Sunday, December 15, 2013

Baba

We only knew him as Baba. He was my paternal grandmother's house help. A World War I and II veteran, who lost his family in India to a plague in the 1930s, came to Pakistan in 1947, and met my grandmother in 1950. (I'll have to confirm the dates with my mother - it was the year my uncle was born and my grandmother, who was a school teacher had to rejoin her job after maternity leave)

When he knocked on the door, he looked very frail, so Ammajee tried to offer him food. But he refused. His self respect was great and he felt insulted by her 'charitable' offer. Instead, he asked her for work. My grandmother needed a nanny and a house help, so she asked Baba if he can cook. He responded in affirmative to cooking, cleaning and taking care of a newborn. Hence, he was hired.

His life, from what I have heard revolved around my uncle, whom he took care of for 16 years. One day, Baba disappeared and nobody was able to trace him. My grandparents lived in Jacoblines Quarters - one of the many areas inhabited by Urdu speaking migrants, apart from Martin Quarters, Jahangir Road Quarters, Abyssinia Lines and other neighbourhoods in the old city. In the 70s my grandparents resettled and later the quarters were demolished to make way for family residential apartments, measuring merely 45 square yards.

My mother tells me that one day, while my father was passing through the area, he found Baba living in a hut near some rubble. He had broken his leg, and had taken to begging. He also was suffering from some memory loss and chanted 'Allah hoo' almost all the time. My father brought him home, where his condition, despite visits to doctors deteriorated, and he continued to beg in our neighbourhood.

I remember as a kid, many people told my parents to hand him over to Edhi, since he was not even a relative, but a ‘mere old servant’, who begged and made everyone feel ashamed. However, my parents persevered. He stayed with us, despite his cursing and hurling insults at my mother and aunt for not giving preference to ‘boys’, for not taking enough care of children, and for not getting him the desired ‘tambaakoo wala paan’ in 25 paisas. He loved paan, apart from begging to save for his ‘funeral’.

Often, his demands were to buy him two Zahoor Rajajani Tambakoo Paans in 50 paisas. Even though, we told him countless of times that Baba, a paan costs 75 paisas now, and not 25. Since he never listened, we always used to cover up for the missing money. Baba loved feeding us kids ‘nihari roti’ with the money he begged. And of course, we loved eating it with him too - despite our runny noses and hiccups.

Baba was an era, almost a century, who left us when he was 95 years old. That was the first time when I found his last rites had to be performed in a different way. My chacha went to a Sunni maulvi to find out if he could be taken care of at an Imambargah, since we were not keen on sending him to Edhi. At that time, Sunni mosques were not equipped to deal with dead bodies. This was early 90s. He was a Hanafi Sunni, who had no trouble eating niaz, nazar or giving fateha. He had already bought a white shroud from begged money, which he had, a few months ago given to my mother with instructions for his burial.

Baba wished to be buried the Sunni way, and his grave was to be left un-cemented. With permission from a relevant Sunni maulvi, Baba was bathed and shrouded at an Imambargah, amid a mixed Shia and Sunni funerary gathering. He was buried the Sunni way, with the help of the Sunni side in our family. Nobody had a problem with the way it happened. Nobody had trouble setting foot in the Imambargah at that time, and nobody asked if he was a Deobandi, Ahle Hadees, Barelvi or Wahabi. We were tolerant then!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Pontification via pornification

This is one of the articles that started it.

Why Is Everyone Getting Naked? Rashida Jones on the Pornification of Everything

For many, Rashida Jones has actually pontificated by raising the questions she did manage to raise, despite the whole idea that women’s emancipation lies in the act of rubbing their clits and baring their boobs in public. So here I am, wondering, how Rihanna's clit will get me emancipated? Or make men question how unjust society is towards women? How does Miley's butt swinging and tongue flicking at a crowd make people question taboos about women's sexuality? Oh for Pete’s sake, how do even FEMEN’s bare boobs make Muslim fanatics less fanatic?

These are the questions that keep nagging at me, just like Imran Khan’s constant demands to block NATO supply and to shoot down Drones does. I feel the polarity of our society is becoming too much to bear. Here’s another wink worthy, boob jiggly theory. ‘Trolley Problem’, which allows one to support drones that kill innocent people as collateral, but at the same time, gives them leeway to oppose a death sentence. Ah the contradictions and lovely alibis one can find theoretically in the archives of Wikipedia the great.

Or as my friend Aamer puts it, “It's the zombie apocalypse. No other explanation for so many people talking crazy shit, unaware that they're talking crazy shit.”

