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Archive for the ‘Pakistan’ Category

Let there be Cricket and only Cricket till April 2, 2011.


The season for cricket is on. The fever is catching on with more heat each day.
The eye catching colourful logo and the ‘De ghuma ke” theme song exudes pure desiness and makes one feel connected .
CWC 2011 is being played in our region. How I wish Pakistan had been a part of the hosting of the games. How I wish sports had risen above the politics of the region.

The excitement began with the announcement of a brilliant, bold and beautiful Afridi as the captain of Pakistan Team. Cheers of excitement went through all round the globe—the cricket keen guys and the Afridi keen gals ( ages no bar) got caught up into the grips of Afridi bonanza.
With just the group stage matches being played so far, there is cricket and just cricket spilled everywhere from living rooms to offices to public places to face book and twitter.

Gaddhafi and Raymond Davis have taken a sigh of relief and are resting in peace for some time.

The matches exude excitement till the last ball being bowled and the killing uncertainty of who will bag the match is beyond description in words . This is indeed what we call sports.
The impressive efforts by teams like Canada and Ireland makes the scenario all the more exciting.

The waning and waxing of adrenaline in the veins accompanied by the rants and raves exchanged with face book friends during the match is a new style of cricket watching, currently in fashion.

Long gone are the bitter memories of the trio caught in the spot fixing scandal. Lets hope no issues of any betting and spot fixing come up in the subsequent matches. It is a difficult proposition though, considering that the crucial matches will be played in the cities known to be the Mecca of betting .

Before even the first Ball was bowled Shayne Warne had tweeted ’…..a tie’ and then the aftermatch tweet, “…………, tie was tongue in cheek, but right.”
Some tongues did wag but there wasn’t much of ruckus over match fixing allegations. Thank God it was just a pun.

There has been quite a bit of pun in the matches gone by. Thanks to the repeated stumbling, tumbling and finally fumbling of our very dear Kamran Akmal to take a catch or make a timely stump may have costed Pakistan very dearly, but it did give the depressed Pakistani awam an excuse to laugh and exchange silly jokes at his cost.

Face book and tweets flooded with messages :

“Why do parents like Kamran Akmal ? Because he is sure to ‘drop’ their daughter back home.”

“Kamran Akmal’s favourite pickup line – can I drop you anywhere? “

“What do Kamran Akmal and Michael Jackson have in common? They both wear gloves for no apparent reason.”

The jokes go on…

Not just the winning matches or funny Kamran, we Pakistanis have been pretty pleased with India’s performance too.

The final tie with England was like a sigh of relief.  And the bursting of the India shining bubble by its defeat to New Zealand sent a tsunami of elation from Kalam to Karachi.

This world cup also is providing us a last opportunity to see some cricket legends play for the last time. Muralidharan and Sachin have announced to bid farewell to first class cricket after this. These Gods of Cricket–the best bowler and the best batsman , shall be missed for a long time. I wonder if there is any one in sight likely to replace them in the foreseeable future.

And yes, the repeated faltering by the Umpires in giving the right decisions and with contradicting decisions coming from the Third Umpire are also the ‘specific’ to this season.

The speculation of which eight teams will make into the quarterfinals isn’t all that difficult now. What remains now is the million dollar question as to who will lift the world cup. Fortunately, there does not seem to be a unilaterally favourite team this time. Some strong teams have had a neck to neck game till the last with the ‘taken for granted’ weak teams. There have been some upsets too .

There is a burning desire of the Pakistani cricket lovers to have the finals played between India and Pakistan in Mumbai under the very nose of Bal Thackrey and then come out winning the Cup.

Thankfully so far most of the matches have been taken in true spirits of the game. All the CWC 2011 has provided so far is excitement and wonderful game of cricket.
I can just hope that the true spirit of the game continues in the decisive matched too and with loads of prayers that the wonderful game of cricket does not get hijacked at the hands of either the shameless gambling or the ruthless extremism.

Let the game remain a game.
And let the best team lifts the World Cup.
How I wish that the best team is none but —

—————————————-

( Fill in the blank with the team you wish to win. For me it isn’t ONE but TWO teams that I cheer and ‘two’ cant lift the cup!)

