I am a blogger and my aim is to educate people for complex quetions about life and to motivate them so that they than overcome their limitations and hurdles.
via Waqar Ahmed.
Celebrating Sindh Festival.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s initiative to celebrate Sindh Festival is very timely decision, which was much needed to secure the heritage for whom archaeologists say is 5000 years old.
Being Sindhi means universal. Sindhis are living across the seven continents of the world. No matter they are from Pakistan, India or United States of America, they have same type of love for their motherland. This identity and shared culture make Sindhis to work together for the betterment of Sindhi language and preservation of its culture.
Before Bilawal Bhutto, there was a perception that there is no one who can take the stand on preservation of Sindhi culture and heritage. It was also a wide known belief that the main stream media in Pakistan that is Non-Sindhi will never give space to Sindhi Culture and to bolster making people aware of the danger their heritage is at risk of.
But due to Bilawal Bhutto’s influence and his position he has made it possible to grab the attention of the national and international media to focus this issue which was slowly but continuously fading out before our very eyes.
Bilawal Bhutto has also proved that no doubt he lived and was educated in foreign lands but his love for Sindh and its culture is as fresh and real as like any ordinary Sindhi person has for his land. That he understands his roots and has been inculcated well about his being Sindhi by Mohatarma Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and President Asif Ali Zardari.
Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley civilization is known as Pre-Aryan Civilization. The main occupation of the people the Indus valley civilization was agriculture. The Indus valley people knew the use of Gold, silver, copper and bronze but as per the findings they were not familiar with the use of iron metal.
For nearly 3,700 years people never knew that under the mound lies a great civilization. It was discovered in 1922 By Rakhaldas who was an officer in Archaeological Department. Again in 1930 a round of massive excavation was executed at the site by John Marshall. After the completion of this phase of excavation it was again undertook by Ahmed Hassan Dani and Mortimer Wheeler in 1945.
Mohenjo-daro has a planned layout grounded on a street grid of rectilinear edifices. Most of them were ramped up by fired and mortared bricks.
Some integrated sun-dried mud-brick and wooden superstructures. Estimates regarding population of this city says that nearly 40,000 residents were living here. The sheer size of the city, and its provision of public buildings and facilities, suggests a high level of social organization. The city is divided into two parts, the so-called Citadel and the Lower City. The Citadel – a mud-brick mound around 12 meters (39 ft) high – is known to have supported public baths, a large residential structure designed to house about 5,000 citizens, and two large assembly halls.
Still there is so much that is unrelieved about Moen-Jo-Daro. About it scripts of writing are to be deciphered and hope one day we all will be able to understand what these script say and there will be many more doors open upon us and make us able to be more closer to our heritage and culture.
Sindh Festival – for love of Sindh and its culture will be in its full swing from February 01, 2014 to February 15, 2014. This is just the beginning and hope there is much more that will be explored and rejoiced under the leadership of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and President Asif Ali Zardari.
Long Live Sindh – Long Live Bhutto.
Marso, Marso Sindh Na Deson.
#SindhFest
In Search of Destination – Short Story by Waqaroptimist
In Search of Destination – Short Story by Waqaroptimist
He stood up, hanged his bag on the shoulder and headed towards the exit door. He began to search door-lock keys in his jacket’s pockets. After searching all the pockets of his winter coat finally he got them in his front pocket of jeans. The moment he was about to lock the door, phone rang inside the house, He thought “Shit I was forgetting my phone at home well thank it ranged on time”. He opened the door again and crossed sofa reached to the dining table where phone was ringing and revolving around the table due to vibration. Before he could see who was calling message beeped in. It read as “ Will miss you and Good –Bye”. He felt like a current crossed from his whole body at once. He thought to reply back that “I will miss you too and that I will always remember you as my dear one and you will always remain in my heart” but without replying back he put his phone in his pocket.
A yellow cap taxi arrived and he waved his hand for stopping it. The driver looked like African and had dark face, aged about 40 years old.
Taxi Driver : “ where “
John : “Airport”
Taxi Driver: “Ten dollars – no less”
John : “ OK lets go ”
Taxi was floating on road on a constant speed and he saw trees crossing by in a fast rhythm. He had mixed feelings inside his heart. He was happy that he is going to united States for higher studies. He was sad that he is leaving his home behind. His mother who is old now and didn’t want him to go. One sister who was still minor to whom he loves a lot. All the friends with whom he had shared beautiful memories. A journey from childhood to being a young boy. And there the airport came.
