Juma prayer

I am living in DHA eme sector these days in Lahore. This is a decent gated society and generally a good place to live. So last Friday at the Jumma prayer of the main Jameya masjid something happened and I think it has been bothering me slightly since then. I got some to think on it today. Anyways. At the end of the prayer when the prayer leader said salam he made a short announcement before reciting the dua. From what I remember, it roughly translates as follows

“It has been observed that people tend to stay back in the mosque after prayer. Some are seen sleeping or lying down. You are all asked not to linger back after prayer and specially do not sleep in the mosque after prayer. People sitting in the Aitekaf are here and this is a security hassle and a problem for the people as well as the management. If you do not comply the security guards will be asked to make you leave which will be a discomfort for you".

I had actually been late to prayer. I listened to the announcement, said the dua with the congregation and then offered my namaz. Or as one of my friend says “make-up namaz parh li”. He uses this term every time he misses the eid prayers.

Anyways, I got back home, slept and then got busy. But this kept on bothering me.
Religiously speaking, I don’t know whether its okay to stay back in the mosque after prayer or sleep at the premises. Missing a Jumma prayer in Ramdan, (one that might have been the jumma tul widda), I am sure even if I did have a religious opinion, it wouldn’t count. However, with all the security measures already taken (gated society entrance, security guards at the mosque gates, metal detectors) I am sure that most people entering the mosque are more or less okay. Secondly, even if someone sinister enters, I am sure they would want to pick pocket or something when the entire congregation is there and use the crowd for their advantage, not when there are fewer people available.

So my take was that the people staying back to sleep are probably staying back just for a clean place to rest their heads at. Maybe with a fan running on top of them. These might be things that we take for granted but maybe some workers, or laborers can get these facilities only at the mosque. I felt that the word “security concern” was being used in place of “discomfort”, discomfort from the presence of people that don’t fall into an acceptable category.

Again, I don’t really know what’s right or wrong, but shouldn’t things like this be welcomed instead of shunned. Shouldn’t the doors of mosques be open for people who want to rest their head, straighten their backs and take a break from their tough lives? The house of Allah, is meant to be a place of spiritual respite, why can’t it be a place where people feel at home physically and mentally as well.

It’s not just this isolated incident. I see more and more mosques being closed and locked after prayer times. I read a rhetorical post online; “why do we have x number of homeless people sleeping out in the open, while we have y number of churches “(I don’t remember the exact number but y was larger than x). I felt the same applies to Islam as well, with so many people suffering in various ways while their place of escape is no longer there.  It was sad to see that doors of a tranquil place are closed for people who might need it the most.

A few years back, I remember praying regularly at the local masjid in Ramzan and often falling asleep there. It used to be such an amazing feeling. Almost as if I was doing ibadaat and receiving Allah’s rehmat at the same time.

Here’s to hoping that we open the doors of our buildings and hearts for everyone.

To all the amazing people in the world

Hello,

Yesterday, A friend of mine and I met after a year or so. We were talking about all the people from the past and we randomly decided to call up one of them. Even though we are 23 something years of age, our brains are stuck in the 20^th century. The friend we called did not have my number saved. So we thought we’d mess around before identifying ourselves.

I will use “Panda” instead of his name for the rest of the article

Hello is this panda speaking

Yes

I got your number from somewhere. I need a job.

What have you done?

What  

What have you studied

Engineering from Punjaab university

What subject

It. please can you give me a job

What is your GPA.

At this point I thought. Why is this idiot interviewing me? It’s not like he can give me a job or something being a recent graduate himself. So I asked

Panda you dash dash this is me farrae. Why are you asking questions as if you will actually do something or give an unknown caller a job?

And this is what he says

“I couldn’t have possibly given someone a job. But I was thinking if I could refer his CV to someone maybe, I might be able to help him. Lots of people are looking for jobs these days and I thought I should help”

I later asked myself what I or anyone else would have done if a random caller asked the questions. Hang up? Most probably.

There are bad people and good people and then there are these insane people with unlimited goodness in them for anyone and everyone.

I think it is these kinds of people that keep the world spinning. We owe it all to you. Thank you. 

Embarrassing Moment: 239

There is absolutely no reason why I should be posting this. While the world publishes research papers and what not, I am here writing about yet another embarrassing moment.