Aawal Allah Noor Ao Paya-Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – KABIR


This is one of the most popular verses from the Gurugranth Saheb, the Holy Book of the Sikhs. They are Kabir’s words, known in the scriptures as Bhagat Kabir.Kabir has over 280 verses in the Guru Granth Saheb

Awwal Allah Noor Upaya Qudrat Keh Sub Banday
Aik Noor Keh Sub Jag Upajiya Kaun Bhale Ko Mandhe

God created light of which all the beings were born
And from this light, the universe; so who is good and who is bad

Logaa Bharam Na Bhoolahu Maahi
Khaliq Khalq Khalaq Meh Khaaliq Poor Rahio Sarab Tha’ee

The creation is in the Creator
And the Creator is in the creation

Maati Aik Anaik Bhaanth Ker Saaji Sajan Haray
Na Kash Poch Maati Kay Bhanday Na Kash Poch Kunbharay

The clay is the same, but the designer has fashioned it in various ways
Nothing is wrong with the pot of clay and there is nothing wrong with the potter

Sub Meh Sacha Aiko Soee Dis Ka Keya Sub Kuch Hoyi
Hukm Pachanay Saee Ko Janay Banda Kahiyeah Soee

The One true Lord abides in all and by his making everything is made
Whoever realises His command, knows the One Lord and he alone is said to be the Lord’s slave

Allah Alkh Na Jaee Lakhiya Gur Gur Dheena Meetha
Kahay Kabir Mair Sanka Naase Sarab Niranjan

The Lord Allah is invisible and He cannot be seen; the Guru has blessed me with this sweet brown sugar
Says Kabir, my anxiety and fear have been taken away; I see the immaculate Lord pervading everywhere.

Yet the original version of the same verses as sung by Sikh followers as Shabd, or Gurbani or a Hymn is:

Awwal Allah Noor – Alam Lohar -KABEER


Awal Allah noor upaya
Kudrat ke sab bandey
Ek noor te sab jag upjaya
Kaun bhale ko mande.

‘First of all, God created light;
Mother Nature created all human beings equal;
from that one Light the entire world came into being;
so how do we differentiate that one is better that the other?’

O’ MY DEAR KAMRAN


O’ my dear Kamran

Each match, each over, each bowl
I want you to catch me
I want you to hold me
I even want you to hug me.
O’ you adorable Kamran

Each time I come near you,
You don’t even stop me
You don’t even look at me
You don’t even attend to me
O’ you hearltess Kamran

Each time I bounce on you
You just push me away
You just look the other way
You just fall the wrong way
O’ you clumsy Kamran

How long will this go on, O’ Kamran?
Will a bowl come when you will stop me from a ‘four’ ?
Will an over come when you will catch me for an ‘out’ ?
Will a match come when you will bail me off for a ‘stump’?
O’ you lazy Kamran.

Forever yours,

With love,

The Poor Ball.

Welcome to the LAND OF THE PURE


2 March 2011, I wake up to this news:

“The shooting to death of Pakistani Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti has once again raised questions about the country’s controversial blasphemy laws. Mr Bhatti – a Christian – was one of the country’s diminishing number of influential liberals prepared to speak out against the laws. They carry the death sentence for anyone who insults Islam, and critics say they have been used to persecute minority faiths.”

And it enrages me to say this:

 

Where light goes out and darkness infests
Where hatred and bigotry thrive at their best

Where hopes tumble and fear gnaws
Where barbarism rises to open its claws

Where breath constricts and throats it chokes
Where revered are satans in beards and cloaks

Where few minds shake and few souls moan
Where majority beings bear hearts of stone

Where guns are toys and innocent blood flows
Where sane die, mad thrive, as insanity grows

Where ‘secular’ ‘minorities’ are words of shame
Welcome, my friend ‘Land of the Pure’ is my name.

GEORGE YOU AIN’T ‘LEAVING’ PAKISTAN.


George Fulton is leaving said the article from Express Tribune.
He is divorcing Pakistan but with a heavy heart, he wrote.

Heyy George,

Whatever the circumstances of the relationship had been –dysfunctional or frustrating – you may be divorcing Pakistan, but you will never be able to ‘leave’ Pakistan.

Who says you can ‘leave’ Pakistan.?