And if that were not crazy enough for you, try Jezebel. Where Erin Gloria Ryan claims that 'Smartphones Are Made For Giant Man-Hands'. Oblivious to I guess the countless smartphones available in the market that vary in size, specs and portability, as well as the varied physiques both men and women can possess.

Yes Aamer, either I need to be a zombie, or I need a spaceship.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Pedophiles using Roman Urdu, Facebook clueless

A friend sent a message today to report a page run with the title 'Yar araam sai daalo dard ho raha hai', which literally means 'Do it gently, its hurting'. A close look reveals that it is to do with child pornography. The page is being run as a "Community - Payaray larkay jin ki gaand maarni chahie" - Pretty boys, who should be sodomized. Here's a screen capture for further proof:


After reporting the page, I suggested the friend to post the link in our group Pak Feminazi Drones, so more people can report the matter to Facebook. A series of reports followed, all of which received the same answer from Facebook community. Interestingly, as Mariam Goraya pointed out, though Facebook has a problem with images of nipples, its all right to have child pornography on the social platform, as long as its not written in English. Seriously, you need to look deeper into the language issue Facebook.


Countless images of young boys are splashed across the group, inviting, inciting, enticing for only pedophiles. I am feeling disgusted even writing the matter, but unfortunately, the multiple responses by Facebook, not just to me, but others as well, left me no choice but to blog about the matter. Check the responses here:



Since the social media website found nothing wrong with the content on the page, and instead told us:
Thank you for taking the time to report something that you feel may violate our Community Standards. Reports like yours are an important part of making Facebook a safe and welcoming environment. We reviewed the page you reported to containing nudity or pornography and found it doesn’t violate our Community Standards.
Note: If you have an issue with something on the page, be sure to report the content (ex: a photo), not the entire page. That way, your report will be more accurately reviewed.
I thought, all right, fine, maybe reporting a picture with a child's image, along with an unsettling title would make Facebook realize the problem. And I reported an image - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1420373504850981 - that did not change much either. The title simply means, "Take off your knickers and lie on your stomach" (Uggghhhh - hire some people who know Roman Urdu Facebook, please!!!!)

Unfortunately, the result of this report was the same as well. Facebook community standards cannot be violated when using Roman Urdu. Since probably they do not have enough competent people on board to decipher language. They have people who can pinpoint images of breastfeeding, but not these.
Thank you for taking the time to report something that you feel may violate our Community Standards. Reports like yours are an important part of making Facebook a safe and welcoming environment. We reviewed the page you reported to containing nudity or pornography and found it doesn't violate our Community Standards.


Facebook Community standards not only need to improve, they need to be updated and better equipped to understand such matters. Also, the options to report pedophilia, child porn, pedophiles need to be made more easy and understandable. The reporting options on images are stupid. Have a look:


If you choose option two "It's harassing me or someone I know", this is what Facebook has to say:


And you are back to square one, "Report it to Facebook" - Continue:


So here we are again, back to square one. Let's wait for another Facebook message, "Thank you for taking the time to report something that you feel may violate our Community Standards. Reports like yours are an important part of making Facebook a safe and welcoming environment. We reviewed the page you reported to containing nudity or pornography and found it doesn’t violate our Community Standards."

PS The wait is over. Here we got the expected Facebook response:






Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Sacred flight

Stop time if you can
Live in eternity
For no clock will ever give you that,
It’s too long to wait
Dismal too,
Through agony,
Continue
In sleepless bliss of night
Turning into light,
Catching sunrays on windowpanes
Burning bright
As pigeons knock
Make you rise
To grim realities
Soaked dreams
Placid crumbs of self,
That delights in sacred flight!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Stigma: A major barrier to Suicide Prevention

Yesterday was World Suicide Prevention Day. And I feel weird to know that an online friend of mine felt so dejected and hopeless that he took his own life. He was depressed and could not see any point in continuing. He posted many times about his abusive father, and this week, after being physically assaulted, called police on him. However, that was not fruitful either. I do not know what transpired between the police and him. All I know is that he wasn't helped when he needed.

I never met him in real, only interacted online. According to him, his therapist had not called him for weeks. So, he mostly relied on friends. For, expecting support from his family was useless. It is not only sad, but cruel on so many levels.

May he rest in peace now. Away from the cycle of abuse, helplessness and dejection. Away from doctors like Shazia Nawaz, who cannot stop abusing someone with mental health problems. I wonder what kind of a doctor would say this on the Facebook wall of a person, who died only a few hours ago?


How many doctors are out there who tell their patients they are just pretending? And how many doctors tell their patients that they need to live for 'abusive parents'. I quote Dr Shazia Nawaz here: "World does not remember USELESS DEPRESSED people." World can do well without doctors like you Shazia Nawaz, I hope her license gets canceled.