Taxi Driver: “ Here we are young boy”
John : : Oh! Here is your money and thanks”
He rushed towards Airport with quick steps. He smiled and waved to the security guard who was standing on the main entrance. Security guard waved and smiled back and opened the door for him. He politely said thanks and moved on.
He put a glance over information board and saw that it is one hour remaing in his flight. He sat at the nearby bench in waiting room and began to look around. Airport was full of people , some coming some going and some waiting like him. On his left was a table and on which he saw Time Magzine and Barrack Obama’s picture on it. He leaned forward and took it. He randomly checked the newspaper and began to read article written by ” Zakir Hussain” and someone interrupted by saying Hello.
Girl “Hi”
John “Hello”
Girl ” Can I sit ?” she said smingly
John ” why not” he said and moved to the corner of the bench
Girl ” Its my first air flight”
John ” By the way where are you going”
Girl ” To New Jersey – to see my mother”
John ” Great!”
And for a while both didnt talk and announcement echoed the airport- “Attention passangers ! Flight No. AJ-271 is ready for New Jersy, Please come in departure lounge” . John gathered his belongings and said with a smile ” Here it is” and they headed towards the aeroplane. John thought it was another casual meeting and like many faces he saw come and go it was same incidents. People meet for a whle and then disappear for never meeting again.
To be continued!
Sachal Sarmast Poetry – Mystic
I’ve read all I had to read
What more is left to read?
O You who have knowledge of those who are oblivious
Break the spell of separation
The cup of Love brings immortality
Whoever drinks it conquers death
Once you’ve discerned the Signs and learned the way to live
All else becomes meaningless
O You who have knowledge of those who are oblivious
Mend this broken heart
O Lord
Winning…
You’ve spent all your life winning
Now you should lose, humble fakir
The worth of victory may be substantial
But the worth of losing is priceless
Remember, Sultan Bahu, whoever did not accept defeat
Will remain without a guide or pir
Noble Hussain accepted the will of Love
In Karbala, witness the devotion of Love
In Karbala, witness the will of Love
I was lying fast asleep, beloved
Who knocked on the door?
I was lying fast asleep, beloved
Who knocked on the door?
I woke up all of a sudden
Sachal Sarmast had come to my house!
SachalSarmast
Beloved, across the river
The camel-driver did not stop and lower the camel to the ground
Beloved, across the river
The camel-driver did not stop and lower the camel to the ground
Neither did I get a chance to even sit awhile with my lover
Nor did I get to stay with him for a single night
Allaah hu Alahu Allah Allaah hu Allaah
MY PERSONALITY EVALUATION!
INTERPRETATION NOTES
| Your Social Boldness: Introverted VS Extraverted |
| You are quite introverted. Socially, you prefer a more relaxed, low-key environment, rather than the hustle and bustle of a wild night in the city. You tend not to talk a lot, but when you do people listen, because when you say something it has meaning. You are not seeking the limelight, usually you prefer to let the attention-mongers do their thing while you observe. In an unfamiliar setting, you tend to be cautious and shy while you evaluate the circumstances. You prefer to avoid conflict, so you do not put yourself into a threatening situation. Your shyness may be perceived as unfriendly, but that could not be further from the truth. People need to be patient with you and take the time to get to know the complex, private you. |
| Your Agreeableness: Candid VS Considerate |
| You are quite considerate. You are a popular person, aren’t you? Of course you are. You truly value harmony in dealing with others. People recognize your friendly, generous, and helpful personality. Your easy-going, agreeable nature makes you such a joy to be around. This is especially true in meetings or general conversations. The topic may become heated, but you are considerate of other’s feelings and you will find a happy medium in order to placate those around you. This is because you have an optimistic view of human nature and you realize that if you trust people with their decisions that they are not trying to hurt you or take advantage of you. This special and rare quality is also seen in your altruism. You enjoy helping others. To you it is not a sacrifice; to you it is fulfilling to help others in need. |
| Your Self-Control: Impulsive VS Cautious |
| You are quite impulsive. You are an independent thinker. You do not need a book of rules to tell you how to behave – you know inside what is right and what is wrong and you act accordingly. You are able to live life spontaneously, because you are able to make decisions without endless deliberation. In fact, when you and another person are making a decision, you are able to reach a solution fairly quickly while the other person has to cautiously plan every step. Eventually, they will agree with you, which is frustrating when your first impulse is usually the correct one in the decision-making process. You tend to be a little more casual, and you do not feel out of sorts when your home or office is not perfectly neat. In general, your life is pleasurable – you know how to have fun and will never be accused of being staid or stuffy. |