Last weekend I was travelling from Islamabad to Khewra. It was a Sunday. I left Islamabad at around 10 30 pm. Driving by self I prefer to wear comfortable night suits. But since I was with friends before leaving, I didn’t get the chance to change.

On the way, I stopped at a rest area named Kalar Kahar. It was late at night and there were only a dozen or so cars. I parked my car at a side. It was dark and seeing that there isn’t a single person in sight for 50 or so yards in either direction, I decided to change my clothes in the car. I got in the passenger seat and began. While taking of my pants they got stuck near my feet. This was when I saw a windshield cleaner approaching. A bucket and viper in hand.

He hadn’t seen me yet. While I scrambled to take off my jeans quickly and start putting on my shorts he reached, put down his bucket and raised the vipers. That is when he noticed what was going on inside the car. He stood still for a few seconds. I gave him a thumbs up, signaling him to continue.

The puzzled look on his face was priceless  :D

He eventually cleaned the windshield and went away. I drove off. Funny incident that was. 

I promise I will write about something useful or meaningful soon too IA. Sorry for this. 

Smile and Wave Boys

I remember back in the days, when we used to be little, going to and coming back from School was an adventure on its own. Why? Because we used to travel by bus. Imagine being this silly, jumpy, dirty kid and then imagine fifty more just like him, confined in a space of 8 by 30 ft. imagine windows open, with kids hanging out waiting for the conductor to turn around and scream. Imagine girls sitting in the front barricaded from boys via couple of rows of teachers. Imagine paper planes and loose shopping bags tied up with strings chasing the sides of the bus. The “bolo pencil, Teri shadi cancel” and the laughter that it used to spark. The “gud guddi” and the “chutkian”.

Each day. An adventure.

I remember this one car. Don’t remember the model or the make but I remember it used to look really cool. It had the same route as us. Once every few days it would meet us on the road. The driver would come honk from behind. All of us who naturally sat at the end of the bus (because we were too rowdy to sit in the front with the seniors) would plaster our faces to the rear window and wave frantically. This guy you see was our James bond our Sharukh Khan and our Superman all in one, driving this red supercar going on some insane cool mission.

So where was I. he would come from behind and we would know. We recognized the horn you see. Our heads used to go whoosh and someone would scream ”laal gaari wala banda aagaya”. We would wave. And he would wave back. We used to stick our tongues out and he would do the same. Then he would switch lanes, rev his engine and overtake us. 

We used to wave at nearly everyone who dared to look at our bus. I remember whenever someone would wave back at us, it used to make us all go crazy and when this guy did it, it would feel like we were a part of this secret mission that our James bond was about to attempt.

Today this little girl brought back these amazing memories. Was driving in the G9 area. I was slowing down to halt at a turning and so was the car next to me. In this car there was this little girl with the window rolled down, hear head resting on her arms, looking outside and enjoying the amazing weather that was there today. For some reason I looked at her and rolled my tongue. I do this on and off, you see.  I get mixed reactions. Sometimes kids poke the elder sitting next to them and point at me with their eyes saying “what is this creep doing mama”. But this little girl, she didn’t duck, she didn’t turn away, she smiled this amazing smile for a good few seconds and then she rolled her tongue back at me. I raised my hand and waved at her. She raised hers and waved back. Her hand was now drifting away and that made me realize that I too needed to move. She put her hand down and smiled that priceless smile again as if saying goodbye and then she was gone.

Thank you for making my day today, little girl  : ) may you always have a reason to smile and may your smile continue to make others smile. 

Death of a friend

I wrote this yesterday but I wasn't sure if should upload it. Here it goes

Just a couple of hours ago I heard that a very old friend of mine has died.  By very old I mean that our friendship dates back a long time, even before I knew what the word friend means and also the fact that this man was somewhere in his eighties.

Normally you are supposed to feel sad when someone dies. No?  Yes. But I feel happy.

You see this friend of mine. He used to call me his “chalgosey wala dost” before I knew his name, or who he was, I knew that I had a chalgosey wala dost. He would bring soun halwa and chalgosey from Multan and I would eat them like crazy. I used to love them and my parents told this to him. As the years went by his health deteriorated and his regular visits to Islamabad lessoned. But no matter what, there was a regular mail package addressed to “merey chalgosey wala dost”.

