Aman ki Nirasha!

by Fahd Sadiq (Wednesday July 6, 2010)
1947: It was a split. Split of cultures, split of religion, split of relationships, split of races and split of ONE nation. The races which had been living with each other from centuries; faced various enemies, friends and foes together.

From that day every Pakistani on our end and every Hindustani on the other end of the wires had been anticipating a treaty or reconciliation so that the borders may open. But if you pick up the history and see that whenever any bold step is being taken from any of the sides of the border, something somewhere goes all wrong and we are back to square one. The seedling for this rift was sowed in the very start with the "Kashmir Issue". And then they sleep for a while...

"Aye puttar hattan tey nai wikday"
"Aye watan kay sajeelay jawanoun"
"Sohni dharti allah rakhay"
"Aye rah-e-haq key shaheedo"

I wish I could translate them all into English for those who cannot understand it but my limited English vocabulary couldn't do any justice to any of these sentiments even after trying a lot. These were those melodies that boosted the moral of the nation and of the jawans of Pak army.

1965: We were told as per our text books that Pakistani army gave a nice slap back to Indian foot soldiers as well as their air attacks so much so that it gave them a sour tooth. We still get to see the plane of MM Alam every time we pass by Town Hall Mall Road, Lahore. A very well known road is named after him as well, now considered to be the most happening road of Lahore. In other words you can call it the Times Square of Lahore.

A peace treaty was worked out when UN called the cease fire and the armies had to step back. The process of reconciliation was so slow and tedious that it never turned out to be fruitful and brought no relief or benefit to the common man. And they slept again for a while till the next engagement…

1971: Yet again, when the things were getting a little mature we had to face a second battle, which was geologically very tough for the country. The divide was inevitable and it was kept in mind during the time of "split". Half the country was surrendered by armed soldiers, major revenue generating industry lost and 90,000 POWs were held by India, a feat yet to be matched.

Blame was conveniently placed on the civilian government and off they returned to the good old sleep...

Kargil: I need not to say anything about this incident, I believe the intentions and background of this war was pretty much obvious to both the countries but they did go for a war. The funniest part was that the Prime minister who was elected with 2/3 majority was unaware of the forces moving to the borders and had no idea of what the plan of action was, or at least that's what he claims. They retreated, bearing huge financial and human loss. They blamed everything on the civilian government and then they went to sleep.

9/11: The world changed after the towers fell, and we played along. They woke up for a while because they just had the powers and a lot of money was obviously coming in to track down the criminals who were responsible for the ground zero. They collected everything, and did nothing, until we come to the point where: Imagine a mosque which became a fortress carrying enough amounts of arms and ammunition that it fought back with them for almost a week. And that happened right under the nose of ISI (which is one of the top five intelligence agencies of the world) headquarters. Eventually they gave in everything and went to sleep again in 2008.

Which actually they didn’t, just like it had been happening before, they were forced to resign. They were just not ready for downing another C130.

Bombay Attacks: We were about to sign a treaty with India when Mr. Ajmal Kasab surfaced and the treaty got canceled and all the progress that was made for friendly talks and a level playing field got ruined and we were back to square one_ in fact the equation got completely unbalanced with India having the upper hand now more than ever.

There is talk of peace talks again. Let’s see what adventures are in store this time around. I am sure everyone’s aware of all these incidents and probably has more information than I do, but my point here is not to remind you of all these incidents. It is something else.

I will construct an analogy over here to make my point clear.

As we study in marketing that we have to make our client believe that they are in deep shit and only "We" can take them out of it with a small price tag attached. They agree to it. Similarly last time when I went to my car mechanic, my car had broken down due to some problem in its generator. But when I was coming out of the mechanic's shop I had gotten the generator, a timing belt, a fan belt, accelerator wire and wiper rubber changed. He sold me all that, and due to my ignorance I could not argue with him over the problems he was showing me.

