death bed. Yes, I am a Pakistani and I have a thirst of life. Sitting in the nook, evaluating myself, assessing entire 23 years, counting gains, subtracting profit and what I am left with is the turnover of the last couple of years.  

Let’s end this identification problems phase here and get into the accountability phase. Who is responsible for this? Pakistan? Obviously, not. Strategically marked land on the map of world has got nothing to do with it. It doesn’t even know what is being done to its resources and ornaments which were once a part of it. Who else is responsible for this? Circumstances and surroundings? Yes, they are responsible for this. We are into the accountability phase today. Let me ask myself. Who has created these circumstances where I am feeling myself lying on the death bed? Who has created this surrounding when my hands are tied up that I cannot move an inch to refrain myself from the stings of other creatures? Who has created this atmosphere where I am unable to run away from death and all what I am striving for is to quench my thirst of life? It’s me. It’s no one else but it’s me.

I call myself a Pakistani, I celebrate green day with zest and enthusiasm but then for the rest of the year I consider myself belonging to one of the provinces of Pakistan. I support the people of my cast and creed. I give my prop to the political party of my language no matter how asinine they have proved themselves in the past and how much I myself have suffered in their own era. I fight for the division of my own province where I have not got my due rights and I am not ready to accept the existence of other casts too. In order to gain people’s attention, I portray myself more religious in the month of Ramadan. I lie, sometimes to my own self as well, but when it comes to giving sadka and Khairat, I pay heavy amount. Have-nots around me pray for my long life but at the same time my siblings are unhappy with me for not giving them due rights in our forefather’s property. I love dramas and media of my country knows how to make most of it. I regularly see Astaghfar shows in Ramadan and would proudly be the part of the protest against them. In order to avoid standing in the long queue for paying utility bills, I pay an extra amount to some peon. I don’t pay tax until or unless administration of my society sends me warning letter twice. Trash can is too far away from my house so I prefer throwing garbage to my neighbor’s door step. My child got sick and could not appear in SSC’s exam but due to my influence and sources, he secured 85%. I have got job with GPA of 2.7 because the CEO of the company was my dad’s fellow. I cannot abide by the rules and regulations of driving in my country but I don’t forget to wear seat belts whenever I drive in abroad. Last but not the least, my competitor will always be the most corrupted guy and I won’t miss any chance of creating conspiracies against him.

That’s me and I still believe that Pakistan has given me nothing. It’s the accountability day today. I am asking myself, what have I given to Pakistan? It’s not me who is lying in coffin. It is Pakistan who is striving for the thirst of life. 

Linguistically Divided Youth

Khatam kerdo mayosi or sab nafraten dil se

Dil rab ka ghar he, aastanae iblees nahi

Somebody asked me to define Pakistani youth, I got fumbled with the tornado of the variety of delineations that arose in my mind and then I realized these are basically not the definitions but the demarcations which have torn the nation into pieces.

Rest of the article might repel you from reading my next write ups but I penned down what I see as hurdle in the success of youth.

Pakistan ka matlab kya La Ilaha Ilalha.

The entire slogan was enough to define the ideology of Pakistan which was based on nothing but to provide one platform to the Muslims. However, tactlessly that one platform has been divided into many on the provincial rather linguistic basis.

I agree that it was legitimate to divide Pakistan into provinces and then injustice happened to almost all those provinces. I coincide that due to biased and arrogant ruling strategy of our rulers, massive anarchy which took place time by time in almost all parts of the country, ended up taking lives of many and created a feeling of hatred in the citizens. I also agree that few provinces could not get their due rights which they actually deserved. But, for the time being, if we widen our vision and imprecise our patience, we would realize that this linguistic discrimination has given us an inoperable slash which has consequently become a benign tumor.

The obstacle, hindrance and torture which our forefathers endured have inculcated this perception into our youth that the only cure left is to take the revenge and ask for the separate province and as a result, now, students in universities and colleges raise slogans and call names to the other provinces, riots get broken out and even students, belonging to different races, are not permitted to attend classes and this ban is implicated not by the administration but from different political parties. In retort of which, commencement of hostility occurs from the opposite race too and this consequently gives us nothing but boycotts of classes and strikes. I am not pointing towards any particular race, cast or creed but if we look at the bigger picture of the aftermath then this is not affecting our forefathers or ancestors who have already lived their lives, this is not affecting our leaders whose motto is nothing but to steal money from Pakistan and transfer it to their swiss accounts. This is affecting the youth of Pakistan i.e. us.

