It has been 2 months since I posted anything. This a result of my travels as well as the many projects that I have been involved in. All of this will slowly unravel in the next couple of posts. Anyway for now enjoy:-
6th July 2009
Well folks...its that time again, When I head back to my Bharat (India). It was on Thursday the second of July when yours truly flew back to New Delhi after 2 years. Well I had heard that India had changed, I had seen the movies that depicted the trance-formation of India however nothing prepared me for the amount of Western influence on the land that has a huge history of culture and civilisation.
Anyway...we’ll discuss that in some other post inshAllah.
However reaching the Indira Gandhi Airport was a huge emotional moment for the family as it was the first time we were going to meet all the Chachas, Chachis, Khala, Khaluus, Mammus, Mammis and cousins for the first time after my Papa(May Allah have mercy on his soul) had passed away.
It was a long night with condolences offered and stories exchanged. It was 3am before i managed to get some sleep in my cousin’s flat in a place called Malvi-Nagar.
The next day was spent complaining about the 40 degree Celsius sweltering heat in the Delhi sun.
The last time I came to India I came in the heat as well however for some reason the heat this time is hotter. It’s like sitting in an oven with a hot fan blowing hot air into your face and then drinking cold Bisleri (mineral water-seeing as how we can’t drink normal drinking water from the tap as then we would be super-shitting) and then sitting around eating heavy and delicious Nihari curry, Chicken Kurma curry and eating...mangoes.
Now one who has never been to India in summer has no idea what I am talking about. However if one has been to India in the summer then one gets to sample all the different types of varieties available on the market, especially when one is blessed with a loving khandan (clan) such as myself.
The latest aam (mango) variety on the market is the langra (handicapped) mango variety. Why it is called as such I have no idea however knowing us Indians I am sure there is an elaborate folk story for the history of the “handicapped” mango.
It was on Saturday that a cousin of mine took us to visit some of the historical monuments in Delhi or Dilhi as it is pronounced in Hindi.
We first stopped at Humayouns tomb.This is a historical monument built by one of the mughal emperors as a tomb for him and his family. Althrough I don’t remember much of the history behind it is was interesting to note that there was a drianigae sys em implemented probably to drain the water from the rains. It was also interesting to note that the architecture of the entire tomb was highly symmetrical i.e. the tomb was enclosed in a square compound and hence everything of note in the tomb for example the many fountains and gardens were all shaped into squares and even their intricate designs had squarish details.
The next stop was India Gate. This is a monument built by the British in memory of the Indian soldiers who fought for them in the First world war. There is a fire that burns and has been burning since the inception of the monument which is guarded 24-7. It was interesting to note that there were a considerable amount of Muslim soldiers who fought for the British during the war.
We then drove to Cannought Place. I used to imagine that this was spelt Cannot Place and always wondered who would name such a place and why? Alas! my contemplation was in vain as sadly such a name did not exist. In Cannought Place there exists a shop known as Kevinders-apparently it is famous for its Milk Shakes. And indeed jostling in line trying to get a Milk shake I found out its fame was not exaggerated. This claim was further put to the test when I drunk their strawberry milkshake was delicious and might I add icy cold!
Next on the list was the famous Jama Masjid of Old Delhi. To get here and park would be a hastle so we decided to take the Metro from the Rajiv Chowk Metro station to the Chawri Bazaar Station. I have to say I am extremely impressed by the Metro service in Delhi and hope that soon God Willing it will be able to span Delhi and connect it all over. From the Chawri Bazaar station we took a 10 rupee rickshaw to Jama Masjid.
Jama Masjid was amazing. I love coming to the Jama Masjid area in Delhi, the smell of the restaurants and the frying chickens and the hustle and bustle of everyone doing their business in tiny shops is an experience and sight that one can’t find anywhere else. However I have to say that I do not like the lack of cleanliness in this mainly Muslim area. Being Muslim we have been told that being clean is a part of our faith however sadly I do not find this being practised in the Jama Masjoid area.
The Jama Masjid was built by the moghuls as are most historical monuments in the Delhi and Agra areas and again it is an architectural marvel, MashAllah.