We have been told that India is our worst enemy amongst all. We have been told that Indians are the ones whom we could never live happily with. We have been told that our fauji jawaans had fought so bloody well against them since 1947 and that is the only reason India has not yet been able to conquer Pakistan.

Do you know how much is the population of India? Do you even know what are the economical and political crisis they are going through? Do you even know what is happening in the south of India where the Government is taking over land for various mining and dam construction projects? Local tribes are being left homeless and they are surviving by fighting back with the local police and they are almost in the state of civil war in certain areas. India is a population of 1 billion or may be more. You know if they have to conquer Pakistan they don’t even need an army. All they have to do is collectively start walking towards Pakistan and no nukes can do shit about it.

Come on, wake up. THEY DO NOT WANT to take over a land which is full of terrorists. Where there is a terrorist training camp in every couple of miles. A country on which the whole world is keeping a watch; it being a breeding ground of terrorism. A country whose economy is almost NILL.

So all this is just the bug of your own brain and this seedling of hatred was planted in our mindset since the day this country came to be. Along with the azaan, we are told to show hatred to Indians when we are born. Why?

Let me tell you. This happens only to keep 85% of the country's budget in the pockets of our Military and Establishment. Basic rule of management is to create a problem and become a problem solver, and there you go. Just like my mechanic did to me. Just like we all do in our everyday life, one way or the other. It’s just that this particular picture is so big and vast that we will have to move a couple of steps back and take a look at the bigger picture. It is crystal clear, and all the incidents that I have mentioned earlier might have other reasons but I am sure one way or the other they are part of this bigger conspiracy.

I am not saying it’s happening only from our end, but unfortunately we can only fix our end, and leave the rest unto them. Don't think whether who is doing more and who is doing less. At least the people on the other side of the wires are sensible enough to never let their military take decisions of the nation. And probably that is one of the major reasons they are decades ahead of us in terms of technology and education.

We will have to take a step. We will have to go one step ahead. If we can do this much with 15 percent of our budget, imagine what we could do with 25 percent, with 50 percent, with 75 percent? None of which has been accounted for ever!

Now whether it is Aman ki ASHA or NIRASHA... Saving me from The Mechanic is definitely my own duty. Not yours, nor my neighbor's.

Are we Numb?

Yesterday I posted a video upon ‘sex slavery’ on my facebook profile and shared it with everyone on my list. That video actually shocked me so much that upon getting no response from anyone I was forced to write this. I was so touched that I actually made pleas to people to watch it.

From the name of it, it sounds quite interesting and I felt that many people will at the least watch it once and share their feelings or the clipping itself. But I got quite upset when I got no reply/response on it. Comments on my posts were never important for me, at least if that message was shared further, it would have served my purpose.

I am sure if I had posted a nasty video of some stupid Pakistani film actress trying to talk in English, it would have gotten a lot of hits, because it didn’t demand any action from us.

If I had posted a video where a generous anchor over a talk show is banging the hell out of a government minister, it would have gotten a lot of hits, because it didn’t demand any action from us. As we usually get away with the excuse that the issue in discussion is not ‘our’ responsibility.

If I had posted a video of an “Angrez” doing some life risking stunts, it would have gotten a lot of hits, because it didn’t demand any action from us.

But sadly I just got ‘one’ comment and NO further sharing of the video, and I will not be judgmental and would like to give the benefit of doubt that at least my facebook home didn’t give any indication that anyone on my list spread that video. From my past experience I can tell that when people did share, meera’s interview with Tapu javery was the only highlight upon my page.

Have we all gotten so numb? I think that was the only thing that the woman standing on the stage was asking for. Not the money, not the sympathies, but just a simple word of acceptance. Just a single line or may be just a little appreciation upon her achievement could have been a lot of support.

