Life's lessons and then some...
So thanks to some spammer - i had to close down this google account and have activated a new one - ill be changing the adress pretty soon - until then aloha!
im not going to say anything - because some mad ass will probably pump 26 bullets into my body while i have lunch...but to be very honest I do not know the full context of the law. Do I support it? I dont know. What I do support is what it written in the Quran and this is what it says:
"When ye hear the signs of Allah held in defiance and ridicule, ye are not to sit with them unless they turn to a different theme." [Qur'an 4:140]
"And when they hear vain talk, they turn away therefrom and say: "to us our deeds and to you yours; peace be to you." [Qur'an 28: 55]
"Hold to forgiveness, command what is right; but turn away from the ignorant." [Qur'an 7:199]
"Have patience with what they say, and leaves them with noble (dignity)." [Qur'an 73:10]
"And the servants of Allah . . . are those who walked on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say 'Peace'" [Qur'an 25:63]
"Allah is with those who restrain themselves." [Qur'an 16: 128]
". . . But they uttered blasphemy . . . if they repent, it will be best for them, but if they turn back, Allah will punish them." [Qur'an 9:47]
"And if you punished, let your punishment be proportionate to the wrong that has been done to you; but if you show patience, that is indeed the best course. [Qur'an 16:126]
"The recompense for an injury is an injury equal thereto: but if a person forgets and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah." [Qur'an 62:40]
"Twice will they be given their reward, for that they have persevered, (and) they avert evil with good." [Qur'an 28:54]
We sent not and Apostle but to be obeyed in accordance with the Will of Allah [Qur'an 4:64]
Say: I am no bringer of new-fangled doctrine . . . I follow but that which is revealed to me. [Qur'an, 56:9]
Obey Allah and obey the Apostle. [Qur'an 5: 95]
Obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those charged with authority among you. [Qur'an 4: 59]
this post is dedicated to MY people...
Very few people are blessed to have a perfect start to their careers, and even fewer are lucky enough to find friends on their team. I realized yesterday evening that I was blessed with both.
From 2006 till the end of 2008 my life was governed by the rollercoaster that most business students refer to as the booming telecom period. Mobilink had loads of competitors, there were price cuts left right and center, massive investment in Pakistans economy and possibly the highest ATLspend that Pakistani channels had ever seen. Heck, our group of five telcos are probably responsible for the birth and death of most channels that we see on our screens today. But during all this craziness, our humbling factor remained the brand team on mobilinks marketing floor.
Call it an orgy of sorts, but the amount of haywire talent that made up our team will possibly never be witnessed in any other department or any other team in ANY other company EVER again.
The great thing is we've all moved on since then - doing what we all want to do, at better schools and at better organizations. But for as long as we were there, nobody was better than us. Nobody was as crazy, as fun or as frustrated as we were. But we were the kings of our trade and boy did we have fun.
So Sadaf, Khurram, Saad, Sumera, Asad, Bano, Bassam, Noman, Akbar, Saud, Oogie, Fifi and Sobia - this ones for you - MY people. I only wish that we be all be lucky enough to work together again!
Sent from my Nokia phone
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
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!
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
for those of you non existent people who wait with baited breath for my next blog post...im sorry i havent written for a while because id rather not write until i really have something important to say. And as for the rest of you...well heres another piece of my personality for you to decipher.
ive met up with some old friends recently and they asked me whether or not i was still into the whole hullabaloo of drinking and what not. Lets set the record straight first...i was never 'into' it...i tried it to understand what everyone was always harping on about...and then i left it because i realized...it wasnt me.
Let me explain it again...some people arent interested in religion...its not for them...and in the same way...im not interested in the decadent gora lifestyle anymore...because that just isnt me. with time ive come to realize that we were made for something more...the ummat e muslima had a higher purpose...something way more important than getting high on alchohol on drugs or alchohol. i swear to you and i recommend that you try it too...there have been times that Allah has given me a high that nothing else will ever be able to give me.
Thus i request the following from all those who come across this post. I will not join you in ure next hotbox or ure getting hammered escapade. But i will still always be there if you need me if u need to be driven home or cannot walk straight after such an episode :p
Do not invite me to a party because i swear i will not feel left out infact i will love you for the fact that u enjoyed ure evening with the loud chatter of ngo type aunties who have nothing better to do than to live off of foriegn donor loans - and at the same time understood that i do not like being at such events.
Do not call me to a gathering of the rich and elite intellectual uncles who keep talking of change and history, yet would not dare leave their extravagant abode in fear that they be seen with a lowly beggar knocking at the window and may accidently be mistaken and outcast for talking to the 'common man'.