| Your Anxiety Level: Excitable VS Relaxed |
| You are very excitable. You do not like stressful situations. You tend to react emotionally to stress, which can lead to bad moods, or even anxiety, anger, or depression. You like to be treated fairly, and may become upset if you sense that someone is trying to cheat you. You may find urges and cravings irresistible to the point that you are giving into them even if you know you will regret it or feel guilty later. Sometimes you may feel uncomfortable in social situations, even thinking that others are judging you. This self-consciousness may show through as shyness, because you do not want people to think poorly of you. You tend to worry and are apprehensive in unfamiliar circumstances. |
| Your Openness to Change: Practical VS Imaginative |
| You are quite practical. You want just the facts – keep it plain and simple. You are practical, pragmatic and well grounded. You have no time for carelessness and impracticality. You prefer to keep your emotions to yourself, rather than exposing your feelings to the world. Life moves along much better for you when you can maintain a schedule and have routine in your life. Unexpected surprises and chaos are a major inconvenience to you. You tend to be conservative and are somewhat resistant to change. Others respect your ability to act properly in your everyday life. |
| The way you Think/Reason: Concrete VS Abstract |
| You are very concrete in your thinking. You tend to prefer the plain, straightforward, and obvious to the complex, ambiguous, and subtle. You might even regard the arts and sciences with suspicion, regarding these endeavors as abstruse or of no practical use. You believe that intellect should not be equated with intelligence, as intellect is an intellectual style, not an intellectual ability. |
Social Class Discrimination.
Social Class Discrimination.
Yesterday, My wife’s uncle performed Aqeeqa of his son. It is ritual of sacrificing goats in the way of ALLAH, so that no harm may hurt the new born baby. Reportedly he sacrificed 04 goats in a row.
I am happy for that. May Allah fill everyone’s cradle with sweet children. There is no comparison of having a child with any worldly belonging a man can have.
But I think he does not like me, the person who is uncle of my wife. I had invited him for attending my marriage, he chose not to attend my marriage ceremony. Then He also did not show up to visit her nephew – my wife- after a day or two , as normally uncles and aunts use to do that, here in our part of country. Giving excuse that he is busy in running a campaign for Elections-2013 in favor of right wing party Pakistan Muslim League (N). I did not mind.
And when now he got his baby, he did not inform me, when he was performing Aqeeqa the above explained ritual. Still he did not inform me while we live so near to each other. So what does this show? Simply that He does not like me as I belong to lower lower class . I swear, he himself is not anything worthwhile for which he should be proud of. He is jobless, but he has some piece of land from which he use to draw his money, has a home here, that too is due to his agricultural land property. And he has got a brother in Qatar – Middle East, who use to send him money on monthly basis to get his home going.
But what stops him to be good with me, I don’t know. Sincerely, I even don’t mind that he excludes me , ignores me as I am invisible to him.
Her mother called me instead of him , for inviting me to the party with my wife. But this is not acceptable in our society. If there was a goodwill at his side, he had to invite me in person. I am sure , there would be many , to whom he will be persuading in person , to get them attend his extravagant ceremony. But like others he also sees me with prejudiced eyes of social status, of which I am surely too mean.
Here, I am fully agreed with what communists use to say. There is nothing like brotherhood or relations on equal footing. Here we are divided among the ruling class and ruled class. Even a prosperous , wealthy real brother does not want to interact with his less fortunate brother. He even don’t want to know how is living let alone helping him to improve his life. Real liberty, real independence is still a dream. We were a colony of Britain’s then; and now we are treated same but now from our own peoples’ hands.
Our society thats too much driven by the societal status of a man leads to make people corrupt. There is no flying for spiritual heights here. When most of the people feel like I feel , then they become ready to do anything to get that false,miserable status by doing anything that it takes, to just become wealthy, to posses many valueable things to show how ‘Respectable’ they are.
But we should not devalue our values, should not give into the bad practices or anything like that. If we just could manage to be real humans and adhered ourselves to the true path. We will ever have God’s support with us who is what this whole universe contains.
I discussed my feelings with my wife, she said , for her my respect is more important than to join his uncle’s party. So she decided on her own to boycott them. Whereas, I allowed her fully liberty to decide for herself. Its really great that she decided in my favor.