My question from the world is that, is it because we don’t support that woman that we are not showing any consent or is it that we actually have no guts to stand up for those kids and at least try giving them respect that they ‘deserve’? We will never accept but I think it is the later. I am not a poet or a written to make emotional pleas to convince people upon this, because that is not even required. If you didn’t feel it there in side yourself somewhere, there is no point of it then. My current writing is not done to support the cause that she is talking about. It is for you. It is probably the time where we need to re-evaluate ourselves. It is time when we all need to step out of ourselves. It is time when we start being more considerate about ‘anyone’ other then ourselves.

And it is never too late!

Dil dhondta hai phir wohi fursat ke raat din...

Dil Dhoondta, Hai Phir Wohi, Fursat Ke Raat Din
Baithe Rahen ,Tasavurey, Jaana Kiye Huey
Dil Dhoondta, Hai Phir Wohi

Ya Jaadhon Ki Narm Dhoop Aur, Aangan Mein Letkar,
Aankhon Se Kheench Kar Tere Aanchal Ke Saaye Ko,
Aundhe Padhe Rahe Kabhi ,Karwat Liye Huey
Dil Dhoondta Hai

Ya Barfili Sardiyon Mein, Kisi Bhi Pahad Par,
Vaadi Mein Gunjti Hui, Khaamoshiyan Soone
Aankhon Mein Bheege Bheege Se ,Lamhe Liye Huey
Dil Dhoondta Hai

The darkness of hopelessness grows

I see a lot of people rushing to their jobs/businesses early in the morning when I am rushing for mine. Half asleep, all dressed up holding a flask filled with hot tea or milk, making ways, finding shortcuts I reach my workplace every morning just to sign in before 9:10 because otherwise I will be marked late. Which I believe is not a good thing as per my management. I am sure most of you would agree with him. At times I do too.

Today I got late by one minute, although it’s not as bigger a sin as it would look like in my appraisal form after a year. But I still can live with it since I can always get away with the passport of “Creative People”. I had always drifted my life the way I wanted. So why shall I bother now when someone whom I don’t think the most genius person in this world is trying to impose certain rules upon me. Here I might look like a no fuss no muss kind of a person who doesn’t give shit about what rules are, or in other words as they say “rules are made to be broken” type of ideology. But when I think about it, including me and almost all the other people in my workplace as well as other workplaces which practices such idiotic rules, people do come on time, just to save their salaries. Who comes to work on time with this mindset that they are being paid for this time, and it’s their moral responsibility to be there on time. Now all of the sudden I might be sounding all different. You must be thinking this person is really fucked up in his head. I am probably. May be because I think a lot about these little matters, but I am kind of a person who interpolates bigger things from small actions. I might be wrong or too judgmental but that’s the way it is.

I am not one of the best writers so I have probably yet failed to draw your attention to the actual issue as yet. But that’s ok. Life is like that, we usually do not draw our attentions towards the actual issues until it’s too late. However we have gotten used to this process but is it really the way to be? Anyway, long story short, the reason of bringing myself to writing this was basically the whines and cribbing of people nowadays at the traffic hazards due to a lot of check posts in the city. Although I have never found these people out of issues to whine about, but this time around I found it quite ridiculous.

A couple of days ago, a suicide bomber came to stop at a check post right after getting off motorway and was entering the city. 3 policemen had to give their lives to stop this dude to enter the city and do some major destruction. When I am waiting in the queue of these check posts I am scared to shit that what if one of these cars around me has explosives, and upon the checking what if the car next to me explodes, I will be dead. Then just think about those who are checking not less than a hundred thousand cars everyday. They are standing right at the mouth of death. But what we do, we do no cooperate with them in the first place, and then later whine that due to them we are getting late for work. These policemen have nothing to do with these terrorists other than that they are trying to save our asses to be burned after their own.

It’s a small thing, and yes I am no one to interpret a failure of a nation from this, and I am not hopeless. But yeah the dark cloud is growing bigger and bigger everyday. Our insensitive nation which is so called very emotional is not worried about this at the moment. They are too busy finding flaws in the government. They are too busy cribbing. They are too busy finding materials against the government. But they will, they will one day. I won’t say that day is close. Because it is not, the way I see it, it will at least take two more generations to bring upon a substantial change in the human behaviors of this nation. It cannot come over night. It’s not possible. So I won’t be unfair in demanding all that NOW.

