Let’s love Pakistan: A new resolution (II)
In September last year, I took up the challenge of making a list of 65 reasons why I love Pakistan, the poor broken country, we have begun to take for granted. The idea was simple, but it’s execution not so much, which is why it’s taken me four months to come up with the second set of reasons. I plan to compile the list by August 14, 2012—Pakistan’s 65th Birthday. Here’s a short excerpt from my previous blog to establish the idea behind this otherwise puerile exercise: I’m going to try to complete the list (of) reasons – some small; some serious, ...
Read Full PostLet’s love Pakistan: A new resolution
I’ve often been accused of being a killjoy. I mean, I’m not inherently morose or anything cool like that; it’s just that I take the little anomalies of everyday life a little too seriously. This usually forces me to over think stuff, which leads me to notice again and again the not-so-proverbial glass in its half-filled ignominy, which in turn causes me to be incessantly bitter and irritable with the way things generally run in this country. Yes, living my everyday life in poor broken Pakistan certainly helps make things much, much worse! Last month however, a few days before the Independence Day, ...
Read Full PostPirs, fakirs and other freaks
Blood curdling fury. That’s the best and perhaps only way to describe my feelings when I read news stories about pirs and their never-ending shenanigans. Fury, not at the pirs, because let’s face it, they’ve proved time and again that they’re quite good at their job of scamming, but at the people who happily volunteer to be used and abused by these charlatans and then go whining about their misfortune to the authorities, seeking commiseration and justice. What a heartless snoot you must think I am, right? Brutally chalking off victims of one of the most hideous and widespread forms of ...
Read Full PostFive things I hated about the Pakistan vs India match
My love-hate relationship with cricket began a few weeks before the fateful World Cup of 1999, and ever since that horrendous final match that had me and all Pakistanis pulling their hair out, I kept my distance with the sport. However, this year was different. But I confess that I caught this cricket fever again. While we lost the “historic match”, there were a few things that bugged me while I was actually watching the game (besides the result). Here are five somewhat irrelevant things that continued to irritate me as I watched the big match tonight: Cheering for the Pakistani team with ...
Read Full PostVeena: Warrior princess
Veena Malik is my new hero. Really, she is. And not because she looked absolutely stunning (someone had to mention it!) on Kamran Shahid’s train-wreck of a show the other day. My newfound respect is not just due to the fact that I have become a fan of her self-confidence and cool, laid-back personality over the last couple of months, but because she is the only person in Pakistan’s ultra-holy green-tinted limelight right now who isn’t afraid to say it like it is. She’s bold, honest and pretty straightforward, which is something I can’t say for many Pakistanis out there. Sad, ...
Read Full PostA Pakistan with no hope
A few days ago, for the second time in three years, I came face to face with Karachi’s violent alter ego. It was a pretty decent day with nice cloudy skies and more or less everything going my way, until I was told that we had to attend a wedding function in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. Now, I’m not saying I loathe the nonsensical rituals that govern a Pakistani wedding, no. It’s just that I’m not a big fan of leaving home an hour before midnight to go to a fancy dress show to fight over greasy biryani and lukewarm 7up. Especially because ...
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