If you thought that was moronic, please see our enlightened doctor comparing suicide with murder. Basically as per the 'doctor' a person who kills someone else and a person who kills 'self' is the same.



There are many reasons people with suicide ideation do not get timely help. Including doctors like Shazia Nawaz and others who say shit like 'attention seeker', 'weak', 'drama queen', etc. Criminalization of suicide is not much help either.

International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and WHO cosponsored World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10. The theme was “Stigma: A Major Barrier for Suicide Prevention.” Nearly a million people die of suicides a year. The figures do not include the number of 'attempts' people make to commit suicide.

I feel awful and weird. He posted his picture with a rope, before he hung himself. Perhaps the final cry of a helpless being, stuck in limbo.


Note: The name has not been mentioned, so people like Shazia do not abuse him further.






Friday, September 6, 2013

Rabid Misogynist Syndrome in 'rational' men?

The world is filled with men suffering from rabid misogyny. Their view about women works in a binary. "The woman I approached and spoke to me easily is a slut, and the one who shunned me is a bitch." Either way, they love indulging in slut shaming. The height of misogyny being mainstream can be gauged from the fact that even men, who want to be identified as feminists end up showing symptoms of advanced "Rabid Misogyny Syndrome".

They repeatedly call a woman, who 'dares' to counter their bullshit a bitch. Oh, and if the bitch dares to point that they are being stereotypical, she deserves some more 'bitching'. So, one might think, wow that is so original and this guy is a lovely feminist I would never want to trust in handling "women's issues". Unless, of course one was a doormat or suffering from "mother hen syndrome". Thinking that talking 'nice' to an angry young man would not only help appease my 'motherly instincts', but also keep me as their leader.

Here's an example from the perpetual Rabid Misogynists (profile 1, 2 and 3) from a group called Rationalist Society of Pakistan (ironic, I know) who my friend Mariam loves to call a rabid dog.


In case you did not have enough of the intellectualism of this brilliant man, try reading the remaining thread filled with more rationalism, interspersed with 'bitch' as the best epithet another 'enlightened man' could come up with.


More fun here:


Oh, and not to forget he runs a page and magazine too called Rationalist Society of Pakistan. I wonder why all these narcissist men, wanting to be leaders of some sort want to identify themselves as some liberal, feminists, leftist brilliants who the 'women of Pakistan' had the good fortune to interact with. Worse are the admins and people associated with this RSOP group, who do not take a stand against such behavior. No disciplinary action is taken against these men, and the best thing they do is, send private apologies. Here's the last apology sent by RSOP founder Haider Shah on June 18, 2013, after a shitstorm created by the same misogynist man Waqas Goraya.


PS A later update, where the intelligent man decided to gift, all the women who countered his bullshit, some pads. Apparently, women who had the guts to counter this pseudo-intelligent excuse of a man, are PMSing. More misogynist bull crap by Rationalist Society of Pakistan admin.


The mushrooming of these countless rationalist, humanist, secularist societies on the Pakistani interwebs is nothing more than a gimmick to gain international attention. They use feminism as a mere 'selling point'.


NOTE: To read the screenshots, please click on the image.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Setbacks in teaching history

In a deeply religious society, where students want to find answers for everything in religion, threats include being labeled a blasphemer. One of my students today asked for evidence of god. Especially after understanding the beginning of religion and links to agriculture, destructive forces of nature and the ultimate belief in a monotheistic god.

As a teacher in University of Karachi, its difficult to state openly, that belief, has no links to logic, evidence and reason. I received a threat last semester to not speak about religion at all or I will be responsible for consequences. The problem is, should I ignore valid questions by students? Should I discourage students from questioning, and tell them to merely accept everything? Would that not be dishonest? I think it would not only be dishonest of me to do so, but also stunt the mental growth of young minds eagerly searching for answers.

It would be very easy to merely give a lecture and ask students to learn it by heart. Something that our education system is well known for. Perhaps, if religion, any religion was based in facts and evidence, the religious people would not feel so threatened by a questioning mind. For a student, who grew up on anti-polytheist propaganda, polytheism comes with a backup of reasoning for belief, including the importance of the Sun and water in an agricultural society, and the moon in desert-nomadic societies. In this case, the burden of proof becomes far greater on monotheistic religions. Unfortunately, the monotheistic god is beyond the five sensory perceptions and seems to have no refuge, but one in the human psychology, incapable of understanding that existence is for no reason and with no purpose.

Whereas, worshiping the sun makes sense for a person growing crops in Mesopotamia, because without the sunlight, crops will not grow. Revering the moon in the desert is understandable, as it helps illuminate the sand dunes, and the trader does not get lost. Fearing the mighty River is logical because it can destroy villages and crops in seconds. But what does an unseen, unheard, untasted, unsmelt and untouched god do?