Getting back to why I am happy

So you see this guy, Bhai Jan Usdani everyone calls him, is my mother’s cousin. I think. He is one of those people who have spent their lives living for others and without even realizing it. He would wake up before dawn. Pray thahajud. Then pray fajar then he would go to his shop where he would practice hikmat. Homeopathic medicine, for free as far I know. He would write books, have them published and then send them off to friends and family. These books talked about how to live a good life, be happy and healthy, the right medicines etc. etc. I could go on and on about his life but you see It doesn’t matter. Not to him. He wasn’t one of those people who did things for others so that he would be remembered. He did it for the sake of doing it. I praising him wouldn’t matter to him.

I remember his bones were thin. His skin would hang loose and he would go on and about the day with the biggest smile I have ever seen. His teeth poking out. He almost looked like a happy cartoon. He was average in height but extremely week. But if someone told you of his daily schedule you would think twice before believing it.

I just realized I haven’t explained why I am happy

You see. I happy because in him I see a friend who did all he ever wanted. He raised his kids, didn’t get them money, but he taught them to be the best of people. He loved his family. He did everything for his friends and it’s not like he was waiting for something in return. Had he been waiting, I would wished that he got to see the fruit of his efforts. But he wasn’t. And apart from that, you see he was so ready to step into the next world. I really feel he deserves it. He seems like one of those people who you know will get all the promises of the hereafter. Whenever I used to meet him I would wish him to be stronger to be able to enjoy more and I think that the life into which he is entering will give him that. The thing is, it is difficult to wish for anything for a person who seems eternally satisfied. Hereafter seems like the ultimate reward for him that he is finally getting inshAlalh.

The last time I met him. I remember I went up to him nervously and asked if he remembers me. I was guilty for not visiting him in a long time. He was wearing glasses as thick as my thumb and I was sure that he would have lost me in his old memory. He didn’t answer the question. He kept eating the food in front of him while I looked down at floor embarrassed. Then he turns to me and says “chalgosey laaye ho merey dost?”

That same night. I remember one other thing he said to me. Now all of us have well-wishers and I have heard lot of people wishing for success or money or happiness for others. Bhai Jan usdani however said this “allah taaku dilli sukoon devey”. I live in a world where money success, promotions and so many other things matter to people and there he is wishing for my hearts inner peace. It was something that might never leave me.

May Allah bless him with the highest grade in paradise Ameen.

When an apple meets a banana

I just saw this, an old wall post that i wrote on a friends wall.

"an apple says to a banana, whats up
the banana replies, nothing much just talking to a fruit
the apple, surprised, says, but fruits dont talk.
the banana says, i was thinking the same thing
the apple, annoyed, says, you idiot fruits dont think
the banana says, confused, does that mean that i am a fruit
the apple says, i think so, 
the banana says, so that means that you arent a fruit,
the apple says, i am not so sure anymore.

and just like that two fruits forget who they really are and what the point of this story was. i actually wanted to stop at the first line. socha pura hi likh deta hun.
in conclusion. i miss you bro.
whats up"

A Strange Ride

When you board a bus and plan to sit next to strangers, you mentally prepare yourself for mildly unsettling encounters. Naturally, I had to interact with three people

• The guy sitting next to me: Normal
• The guy sitting in the next aisle: Normal
• The hostess:  No

Every hostess has a character of her own. Mostly they just provide you the service and you forget about them the instant you are off the bus. This one, however, was a liiittle bit strange.

The moment I got on the bus I noticed that she was someone with huge temper problems. She kept complaining to the driver about this and that, how someone didn’t count the passengers properly, how someone was trying to pin the blame of missing headphones on her and how she was making him regret it. Etc. etc.

Once the bus started moving one of the passengers ringed the bell. The hostess rose up from her seat, turned around all surprised, and asked out aloud “kis ko maslah parh gaya hey abhi sey” obviously no one dared to raise their hand. Sitting back down, exasperated, she said to the driver “ajeeb pagal log hen, abhi sey tang kar rahey hen”

This would repeat every 20 odd minutes. Whenever someone wanted water or some headphones, she would get up, glare, ask the passenger to wait. Sit back down. Only once she was satisfied that she had shown enough attitude would she actually go and serve.