Once you cross any one’s path be it your ‘dame’ Pakistan, you take a ‘bit’ of her with you, which shall be a ‘little’ part of you, for the rest of your life.

Yes George, no matter how many times you pronounce the word Talaq, you will not be able leave her. She will live in your memories, in your day to day life. She may not haunt you or stalk you, but she will definitely be a ‘part’ of you.

You came Pakistan’s way and cared to stay on for some time. But perhaps Pakistan didn’t care back in return.

Today like millions of us, you have expressed your valid fears of her extremism getting more extreme and her being a failed woman .

The evil side of this woman called Pakistan , who pushed you to a corner to leave must be rejoicing today. Once again like in Benazir’s assassination, Taseer’s ghastly murder, or countless suicide bombs, today again, the extremist wicked witch in Pakistan has won over.

I do not perceive you by the color of your skin. The day you tied the knot with the green passport, you became a Pakistani. I take you as one of us. Each one of us who thinks and is brave to embrace Pakistan with love and care is a George.

We have millions  of Georges in Pakistan. Georges who think and feel the same as you.

All these Georges too feel hurt and bitter because of nepotism, corruption, extremist, ignorance and communal hatred. But perhaps they do not have the privilege like you to leave.

Please support all these Georges who are left behind and strengthen their dreams, desires and aspirations to tame this dame of yours.

Yes, you will leave, but then this dame needs to know her place and learn to behave. And the anger that you have caused in all these Georges will see that she is shown how to behave like a civilised woman. We will not let her ruin any more Georges.

But George, why should you care for the reciprocity if you really cared for her

Many a virtues in life need reciprocation –like friendship, trust, fidelity. But when it comes to care and love —it is generally one sided and may be reciprocated but not necessarily with the same intensity.

The real test is to be with your loved one in the time of need. She may be dysfunctional, for she is going through a bad patch. She isn’t all bad and only bad.
Like all of us, she has her soft side too. This softie is definitely going to miss you.

And today she is pensive, helpless. She is crying loud and hard to be saved.

You may not stay with her, but you may still support her with your affection and care.

I am neither  judging you nor  stopping you. But please don’t stop caring for her, even if she ceases to be your beloved.

I do not blame your decision or your bitterness. Only those who care get bitter. But with time your bitterness shall wane and all you will remember is the pleasant days you spent with her.

Please join hands with all of those forces who shall make this woman virtuous again. Difficult times come in the lives of all nations–new and old. And history has witnessed people coming out of worse  times –whether the Nazi hatred of Jews, Opium addiction in China or the dark ages of Europe.

With all the wonderful Georges fighting for her  recovery from the ailments of ignorance and hatred shall ensure that one day the compassionate  and loving Pakistan shall triumph over  the wicked and hostile Pakistan.

Hate and hostility have no feet in front of love and compassion.And they shall triumph in Pakistan too.

And I am so sure a day will come in our life time when you shall be proud that you came Pakistan’s way.

Please lend your hand to  those who strive for this,  in whatever way you can. Distances do not matter, if the intentions are good.

Keep her in your good will and prayers.

Please don’t stop caring for her.

She still needs you, George.

Yes she needs you.

She needs you.

For sure.

CRICKET WITH DOUBLE THE FUN


It’s ICC World Cup 2011, and there’s cricket allover.

On Saturday, 26 February, 2011  early morning at 4 a.m. in Mississauga, Canada my Pakistani family wakes up to the clock alarm, very obediently, to watch their homeland  team play the match against Sri Lanka, in Colombo.  I do too but after a couple of hours

And the match was so absorbing that one couldn’t take even a minute away from the screen. The unpredictable that the Pakistani  team is, one had to keep one’s fingers crossed till in  the last two balls, Sri Lanka  needed 13 runs. The victory was almost at their doorstep. But even then anything could happen and change the tide of the match. So it was better to wait till they announce the result formally on the TV. It was a great pleasure that the match went in Pakistan’s favor. And the prayers of  180 million Pakistanis and my  family’s sleep deprivation were well paid off.