Now I can’t just get into the ways of finding solutions to this problem because there are many but ironically no one is willing to change, because we always believe that we are perfect and it’s only the rest who have problems.

It is my appeal or request or whatever you want to think about it, that please do cooperate with these people. They are risking their lives to save ours. I think the wait is worth it.

Magnifying Glass

I remember when i used to do this little magic of burning a piece of paper in sunlight using a magnifying glass. Imagine, it’s the same sunlight coming from the sun and spreading in our universe, but nothing is catching fire. But when we use a magnifying glass, and focus the light at one given point, it burns everything in its way.

So maybe we never focused. May be our attentions were dispersed and that is why none of the efforts had ever made a difference. As the famous saying goes, "What a human brain can think, can achieve". May be just the magnifying glass is missing.

A tribute to the Legendry Iqbal Bano

dasht-e-tanhaai mein, ai jaan-e-jahaan, larzaan hain
In the desert of my solitude, oh love of my life, quiver
teri avaaz ke saaye,
the shadows of your voice,
tere honthon ke saraab
the mirage of your lips

dasht-e-tanhaai mein,
In the desert of my solitude,
duri ke khas-o-khaak tale
beneath the dust and ashes of distance
khil rahe hain tere pehlu ke saman aur gulaab
bloom the jasmines and roses of your proximity

uht rahi hai kahin qurbat se
From somewhere very close,
teri saans ki aanch
rises the warmth of your breath
apani khushbuu mein sulagti hui
smouldering in its own aroma,
maddham maddham
slowly, bit by bit.

dur ufaq par chamakati hui
far away, across the horizon, glistens
qatra qatra
drop by drop
gir rahi hai teri dil daar nazar ki shabnam
the falling dew of your beguiling glance

is qadar pyaar se hai jaan-e jahaan rakkhaa hai
With such tenderness, O love of my life,
dil ke rukhsaar pe
on the cheek of my heart,
is vaqt teri yaad ne haath
has your memory placed its hand right now

yun guman hota hai
that it looks as if
garche hai abhi subah-e-firaaq
(though it's still the dawn of adieu)
dhal gaya hijr ka din
the sun of separation has set
aa bhi gaye vasl ki raat
and the night of union has arrived.

Iqbal Bano, was one of the most renowned and most acknowledged and personally my favorite semi classical singer of Pakistan. We lost another asset of Pakistani music, her contribution to the industry of music will always be cherished and remembered deep down in the core of our hearts. No matter how modern and technologically we grow we can never get back such artist of this stature. God has quit making such people as the world today probably does not deserve to have such gems, I wonder if my kids will ever be able to relate to this level of music in their lives. I guess not.

There are still a few of them left with us, like Madan Farida Khanum, Mehdi Hassan (Who is seriously very ill and needs a lot of our prayers) and a few more...

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r7pIisj5oI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvTxMSx8G-M&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5N9s8lI3a0&feature=related

What Wikipedia has to say about her:

Bano was brought up and raised in Rohtak,India. She was musically talented, with a sweet and appealing voice. From a young age, Bano developed a love for music. It was a crucial moment of her life when her friend's father came forward as a votary. He told her father, "My daughters do sing reasonably well, but Iqbal is blessed in singing. She will become a big name if you begin her training." Because of Bano's love of music and persuasion from others, her father allowed her to study music.

In Delhi, she studied under Ustad Chaand Khan of the Delhi Gharana, an expert in all kinds of pure classical and light classical forms of vocal music. He instructed her in pure classical music and light classical music within the framework of classical forms of thumri and dadra. She was duly initiated Gaandaabandh shagird of her Ustad. He forwarded her to All India Radio, Delhi, where she sang on the radio.