These things cannot be said out loud really, but can only be hinted at by stating and repeating that keeping evidence and belief separate is the best available option; belief is blind; that we never found 40-yard tall human skeletons; or that early humans had low life expectancy because of predators, health concerns, etc, etc.  Noah's age is not the only problem here. The floods were raging with safety issues, for Noah, allegedly 900 years old as per Islamic mythology has a lot in common with Utnapishtim from the Epic of Gilgamesh and Manu of the Puranas. That mythology is a word kept by Muslims for other religions, as theirs is 'undoubtedly the divine' one.

It is a dangerous world out there, I told my students, as the class broke into a cacophony of questions.

PS Architecturally speaking, we have far more temples, palaces and forts to study compared to the common man's house. Just like in earthquakes and floods, the rich man's haveli and the mullah's mosque survive. Not because of divine intervention but because of better materials. 

Monday, August 26, 2013

Islamabad Political guy intellect-chawal at his best!

Apparently male journalists are threatened so much by women journalists calling out their bullshit online, that they cannot help but send threatening messages on Facebook. Here's an example of a threat received from Moazzam Raza Tabassam for calling him out on my friend Zeeba's post about the treatment meted out to women in IDP camps. This guy is supposedly an editor of Islamabad Political as per his Facebook page. 



The reason Zeeba and I deserve this attention is because we refused to be 'diplomatic women' who live in the Pakistani 'intellectual society', and we dare to ask some 'male chauvinists' what they mean when they are being 'intellect-chawals' (A brilliant term coined by another friend of mine Mariam).

Here's the brilliance of our 'dear experienced journalist Moazzam' again:


Just in case this screen-capture was not enough for the delight of your mental-senses. Do read the rest of the thread for some more brilliant chawalness here. Unfortunately, Zeeba deleted his attack on my Shia background to protect me from feeling hurt and offended. But I managed to get that information too.


I suppose men just cannot tolerate women having brains, because they are conditioned into accepting women only as showpieces. The moment women break that stereotype of being only good to look at, their male privilege is under threat and they have to prove their maleness by hook or by crook. 





Saturday, August 24, 2013

Cycle of Domestic Violence never stops!

This week was not depressive when it started, but one after another SOS call from women or their relatives about domestic abuse, physical violence and battery are getting to me now. The first one was from interior Sindh. Although the lady is safe now, she faced not only perpetual threat of rape from her father-in-law, but constant abuse and pressure from her in-laws to give in to their illegal demands.

She was emotionally, physically and financially used by not only her husband but in-laws as well. Moreover, despite having relatives in the Sindh Police Department, the woman was not helped because the policemen in her family fear their own daughters will be targeted and threatened. This is not the first such case, countless cases of abuse and violence are scattered across the globe, where women are at times left to fend for themselves. Which brings me to the next message I received from someone who I used to consider a friend until this particular incident.

A lady in Jeddah was not only being abused, but also being held hostage in the bathroom by her husband.


The person who sent me the message asked if I could give any resources that the lady can use to find help. Since it was an SOS call, I asked my friend Ayesha Sultana, who gave the following information:


The number was forwarded to the guy, who was the only person the victim called for help.


The guy reported that the victim is too paralyzed with fear to even call police. Therefore it was suggested that he can give the victim's number so people from the helpline can contact her themselves and do the necessary. However, the guy refused to do so, stating it is a family matter, and needs to be handled differently. 



Another reason he gave for not giving the victim's number, who was too traumatized to call police or the domestic abuse helpline herself was that the husband is the sole breadwinner of old parents.


Earlier, I had not thought of blogging this exchange. But I think I was wrong. People who protect or help abusers in anyway need to be exposed and publicly held accountable for not doing what is right. We do not know how the lady in Jeddah is, if she received any help or is still being held hostage by her abusive husband. As for the last exchange I had with Ali Zaidi, it went as follows:


It seems violence against women will not stop any time soon. Today, I received another message from a distraught brother, whose sister is being abused physically and verbally in Bahrain. The husbands in all three cases are highly qualified individuals, who are pursuing successful careers in engineering and finance.





Saturday, July 13, 2013

Empowering all is less power for privileged

Do you feel annoyed with this poster children, men, women trend? Creating cults around personalities? I think its a manifestation of consumerist culture, where everything is to be commodified to sell.