"nokar samjhtey hen ajeeb"

"abhi tou paani pilyaa tha"

"kitni piyaas lagti hey"

She was handing out headphones when I asked her to kindly spray the air freshener.  Pulling out a sarcastic smile and raising her hands, stuffed with headphone bags, as if to say “cant you see”, she said “aap wait kar lein please”. I matched her smile and tone “ji bilkul. ap pareshaan mat hoya karien please”. This confused her a lot. A few minutes later she returned, smiling, with the air freshener.

An hour later she got up to distribute disposable cups. I had my headphones on so i couldn't hear her but I could see that she was in an argument with a passenger two rows ahead of me. Anyway, she hands me a cup.

“thankyou, magar mujhey nai chaieye”

“kyon” surprised

“mera roza hey”

“uffhoo mein abhi paani nahi dey rahi”

“tou phir is ka kia karun”

“aftari k time pey paani duun gi naaa”

“aftari k time tak tou hum puhanch jaiin gay”

“uff. mujhey nai samaj aa rai. Ghar ley jana aap issey”

I obviously couldn’t respond.

About an hour later she had gotten up for something. She comes up to me. Stops.

“yeh aap kia parh rahey hen”

I show her the cover of my book

“is ko parh kar kiya faida ”

“yeh acha banda tha, shayad mein kuch acha seekh jaun issey”

“nai mera nai khayal”

Leaves

An awkward moment yet again

So basically I accept friend requests from people if we share a few mutual friends, without really checking their background. Reason being that at times I forget if I have met someone before and I don’t want to be rude if I have. Anyway so today on my cover photo some guy, Bla Bla, commented “left par aik nihayat khubsurat shakas (the guy on the left is extremely beautiful)”

I immediately opened his profile to see if I knew who he was. From the pictures, mutual friends and the ‘about section’, I could see that I must have played basketball with him at some point. However I didn't remember him at all.

Since it felt weird, I removed the comment. That was about two hours ago.

Just now I get a notification and it says Bla Bla commented on your photo. I open the picture expecting a hate comment but the comment reads: “left par aik nihayat khubsurat shakas”.

I ended up liking that particular comment and well here I am. Bye.

Won’t be able to share this on Facebook :p

Embarrassing Moments :D

Something insanely embarrassing happened yesterday. Rather, I was the cause of something really awkward. The story involves a few names though and I don't want to mention them. However I really reallllyyy feel like writing about this, so instead let me share a story from last year. 

This one day I reached the Daewoo bus station in a hurry. I jumped out of the car asking my friend to park while I get the tickets. I didn't have any prior booking and it was a weekend. I raced into the building, screeching to a halt in-front of the counter. I had about four or five people in-front of me waiting to get the chance token. I don't remember exactly why but I needed to leave as soon as possible. I excused myself over to the cashier. Trying to catch my breath, with a dry throat I asked him

"When will the first bus leave for Lahore"

"It wont", he said, smiling. 

"How can this be possible, your buses leave every hour. Which one can I get a seat in"

"You cant sir"

"I don't understand what you mean. I need to leave right now. I need a ticket".

I could see my friend coming with my bag on his shoulder, twenty odd feet away. A small crowd had gathered around me, I realized that my voice had risen. Some seemed surprised while the rest had smirks on their faces. I turned back to the counter, calmed myself down. 

Speaking slowly, i said, "Sir, i need to know when the first bus will leave for Lahore. I need a ticket."

"Sir we don't travel to Lahore from this station"

"WHAT? WHY?"

"Because sir you are standing in Lahore".

And you can imagine the rest :D

-

I am not sure why I opened this tonight. Maybe its because I cant sleep, or maybe I don't want to.
Why?
I don't know.

The cursor keeps blinking.

This blog has not been a personal one. I don't come here to express my emotions. I have been told I don't express my emotions anyway.
"You don't have to suppress how you feel".
Brings me back to the question of why this browser tab is open?
Do i have anything noteworthy to say today? A story, maybe? Something inspirational?

The cursor keeps blinking.

The Teaching Doughnut

There are a few days that are going along on this weird kind of bumpy road. You are happy and satisfied one moment and suddenly you get frustrated. There are only two possible endings to such a day. You either go home, sleep peacefully or you take a grumpy face to bed, stare at the ceiling all night.