In 1952, a zamindaar from Pakistan married seventeen-year-old Iqbal Bano with a promise that he would never stop her music, but try to promote her. Her fulfilled his promise until his death in 1980. After her husband passed away, Bano moved to Garden Town, Lahore. It was observed that her temperament was particularly suited to vocal genres like thumri, dadra and ghazal.

Career

Iqbal Bano was invited by Radio Pakistan for performances, she being an accomplished artist. Her debut public concert was in 1957, at Lahore Arts Council, before an elite crowd. Music lovers feted her beyond imagination. With each recital, she generated more and more public appeal. She was considered a specialist in singing the works of Faiz Ahmed Faiz. She has given such musical relevance to the ghazals of Faiz, that Bano and Faiz are apparently inseparable in popular imagination. Because of Faiz's imprisonment and hatred of the Pakistani Government towards him, Bano roused a strong crowd of 50,000 people in Lahore by singing his passionate Urdu nazm, "Hum Dekhenge."

Iqbal Bano can sing Persian ghazals with the same fluency as Urdu. She is always applauded in Iran and Afghanistan for her Persian ghazals. The Iranians and Afghans thronged to her shows in large numbers to hear her ghazals in their mother tongue. Once she said in an interview, that she had a collection of 72 beautiful Persian ghazals. Before 1979, there was a festival of culture called Jashn-e-Kabul every year in Afghanistan. Iqbal Bano regularly received a warm invitation to this annual event. She was known for singing a new Persian ghazal each time she appeared. The King of Afghanistan liked her recital very much. Once, on such an occasion, the king was so pleased with her ghazals that he presented her with a golden vase in appreciation of her music.

Music lovers have noted some similarities between Bano and Begum Akhtar, especially some marked resemblances in their styles of singing. Iqbal Bano does not consider the contemporary ghazals as ghazals at all. Her recitals stick to the old classical style that lays more stress on the raag purity. Basically a ghazal singer, Iqbal Bano has also sung many memorable Pakistani film songs. She has provided soundtrack songs for famous Urdu films like Gumnaam (1954), Qatil (1955), Inteqaam (1955), Sarfarosh (1956), Ishq-e-Laila (1957), and Nagin (1959). She won the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Pride of Performance) medal in 1974 for her contributions to the world of Pakistani music.

Iqbal Bano passed away in Lahore after short illness on 21 April 2009.

Are we in denial about terrorism?

Friday, April 10, 2009
Shafqat Mahmood

A fundamental debate is on among the intelligentsia of our country regarding terrorism. The way it plays itself out will determine whether we win or lose. A consensus will help put all our energies towards winning. Discord or confusion will certainly lead to defeat.

One set, perhaps a majority, believes that we have no inherent problem of terrorism. It is only a reaction to American presence in Afghanistan. The attacks on our cities are explained away and sometimes condoned as a punishment for our support to the American war effort.

When confronted with evidence regarding presence of armed and dangerous foreigners in our tribal territory, the explanation is ingenious. They came here in the eighties, we are told, because the Pakistani government, with American help, invited them to fight the Soviets. After the Afghan war was over, meaning after the Taliban victory, they were living peacefully here until the Americans invaded Afghanistan.

The first part is true as far as Arabs are concerned. They indeed came here in the eighties motivated by jihad against the infidel Soviets. And they were facilitated by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence, which was managing the Afghan war on behalf of the Americans. But it is factually incorrect that they continued to live here peacefully after the Taliban took over Afghanistan.

Al Qaeda, whose members were living in FATA, had claimed responsibility for the attack on the American navy ship Cole in Yemen and on American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Osama bin Laden later also took credit for the 9/11 attacks in the United States. One of his accomplices, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, has confessed to his role and given details of how the attack was planned and carried out.

But no heed is paid to these accepted facts. The last part, particularly, is greeted with incredulity because, does not everyone know that 9/11 was an American intelligence operation launched with the help of the Israeli Mossad!