Someone at work asked me if Malala made her speech in English. I said yes... and they said, "Phir to pakki agent hai (It means she's definitely a foreign agent)." Followed by, "Khud salay kitnay maartay hein, isko kyon charha rahai hein? (The assholes murder so many every day, why are they turning her into a star)"

*Sigh*

Why are things so complicated? I don't see right in most of the things, and the whole idea of being 'used' is fucked. But does Malala send drones? Does she kill or threaten innocent children or adults? Is she blowing up girls or boys schools? The answer to all of these questions is... NO, she did not do any of those, the Taliban did. Was she attacked? Yes. Would she have survived if not taken outside Pakistan? No, at least probably not.

You can have a problem with the politics of the situation. The involvement of Pakistan Army, that is responsible for a lot of problems we currently face due to their farce of 'strategic depth'. But saying that a minor, aged 16 is part of some huge global conspiracy, plot and is an agent is doing it a bit too brown sire.

On the other hand, the basic premise that these Brits or Americans or NATO give two hoots about all this except creating more drama in our lives is what gets to me too. We already have enough shit to deal with. I dislike, actually hate the postcolonial sense of selective tribal morality. None of which is a comment on the kid herself. But people who use her, who have dismissed deaths of non-whites, those who actually fostered extremism for their bloody imperialist agendas. And idiots who bought, buy and will continue to buy these bullshit cries of Western humanitarianism conducted in the name of a Mafioso like agency, United Nations.
Which is perhaps what makes me crazy. I cannot find it in me to be loyal to a lesser evil. And neither can I find it in me to not condemn people who condone this loyalty to the lesser evil. If you want to support lesser evils, better to cherry pick the 'goods' from 'everyone'. Difficult, but less twisted morally. And 'non-tribal' as well.

The same happened during Mukhtaran Mai's case. In the absence of important statistics, and the biggest human rights organisational scam in Pakistan, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), there is no authentic data to give us an idea of what actually happens on the ground. HRCP makes stats using news clippings, and being associated with the media, I know how much of the news is censored and/or unreported/under-reported even. In reality, we do not know what creating poster personalities actually does on the ground. Except that some rich 'aunty' in some DHA is able to generate a lot of funds for her NGO. Oh, and one must remember, there are above 30,000 registered NGOs in Sindh. Remember terms like 'agenda', 'aid', 'donors'. It is all linked, and agendas keep changing, depending what the political requirements are of those who change the geography of the world every few decades.

Grassroots are not empowered, and it is systemic, since we have a hierarchical system, where empowerment for any segment of the society means less power for the privileged. 

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Ye Dokhtar - Ebi & Shadmehr

یــــه دختــــر تو تــراس روبـرویی
Ye dokhtar too teraase ruberui
A girl in the opposite terrace
  
یــه شال سبــــــز و هـر روز میتکونه
Ye shaale sabzo har rooz mitekoone
Waves a green shawl every day

یـــه شال سبــــــز و ساده که غروبا
Ye shaale sabz o saade ke ghorubaa
A green and simple shawl that at sunset
 
پــــر از خــاکســــتر آتــش فشونــه
Por az khaakestare aatash feshoone
Is full of volcanic ashes
 
پـــــــر از خاکســــــتر آرزوهایــــی
Por az khaakestare aarezoohaayi
Full of ashes of the wishes
 
که هر روز روی قلبش گَر میگیرن
Ke har rooz ruye ghalbesh gor migiran
That burn on her heart daily
 
پر از خاکســـتر خوابــای خوبــــی
Por az khaakestare khaabaaye khoobi
Full of ashes of the sweet dreams
 
که هرشب تو نگاه اون میمیــــرن
Ke har shab too negaahe oon mimiran
That die in her eyes every night 
 
همین چند وقته پیش رویاشـــو توی
Hamin chand vaghte peesh royaasho tuye
Not long ago her dreams
 
خیــابون بـــی بهونه سر بریـــدن
Khiaaboon bi bahoone sar boridan
Were beheaded on streets unduly
 
همیــشــــه راه پــــروازشو بسـتن
Hamishe raahe parvaazesho bastan
Her flying route was always blocked 
 
همیشـــه رو خیالش خـــط کشیـــدن
Hamishe roo khiaalesh khat keshidan
Her imagination has always been crossed off
 
بـــراش مـــرده و زنــده فرق نداره
Baraash morde o zende fargh nadaare
Alive or dead is the same for her
 
سیاست بازا پــیـــرا و جــــوونــــا
Siaasat baazaa piraa javoonaa
Politicians, the elderly, or the youth 
 
همش دنبــــال قهرمـــــان مـیگرده
Hamash donbaale ghahramaan migarde
Repeatedly she’s in search of a hero
 
میونـه شاعــــــرا آوازخــــونـــــا
Miyoone shaaeraa aavaazekhunaa
Among the poets or the singers 
 
رو دیــــوار اتـــاقـش چنتــا عکـسه
Ru divaare otaaghesh chandtaa akse
On her room’s wall are some pictures of
 
هدایـت ، کاف کــا ، فرخــزاد ، مایـکل
Hedaayat, Kafka, Farokhzad, Michael
Hedayat(1), Kafka, Farrokhzad (2), Michael (Jackson)
 
یــــه عکـــــس خاتــــمی چنتــا مدونا
Ye akse Khatami chand taa Madonna
One picture of Khatami (3), some of Madonna’s 
 
یه عکس تام کروز یـه عـــکس فیدل
Ye akse Tom Cruise, Ye akse Fidel
A picture of Tom Cruise, one from Fidel (4)!
 