I was driving on the same bumpy road today and something (not important at all) happened that created the illusion of the road leading to a dead end. While this analogy is very poor, it conveys the fact that I wasn’t really jumping up and down with happiness on my way back home. I stopped at a bakery to get bread.

You see, I, like most of the people out there, succumb to the whispers of the pastries, the lemon tarts and the creampuffs etc. Usually I tell the shopkeeper “one of this, two of that and on and on”. Everyone at home likes all these sweet items. Its always nice when me and my sister divide different pastries into halves so we can eat all the different ones without getting full. It is all fun and bubbles you see.

But since I was having this not-so-happy day, I decided no. Not today. No happiness from me for anyone. Not today.

I mentioned I like almost all things on the bakery counter but doughnuts to me are like average. I eat them if anyone offers one and I like them. But I have never really craved one. Today however this one doughnut caught my eye. It looked like the sweetest thing in the whole shop.  For some reason or the other I bought one. Just one. I decided to eat it in the car. I had it all planned. I would eat it before I reached home, throw the box in the garbage can outside the house and no one will ever know about it.

Anyway. I sat down and ate it. To this date, I have never eaten such a bad doughnut. The only doughnut that I craved for turned out to be a letdown. This really confused me but then I realized that the taste had nothing to do with the fact that I wasn’t enjoying it. Not having anyone to share it with, made the whole thing pointless.

I am a firm believer of the theory that happiness is happiness shared; otherwise it is just a passing emotion with no real meaning at all. This bad doughnut reminded me just that. I kept smiling all the way home, laughing at my own thoughts.  

P.S if anyone at home is reading this, I am sorry. I think I got what I deserved but I will make it up to you :)

P.P.S. Doughnut. Weird spellings. No?  I started the article with “dohnut” but that didn’t make sense. ‘Dough’ is clear but I don’t really understand the ‘nut’ part. 

Help Me Pls

Returning to this empty word template after a long time. This feels strange. Anyway.

“Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it” – Albus Dumbledore

This particular line keeps coming to my head from time to time and so I thought I would write a little bit on this.

Every day three out of seven people complain. They whine about how something or the other needs to be changed, why their life is a mess, or how they can’t survive the extremities of this world. While this stat is made up, it might be real close to the truth. Everyone faces problems. Some talk about them openly and some keep it quiet but nothing gets resolved on its own. If you are facing a problem then seek out the associated people and ask for help. Yes just ask for it.

This Smartphone era has made people really self reliant. It is so easy to Google something and bam there you are, problem solved. People have forgotten the art of asking people for help. At times one thinks “am I asking too much”, “I should be able to do this on my own”,  “I might appear vulnerable” etc. and thus instead of asking for help we end up taking the easier route of complaining.

I thought of a doctor-patient analogy that might fit here but ended up erasing it.     :p

People like helping others. It’s like this weird default feature in everyone. Even if you go ask a murderer for help with something that he is good at he will end up helping you, provided you make the request politely. It feels so good when someone asks you for help. Asking for help is like saying “you are good at this” indirectly and everyone likes to be appreciated.

I am a day scholar at my university. The distances between departments are huge and I have the blessing of a car. Often I find myself driving inside the university and the students walking on the footpaths staring at me. They stare and stare endlessly. When people did this, I used to stop and ask if they needed a lift. Most of the times, “Oh thank you so much, we really needed that” used to be the response. Every time that happened, I wondered why they refused to put their hand out to signal that they needed a lift. Why is it so hard to ask for help in such small matters? One can’t expect help to land itself from the skies above magically. You have to atleast try and ask for it.

This part is off topic. Sometimes however people used to tell me that they didn’t need a lift. ‘Then why were you staring at me, creep’. Therefore I eventually stopped stopping the car. I end up waving instead when someone stares me. Smile and Wave.

Ego. This negative negative word often gets in the way of people approaching others for help. Trust me its not important. Let it go.

 I am not a huge Spiderman fan but

“Everybody needs help sometimes Peter, even Spiderman” - Mary Jane

PS. This might not have been as good as my previous articles but its been a long time, so, sorry about that. 

Actors and Their Demise

Recently a famous actor who featured in the Fast and Furious series passed away. Taking the social media by storm, Paul Walker’s death triggered different kinds of responses. You could see R.I.P. everywhere. Some people were trying to make puns at his expense while some were clearly annoyed by the importance being given to him. I kept wondering why this was happening and jotted down a few reasons.