Leaving aside whether the Americans were attacked from Pakistani territory or not, the bare fact that these Arabs, Uzbeks, Chechens, Afghans and even Chinese Turks are illegal aliens in our country is of no concern to the "all because of America" cabal. Any activity on the part of the Pakistani government to apprehend these people is thus treated with ridicule and condemned.

Little note is taken, if indeed it registers, that "our best friends in the world," the Chinese, have formally complained to the government that their dissidents have established headquarters in FATA. Other countries, including many in Europe and the Middle East, have also expressed fears that attacks on their territory may emanate from here. President Obama has actually said as much.

This almost unanimous concern in the West and the United States is brushed aside and seen through a conspiracy lens. These people are out to get us because we are a nuclear power. They are creating circumstances, we are told, to invade and defang us. Remember, Baitullah Mehsud is their agent. We gave them his coordinates, yet he was not killed. Indeed, this entire insurgency in FATA has been engineered by the Americans aided by the Indians. The Indians, particularly, have a special role in training the Taliban. This Maulvi Fazalullah is probably working for them, and so on.

Let us believe that a part of what they say is correct. The Americans, the Europeans, the Indians and sundry others are indeed fearful of our nuclear power and would, if they could, take control of our nuclear assets. And let us also assume that to achieve this nefarious end they want to destabilise the country and create so much chaos that they have grounds to intervene.

The question is, why should we make it easier for them by allowing our territory to be used for terror attacks in their countries? Would our fears not become self-fulfilling prophecies if we continue to give our adversaries a cause to get angry with us?

One reason why we fail to reach a rational conclusion is that the security fears of other countries are not acknowledged by us, at all. If the 9/11 attacks are rubbished as a CIA/Mossad operation, then it follows that the London train attacks or the Spanish bombing in which hundreds died were also internal operations carried out by the British and Spanish intelligence agencies. In a similar vein, the person who tried to blow up airplanes in the sky, the Shoe Bomber, must also be an agent, and so also everyone else who has been plotting planning or carrying out terror operations in the West.

This line of thinking is not complete if the rationality behind the conspiracy is not explained. Why would the Americans and others kill their own citizens in hundreds and thousands and create so much fear? That pet answer is that they needed an enemy because none was left to fight after the end of the Cold War.

In other words, it is being said, that they have killed their own people in large numbers, emptied their treasuries fighting wars, created massive security apparatus at great public inconvenience, curtailed their citizens' liberties through intrusive surveillances and done much else only as a decoy to create Islam as an enemy.

The absurdity of this argument is not obvious to the "we are a target" crowd. The sad part is that even others who aware of the world and have no particular prejudice against the West, get taken in. Paranoia lurks in recesses of the brain and when problems or difficulties are not easy to explain, it takes charge. Collective paranoia is particularly dangerous because it leads to irrationality and fascism. It happened in Germany and Italy and Spain. Why should we consider ourselves immune?

One way to overcome irrational fears is to look within carefully and identify what we can do to make things better. The conspiracy cabal will however take issue with everything that is proposed. To the argument that no one should be able to use our territory to launch attacks outside, and that it is our duty to prevent them, there is no logical answer. Yet, this does not deter them from diverting the topic and saying how nasty and offensive others are.

If told that if our territory is used to launch attacks outside it is just as much a breach of our sovereignty as the American drone strikes, there is outrage. How can drone assaults be put in the same category as alleged terror attacks emanating from here. The fact is there is a huge blind spot when it comes to our own culpability. And this by well-meaning people who are not extremists. Those who believe in the Taliban version of a state actually applaud such attacks.

It is time that we as a nation open our eyes and understand what is happening. District by district our territory is being taken over by the extremist. It was FATA and Swat yesterday now Buner, Dir, Hangu, Mansehra, and even Mardan and Charsadda, are under direct threat. We are being occupied and yet we cannot agree on who our enemy is.

The world is becoming increasingly concerned and is prepared to help, but only if we are ready to help ourselves. If we remain in denial, a terrible catastrophe awaits us.



Email: shafqatmd@gmail.com

http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=171733