براش مـــــرده و زنــــده فــرق نداره
Baraash morde o zende fargh nadaare
Alive or dead is the same for her
 
همش دنبـــــال قهرمــــان میـــگرده
Hamash donbaale ghahramaan migarde
Repeatedly she’s in search of a hero
 
نــمیدونه کــه تنـــها تـوی آیــــنه
Nemidune ke tanhaa tuye aayene
She doesn’t know that in the mirror alone
 
بایـــد دنبــــال قــهرمــان بــــگرده
Baayad donbaale ghahramaan beggared
She should quest a hero
 
هنـــوز بـــاور نـــداره که با دستاش
Hanuz baavar nadaare ke baa dastaash
She still does not believe that by her hands
 
جهانی میشه ســاخت ، بی ظلم و برده
Jahaani mishe saakht bi zolm o barde
A world can be built without tyranny and slaves
 
یــــه دختــــر تو تــراس روبرویـی
Ye dokhtar tu teraase ruberuyi
A girl in the opposite terrace
 
شبـــا کنسرت فریـــادش بــه راهــه
Shabaa konserte faryaadesh be raahe
Has a concert of cries nightly
 
صداش میگیره از بـس غصـــه داره
Sedaash migire az bas ghosse dare
Her voice gets lowered due to many sorrows
 
نمیشه دیدش از بـس شــــب سیاهه
Nemishe didesh az bas shab siyaahe
The night’s darkness hides her to be seen
 
ولی زنگ صـداش میـپـچـیـه هــرشب
Vali zange sedaash mipiche har shab
But the timbre of her voice is resonated 
 
تو شـهری که چـراغاش رنگه خــــونن
Tu shahri ke cheraaghaash range khunan
In a city with lights the same color as the houses
 
دیــگه چـــند وقــتـــه که حتـــی چراغِ
Dige chand vaghte ke hatta cheraaghe
Some time later even the traffic lights 
 
چـهـارراه ها میترســن "سبــــــز" بمونن
Chaar raahaa mitarsan sabz bemunan
At junctions are scared to turn green
 
میـــخواد یـاد تــموم شـــهر بــمونــه
Mikhaad yaade tamume shahr bemune
She wants to remember the city
 
بــهـاری کـه یــکی بــرگـاشـو دزدیــد
Bahaari ke yeki bargaasho dozdid
She spring whose leaves were stolen
 
درخـتــی کــه قـرنـتـیـنـه شــد آخـــــر
Derakhti ke gharantine shod aakhar
And a tree that finally got quarantined
 
تو فصــلی که زمین بـرعکس میچرخید
Tu fasli ke zamin bar’aks micharkhid
In a season in which the earth was rotating conversely
 
صــداش لـــبریز حـــرفـای نـگفتس
Sedaash labrize harfaaye nagoftas
Her heart full of unsaid words 
 
سرش لبــریــز صد آتــش فشونــه
Saresh labrize sad aatash feshune
Her head full of hundreds of volcanoes
 
یـــه دختــــر تو تــراس روبرویــی
Ye dokhtar too teraase ruberui
A girl in the opposite terrace 
 
یـه شال سبــــــز و هر روز میتکونه
یـه شال سبــــــز و هر روز میتکونه
یـه شال سبــــــز و هر روز میتکونه
Ye shaale sabzo har rooz mitekoone
Waves a green shawl every day

Download MP3 here

Monday, June 24, 2013

Rich civilians replace Army for better or worse?

Idiots for whom just a change of regime and shuffle between 'rich civilians' and 'army' means the country is becoming a better place. The 'left leadership' in Pakistan is so liberal, that if their daddy was not a rich industrialist or bureaucrat living in DHA, they'd be sitting in one of the local offices, run by someone who is a part of the 'civilian' government, waiting to be paid on time.

Definitions from within the Pakistani context:

Liberal is someone who can take criticism against Islam and find it cool to be called an Indian agent. Their existence is defined by being equated to an Indian. The only criticism they cannot take is against PPP and ANP. If you criticize either, you are nothing but a PTI troll, apologist, rightist and Mushy fan. Pointing out the condition in PPP constituency will be countered by, the army is responsible for that. Oh and mostly they think drones are the only and best solution to all Muslim problems.