I am not a gora sahab and i do not like being associated with people with mistaken identities.i do not want to act like one, dance like one, talk like one, or have a drink like one.
I am one of Gods better creations and i have better things to do with my life.
let me tell you a little story about my country. We are democratic people, or so we like to think. We also like to think we are an islamic republic - thus the name 'islamic republic of pakistan'.
The problem is we are confused. The people that fight for democracy, the PPP, the PML, the MMA, the PTI and the MQM are completely undemocratic in their own party functioning. They have the same party leaders for the past 20 years unless their leaders have been assasinated by their husbands (PPP) and dont believe in leaving their 'kursis'. We like the idea of democracy, however thats where it stops...
Its unfortunately something my country love to fantasize, but when it comes to walking the talk...nothing happens.
Let me tell you about the new democratic scheme of things nowadays. Our Minister, Mr. Khosa tried to get his brother in law to head the ICTRD FUND which has about 20 billion rupees in its kitty. When the board refused to shortlist the candidate on the basis of a fake degree, 6 borad members were fired. The board members include some of the leading professionals of pakistan which include the country manager of cisco, ex chairman of engro, and the head of multinet pakistan.
Our respected ministers next move was to try to fit his brother in law in the USF fund, which is again lead by one of pakistans most respected telecom professionals, Mr. Parvez Iftikhar, a man that has made the USF a beacon of learning for the rest of world on how to use funds to increase telecom penetration in low growth and emancipated areas.
Democracy has also brought destruction and corruption to our countrys financial sector. The head of NIIT, Mr. Tariq Iqbal Khan another very respected individual within financial circles, who turned around the company to make it the largest mutual funds company in the country was recently removed to make way for another corrupt crony supported by Mr. Democratically elected my foot ten percent zardari.
Our democratically elected government is going back on all the promises that they made and are redoing everything that they thought was wrong with the previous government. When the media tried to bring to light the fraud commmited by fake degree parlamentarians they tabled a resolution against the media. They delayed reappointment of the judges. The list of crap being dealt to the common man on the pretext of democracy is endless...
So for a moment in time I was going towards supporting democracy but things dont really seem to be helping our case. Sure we can say that we need to give it time to develop, but i can...but what about the man on the street who cant buy food for his family? If our elections were truly transparent enough, maybe we could have thrown out and called for change but we cant. Also if this government goes, will the sharifs come back and screw our resources further? And then back to PPP and then another round of pingpong?
Can someone please explain why i should love democracy, because i truly want to, but cannot figure out a reason why!!!
Sent from my Nokia phone
This is something I wrote in my last week at college, but forgot to upload...
As horrible as they sounded, the Smashing Pumpkins did eventually make some sense in their song of the same name in the movie Batman and Robin.
Thats how i feel about my time at IBA right now. Its a constant cycle, this thing that we so fondly call life and when one trial is over the next stage of life starts. You graduate, you get a job, get married, have kids, bring them up to be responsible adults and then they repeat the cycle.
The interesting thing though, is the thing that i discovered while thinking on these fatalistic lines today. Life is more than a rat race, and more than the drudgery that ive made it out to be. Sure its a cycle, but thats what disney was talking about in the lion king, when they referred to the circle of life werent they?
But its not all THAT bad...life is what we want it to be and i want mine to be more than something or someone that will easily be forgotten...
Sent from my Nokia phone
I know this is a controversial topic and i also know that people are scared to debate what has been taught to them as the final word and nothing beyond it.
However music has been a huge part of my life since i was a kid. More often than not it has taught me lessons that no book could ever teach me, and has unearthed passions that i never knew existed inside me. Certain songs and singers have a way of speaking to you like no other, and it is those moments that have given music a certain reverence in my life.
So when people say that music is not allowed in our religion, it hurts me to hear that. Ive thought about it over and over again, and ive reached a conclusion that all those people are wrong and ill tell you why.
Recently i was listening to coke studios version of Abida Parveens rendition of bulley shah and a weird thing happened after that. I cried, got up and went to say my prayers. If a song can make me say my prayers, im pretty sure that its allowed. Take another example. Go listen to josh grobans 'remember when it rained'...it makes me think of God because it was He that gave Josh the voice to sing that song....does that still fall in the 'haram' category?
God has given us instructions that we need to follow, but with our own intuition. Im pretty sure that some sort of music is haram...take for instance the latest rnb hip hop i want to do ure booty type of songs...thats sexual promiscuity right in your face...which is wrong...
Think about it and give me your view.
So heres a thing ive been noticing for a while...and no i dont want to be called a potty mouth after this post but you should know about this in any case... Because its kind of funny
people...or guys (ive only used male bathrooms so i really dont know what happens in female restrooms) tend to not look at each other when they meet in the bathroom. Even if u know the person, you immediately tend to look down and pretend like ure not there. Why? I mean its only natural and its nothing to be ashamed of.
