‘Trashy’ tales from around town
I was walking back from a coffee shop this morning when I got a wonderful reminder of one of the failings of our city administration. I wanted to throw away my empty coffee cup and realised there wasn’t a single trash can around. There was however, a small pile of garbage every few meters, along with the dozens of cigarette butts, bottle caps and similar “pocket lint” strewn across the entire sidewalk. My friend asked, “What are you looking for?” “A trash can,” I replied. He snatched the empty cup from me and dropped it on the ground. Problem ...
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There is no shame in using a jharoo
It was a dark day when I was caught red handed by my friends, squatting over the floor and sweeping it with a jharoo. Within seconds, the camera phones were out, and their lenses were all aimed at me. The images were injected into the web-ways, and they received a dozen ‘lol’s’ and many more likes in the first 24 hours. The joke, I imagine, was that some people like to keep their rooms clean. Ha, absolutely hysterical! This form of immaturity is shared by more than just my small band of burger buddies (yeah, you heard me!). Way too ...
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The spirit of Christmas
Over recent centuries, especially in the west, the season of Christmas has been commercialised and glamourised beyond recognition, and its basic significance has faded into the background, perhaps forgotten. The Santa Claus, the Christmas tree, the exchange of gifts, the shopping, the new clothes, the house decorations, the dancing and singing, the community festivities – these are a far cry from the simplicity of the event that all of us supposedly commemorate: the birth of the messenger of peace and goodwill, in a manger in a stable meant for animals, attended only by his carpenter family parents and poor shepherds ...
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Ecological consciousness and Islam
I am always inspired by trash. When I see it on the roads, in parks, in hospitals and outside homes it sends me in a state of a deep reverie. A couple of years back, I was shaken to the core to do ‘something for my country.’ Looking for the answer of what could be done, I came across a newspaper article about some ‘crazy’ youngsters who, tired of the oblivion of their fellows and authorities towards matters of environmental consciousness, took it upon themselves to do something. They girdled up their loins with the motto that the least you ...
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Noisy revolutionaries: The worst kind of pollution
I have just finished reading an Environmental Protection Agency report on pollution. It talks of the many ways our environment gets degraded. Besides other kinds of pollution it talks of noise, pointing out that when we make a noise we cause a degradation of our environment. Slogan chanting, it would appear then, is a major cause of environmental pollution in our times. Irrespective of whether we shout to welcome a revolution or to decry American imperialism, the noise causes pollution and affects our health. Let me clarify here, however, that it is just me, myself, risking my neck here by making the ...
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Earth Day: Five small steps to a billion acts of green
Today is the 41st anniversary of the Earth Day. This year’s theme is “A billion acts of green” and the goal is to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy before the global Earth Summit 2012 in Rio. We can all contribute to a greener earth by doing at least one act of conservation in order to make those “billion acts of green” possible. 1. Recycle Start by recycling at home. We could encourage our kids to re-use old cans, tins and cardboard boxes to make useful things at home, like jewelry boxes and bookmarks. We can also reuse jam jars ...
Read Full PostLahoris don’t care about their trees
The Horticulture Authority tried to rid the city of all its shady trees and replace them with date palms. Lahoris watched quietly. In the end, it fell to the palms themselves to protest the initiative. The palms planted along the Circular Road, it has been reported, are wilting and dying. Actually the genius who thought of depriving the city of its own trees and adorning it with desert trees should also have imported a little desert. Trees, after all, grow from soil and are best nurtured in the climates associated with their native lands. Lahore is Lahore: Not Dubai or Japan In the ...
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Getting my hands dirty in Islamabad
Freak weather and climate change, have made for some beautiful Sundays in Islamabad. Yesterday was one of them. So, a friend and I decided to make the best of it by hitting one of the picturesque trails – the perfect antidote to the bureaucratic air that otherwise prevails the environs of the capital. The atmosphere was quite festive. What a blessing it is to walk in the woods, I had thought to myself. The tribulations of the week were shaken off almost magically as we trudged along the trail taking in the scenery. Nature’s palette was especially vibrant that day. Bronze and gold ...
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Help clean the mess we have created
We have entered 2011 and still face basic sanitation and cleanliness problems. With the municipal corporation left alone to do the tasks of collecting and dumping waste, the problem seems to be going nowhere. Waste and garbage dumps are an ordinary sight. All those years I passed by them and never imagined how this mess can be taken care of. For all those years, the hassle of carrying empty bottles and wrappers, in a bid to find a dustbin, was quite a painful task. This thought led me to sit down and study the supply chain of waste management. The waste management ...
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Qingqis: What Karachi and Paris don’t have in common
Earlier this week government officials in Paris announced plans to ban Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and diesel fueled vehicles from entering the city centre. The move reminds me of an attempt to introduce CNG buses in Karachi. This was perhaps one of the first times that Pakistan made a serious move to address the increasing threat of urban congestion. However, CNG itself is a natural resource and should be preserved otherwise the whole world will be working on NGVs (Natural Gas Vehicles) instead of EVs (Electric Vehicles). As far as environment friendly transport goes ‘qingqis’ small electric vehicles, are the ideal mode ...
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