Fool's Overture

A Delightful Necessity

2009-10-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

The beautiful appearance of the world of dreams, in whose creation each man is a complete artist, is the precondition of all plastic art, and also, in fact, as we shall see, an important part of poetry. We enjoy the form with an immediate understanding; every shape speaks to us; nothing is indifferent and unnecessary. For all the most intense life of this dream reality, we nevertheless have the shimmering sense of their illusory quality: That, at least, is my experience. For the frequency, indeed normality, of this response, I could point to many witnesses and the utterances of poets. Even the philosophical man has the presentiment that under this reality in which we live and have our being lies hidden a second, totally different reality and that thus the former is an illusion. And Schopenhauer specifically designates as the trademark of philosophical talent the ability to recognize at certain times that human beings and all things are mere phantoms or dream pictures. Now, just as the philosopher behaves in relation to the reality of existence, so the artistically excitable man behaves in relation to the reality of dreams: he looks at them precisely and with pleasure, for from these pictures he fashions his interpretation of life; from these events he rehearses his life for himself. This is not merely a case of the agreeable and friendly images which he experiences in himself with a complete understanding; they also include what is serious, cloudy, sad, dark, sudden scruples, teasing accidents, nervous expectations, in short, the entire “divine comedy” of life, including the Inferno—all this moves past him, not just like a shadow play—for he lives and suffers in the midst of these scenes—and yet also not without that fleeting sense of illusion. And perhaps several people remember, like me, amid the dangers and terrors of a dream, successfully cheering themselves up by shouting: “It is a dream! I want to dream it some more!” I have also heard accounts of some people who had the ability to set out the causality of one and the same dream over three or more consecutive nights. These facts are clear evidence showing that our innermost beings, the secret underground in all of us, experiences its dreams with deep enjoyment and a sense of delightful necessity.

This is an excerpt from "The Birth of Tragedy" by Nietzche which I am currently reading for our discussions at Cafe Bol.

To find a truth which is true for me

2009-09-24T04:12:00.000-07:00

What I really lack is to be clear in my mind what I am to do, not what I am to know, except in so far as a certain knowledge must precede every action. The thing is to understand myself, to see what God really wishes me to do: the thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live and die. ... I certainly do not deny that I still recognize an imperative of knowledge and that through it one can work upon men, but it must be taken up into my life, and that is what I now recognize as the most important thing.

—Søren Kierkegaard, Letter to Peter Wilhelm Lund dated August 31, 1835, emphasis added

Interview with Syed Haider Farooq Maudoodi

2009-07-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

By Farish A. Noor.

Syed Haider Farooq Maudoodi is the son of the famous Islamist scholar and political activist, Syed Maulana Maudoodi, founder of the Jamaat-e Islami of Pakistan. While the Jamaat-e Islami (JI) has become the most powerful and infuential force in political Islam in Pakistan today, Farooq Maudoodi leads the 'Jamaat-e Islami Syed Maudoodi group', a breakaway faction that has been ostracised by the JI itself. Together with a number of prominent activists, journalists and academics, Farooq Maudoodi has been trying to propagate what he feels was and is the original message of the JI and its founder, his father. Farish A Noor spoke to him at his residence in Ichara, Lahore about the present orientation of the JI, the role of the Ulama in politics and the future of the Muslim world.

Farish: 'First of all, can you tell us something about yourself and your group, and how it came to pass that you broke away from the Islamist party that your father had founded and led for so long.'

Farooq: 'I happen to lead an organisation which we call the Jamaat-e Islami Syed Maudoodi group. We are basically a group of Islamist intellectuals, scholars, activists and writers who have been trying to revive the original message of my late father, Syed Maulana Maudoodi. We separated from the Jamaat-e Islami when it became clear that the JI was no longer following the path that my father had set, and since then we have been attacked by them. They do not accept us or any of our claims- but I have always maintained that they (JI) have deviated from the path that my father had set for the party. We are an active political grouping and we hope to work towards achieving the goals that my father had set himself to long ago.'

