Surprising isnt it? im probably one of the few islooites that you'll find commiting such blasphemy - but i cant help it!
When i come to Karachi I change. Im not the boring plan ditcher anymore. my uptight nature somehow disintegrates and a certain life fills a certain void that is usually left. Im more at ease, less stressed, and more lively - my alter ego per say. Heck Ive even started blogging again.
I love the hustle and bustle of this city. I love the lights, the attitude and the general liveliness in general. I love the people (ofcourse i have my certain favourites) the places, the sites and sounds...everything. But what I love most is the endearing quality of this city. This moshpit of cultures has this awesome tendency to rebound from even the most trying of times and come out on top.
Sure i know i will probably never settle here...but this city has played a huge part in making me the person i am today...and ill never forget that!
Karachi - I heart you!
Sent from my Nokia phone
Aah, ramadan kareem, one of my favourite months of the year. A time to share, a time to meditate, a time to think about what went wrong and how to correct, to pause and ponder and plan.
Apart from the food bit another thing that ramadan kareem brings to light is the tradition of taraweeh - the daily prayers in which muslims tend to finish the Holy Quran. Being the overzealous muslim that I am, i love going for taraweeh. While there yesterday i noticed something that I have noticed ever since ive been saying my prayers in jamaat and its always bugged me.
If ever ure late, you have to continue the remaining rakat after the congrgational prayer is finished. Weve all been in that position sometime or another...but have u ever noticed how the people who finish on time with the congregation tend to look back at you? Its like their judging you for being late. The expressions tend to osscilate between 'woohoo, i beat you'..OR..'lookime - mein first aagaya'...till the more extreme 'you shall fry on a stick on the day of judgement.
And thats something i really dont appreciate. Namaz is not supposed to be a leverage for mass judgement, especially not in a jamaat and not in a masjid. I personally have never looked around when i finish my namaz, because i really dont care who came in later or before me. This is my space and my conversation with The Almighty, why should i spoil it by letting my mind wander?
The dilemma however remains, am i right about all these expressions or is it my over active and extreme-guilt-ridden-for-being-late mind doing all the crazy talk?
Sent from my Nokia phone
Posted by
Ahmed Mustafa
5:05 AM
Hmm...i know what you are thinking...frisky little thing isnt he...either he wont write, and when he does, his verbal diarrea knows no bounds...
But im standing at the airport(actually now im sitting in the plane flying somewhere over Sind) and i cant stop thinking about all that our airports signal in the social cycle that we tend to call our lives.
If a metroploitan is supposed to be a melting pot of cultures than an airport of the sites and sounds of a country - especially the passenger exit. You tend to see all sorts of emotions pouring out when the door of the arrival lounge flies open.
Think of this( and then you will realize why i tend to call them emotions rather than humans):
A businessperson walking out tired and stonefaced either met by his personal driver or his cabby, depending on whatever his destination is - the emotion will either be familiarity and relief or formality and a certain resignation that this new city will only bring another empty and boring hotelroom.
A family that has come to a funeral walking out of the arrivals section will try to hold a straightface until they see the affected and will start wailing with open abandon. Alternately the family make come for a happy ocasion either back home from a vacation or coming for a vacation and their expressions will tell you so. The kids will immediately go bonkers as soon as they see sunlight or a familar face, whichever comes first. The parents will as a function of their kids' behaviour will either be extremely embarrased at the reaction or extremely worried about their mental condition.
The list of emotions just goes on and on and on....and i guess thats what makes airports so fun for me. Except for the morning 7am flight ofcourse...that is just criminal!
Posted by
Ahmed Mustafa
5:05 AM
Dont judge me. Not just yet. Not before u have hear everything i need to say.
Im sorry ive been away (not that too many people have noticed). Ive been busy and ive been ignoring my blogging duties. It not that I havent had anything to say, because everyday tends to bring out something that is worth writing about. Ive just been wrapped in so many things all at once that i never found time to blog.
Which brings me to my topic. I am a junkie...and im proud of it. People tend to call me a workaholic, and tend to question the fact that i sit late in office. Its unfortunate for my boss because God bless his soul, because people tend to think that hes a slavedriver that wants me to work late. That,fortunately (for me) or unfortunately(for him) is not true. My boss is one of the nicest guys i know (no i am not sucking up to him) and hes always asked me why i sit so late...and i always have the same answer because i like it.
Its not that im always working. Or maybe i am(although im pretty sure the net takes up more than half of that time). However my late sittings are just mostly dedicated to additional reading, learning new things, new trends, new researches..basically almost anything and everything there is to learn about the field.
I have no clue why i started this post and so since im about to boomerang on a tangent ill just stop here for the moment.
Aloha!
Sent from my Nokia phone