Corruption
Corruption hurts the poor most. By definition corruption means ‘utterly broken’. There are many forms of corruption i.e, bribery, favoritism,nepotism etc.
Corruption is as old as the human being. From the ancient period to modern times it has remained among societies forever. It has its influence more over the societies that are less educated, less aware of their fundamental rights. It is such a disease that like Cancer it spreads all over the body and make it dysfunctional. Islam has also condemned the corrupt practices and according to its belief the receiver and giver of corrupt money is destined to go into hell.
Corruption makes impossible for any country to prosper in a longer run. It neither cares for the past nor looks for the future. It just enjoys the benefit for the present.
Awareness about corruption is to be inculcated in the coming generations, for example, it should be the part of our childrens’ syllabus, wherein they are taught about the demerits of corruption and to raise them morally and make their aware of their responsibility to cater corruption. Maybe when kids use to raise the issue in discussion with the parents, this may cause to think their parents about mending their ways, as nobody wants to be hated by their own kids. It will be a change.
Big corruptions use to flow from top to bottom. For reducing corruption rate , it is the Government that has to take some major steps. Their should be some more responsive legislation that can convict the guilty efficiently and faster. Their should be separate courts, I mean mini courts like Tribunals, who use to heart these cases on fast track basis. One or two examples can really send an effective message to the society about being reluctant to corruption or to face the consequences.
But only good legislation and punitive practices cannot be fruitful until you don’t fill that gap that corruption use to bridge. i.e Government needs to overhaul the pay structure, security and justness. Merit should be the order of the day. Specially care must be given to the poor section of society. Revival of trust and merit can really change the scenario of our society. When by merit, able person will hold the offices, and their will be no cover up or compulsion that is due to be given because one was already involved in corruption so he has to give back the favor. Honesty doesn’t care the fears or favors.
According to study of Alexandria University, their is a strong relationship between Culture and Corruption. A culture based on nepotism, favoritism gives birth to corruption. Corruption is considered as the fundamental part of their daily lives. For example, in our country, a person who is designated at a higher post, finds it absolutely right to give favor to his own son, in fact he thinks that he is helping his son to get him hired at a good post, through exercising his influence. Though he will never charge his own son for getting him job. But it is a corruption in its own kind. However, it is felt good by the larger society the way his son was appointed.
Another major cause of corruption in our society is ‘Uncertainty’. Due to misgovernance and misappropriation of resources their is uncertainty about the present and future. Due to lack of accountability and justice, people feel extremely uncertain over the acquisition of their own rights. They don’t that the system alone can help me to get there where they want. From admission in university to getting job in government or private sector they need to have their own influence or interference to get the job done. Hence it proves that for having a minimum corruption you have to have a high uncertainty avoidance culture.
Distance between the Power between the ruling and public also determines that how much corrupt the country will be. Our country has mainly been ruled by the dictators on country level and by Waderas, Chaudhrys at the societal leve;. They both like to have a long distance between them and their public. This strategy deters the public for the ‘right to know’. In such a situation where people cannot ask about how their tax money is being spent. Whether the budget they allocate is rightly being used or its just in papers?. Absence of such scrutiny and pressure from the public side gives free hand to the rulers to do corruption as much as they want. To deter them for doing this, there are two pillars of the state who protect the rights of common man. One of them is Judiciary and the other is Media. Judiciary makes sure that the law is prevailing over all and being exercised on each citizen of the country and media use to highlight the loopholes, big corruption scandals and make the rules answerable to public at large. Media has power to change / make the opinion of the people in a certain way. So after the emergence of powerful media and free judiciary has given a hope that the corruption rate in Pakistan will decrease to its lowest in coming 10 years.
Its impact has already started to show. According to Transparency International survey , Pakistan has improved its overall image by 12 steps. Thats a remarkable improvement in just one year. The worst hit countries are Afghanistan, Somalia and Nigeria. However, Transparency International has also mentioned that there is no country in the world to which they can say that it is corruption free.
We have to make institutions powerful , independent of any pressure and interference. Such independence and ability to exercise the functions they are obliged to do will give a blow to corruption. When institution will stand on their own and won’t be depended on anyone’s instruction or interference, just then we can believe that merit will prevail over all the EVIL forces.
It also recommends that , literacy ratio by improved and people must be given their fundamental rights. This is a long term prospect, and time has come to kick start the process just now.
Still I rise – Maya Angelou – Poetry
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
Waqar Ahmed Shar Baloch 