Farish: 'There are those- both within and without the Jamaat- who claim that you are really a nuisance and that you really want to disrupt the programme of the JI. They argue that you have misrepresented Maudoodi's ideas and views and that you are working against the JI, and by default the Islamist cause per se.'

Farooq: 'It is they who have turned the message of my father on its head. Our position is clear: We hold that the struggle for Islam has to be towards emancipation and the development of the Muslim community, the liberation of the Muslim mind. We do not hold their view that the Ulama should be at the vanguard of the Islamist struggle. On the contrary, we feel that the real role of the Ulama should be as the custodians of Islamic knowledge and that they should distance themselves from politics and the political process.'

Farish: 'Can you elaborate a little more on this point. What do you mean when you say that the Ulama should distance themselves from politics?'

Farooq: 'What I mean is simply this: The Ulama have a role to play in Muslim society and that is something that we have never argued or questioned. But the Ulama should also stand above the political process and they should never be trying to gain political power or control of the State. The Ulama should stand in between all parties and political movements. Their role is to offer advice and guidance to all those who are part of the political system. They should direct their criticism to both the ruling power as well as the opposition. That way they would be truly impartial and they would be free from the constraints of politics. That was what my father originally envisaged when he spoke of the role of the Ulama as the guardians of Muslim society. But today in Pakistan and other parts of the Islamic world you can see hundreds of political parties and movements struggling for power- many of which are led by the Ulama. The Ulama have become politicians and they play the game of politics- fighting for votes, etc. This is demeaning for them and for Islam. What have they got to do with politics anyway? They condemn the abuses of politics and yet we can all see how they have become politicised themselves. They have become political animals, and this is also true for the party that my father had started.'

Farish: 'When, in your opinion, did the JI become a political party?'

Farooq: 'For me it began in the mid-1980s, when Mian Tufayl resigned and the position of the Emir of the Jamaat was given to Qazi Hussain Ahmad (in 1985). From that point onwards, the Jamaat became a political party and it has been playing the game of politics ever since. At one time they worked with this government, and at another time they worked with another. The JI has been playing the game of politics and they have all become politicians. Their speeches are no longer about religion but about gaining power and votes. Their rhetoric has also changed so many times. Today they have started to call themselves an NGO. This is all part of the political game and they play it just as well as the other Islamist parties in the country.'

Farish: 'If the Ulama are not supposed to get involved in politics, what should they do? What do you feel they have to offer to society?'

Farooq: 'The Ulama today have forgotten that their main role is dakwah. They have to teach and offer instruction to Muslims who know less than they do about Islamic law and ethics. That is why the Ulama should stand in between the government and the opposition. They should correct the errors of both. What the Ulama have forgotten is their role in creating a good human being. I don't even mean a good Muslim. Whether Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu- what matters is the creation of a good person above all else: Someone who obeys the law, has a respect for the fundamental rights and needs of others, has a sense of social obligation and duty. When such individuals are around, creating an Islamic society that is just and equal is easy. But without such moral instruction from the Ulama, the Muslims are without moral leadership and examples to emulate. Now all we have are Ulama who are busy trying to become politician and leaders in government. What kind of moral example is that?'

Farish: 'If moral instruction is as important as you say, what kind of leadership are the Ulama meant to provide? How can they help to educate and guide the people? What would be required for such a project?'

Farooq: 'Moral instruction cannot come from the Ulama today because they themselves are intellectually bankrupt. The Ulama today all come from the same traditional schooling system. They have been reading the same books that have been read by previous generations of Ulama, uncritically and with no imagination. Look at the state of Muslim law at present. We Muslims talk about ourselves as being dynamic and progressive, yet we still live under the dominance of the Ulama who are themselves guided by a school of fiqh that is hopelessly out of date and inadequate in the face of the demands of today. Islamic jurisprudence has not evolved since the time of the last Caliph Ali. After his martyrdom, the Muslim world has been in a state of stasis and decay. The Ummayad, Abbasid and other dynasties that came after merely appropriated the laws and customs of the Muslim community at the time and adjusted them to their own needs. Look at how the history of Islam is littered with the biographies of Sultans and the elite. What of the ordinary Muslims themselves? How come we still live in a world where so many Muslims count for nothing? All these kingdoms and dynasties were an aberration of Islam and they have twisted the message of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Islam has been used to justify the acquisition of power and the corruption of the elite- but the message of equality and justice has been lost.'