As im sitting in my office restroom and typing this out im dead sure that as soon as i open the door and walk into the handwash area, ill see a guy and he'll look down
Yup...there it is again. But there are also people who try hiding this fact and after a very awkward silence, say 'aur boss, whats up'. Thats the stupidest line ive ever heard...i mean what is a person supposed to tell him...give him an update of my bowel movement?
This lesson goes back to about two years ago, but somehow stays with me to this day...
While working at mobilink we had a tradition of having company dinners at Monal, this new establishment our company had sponsored on Margallah hills. Since it was a friday, a group of colleagues and I said our juma prayers, grabbed some drinks and headed hillside.
When i finished my drink, i threw it out the window. Thats something that i had learnt while living in karachi, since it was unfortunately the practiced norm amongst my peer group. This group however turned out to be different.they stoppped the car, asked me to get out, pick up the trash and keep it in the car until i found a trashcan. All the way up the hill i got a lecture on how if everyone did the same, Islamabad would not be the clean city it was today.
On my back home today, i had a chewing gum wrapper that i wanted to throw outside, but as my hand went out the window it stopped and i remembered what my friends had said. It made me think, and i kept the wrapper in my bag.
the point im trying to make here, is the difference in mindset that we tend to have across pakistan. Whens the last time you ad trash and though 'yaar abhi is ko bahar hee phek do'
Think twice before you act on ure urge next time.
Its been a matter of great debate for me, with people asking me all sorts of questions about my return to telco instead of taking the standard fmcg route...after all thats what i had planned and why i did an internship with reckitt.
Heres the thing...when you go to college, your only objective shouldnt be getting a job, but rather finding a company that gives u a certain purpose, and thats what I saw in Telenor. we always tend to bitch about how the cleint never has the guts to change perspectives, how the client will not risk revenues to go for creative executions. Telenor did the absolute opposite with their karo mumkin campaign. Theyve provided us with a positioning that show all that is possible if we all start working towards an objective...together.
Its good to know that im part of a company that believes in changing customer lives by not simply selling soaps, but instead changing the very way they function. Whereas our ad strategy can be questioned, no one can argue what our services like easypaisa, doctor helpline and blood donation drive have done for this country.
And thats what i want to continue doing. Changing pakistan and taking it to new levels of success and contributing in my own way.
Think about it. What have u done for your country?
So Ive been away for a while. Changing cities calls for a change in mindset, timings and overall personality in my view. The recent week has been pretty hectic with me joining telenor Pakistan on the Djuice brand...and God do I love it!
Having said that, that isnt the subject of this post.
My last days in Karachi turned out to be some of the greatest moments of my life and I had really cool friends give me a totally new perspective on life. You know how we all talk about firsts in life? Ive figured out a better perspective...
My last days were spent saying goodbyes. Goodbyes may be emotional although us "men" dont like showing emotion even if we do get emotional at times. There was Saadis last match with IBA United, My last dinner with her and then my farewell lunch with a bunch of friends.
What was my major learning? It was how to make your last moments...last. Make your last moments lasting enough to be remembered as fond memories. So to everyone at the hostel, in college, at the match, at the dinner and at the lunch...thank you.
You made my last moments in K-town, Everlasting!
"prayer is not a spare wheel that you pull out when in trouble, but instead, should be used as a steering wheel, that gives you a direction in life"
Sometimes you need such golden words to jolt you back towards your values, and i thank Allah that i have friends and family that keep reminding me of His power and all that we owe Him.
Ive always been a muslim by default - i say that because many of us just got lucky by being born in Muslim homes. Ive always believed that I am a spiritual person (after hearing Lady Gagas recent interview in which she said she was a spiritual person im looking for a new word to describe my current behaviour) and understand what God has in store for me. There have been a number of times that Allah has bestowed his miracles on me, and ive been hugely lucky that way.
There have also been many times where ive wanted to return to Allahs fold and become a better practising muslim. However, of those times, my failure to submit to His glory has either been marred by laziness, or a fear that im just not doing enough to please Him.
When in the hostel masjid today I saw one of the new talent hunt sindhi juniors reading a Quran which had english translation, and thats when i was hit by a bout of nostalgia. I donated that Quran to the hostel when i left it in 2006 and it had a hand written message from my grandmother on it. Sure its a great namesake for my family, but somhow Ive always thought that donating it to the hostel masjid would affect people on a wider scale.
And thats why i call myself spiritual, because I believe that God is always on my side even in the most difficult of times. Not because im a very practicing muslim, but because of the small kindnesses and acts of charity that i remember to do on a daily basis. It is a very strong value that my parents have instilled in me and I keep it very close to my heart.