The above shown image is extracted from social networking website. It was found in the first search. This is our representation on the international platform. Any non-Pakistani, visiting this page, would not blame Sindhi, Balochi, Pathani or Pujabi but Pakistani and he is far better than us in a sense that at least he is the person who is taking as entirely one nation.
Have you ever heard about languages of different states of America, forms of Chinese being spoken in China, linguistic riots being broken out in new york or anyone in England asked for a separate county?

We all know the answers within ourselves. He calls himself Sindhi in school, his domicile declares him Punjabi, his accent proves him Pathan and he carries himself in the attrie of Balochi. Who is Pakistani here? It is forlorn to write but I, being the youth of Pakistan, don’t call myself Pakistani and my generation won’t even remember the name of Pakistan. 

Youth and Education

Some of the bacteria lurked into my throat, incurred cell growth, worsened my immune system and irrevocably left me with no voice. This is the present condition of the youth of Pakistan. Today’s headline which concocted my mind to blog on the youth was ‘Students manhandled teachers when they refrained them from cheating’.

The sixteen years of my education have apprehended this fact to me that the youth of Pakistan is divided into two sects. The factor which makes them fall into two distinctive categories is nothing but the education standard, rather different hues of education prevailing in the current era. Here, the catastrophe is Pakistan doesn’t have its own specified education criteria. Education in the primary and secondary level is either Cambridge system or the Pakistan board system which is further divided on provincial levels. Fortunately or unfortunately, I have been a part of both. Moreover, my secondary school used to offer two board exams simultaneously, Punjab and Sindh, so somehow I have seen the difference densely. It is very remorseful to write here and I won’t prefer any non-Pakistani to read this blog but Pakistan boards have given us nothing but cramming and cheating. This is the consequence of the malfunction of Pakistani education system that students end up hustling and jostling their invigilators if they are not allowed to cheat. Here, the point of concern is what forces them to do this? Obviously, they are neither being taught this nor it is present in Pakistani curriculum. Ask any question to a student from Cambridge board, he would give answers and would justify his answer with logics and reasons. On the other hand, if you would ask same thing to someone from Pakistan board, his instant reply would be, Oh! We have not been taught this or this is out of our syllabus. 

Now, if we go to the university level, the criterion of admission in every university is different. Few universities have quota system due to which students with the urban domicile have to face tough competition for the entrance exam and many of them loose their seats albeit they score higher than the students from rural areas. Political influence in few renowned universities has made the education system worse. Sometimes, studying in such universities make you feel that pariah system is still a part of the sub-continent and nothing has changed in these 65 years when you hear linguistic riots broken out in the domes.

Just after the university, practical life becomes much more biased for more than half of the students. Graduates from few top burger universities of Pakistan get jobs as the pieces of cakes and rest of the students spend their days and nights stipulating in front of companies and industries to hire them. This sounds funny but these are the students who take IELTS and GRE exams, get scholarships, go abroad, serve other nations and when they are questioned for not being in Pakistan, their reaction is, ‘Pakistan mein rakha kya he’. I, sometimes, but this is just sometimes, consider their stance to be justified.

I am not here to identify the different standards of education but at this stage I am more concerned about what we actually have now and what these different fonts have given us. Neither the entire write up points toward the flaws of the youth nor does it say that whatever happens is due to teachers or the courseware being taught in Pakistan board. The problem is with the system and the woeful truth is that we are the ones who have made this system, we are the ones who have let the system prevail and affect our youth and we are the ones who are left with no voice and gesture to stand against it. 

Sometimes, at the back of my mind.

Finally, it is 6 now. I know nobody was there to wake me up in the morning today. I still remember myself as brat when making me go to school was the toughest task I used to give to my dad. School, college, university and now work, I was a grown up guy now but sometimes growing up doesn’t mean you are mature but no I guess it does. It actually reveals certain realities and bitter facts of life which one could never understand being child. Yes, I was a child and I still wanted to be a child.