Farish: 'For some time now you have been calling for a return to the fundamentals of Islam and the revision of Islamic thought in the light of present-day realities. Isn't there a danger of essentialising the argument here? By referring to the time of the early Caliphs it sounds as if you are talking about the fabled 'golden age' of Islam all over again. Isn't this exactly what so many Islamist movements are doing today?'

Farooq: 'Look at the historical facts themselves and you will see what I mean. During the time of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, the entire Muslim community was no more than five thousand. That was the entire Muslim Ummah during the Medina era. The mosque in Medina could house the entire Muslim community, and there was still space for more. How can we hope to revive Islam in the present when our laws and codes of jurisprudence is still based on the revelations that came during that time? Today there are more than a billion Muslims in the world. How can the Ulama hope to guide these people if they still rely on laws that have not evolved since the early Islamic period? All the major schools of Islamic law remain stuck in the past. The Hanafi school, for instance, still cannot deal with problems in the present age. According to some orthodox scholars of the Hanafi school if a man or wife loses his spouse for some unknown reason- he or she may have gone missing somewhere- the husband or wife cannot marry again until a period of ninety years has lapsed. What kind of legal reasoning is that? This is what I mean when I say that the Muslim world is in a state of stasis- We have not been able to update and upgrade our laws in the light of present-day realities. I am not asking for us to reject Islamic law- just make it dynamic and contextual for our daily needs.'

Farish: 'So do you mean to say that all the Islamisation programmes that we have seen in the Muslim world have achieved nothing? Do you mean to suggest that even after the time of President Zia ul Haq, Pakistan has not really turned into a more Islamic society?'

Farooq: 'Of course it hasn't. What signs do you see of Islamisation here? The number of Madrasahs? The number of Mosques built everywhere? That is not Islamisation- these are merely concrete structures. What kind of Islamisation is it if the people do not feel they are better Muslims, if they do not understand their own religion any better? During the time of my father, Syed Maudoodi, what we wanted to do was to preach Islam. We rejected the orginal idea of Pakistan itself because it was not based on anything Islamic. We wanted to create a society that understood the religion and the principles upon which it is based. But during the time of Zia all we had were policies and public speeches, vast projects and empty promises. The politicians used Islam to reinforce their power and the Islamist movements began to work with the government to gain political power for themselves. But the message of Islam was forgotten and so was the struggle to revive its internal dynamics. Today there are no longer any learned scholars in the Jamaat and the other Islamist movements in Pakistan. There are no original thinkers and scholars- only politicians and tacticians.'

Farish: 'If that is the case, what then is the role of the Ulama in contemporary Muslim society?'

Farooq: 'The Ulama have become the disease of Muslim society! They are the ones who stand in the way of the Muslim scholars and intellectuals who want to revive the intellectual tradition within Islam. Whenever a Muslim scholar raises a new controversial issue, the Ulama are the first ones to accuse him or her of attacking Islam itself! Any attempt to question the dominance of the Ulama is re-interpreted as an attack on Islam. Any attempt to question the outdated fiqh of the Ulama is seen as an attack on Islam. How can we Muslims ever develop if we have to face such opposition on a regular basis? Instead of intellectual development and original ideas, the Ulama have merely emphasised the ritualistic aspect of Islam.