Today, Sunday 27 Feb 2011, it was a match between India and England. It was my obligation to favor ‘my’ team too( more so that I had favoured  my husband and kid’s favourite teamPakistan, a day ago),  and watch the match between India and England end to end. However, today on Sunday morning I woke up alone, none of my Pakistani family folks were  all that keen to disturb  their sleep for an Indian match. They joined me later after a few hours.

How the match progressed , was something one can only feel, it cannot be described in few words.

Alas!  after all the high blood pressure spikes and palpatations, it  ended  in a “tie“ –a rare show with  less than 1% of probability  ( there have been 24 tied One Day matches out of 2,900 played since 1971). Every moment watched   from the toss till the end, with undivided focus  was worth the thrill. Those who missed it,  missed the best moments of cricket history.

Then, if my family isn’t so keen on Indian game,  why did I waste my sleep for the previous Pakistan Sri Lanka match? Well it’s simple, because I have decided to love my kid’s homeland as much as mine.
Anomaly in me, perhaps.

Many a serious women of my age group find yet another anomaly in me– to be still so keen on Sports like Cricket or Football or Tennis. Such unfair an attitude, as when their husbands, years older than me watch, it is cool, when I watch it is …..

Who cares? Let me be me.

Let the whole world consider it an anomaly for a person of my middle age and that too a woman, a busy professional, a mom of big kids to be so keen on watching cricketers of my kids age play cricket.

Why should it not be? Sports aren’t just the prerogative of the young or the male gender.

After all, after the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics, World Cup Cricket is the third most important sporting event in the world watched by some 2.25 billion all round the globe.

Yes I do watch players of my kid’s age play football, cricket or tennis, but I watch the sport, not the players. At least not now.

After all there were those glorious days when I too did watch cricket not just for the game, but for cricketers  and sat through Wimbledon Finals patiently, not bothering about the test next day,  if it  were the cool Bjorn Borg or the ever heated John McEnroe playing.

I exactly know what it means  now about what my guy friends used to tell in those student days :

“We watch a game, with pure intentions,  you girls watch with ulterior motives”, dismissing our claims of  being serious fans of the game.

I feel no embarrassment to acknowledge that despite the age, the time , the distance from the homeland and with life’s million worries in the head, I did not get any less interested to watch the World Cup 2011, than it was when I first watched the Cup in 1979. In the early teens and school days, it was not just the cricket but the cricketers too who were the focus of our interest.

Then came the World Cup of 1987, on the home ground when India-Pakistan co hosted. And the love for the game, the cricketers and the knowledge bank of the personal details of the cricketers became even more reinforced.

How wonderful were those days , when we not only knew the statistic details of the hot commodities like Zaheer Abbas, Imran Khan, Ian Botham but also their entire personal bio data, and so also of the cool and cute little master Sunil Gavaskar. The  Test cricket jewel that he was, we stalked not only his record of record breaks but also how he met his wife, what his wife’s name meant and even which song he sang to her, the day he proposed to her.

Gosh! We had so much grey matter to spare after all the studies and exams just round the corner.

True the game isn’t all that spicy anymore for someone of my age, but now one can easily appreciate the nuances  of the ‘pure’ game as well as its details. One can confidently predict the likely result of the third umpire beforehand ,by virtue of one’s knowledge of the details of the game.

If the young girls today still focus on the wrong side of the game—namely the details and the looks of the machos like Dhoni and Afridi, I certainly feel it’s their time. They too will come back to cricket one day like me.

I too am a fan of Dhoni, but never got to understand why girls fall all head over heels for his looks. Such an ordinary name he has , but yes he definitely has some charm and charisma, which is all too evident in the ads he does.

But then who am I to judge them. I should mind my business and like him for his great wicket keeping and the captaincy.

It’s great to enjoy cricket beyond the cricketers! Probably there isn’t much choice either.

Despite all this objectivity of the ‘angel’ in me, the ‘devil ‘or even the ‘human’ in me does pop up at times.

I find it hard to avoid comparison between the players of the two teams- India and Pakistan.

Most difficult to evade is the pathetic difference between the two wicket keepers from the two sides. If one is to be called an equivalent of an ‘arabian horse the other is the worst species of an ass. And I leave for the readers to judge as to who is who.