Note: This is not a rant. If it is possible then please read till the end.

·    News channels try desperately to get you any possible alarming news before their counterparts. This race now features on Facebook as well. Some people cannot resist the impulse to get any such news across to their friends, first.

·    Fitting in. When you open your home page and you see that 50 to 60 percent of your friends are sharing a post it gets difficult to not do the same. “If so many people are doing it, then I must too” whispers a tiny voice in your head.

·    Complete and utter boredom

·   A few likes maybe. Getting “likes” on Facebook is becoming a daily necessity for the regular social media users. So why not use someone else’s (an actor in this case) popularity to your advantage?

·   Looking cool. Oh my gawwwdd. I watch such coolsss moviexx you knowxs. He wax my b3st frand.

However, I think there is a very genuine reason why people share such stories. Bear with me please. 

·    An actor, singer, sportsman or anyone who gets famous affects us in a way. We are not related to them. They usually don’t even know that we exist. But somehow or the other they have made us smile. A movie scene that we really liked, a football goal, a brilliant song. A song can comfort us, put us in a good mood. likewise a movie can reflect on our lives, at times teach us a few lessons, or just be the source of good entertainment. This connection between someone and a character (fictional at times) is not meaningless. 

Brian’s real name Paul was not known to many while he lived. But those who had seen his movies had developed a connection with him. For me this is a reminder as to how you can affect someone’s life without even knowing they exist. It also raises one important question.

How often do we make an effort to make strangers smile?

Why did you start to write?

I started writing in my O’ levels. Every day in class I would get the lowest grade on my essays. My mother would give me hour long lectures; my friends would look at my English notebook with disgust and me with pity. To be honest I am making it sound much more dramatic than it actually was but anyway my writing was depressing; poor grammar, bad spellings and the horrible horrible handwriting.

So yes back to what I was saying. I started writing in this rough notebook at home. It wasn’t a journal it wasn’t a diary. It didn’t have stories. Just random thoughts - long chain of weird random thoughts - about clouds, religion, people, how a bulb functions etc. Thoughts cannot be rethunked (I know its not a word :p), which is why I never read those articles after writing them.

With my O levels cleared the writing part came to a halt. This resulted in my thoughts going up as Facebook status. Seeing the same name in ones news-feed again and again can be annoying. My friends, especially Naseer ud din sahib, pointed this fact out to me several times.

That said, I would also like to mention that a few people said in the past that “you have nice ideas in your head and that you should try and express them”. By that time I thought I was okay enough as a writer. Quiet passionate about the current affairs (not so much anymore), I applied for a writing job at a newspaper agency. They were kind enough to send me a reply which said very very politely that I should try out something else.

 Last year I spent one semester as a hostelite. My roommate, Idrees, was the head of publications in a few societies and would sometimes ask me to comment on articles and reports. I started enjoying that kind of work. With his help, I wrote a few articles for the department’s newsletter and received encouraging response.

This summer when I had some time off, and I thought I have a few good ideas and stories to share, I decided to make a blog. Aaminah (weird spellings but she is doesn’t like it if you spell it differently) helped me out with all the small things “Farrae bhai you can make a blog by registering to blogspot.com” ”you will have to make a template” “this is how you can draft a post on it” etc. More importantly though, she encouraged me consistently.

This is not an article that famous people write after they become millionaires and then reflect on their past. This is just an answer to a good question. Why did you start to write?

(question credits: Maham) :p

Driving techniques that you might not find anywhere else.

All the regular drivers out there know that the road is a very unfriendly, scary place. Here are a few things you can do to make it a bit happier, a little less menacing.  

Note: All of the following are to be done with a smile on your face. Otherwise there is a chance you might seriously offend someone and ultimately get beaten.

1.Don’t you hate it when someone cuts you off?

Give them a hand gesture that says ‘you go ahead sir’.  This will make them think that this is a very nice world where people let others pass.

2.Did you ever get that angry stare when you cut across someone?

Raise your hand in a thank you style. This will make them feel very generous as if they let you pass willingly. Who doesn't like being thanked anyway?

3.For car enthusiast.

When you see a fancy car by your side, give the driver a thumbs up and then see them show off their car. Everyone wants appreciation, no?

4.The random kid with the face plastered to the window.