For example: In Pakistan we have thousands of ordinary people going on the hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca every year. The Ulama encourage this sort of public devotion as it suits their interpretation of ritualised Islam. But as any learned Muslim scholar will tell you, in Islam the act of going on the hajj is qualified by many other restrictions and conditions. One should not go on the hajj is one's relatives are poor. The money for the hajj should go to them instead. Or to other poor people to whom one is close to. This is the egalitarian aspect of Islam that has been forgotten in the rush to perform such rituals for personal benefit. The end result is that we have thousands of Muslims going to Mecca every year, while their own relatives, neighbours and friends are poor and needy at home. Isn't charity a part of Islam as well? Isn't it part of our fard'u kifayah (social obligations)? Apart from their ritualistic approach to religion, the Ulama still cannot think of Islamic law outside the framework of crime and punishment. They still cannot address the issue of rights and entitlements, of justice and equity. They talk about how Islam is a humane religion, a just religion- but all the while it is they who have given Islam such a bad name and made it look like a religion of retribution and punishment. No wonder the Muslim world has such a bad image today, thanks to the Ulama.'

Farish: 'Why do you think the Ulama, as an institution, have become so dogmatic today?'

Farooq: 'The Ulama have grown increasingly conservative themselves. They talk about leading the way towards the path of development, but in fact most of them have proven to be fundamentally conservative. In Pakistan the Ulama have sided with the military regime, the feudal landlords, the traditional elite. In all these cases they have really supported the status quo, as it is in their interest to do so.'

Farish: 'So who do you put your trust in? Who can possibly lead the Muslim Ummah out of the morrass it finds itself in today?'

Farooq: 'What the Muslim world today needs is another Ataturk! We need a new Ataturk who has the vision and foresight to see that the Muslim world cannot survive on empty slogans and simple solutions only. By this I do not mean one leader or one sole spokesman, but rather a class of revolutionary thinkers, scholars and lay Muslim experts who have broken from the mould of the Ulama of the past. Rather than acting as the watchdogs of the Muslim community, these Muslim intellectuals need to be brave enough to be able to re-think some of our most basic suppositions and adapt them to the needs of today. We cannot go on reproducing the same old legal codes from one thousand years ago. We need to be able to think originally, apply our legal reasoning and adapt our approach to the world that we inhabit today. This means trying to operationalise fiqh in relation to other modern sciences and dicsiplines. And we need to remember that this does not make us anti-Islam or anti-Muslim. What we are really doing is saving the spirit of Islam itself, something that my father was trying to do all his life.'

This article first appeared in the Crosscurrents column of the New Straits Times.

Source:
http://phuakl.tripod.com/eTHOUGHT/Syed1.htm
http://phuakl.tripod.com/eTHOUGHT/Syed2.htm

Perfection?

2009-04-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

The perfect being, was it? There is no such thing as perfect in this world. That may sound cliche, but it's the truth. The average person admires perfection and seeks to obtain it. But, what's the point of achieving perfection? There is none. Nothing, not a single thing. I loathe perfection. If something is perfect, then there is nothing left. There is no room for imagination. No place left for a person to gain additional knowledge or abilities. Do you know what that means? For scientists such as ourselves, perfection only brings despair. It is our job to create things more wonderful than anything before them, but never to obtain perfection. A scientist must be a person who finds ecstasy while suffering from that antinomy.

~ Mayuri Kurotsuchi (Bleach)

Bol

2009-01-15T00:18:00.000-08:00

Bol ke lab aazaad hain tere
Bol zubaan ab tak teri hai
Tera autvaan jism hai tera
Bol ke jaan ab tak teri hai

Dekh ke aahangar ki dukaan mein
tund hain sholay, surkh hai aahan
Khulne lage qufloun ke dahaane
Phaila har ek zanjeer ka daaman

Bol ye thoda waqt bouhat hai
Jism-o-zubaan ki maut se pehley
Bol ke such zinda hai ab tak
Bol jo kuch kahna hai, kah le

~Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

The bitter incoherences - Part I

2008-12-29T05:51:00.000-08:00

A later generation of theologians, the Ash‘arites, named after Al Ash‘ari, born A. D. 873, are forced by the weight of evidence to admit a certain irrationality in theological concepts, and their philosophical speculations, largely based on Stoicism, are strongly mixed with Sceptical theories. They hold the middle way between the traditionalists who want to forbid all reasoning on religious matters and those who affirm that reason unaided by revelation is capable of attaining religious truths. Since Ghazali founds his attack against the philosophers on Ash‘arite principles, we may consider for a moment some of their theories. The difference between the Ash‘arite and Mu‘tazilite conceptions of God cannot be better expressed than by the following passage which is found twice in Ghazali (in his Golden Means of Dogmatics and his Vivification of Theology) and to which by tradition is ascribed the breach between Al Ash‘ari and the Mu‘tazilites.