Rightist, Patriot, Apologist is someone who cannot stomach criticism against Islam, Pakistan and s/he rants against Ahmedis and India. Might be living in a Salafi bubble created by his 'Puppa' working his ass off on some oil rig owned by a Sheikh. He might even insist there is no such thing as Shia Genocide and that it is Muslim Genocide. A person with slightly better nuance will claim it is 'merely' a crime against humanity.

Leftists are still in the making. But they are mostly children of some businessmen, industrialists or coconuts (brown on top, white within). Many have either gone to some European institute or been under influence of some local self-declared Marxist. They are hurt by the plight of the workers and labor, so they make a small party, read Faiz and Jalib and sometimes make deals with capitalists to launch a label to sing for a revolution they know their dada and mama are making sure never comes.

Remaining are the common people, who work hard to make ends meet. They have no time to waste on twitter and facebook. They do not read English newspapers because most are Rs 20 a copy. They cannot even afford one on a Sunday. These poor chaps don't know what democracy is, except that the local goon party would empty their home if they didn't vote for them. It is beyond the rural and urban divide. 

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Shoes that never fit

What you think of what I do is not my concern,
For you can never be in my shoes,
Never know what the world within is like
Or stays
Its an ocean of light and darkness
Love and hatred
The night of which never comes
as the day never ends
Judge me for all I care too,
For your judgment comes from ignorance
Your bliss, a torture unknown
Live it as your destiny,
Maybe cherish it too
For this is what you shall ever know and love
Bloodied trails in muddied waters
Where murky death beckons you to live!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Holiness of the whole

Broken world,
Torn flesh of humans
Scattered everywhere
Not just bombings
Suicides too
For it never ends, never stops,
The cycle of truth
Melody of hope
Cries for help
From the depths of darkness
Desire to breathe
Leaving behind the grip of death
In search of eternal sunshine
Fragrance of silk
Shine of a star
Holiness of the whole,
Calls all, swimmers, drifters, tramps,
Collective dreamers
From the land never pure
Of putrefied wood
Souvenirs from the desert
Panting sands
Whooshing ringlets of grey matter
Dew on daredevils
Surviving hatred from within
Living on for now!

via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/53398088313

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

"I could start fires with what I feel for you."

“I could start fires with what I feel for you.”



- Fires, David Ramirez (via whorizontalacademics)



via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/53261597250

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Songs of nature

Among the high peaks and tall trees
Flowing wind
Rustling leaves
Yes, the loneliness of a mountain calls
Sadness of the dark boulders
Standing on cliff edges
In perpetual fear of falling
Crushing someone
Lovers or enemies, friends or foes
And in the distance
The shepherd on his flute too
Signals you, come hither
For the song of nature is always present
Brutal
In lightning and thunderstorm
Darkened, charred tree trunks
Trailing fires; Raging waters; Moving earth
Sliding solid waters
Destructive and vile you think
Is it so? The muses ask;
Sheep, ask them
Grazers of the hinterlands,
Jumping along steep slopes with sure foots
Tiny bells, they too beckon you to join them
Running to the shepherd
Making the music louder
Summoning with longing
Mixing in, the laughter of the blossoms
Fragrant trails of sensuous colours
Even if poisonous and deadly,
Crackle chants until nightfall
Till the fireflies abuzz
Bring heaven on earth
Bejewelled, luminescence on black silk
As well shouts
Come hither, come hither, come hither!

via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/53082458775

Rain

Don’t stop rain
Arid earth
Parched people
Hungry farmers
Dried rivers
With parted lips
Vacant eyes
Been waiting long
In scorching heat
Amid dead cattle
In the hope of springs
And smell of earth
Laden with heavenly fluids
That cleanse dirt, air and flight,
Dancing in rain,
Getting purer by the drop,
As through glimmering sheets
Of liquid bliss
Pass rays of light
Trying to catch a rainbow!



via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/53062243582

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Past strangers

Dreams that fill your eyes,
Colours that make rainbows,
Early morning at the beach
Flying in the cool breeze,
Gentle flowing,
Blowing from far across the border
With little droplets of rain and love,
Embraces me, and tell me the secrets
That you kept so long,
We are no longer strangers my love!

via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52762875634

Short-lived shadows

It was a shadow
Silhouette of darkness,
Passed as quickly as it came
Knowing that staying longer
Could reveal what must be hidden
Hidden from the seeking eyes
Tearing through craftiness
Cobwebs of which had lingered long
Like a library visited seldom
Or cacophony of deafening lies
Sculpted in stone
Don’t dust it away, let it lay in hiding
For it is poisonous and frail
Infecting the soul for long
A ghostly silence,
Of elongated gloom
Murky corridors in a shanty town
Where hopelessness presides in chaos
Desert, for order will kill it
Permission denied now!

via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52757768132

Quotes About Abuse (154 quotes) from goodreads.com via Findings.