Having said that, i plan to get back into the practice of saying my prayers. Not because im scared, but because I want to, and that in my opinion is the best way to start!
So ive been pretty good at quitting things all my life....not that it makes me a serial quitter, but i guess youll get the point after reading the rest of the post..
i quit tennis as a kid because the coach just kept me on wall practice for a month and i had just had enough of it. I quit learning the harmonium because i just found it too boring and i quit the gym because lets be honest, its just too god damn tiring...
The next thing to quit wont be all that easy. Ive decided to quit tobacco. It wont be easy, heck ive already quit it 20 times.
The fact is, frankly im sick of it. Im sick of waking up every morning and reaching for my suicide pack. Im sick of needing to smoke every time i need to think and my life has somehow become a smokescreen with it. I hate the fact that I cough more often than not, and my throat has become a prime target for any virus that can be found. Im tired of not being able to run anymore, im tired of not feeling healthy and happy 24x7. The horrible thing about tobacco is that it becomes like a crutch for smokers. Once you get addicted, you depend on the death sticks to cure your boredom or any other challenge that you encounter in your daily life. Frankly, I think Allah made me stronger than that, and wanted a different path in life for me.
But the strongest motivation comes from my mother and how it makes her so unhappy that her son is a smoker. At first I thought shed get over it, but when I eventually found out that both my grandfathers (maternal and paternal) had died due to smoking I now understand why it hurts her and my father so much. Sure the fact that my doctor told me that I was a prime candidate for emphysema matters too, but I think a mothers feelings are a much stronger motivation than any other in this world.
Im actually thinking of starting a blog to right down my daily emotions so that other quitters can benefit from my experience. What do you think?
Oh and yes. I would appreciate your support in this trying time. It wont be easy, and jabbering on about how Ill never be able to quit will never help my cause.
Lets see how this goes! Wish me luck.
D-Day 18th June 2010 - My first day without smoking.
So im the sort of person who would rather wait and comment, rather than immediately post a current topic just to increase my blog rankings...and now that the ban is over, i thought id share my views on the issue.
i pissed off loads of my friends when i said i was against the ban. Its not that i love my prophet (pbuh) any less, i just dont think banning fb would really make a significant difference. Fb knows that a government enforced ban will never hold the weight that a people enforced ban would have held. The pakistani government keeps doing everything wrong without the people will and this was just another one of their knee jerk reactions as well.
Who knows, it just might have been zardari pullng strings to get his 'ullu ka patha' fan page removed...
When supporting bans on popular social networking sites such as facebook, people need to understand that there are whole economies attached to these sites. Non governmental organizations and movments use fb to improve effeciency of communication and goal alignment. Corporates use it as a mode of advertising their products that improve customer lives.
everything in life comes with pros and cons...its up to us to think before we react. As for the people who say that they supported the ban, id like to see them voluntarily close their fb accounts in protest...phir mein maaanun ga!
Its one of our favourite topics isnt it...we love blaming someone else for our condition. This post is a mini diatribe against all the people that keep telling me to start watching and believing all that is said in the arrivals, this imaginative new age conspiracy theory series thats fast gaining popularity in the youth of pakistan.
I get it. The jews own the world. They own the media, the top financial institutions, the american votebank and by defualt every system that exists on our planet. And theyre probably out to get us since its been foretold in our religion.
My take on it? It doesnt give me the right to sit around and do nothing. It doesnt give me the right to keep blaming the zionist regime for the ummahs miseries. I wont, repeat WONT keep blaming israel for the state of our world. it isnt entirely their fault!
If only our muslim leadership had realized earlier on that unity, education, faith and discipline, were the fundamentals of what our future success would lie in, only then would we be owning the planet instead of the others. Taking out parades, shouting 'death to america' just wont cut it anymore. Taking innocent civilian lives just wont work. Banning facebook wont work either really.
We need to get our act together, and not for 2 years, but for the long haul. As they say in urdu, 'kamar kasne ka time aagaya he'. Lets all start playing our part.
Looking for a job is difficult, and somehow for lateral hires even more so. Each time i get a call for an MT program and i reject it, i know that im kicking another one of Gods opportunities out the window and decreasing my chances with some of the top organizations in Pakistan.
and its down right scary....because everyone else is getting interviews, and you keep getting calls for immediate recruitment rather than later. The additional anxiety attacks havent really helped either. However, these past 27 years have not been an easy ride for me. Most of my success has not come easily, and has been the result of a lot of risk taking, and even in the darkest of times, ive realized that God has walked with me every step of the way.
I just hope it keeps working out.