‘Let us imagine a child and a grown-up in Heaven who both died in the True Faith, but the grown-up has a higher place than the child. And the child will ask God, “Why did you give that man a higher place?” And God will answer, “He has done many good works.” Then the child will say, “Why did you let me die so soon so that I was prevented from doing good?” God will answer, “I knew that you would grow up a sinner, therefore it was better that you should die a child.” Then a cry goes up from the damned in the depths of Hell, “Why, O Lord, did you not let us die before we became sinners?” ’

Ghazali adds to this: ‘the imponderable decisions of God cannot be weighed by the scales of reason and Mu‘tazilism’.

According to the Ash‘arites, therefore, right and wrong are human concepts and cannot be applied to God. ‘Cui mali nihil est nec esse potest quid huic opus est dilectu bonorum et malorum?’ is the argument of the Sceptic Carneades expressed by Cicero (De natura deorum, iii. 15. 38). It is a dangerous theory for the theologians, because it severs the moral relationship between God and man and therefore it cannot be and is not consistently applied by the Ash‘arites and Ghazali.

Source: http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ir/tt/tt-i.htm

Nandana Ki Talash

2008-12-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

This was our fourth attempt to look for Nandana's Fort. However, this was our first time when we were able to spot its ruins though from a distance. But right then rain started pouring and we couldn't continue as it was still a few kilometers' trek on foot from where we stood. There was this locked PTDC rest-house as well over there.

Nandana was a fort in eastern flanks of Salt Range in Punjab Pakistan. It was ruled by Hindu Shahi family and Mahmud of Ghazni expelled them from here. It was built on a hilly range and it ruins are present.

Nandana is also the name of Lord Shiva's Son "Lord Ganesha" ~Wikipedia

The route was Lahore - Kalar Kahar - Choa Saiden Shah - Katas - Basharat - Aarrha (Nearest spot) - Pind Dadin Khan - Rasool Bairaj - Mandi Bahauddin - Khaarian - Lahore

Though I uploaded a few unaltered pictures on facebook. I think some of them needed post processing, plus if somebody is interested in larger pictures. Here have a look.

Heavily altered - Taken at Johar Town Ring Road

Mildly altered - Taken from Motorway near Bhera

Mildly altered - Taken near Kalar Kahar Exchange Toll Plaza

Mildly altered - Taken near Kalar Kahar Exchange Toll Plaza

Mildly altered - Taken near Basharat

Mildly altered - Taken near Basharat

Mildly altered - Taken near Basharat

Mildly altered - Taken near Basharat

Mildly altered - Taken near Basharat

Mildly altered - Taken near Basharat

Mildly altered - Taken between Basharat and Aarrha

Mildly altered - Taken between Basharat and Aarrha

Mildly altered - Taken at Aarrha

Mildly altered - Descending from Aarrha

Mildly altered - Descending from Aarrha

At peace am I?

2008-11-27T05:29:00.000-08:00

Flowers every night
Blossom in the sky;
Peace in the Infinite;
At peace am I.

Sighs a hundredfold
From my heart arise;
My heart, dark and cold,
Flames with my sighs.

~Rumi

Kuch tou insaaniyat dikhao

2008-11-03T22:21:00.000-08:00

Masla unn logoun ka nahi jo Pakistan mein marr rehe hain. Masla unn logoun ka hai jo aadhey-pouney zinda bach rehe hain. Khuda-ra jab maaro tou mukammal tour pey maaro, peechey koi roney wala mat choro. Kam az kam itni tou insaaniyat dikhao.