If you see a small kid in a car next to you, ALWAYS make a twisted face at him/her. Make sure that you pull your tongue out and/or take your hands to your ears and wave frantically.

5.Random people staring at you.

If you see people staring at you constantly from a car nearby, pretend you are listening to a song. Start by nodding your head slowly. Increase your tempo. Start banging imaginary drums with your hands or play an air guitar if it suits you. Make eye contact, act shocked. Smile and look away.

6.For passengers.

Wave and smile at everyone. Drivers must not do this unless the car is stationary. 

Stay happy. Make others happy :)

Malala and Opinions

At the end of any pointless argument people end up saying “you are entitled to your own opinion and I am to mine”. Why then  would you like to waste three hours of your life trying to impose your opinion on someone else  or even bothering to ask what they think about the issue? The reason is simple. Sometimes these discussions are actually beneficial. A well drawn conclusion can help solve a few problems. However, usually arguments just lead to a bad throat.  Nowadays people argue for the sake of having an argument.

I was having a debate with a friend a couple of months ago. The discussion was heating up fast and getting a bit personal. I thought it would be best to drop the argument there and then but my friend refused and I quote “let’s continue. In the end one of us will win and the other will lose”. I might be naïve but I don’t think the point of having a discussion is to declare someone victorious based on how great his or her opinion is on a particular topic.

So yeah anyway. I am not against discussions. I am against having an opinion. At this some of you might think that I have gone completely bonkers. Even though that’s entirely true, I think I have a point. Bear with me if you like…. or can. Nowadays the media bombards us with information here and there. Whether it be printed news, tv channels or even social media, the information pool that we have access to is huuuuge. While this may be very nice in a way, it also creates problems. First of all we never get the complete picture. Secondly we cant really know what the truth is.

What my sister’s friend told me about her maid’s previous owner’s daughter might be as accurate as what JEO TV plays every hour on its stupid channel. If anyone of you is associated with the channel, my apologies but I just hate they way they announce news with the dadhaan and dashhh sounds.

My point being that we might think we have loads and loads of knowledge on a subject of current affairs but I think the truth of the matter, in most cases, never reaches our eyes and ears. And thus based on incomplete and at times, fake facts, forming opinions and defending them against that of others as if one’s existence was on the line, seems pointless to me.

Recently a friend of mine, who has a great blog by the way check it out at  http://hellodogthisismyblog.blogspot.com/, asked me what my opinion was on the whole “Malala controversy”. Truth be told, I never bothered to make an opinion on it. I never tried to hunt people down with a different opinion and then blow them to bits by my points and facts.

This however is what I do know.

Malala is a very little girl by age but has had experiences that I might never have. Not many people take a bullet to the head, survive and go on to become a world symbol. I know for a fact that she did speak for her rights and her education. She might not have initially been that selfless but from what I have seen of her in her interviews she is trying to promote education along with child and women rights globally. Anyone who says these things deserves credit. Whether or not this is a publicity stunt, I don’t know. But at least she is saying all the right things that make sense.

Some people blame her for spreading a bad image of Pakistan. I disagree. I think she helped focus a lot of eyes on Pakistan and that automatically showed the world whats going on here. Was the projected image exaggerated? Yes maybe, but my background differs greatly from hers and our perspective is thus subjective. It is also true that people abroad only got to see one side of Pakistan because of Malala. The bad side, with the terrorism and no women rights etc. I guess we are the ones who should be blamed for not highlighting the positive aspects of Pakistan. No?

As far as; who is behind her, or who is benefiting from her campaign, or whether she is an international agent or not. These things I believe fall into the category of pointless discussions because even if she were a CIA agent as some people call her we will never actually find a signed contract or something saying ”I solemnly swear…”.

Why do people hate her? Maybe its because she got an honorary MS degree from a pretty good university while some of us are having trouble in getting our bachelors done. Maybe its because of the Canadian citizenship, the world tour or her tea parties with the leaders of the world.

So based on the things that I do know, I wish that Malala succeeds in her covert mission of spreading education. No pun intended.

End.

PS. This is the longest I have written in a while. I am sure I would have made grammatical and spellings and all other possible errors. My apologies for that.  

Someone who met me for the first time last week said “when you start talking it seems like you will say something really important but by the end one realizes that it’s not true”. Let me know if you agree with her.