‘You are a sophomore now and it’s the time when you should understand that life is a race divided into laps of time. You have been running for long but now laps are going to be difficult. Sometimes, you will have to sacrifice your needs and goals according to the twist and turns of the road. Sometimes, looking back will give you nothing but tickling anguish in your heart. Sometimes, betrayals, sarcasm and biased attitude will make your living obnoxious. Sometimes, fighting for the right cause will diminish your relations. Sometimes, you will be mocked for pleasure. Sometimes, for the sake of nothing, you will lose your loved ones. Sometimes, your own reflections will bother you. Sometimes you will look bizarre to your own self. Sometimes, your antics will be questioned. Sometimes, the tough time would deflect your faith. Sometimes, you will wait for a moment to feel a real giggle in your heart. Sometimes,’

Alarm tone grabbed me back to present. ‘Yes dad, sometimes, you look for the reason of your existence. Sometimes, you look for the right place for your soul and you find nothing but the silence of your inner’. I said it to myself, turned off the alarm clock and bucked myself up for the new time of that some of the times.

This Time for MUET TROLLS

Let’s take a paranormal tour to MUET TROLLS. 

Yes, having the name of my university, there are trolls. After spending couple of years in MUET, I have a secret conviction that I am being graduated from the place where nothing could be learnt without trolls. crossing IT building, visiting ITC’s, standing near the cart of makai wala pathan, buying ice cream at audi and yes how can I forget our oldie goldie brohi’s canteen, thus, no place is left where we could stand without cracking jokes, mugging our own friends, ragging our juniors, staring the hotties, whistling at our crushes and then fighting for mera wala, tera wala and meri wali, teri bhabi. And then our forefather’s ritual, BOYCOTTS, the most awaited moment by us where we could poke our teachers and give them the lolling gesture.

Wasn't that closed enough? :))


And then few, le derps, finally came up with the idea of MUET TROLLS, the social platform where we love to mock ourselves and pull many legs together publically. Our monsters, Mehran Khan and Faizan Mateen, oops sorry guys, our lovely admins of MUET TROLLS have made us realize conclusively that even we are Engineers, we hardly clear Calculus, Differential and NACA our biggest nightmares but we still have something special with us i.e. our sense of Humor. We laugh at others and then we laugh violently at our own selves. Yes, are Mehranians and yes we, all together, are the part of MUET TROLLS. 

TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION AND WE, THE BIO-MEDICAL ENGINEERS

Think, think again, think once again, and now create it. Yes, you are an engineer. Let’s reach the peak of it. I would not initiate my article by defining the intradisciplinary fields of Bio-Medical neither would I tell you that Bio-Medical merges medical and technology on one platform. I would not discuss an ongoing research in some renowned university of USA neither would I talk about the pioneers of this field. I am here just to make your vision more broad, make your sight more accurate and appropriate and make you look at the other side of this picture. Pioneers had done what they had to, scientists have resources, field has started and being studied but this is the time of brainstorming that what else can be done, what else can be performed and how the field can be more enhanced.

Technology and innovation are interrelated with each other. If you differentiate innovation, you derive technology and if you integrate technology, resultant will be innovation. It is since the beginning that Bio-Medical has the close relationship with technology and innovation. Thus, the core point of this article is to create an innovator among us. What is done, is being done, cannot be done again. Let’s try something new. Discuss your ideas and make them bright. Find one inspiration and create your own. Study it and elaborate it with your own ways. Grasp the thoughts, conceive the plans and highlight them. Indulge yourself in research and revolutionize them. Thus, dream up and make up, think of it and do it.

This field is not about studying theory and cramming syllabus. To understand the technique and generate your own logic is the theme of this field. To uplift your ideas, originate something new and to create your own identity is the motto of this field. So let’s join our hands together and welcome each other in the world of technology, in the sea of ideas and in the jumble of innovation. Let’s begin our day with the conception and let’s end it by accomplishing it. Let’s be the technical, let’s be the innovator and let’s be the part of Bio-Medical world. Good luck J

Democracy

Few days back, I came across the website “Right To Information”.  It’s an Indian organization whose vision and objective is to create awareness in the people about their basic rights. Their concept made me flabbergasted about the question rose in my mind that is our nation really unaware about its own rights? My mind said no but my conscience bowed down in front of their idea.

This is very unfortunate with the two biggest countries of the largest continent that they are being deceived with the name of being democratic. The word democracy, sometimes, put me in bittersweet state. Is this a democracy that I cannot go to my school in the days of boycott or when strike is called? Do I live in democratic country where my urdu speaking fellow is being persecuted in the hands of sindhi fellow or vice versa? Do we really call it democracy where people are being killed brutally and then left in the baggage at trash? Is this the value of democracy that extortionists have spread terror all over the city?  What is the use of that democracy that even after having one of the largest army in the world, we cannot control the law and order situation in the city and deweaponize the country? Is this a democratic country where inflation is created on wheat, rice and sugar to make more profit by exporting them? If swearing upon Quran, blaming an individual or one political party for the created fuss and expressing truths while using slangs and abusive language shows democracy and if the person in the drunken state, sings burkay mein rehnay do while dancing and calls himself the leader of peace and democracy then it is better to live in autocracy than being the citizen of democratic third world country. You might not agree with my conclusion but I, like many of the Pakistanis, am in the dilemma about where are we going and where is our country heading us towards? 