Wisdom By Yours Truly - 0.000001

2008-08-21T00:28:00.000-07:00

Those who look up to Army for salvation are generally short-sighted idiots. And those who claim this country is not ready for democracy are pretentious idiots

Is mulk ko bechana hai

2008-07-18T03:54:00.000-07:00

Pakistan humara mulk hay, Zardari ka mulk hay, Pervaiz Musharaf ka mulk hay, Fouj ka mulk hay, America ka ...
Is mulk pay is waqt kitni naik roohon ki nazr-e-karam hay...
Is mulk ko bechana hay khuwah is mulk kay sub logon ko marna paray

~ Kamran Haq (Source: Sahics All Yahoo Group)

We do we want?

2008-01-08T07:02:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about starting this blog with a quote. I like quotes, few words explaining a lot. So I started searching for some suitable quote but couldn't find one. However, came across something interesting.

Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe?”

~Stephen Hawking

We always look above when we pray. Mankind fancied everything larger than life from the beginning. We want to know everything. We want to evolve. Our current state rarely seems to satisfy us. Maybe thats what makes us human. But all this advent of human kind seems to flow towards materialism (yeah! a cheesy word). Our current goal stated by greater minds of this time frame is to find the Theory of Everything. But hardly ever we strive for Theory of Everyone.

As Time Goes By

2007-10-25T03:40:00.000-07:00

This day and age we're living in
Gives cause for apprehension
With speed and new invention
And things like fourth dimension
Yet we get a trifle weary
With Mr. Einstein's theory,
So we must get down to earth at times
Relax relieve the tension
And no matter what the progress
Or what may yet be proved
The simple facts of life are such
They cannot be removed
You must remember this
A kiss is just a kiss
A sigh is just a sigh
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by
And when two lovers woo
They still say, I love you
On that you can rely
No matter what the future brings
As time goes by
Moonlight and love songs
Never out of date
Hearts full of passion
Jealousy and hate
Woman needs man
And man must have his mate
That no one can deny
It's still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die
The world will always welcome lovers
As time goes by.

"As time goes by" from Casablanca

Revisiting Physical Infinity

2007-09-10T03:01:00.000-07:00

I had this idea for some time in my mind but wasn't able to rationalize it until yester-night. The idea turned out to be pretty simple.

At any given point in time the total number of particles in our universe is finite. And in order to determine the value of 'infinity' in terms of natural numbers, one can device a storage method which use a given particle to represent certain states. And then using any function of the total no. of particles in our universe would lead to the largest possible value that can be pragmatically generated. The selection of function itself will also be limited by the same no. of particles as this medium will be shared by both the representation of the function and the number generated. Changing the storage method or function would simply change this finite value but not the property. And hence we will always have a finite value for infinity or more appropriately the maximum number that can be generated in our event horizon. Any larger value cannot exist or be generated in our universe at any given point of time.

In simple words if we use all the matter in our universe to create a paper and ink. The maximum number that we would be able to write in an instance of time will be limited by the dimensions of paper or the quantity of ink. It does not matter how small we can write as it will always be physically limited.

We cannot comprehend any larger value, however we can definitely imagine it by abstractly doubling the size of the paper, i.e. increasing the no. of particles in imaginary space.

Losing all hope was Freedom Ep2

2007-07-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

To describe myself in 3 words: Lazy!

It seems my lamentation over dire and messed up state of my country is becoming eternal.

We have a massive army, the most prestigious organization of our country and I am dating Katrina Kaif these days.

Pakistan's Army Score so far:

P. Army vs India: Won 0, Lost 2, Draw 1
P. Army vs Pakistan State: Won 3, Lost 0, Draw 1

//Added a few weeks later
But at least now we can claim that we have some sort of functional judiciary, which to say the least is the most encouraging thing happened in our history so far and by far.

Yeah I know the blog is messed up, deal with it.

ps. Whenever I refer to our Army I mean the military bureaucracy, the generals, the upper-tier.