Though no comparison, but Tendulakar’s consistency is so at par with the inconsistency of Afridi. But whatever it is, Afridi’s charm is his crude, wild style. If he bats with senses, like he did in the few balls he played in the last match, one doesn’t feel it is him.

And then the Rawalpindi Express seems to have come back well ‘serviced ‘ with all the nuts n bolts well tightened.

I wonder why, but I cant help thinking of Afridi when Yuvraj comes  on the screen. Weird though. It’s  hard to figure out any relationship between the two.

Well at least for one thing in common between them are their wild escapades—with one wild ‘on the field’ and the other ‘off the field’—probably it is this key common factor which makes me unnecessarily group both of them together..

Another pleasure to watch and hear were the commentators from the players of our days –Ravi Shastri and Sunny Gavaskar taking me back to the memories of yesteryears.

And the anomalous that I am, for me it is tough to decide which of the two teams India or Pakistan do I favor more. Honest to God, I cannot decide which.

If it comes to choose between them, it is tough the same way as it is for a toddler to answer when asked, “ Is Mummy good or Daddy?”

My kids have grown up from the kindergarten to date, answering in each Cricket Season the lame question:

‘Do your parents fight when it is a India Pakistan match?”

Many a patriots on either sides refuse to except my doctrine of both the teams being ‘mine ‘and label it a rhetoric. Well everyone has a right to hold their own views about themselves, I do too.

Be it a weird one.

And then the same antiquated question, “Who will you favour if the two reach the finals?

And pop comes my age old answer, “The Cup is already ‘home’ for me if the two teams reach to the finals.”

I will watch the match for the sake of the game, but my pangs of losing or winning would be evidently absent.

I  pray that the two teams I call mine would come to the final this year and play each other on April 2, 2011 in Mumbai

What will the next few weeks unfold, one thing is for sure—that I have two teams to cheer for.

Hence, for the ‘special’ me the fun of watching this cricket is twice more than anyone who sides with only one team.

Yes, indeed for me the pleasure is double.

Exponentially double.

Kab yaad mein tera saath nahin -Faiz (lyrics) Khaiyyam(music) Jagjit kaur (voice)


AN ISSUE THAT DOESNT CAPTURE MY HEART


For once for some reasons best  known to me, Raymond Davis issue has failed to catch the appeal of my heart. Just that I know the basic outline of who he is, what he did, where and when and what hue and cry this incident has stirred.I am neither following it nor worried about it’s outcome. I know it has caused a huge furore and taken up the majority of the broadcasting time of the TV channels, and even  costed a PPP stalwart his ministry and probably his political career in PPP.

But I still remain unstirred, unmoved.

Is it because I am fed up of the politics and the  ever changing focus of issues in Pakistan?

Or is it because I am consumed by the happening in Libya, a far flung place, which fascinates me more?

Or is it because I want to keep all my energies reserved for the World Cup Cricket?

No fortunately it is none of these.

The main reason is, I am afraid to reveal, will make me look  cynical and irresponsible. But whatever any one may  think, I feel this event does not deserve all that attention it is getting at the cost of other more important issues.

With due respect to all the blogs, tweets, FB statuses obsessed with Raymond Davis, I have made none except for this off hand blog. And not to mention all those print and elctronic media  who are using up majority  of their print space and broadcasting hours on the issue.  However I do not mean to judge either them or others  those who have been dedicating their energies and time thinking and talking about this  issue. May be they see the angle or twist in the case which I fail to get.

I would rather consume myself up on issues which make a difference to the common man like education, poverty, ignorance, reducing maternal and child mortality. For me it is nothing but a waste of time and energy to harp over who is Raymond Davis, whether he has diplomatic immunity and  what should be his fate in  a poor country like ours. Let the foreign office or the concerned officials or the judiciary  deal with his case, instead of the media, civil society and the common man.

I may be absolutely wrong or gone insane, in the eyes of the emotional Pakistanis, but this is what my calculated guess about this issue is.

Is this the first time we have a CIA agent operating and carrying out his agenda on this Earth?

I have been hearing of CIA doing this and doing that ever since I learned to recite ABC.

Thousands  of agents must  have come to this land and accomplished their mission and gone under cover. Even those who get killed get a ‘nameless place’ in their Memorial Wall of Fallen CIA Agents in the CIA headquarters in Langley Virgina.