This blog is not about democracy v/s autocracy but what actually forced me to type these words here is the thought, prevailing in my mind since last few days that the above mentioned acts of these so called leaders do not represent democracy but some Mohalla type politics and we are trapped in it. Their politics in the guise of democracy, is ailing rather snatching our rights of living. I cannot blame Pakistan specifically for that because it is also accompanied by its neighbor in this race but the acceptance of Lokpal Bill and the promotion of many organizations like Right to Information have showed that it is running to counteract the adverse effect of so called democracy. It’s the time to modify our vision about politics. We have to realize that democracy is far beyond of what actually showed to us on press conferences and addresses. Thus, it cannot be achieved by singing a song of calling your country democratic.

Reflection

This blog is all about the inspirations we take in our daily lives. Reflection and inspiration play the vital role in setting up our moral, social and religious values. Reflection is the image and the Perception is to take inspiration from that image. However, sometimes, these are our inspirations which take us towards the downfall.

We all have grown up while answering this question very often, Who do you fancy? Most common replies are: my parents, some religious scholar or any of our national heroes. We take inspirations from their lives to set our lives according to them but at that time we actually neglect the authenticity of those reflections.

The world we see now and the world they lived in past, prevailed in very different circumstances. They had fresh food to eat and we rely on tin packed frozen items. They were brought up in the era where politicians were the leaders. They saw the film stage as the world of fantasy but we are seeing bitter truths being performed as dramas. Moreover, they just heard about the natural calamities but we are in the time where those calamities are being revealed. Thus, taking inspiration from their lives is nothing but insanity. On the other hand, the authenticity of their righteousness is always in doubt.

Till the 16^th century, the Muslim world was progressing well and Islam was the fastest embracing religion. However, the advent of 17^th century, besides modernizing our lives, took us away from our inspirations. Being muslims, those inspirations were nothing but Quran and Hadiths. These are the two most important and authentic sources of Islamic laws. From the birth till the day of judgment, they comprised all the problems which a person could come across. Ijma, Qiyas and Ijtihad were the supportive sources for the exceptional cases. But industrialization, weaponization and modernization also modified our point of views and today we have arrived at the stage where these sources are sitting at the back seats and considering some renowned scholar leads the religious sources.

Thus, we all have to realize that our sources are not authentic, our reflections are wrong and if our reflections are wrong, how our perceptions can be right? And if our perceptions are not right, our lives have no meaning in this world and even in the world hereafter.

Standing for the cause.

The other day I was going through some foreigner’s analysis report on the current anarchy in the country. Usually I don’t like any non-Pakistani commenting or giving his opinions about Pakistan but his conclusion was apposite. According to him, the problem with Pakistani nation was not religious or social but psychic.

It’s not easy to call a complete nation psycho but if we start analyzing our attitude from the very first day, we would agree with his statement. We have always supported the leader of our own race no matter how asinine he is. It is flabbergasted to realize that we gave votes to the party who had already lost its leadership. We thought we are paying back the prize of its leader’s life but we were actually selling our country in the hands of culprits. We were happy on the coalition of different political parties and on the formation of mutual government but in real we actually love dramas and our ruling party was making most of it. We were contented on the restoration of judiciary without realizing that they have set the biggest example of protest, riots and looting in the history of Pakistan and at present the same judiciary is lost somewhere. They have not come at the front at the present deteriorated law and order situation. But why would anynody do that? Why would anybody unite the racially divided nation?

We, as Pakistani nation, occur in different clusters. We believe in blind love and promises which shatter us. We, at the end of the day, shoot off our own mouth for the same person who once deceived us.  And, yes we don’t have the courage to stand for the right cause. We don’t have the power to save our neighbor from being killed brutally or to protest for him. We don’t have strength to name the real mischief-mockers even when we are persecuted at their hands. We deny the truth that we actually act as puppets and our strings are not even in the hands of our beloved leaders but controlled by the ones for whom we are actually terrorists. They are the real puppeteers as they exactly know how to dramatize our lives.