My 7 years old Sony Ericson W 8-10i Walkman Phone

So this post is purely for myself. I wont share it on Facebook or anywhere else as i don't think it would matter to anyone :) I strongly recommend you to not read this if you value your time. For me however my phone is a big deal and i really want to write about it.
I bought the phone when i was in 8th grade for 15 600 Rs. 200 for cover. 100 for a strap. My mother was furious at me but more at my father for "allowing me to spend so much money on something so useless" :)
At that time there were no smart phones. This was a head turner and I used to treat it like a priceless jewel. Its amazing though how new cellphones get released everyday. It took almost one year for the Nokia Symbian phones to flood the market. My innocent cheap cellphone got lost in the midst of all the technological advancements. The smart phones later wiped cellphones like mine off the market.
Its funny how when people meet me they pay more attention to my phone then to me.
A few of the remarks that I get are:
"Phone change kar ley yaaaar" (Please change your phone)
"Is that W 8-10i. can i see it. This was an amazing phone maaaan"
"You had this phone when i last met you three years ago"
"you still have this phone???"
Any way.
The camera doesn't work now. The strap broke. The strap holder broke. The flash stopped functioning this year. I had to reset the software last year. The buttons on the keypad aren't visible. The screen, the memory card and the battery cover come off every-time it falls and it falls nearly once everyday :). Oh and the phone shuts down sometimes when i am trying to make a call.
Buttttt
I have no idea why I still love it. The excuses I present to people are that its battery life is still 3 days, sends messages just fine, can even play a few songs and there aren't any good phones that i like out there. bla bla
If I remember correctly i got the phone as a gift right after my birthday. So this is me saying happy belated 7th birthday to my phone

I hate myself for not taking the time out to write a blog-post for such a long time. Will be back soon. :) 

War against chemical weapons

"If you kill one person unjustly it is as if you killed the whole humanity, and if you saved once person it is as if you saved the whole humanity." (Quran Surah 5 Verse No 32) 

In Islam or any other religion that I have come across, killing someone is considered a very serious issue and is allowed only as punishments to the worst of crimes. I think we can all agree that killing someone without reason is unacceptable. What I don't understand is how we can justify bullets and bombs but chemical weapons are tabooed. I am completely against the use of chemical weapons but equally so of a gun, sword, dagger, poison or any other weapon that ends someones life. If innocent people are being killed anywhere in the world their deaths should be condemned because they were killed unjustly not because they were killed improperly. 

On a side note, with today's media being so untrustworthy, one can never distinguish news from propaganda. I am not sure whether the people of Syria want a better govt or if they are content with what they have. Is the govt actually using chemical bombs or if this just some "misunderstanding". Either way waging a war against a country can't solve it's problems. A war will just lead to the death of more and more people, economic decline, and the resulting govt may or may not be what the people like. 

“I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”  (Gandhi)

Please no more wars.


(My knowledge on this topic very limited. Please forgive me for not quoting exact facts about the whole issue.)

Smileeeeee

IF you are travelling by car, wave and smile at the people on the bus. When you are on the bus, do the same for people in cars.
I am sorry I was gone for so long. Actually I had nothing to do and not doing anything productive puts me in a really negative mood and I just sink into a stupid hole. But this friend, just now, made me smile by saying a few random things on Facebook and so I thought I would write about the importance of smiling and making people smile.
You must have heard this quiet a few times in movies etc. "A smile can change the world". I think that dramatizing something renders it meaningless but I still agree with the statement. Its not about changing the world, its about making it a better place and for that you need to change one life at a time. The easiest way to do that is by giving people a reason to smile. I don't have to quote any scientific research here about how even a forced smile can make ones brain release chemicals that tell him or her that he or she is happy.
I personally enjoy making faces at random babies or waving my hand at strangers until they smile or wave back. All this at the cost of being labeled crazy. I don't mind though. If it takes me trying to balance a water bottle on my head or a spoon on my nose to amuse someone, then be it. I get amused too when I do these idiotic things but I love it when someone smiles.
I just realized that this is not a well structured post but I have a headache right now and I cant write well but I still want to get the message across even if it makes me sound like a beggar.
PLEASE PLEASE SMILEEEE whenever where ever you get the chance, or even if you don't :)

I hope this made you smile :)