No one gets to know who they were or what they did, not  even their families.

The situation with Raymond Davis is that for some stupidity of his, he got caught and couldn’t escape–hence all this exposure of a CIA operative in Pakistan. And hence all this screaming from every nook and corner of Pakistan.

What will happen to his fate, I know not.
But whatever happens to him–extradited or punished or whatever, will not make any difference in the long run.

And even if we imagine the extreme scenario that his native land admits  wrong doing, is it going to make even an iota of a difference to the poor man who fails to get two square meals a day, or that woman who has no rights within her four walls or outside, the child who does get the balanced diet  to escape from malnutrition right from the word ‘go’ in his life.

Many more Raymond Davis’s  will come and go this way without being caught, exactly the way they come and go elsewhere in the world.

Rightly or wrongly this is what every country does against those who’s interest clash with theirs. We do too and we too get caught once in a while.  But does that  stop us ?

After this incident one firmly comes to believe that Ignorance is ‘really’ a bliss.

Only we had remained ignorant of this nth CIA operative on our land, we would have been so much at peace and worry about more worthy of attention issues.

Lastly, what do we do of those CIA agents who are hired locally and live amongst us ?

Pakistani Politicians and Appropriate Muhawrey


Nothing defines a culture as distinctly as its language, and the element of language that best encapsulates a society’s values and beliefs is its proverbs and Idioms.
Proverbs are short and pithy sayings that express some traditionally held truth. They are usually metaphorical and often, for the sake of memorability, alliterative.

I love idioms whether in English, Hindi or Urdu.
My fascination for the Hindi and Urdu muhavrey and the comical character that our politicians portray ( in the subcontinent), pushed me from within to come up with some Idioms or proverbs which I feel best suit their personalities.(Pakistani politicians  in this blog)

Some may appear to fit the best with the politician( like the choli-daman ka saath) while others may just be just barely applicable for the sake of it.
My apologies in advance if it hurts anyone’s sensitivities.

Sadar Zardari: Andha baante rewri, murr murr apnono ko dey

PM Gilani: Darya mein reh kar magar se bair ( theek nahin)

Shah Mahmood Qureshi: Ghar ka bhedi Lanka dhaaye

Naheed Khan: Pran jaaye per wachan na jaaye

Amin Fahim: Dil cheez kya hai aap meri jaan lijiye

Nawaz Sharif: Bander ke haath mein Naariyal

Shahbaz Sharif: Unchi dukaan pheeke pakwaan

Musharraf: Rassi jal gai per bal nahin gaya.

Altaf Bhai: Sau sunar ki, ek lohaar ki

Mustafa Kamal: Haath bhar ka chokra, gaz bhar ki jeebh

Peer Saheb Pagara: Apna haath Jagannath

Maulana Fazlur Rehman: Jahan dekhi tawa paraat, wahin guzari saari raat.

Imran Khan: Naach na jaane, aangan tedha

Asfandyar Wali: Dum daba kar bhaagna

Sheikh Rasheed: Dhobi ka kutta, na ghar ka na ghat ka.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed: Lakeer ka faqeer

Zulfiqar Mirza: Thotha chana, baaje ghana

Rehman Malik: Andhon mein kaana raja

Faizia Wahab– Phatta baans

Ejaz Butt: Khane ko Bismillah, kaam ko astaghfirullah

Qaim Ali Shah: Paanch poot, pandrah potey, ab bhi baba ghaas khoday.

 

 

Can’t think for:

Sherry Rehman

Choudhary Shujaat

Firdous Ashiq Awan

Any suggestions are most welcome.

 

While researching the muwrey came across some interesting and new ones. Thought I will share:

Zabardast  ki joroo sab ki dadi, ghareeb ki joroo sab ki bhabhi–rich are powerful while poor are always oppressed.

Aag laga paani ko dauri–first create a problem, then look for its remedy.

Bibi nek bakht, chataank daal do waqt–a patient woman

Ek miyan mauj ka, ek saari fauj ka– might is right.

Jithon di khoti, uthay aan khaloti

O tou ki jaane polliyey majjay, anarkali diyan shanan.

 

Please notice that majority of the Muhawrahs   target  the women.