Losing all hope was freedom - Ep 1

2007-04-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

I am a citizen of a third world country. But having a slightly larger brain I have been cursed with the useless lamentation over the dire state of my country. I live in Pakistan. Founded by Jinnah, either for Islam or Muslims, but we are trying hard not to figure it out.

We say, its Islamic Republic of Pakistan, but neither its Islamic nor Republic. We are losing it at both ends. We want a label of Islam as well as Secular so we can deceive everyone including ourselves and maybe even God Himself. But being the omniscient He is, He figured it out rather quickly and left us for our own demise right after our beginning. One after other, we faced corrupt yet mediocre _leaders_ with endless appetite for fame, glamour and riches.

What was the vision? the motive? the aims? Nobody whose opinion matters gives a shit. We don't have one good reason to justify this country's existence anymore.

Balochis want a separate state. NWFP is a watan for the residents and to them, everyone else is a foreigner. Sindhis think they are betrayed over water. And Punjabis are as self-indulgent as ever. Honorable mentions are AJK along with Northern Areas, who would love to join an Independent Kashmir any day. So what is left of our proud _nation_? maybe just cricket!

I think its time for center to let it go. Make all provinces autonomous states and see where it goes, after all what more do we have, to lose? Let it be United States of Pakistan or maybe United Islamic Republic States of Pakistan :P.

"It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything. ~Fight Club"

...continued

For the love of God, its just a game!!!

2007-03-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

Pakistan lost their game against Ireland. Okay! I must admit that I growled, screamed, punched a few walls, and did everything my reptilian instincts demanded. It took me a day or two to return to stability. I had it sworn that I would never watch this game again, and right then Bob Woolmer died!

Generally I don't grieve over a death, so I didn’t. But I felt this immense guilt, the guilt of being a moronic-egoist. And yet I am not alone; this whole sub-continent is full of such pseudo-idealists (fanatics), who cannot tolerate a single failing from their heroes. Like, this blunder resulted in remarks like, “If I was Hitler, I would have had them shot.” & “They should die of embarrassment.” And then somebody actually did die, ironically it happened that the first one to die was not even a Pakistani. Everyone forgave him immediately and very graciously. It is calm now. A death did well to satisfy our hollow egos.

But then why should one die if we lost a game? It’s a game right? Or is it that difficult to comprehend?? If truth be told and pretty harsh that would be, we want our players to rather die than lose such a match. Otherwise, we will burn their effigies, torch their houses, prepare a few empty graves (not a metaphor) and what not. But that is hard work, and it’s time-consuming. So better they die and save us from all the trouble, just like Bob did.

As you surely know, most of them are of age 20-26 enduring the blistering gaze of 160,000,000 nearly all the time. So do make them realize, make them learn but please don’t make them wish that they should rather die!

I can’t write any further, it’s already too late.

Good Man!

2007-03-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

I would put this, once again for Bob Woolmer!

History recalls, how great the fall could be

While everybody is sleeping, the boats put out to sea

Borne on the wings of time,

It seems the answers were so easy to find

Too late, the prophets cry

The island is sinking, lets take it to the sky

Called the man a fool, striped him of his pride

Everyone was laughing, until the day he died

Though the wound went deep,

Still he is calling us out of our sleep

My friend, we are not alone

He waits in silence, to lead us all home

Love you man. May you rest in peace.

Ki jana mein kaun?

2007-03-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

Usually people start with some sort of motivation. In my case, I want to write, but I know I can't. With my fingers crossed, I can't even lift a pen, so I shall keep em straight. So with my fingers straight lets see how many times this blog gets updated.

History recalls, how great the fall could be
While everybody is sleeping, the boats put out to sea
Born on the wings of time,
It seems the answers were so easy to find
Too late, the prophets cry
The island is sinking, lets take it to the sky

Called the man a fool, striped him of his pride
Everyone was laughing, until the day he died
Though the wound went deep,
Still he is calling us out of our sleep
My friend, we are not alone
He waits in silence, to lead us all home

(Fool's Overture by Supertramp)