This is the stage at which we have to realize that the act of revolution cannot be performed, it has to be created and this would not be done by any leader or the political party but should be accomplished by us. We all have to play our own role individually. We have to create guts in ourselves to call right in front of the right and wrong in front of the wrong. Yes, this is the time when we all have to stand up collectively and united for the cause and that cause should not be other than PAKISTAN.

Its just about your BELIEF.

This article doesn’t mean to renounce anybody’s belief nor does it point towards any particular race, cast, creed or religion. It is apropos to my teacher’s article “Be a Universal person”. I think we all should be a universal person especially when we all believe in a God who is Universal.

The group of monks in Bangkok collectively prayed in their temple for the eradication of water which was rising from the sea and which could have taken the city with itself. Their prayers were answered and finally the sea level stopped rising. Now the question is who was the God that answered the prayers of those monks? If He would have been the God of other religion, I am sure the payers of the monks, would have not been answered but they were. He is the God of entire mankind. I call him Allah, he calls him Jesus, she calls him Bhagwan and so on.

Similarly, all the pandits of India were gathered together to pray for Indian team in semi-final of the cricket world cup 2011. On the contrary, all the Muslim’s molvis jointly prayed for Pakistani team. The special prayers also took place in several mosques but at the end of the day, India won. It doesn’t mean that God was in their favor and it also doesn’t mean that their religion is only right. It just means that their prayers were stronger than our prayers, the fate supported them and they finally made most of it.

Thus, the matter of fact is, it’s just about one’s beliefs. It’s about the strength of the faith one has on the God. The God is same for everyone. He answers everyone but at the same time He sees one’s devotion and intention towards him and all these things come from firm belief. He is my God and at the same time he is the God of my neighbor. He answers me and at the same time he will also answer the one who will call Him with all his beliefs, no matter what name he gives Him after all he is the universal GOD.

Engineers at my School.

Being a final year student I am no more curious to know why students do not come up with some innovation in final year project. Now I am just anxiously in search of the answer of question who is responsible for it, whether its teachers or students?

I was sitting with one of my teachers whom I have friendly terms with. One of my class fellows came and discussed his idea of final project. His idea was new and different but when teacher asked him how is he going to make this project, his reply was surprising “Don’t worry, I will buy it”. It’s good to know that projects are also available for sale. It is also good to know that when students are asked to show their approach towards their study and when they can come up with their own ideas, they actually buy ideas. These are our future ENGINEERS.

My own final year project’s idea was to combine working principle of two different machines into one. The idea was wholly solely conceived by me and I actually wanted to work on it. I visited my head of department to approve the project. His reply was “your idea is good but its better if you work on any equipment which is available here in school so that our teachers would be able to guide you as well. You are at the early stage of engineering, research cannot be done at this stage. Your hypothesis will not be accepted. It’s good to know that teachers at my school are still not ready to face challenges. They cannot go for the study which is new for them. It’s also good to know that those teachers are actually ENGINEERS. 

City is set on fire.

The current situation of Pakistan is not hidden from anyone. Punjab and Sindh are under the burden of scarcity. On the other hand Khyber pakhtunkhuan is still facing the outcomes of drone attacks. They don’t even have enough time to get settled from last attack that they are being attacked again. Balochistan is no more the part of us. Our Balochi brothers, especially the current generation of Balochistan, do not even recognize us as their neighbors.
let’s talk about Karachi now. The city of light is being transformed accurately into the city of Blood. The current anarchy in the city makes us ambiguous about the meaning of peace which used to be the part of Karachi in past. Karachi has seen someone, saying goodbye to his family in the morning as if he would not see them again. Karachi has seen a guy being killed brutally by rangers. It has also seen him bagging at the name of God for the life but not even the footage maker did anything. Karachi has seen the mothers of many crying for their sons when its just their dead bodies which come back home.  Not even the holy month of peace, the reconciliation between political parties and imposition of comissionary system have made a big difference. Karachi’s current situation is not different from Kashmir or gaza where people are being burnt alive and nobody is there to answer them. It is being proved from last night's incident when mini bus full of passengers was set on fire and which took the lives of many. It is difficult to conclude now whether mischief monkers are in the hands of Karachi or Karachi is in their hands. It is also difficult to say that whether fire is in the city or city is set on the fire. However; the karachities are struggling and would be struggling till their last breathe.