Quotes About Abuse (154 quotes) from goodreads.com via Findings.






via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52696152625

Quotes About Abuse (154 quotes) from goodreads.com via Findings.





Quotes About Abuse (154 quotes) from goodreads.com via Findings.






via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52695762584

Monday, June 10, 2013

Its not called acting dumb, its called being deceptive.

Its not called acting dumb, its called being deceptive.






via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52672200064

Anaïs Nin on Life, Hand-Lettered by Artist Lisa Congdon from...





Anaïs Nin on Life, Hand-Lettered by Artist Lisa Congdon from brainpickings.org via Findings.






via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52668180552

Quotes About Criticism (260 quotes) from goodreads.com via...





Quotes About Criticism (260 quotes) from goodreads.com via Findings.






via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52668067744

Quotes About Criticism (260 quotes) from goodreads.com via...





Quotes About Criticism (260 quotes) from goodreads.com via Findings.






via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52667878368

Quotes About Criticism (260 quotes) from goodreads.com via...





Quotes About Criticism (260 quotes) from goodreads.com via Findings.






via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52667593636

Luna Moths at Street Lamp






Luna Moths at Street Lamp






via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52663820385

sdzoo: Snoozer by Ion Moe





sdzoo:



Snoozer by Ion Moe







via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52663801255

rhamphotheca: The lanternfly (Phrictus quinqueparitus), family...





rhamphotheca:



The lanternfly (Phrictus quinqueparitus), family Fulgoridae, Puerto Viejo, Heredia, Costa Rica


(photo: Geoff Gallice)







via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52663719814

rhamphotheca: Lost World Locked in Stone at Fossil Lake by...









rhamphotheca:



Lost World Locked in Stone at Fossil Lake


by Megan Gannon


With just two inhabited buildings and a population of five, Fossil, Wyo., is all but a ghost town today. But as far as ghosts go, the ones at Fossil are pretty remarkable — 50-million-year-old monitor lizards, stingrays and freakishly long-tailed turtles among them.


Fossil showed promise of becoming a train-stop city during America’s westward expansion. The town’s real golden age, however, may have been the early Eocene, when it was covered in a subtropical lake with an incredible diversity of aquatic life, surrounded by lush mountains and active volcanoes


(read more: Live Science)


Images (Photos by Lance Grande from The Lost World of Fossil Lake: Snapshots from Deep Time, © 2013, published by the University of Chicago Press):


T - This is the most complete skeleton of a so-called dawn horse ever discovered. This specimen of Protorohippus venticolus was much more diminutive than today’s horses, standing less than two feet high at the shoulder, but its long back legs suggest it was a good jumper. Perhaps it was less skilled as a swimmer; researchers aren’t sure how the horse ended up at the bottom of the middle of Fossil Lake but they suspect it drowned, possibly trying to escape a predator.


B - This fossil immortalizes stingray sex of the Eocene. The male and female fat-tailed stingrays (Asterotrygon maloneyi) shown here were likely mating or just about to mate when they were killed, researchers believe.







via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52663650727

Photo









via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52663552749

woodendreams: (by Jason Hatfield)





woodendreams:



(by Jason Hatfield)







via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52663473596

"In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the..."

““In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.”

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

The Gulag Archipelago”



- Facebook from facebook.com via Findings.



via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52627963650

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Take your ego down a couple of notches. from allthingskrista.com...





Take your ego down a couple of notches. from allthingskrista.com via Findings.






via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52600679687

Bud and Happiness: Take your ego down a couple of notches.

Bud and Happiness: Take your ego down a couple of notches. :

knunz:



image


There was a point in my life a few years ago that if you asked me to put my writing on the internet for the public to see I would have laughed at you and probably just walked away.


As previously discussed in my last blog post that I would have considered myself in a mentally abusive…







via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52593365641

likezombieslovebrains: I’m going to make a real effort to stop saying, “I am Bipolar.” I am not...

likezombieslovebrains:



I’m going to make a real effort to stop saying, “I am Bipolar.”


I am not Bipolar, I HAVE Bipolar Disorder.


My mental disorder is not who I am.


People don’t say, “I am cancer.”







via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52592534439

Photo









via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52531131226

Photo













































via Tumblr http://andaleebrizvi.tumblr.com/post/52531091430