In the Jama Masjid area we stopped to have a meal of Afghani Chicken and Mutton Birra. Two dishes which tastes out if this world . The flesh of the Mutton was tender and soft and when one bites into and pulls it comes away ever so perfectly in one’s mouth. This is probably due to the Masala and grill that the Mutton and chicken both have undergone before they reached our plates.
After that we headed back to the Malvi-Nagar area in New Delhi where my cousin lives having spent an extremely event filled day in Delhi.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Kareem Salama-Generous Peace
This fool throws wet stones at me insists on attempts
to break my nerves
But I hate to respond to the anger and freed the fuel in
those ugly words
They ask me why I say nothing at all like I don't have
any self respect
I say gentleman I'm like incense the more you burn me
the more I'm fragrant
And I don't feel the need to act violently
And I don't feel desire to fan the fire
You can say what you want about me
But I lace the lines of these times
with generous peace
There's a thin line between virtue and fea and
it's funny how they appear
Both demanding restraint and control and it's enough
that I know it's clear
That I'm not scared of you I'm scared of me and I live
by controlling my fool
Cause you're a fool enough for the both of us but
I still try to find the good in you
And I don't feel the need to act violently
And I don't feel desire to fan the fire
You can say what you want about me
But I lace the lines of these times
with generous peace
I know its hard to listen to the words you just can't stand
It's gonna take more than a fist to enlighten an ignorant man
And don't you see how we fear the patient eyes of a lion
And don't you see ow twe fear those lions in their silence
And I don't feel the need to act violently
And I don't feel desire to fan the fire
You can say what you want about me
But I lace the lines of these times
with generous peace
Lyrics and Song by Kareem Salama - This Life of Mine
to break my nerves
But I hate to respond to the anger and freed the fuel in
those ugly words
They ask me why I say nothing at all like I don't have
any self respect
I say gentleman I'm like incense the more you burn me
the more I'm fragrant
And I don't feel the need to act violently
And I don't feel desire to fan the fire
You can say what you want about me
But I lace the lines of these times
with generous peace
There's a thin line between virtue and fea and
it's funny how they appear
Both demanding restraint and control and it's enough
that I know it's clear
That I'm not scared of you I'm scared of me and I live
by controlling my fool
Cause you're a fool enough for the both of us but
I still try to find the good in you
And I don't feel the need to act violently
And I don't feel desire to fan the fire
You can say what you want about me
But I lace the lines of these times
with generous peace
I know its hard to listen to the words you just can't stand
It's gonna take more than a fist to enlighten an ignorant man
And don't you see how we fear the patient eyes of a lion
And don't you see ow twe fear those lions in their silence
And I don't feel the need to act violently
And I don't feel desire to fan the fire
You can say what you want about me
But I lace the lines of these times
with generous peace
Lyrics and Song by Kareem Salama - This Life of Mine
Friday, June 26, 2009
Alhamdullillah I have extremely busy in the last couple of days..not work wise but i have a few projects going on. I also met a few interning students at MERCY and found out or rather realized that my opinions and the world-views that I have...have been limited in spite of me thinking of them being extremely broad views. #
Oh and by the way International Relations is definitely one of my future career choices now after having heard about it first hand from the Interning students.
By the way Arab food is pleasingly different from North-Indian food.
Project no. 1
Get a Salam Cafe type thingy on Malaysian tv - discussions are underway with YMP and friends to work that out
Project no. 2
Anyone who knows me knows how I love to travel and I will be going back to India inshAllah next week for a brief fortnightly visit inshAllah with the family.
Project no. 3
Find a non-research oriented job- having trouble with this one, apparently I have discovered after much "research" that I am not a guy who loves sitting in the lab day after day-Althrough it does mean a lot of FB time.
Oh and by the way International Relations is definitely one of my future career choices now after having heard about it first hand from the Interning students.
By the way Arab food is pleasingly different from North-Indian food.
Project no. 1
Get a Salam Cafe type thingy on Malaysian tv - discussions are underway with YMP and friends to work that out
Project no. 2
Anyone who knows me knows how I love to travel and I will be going back to India inshAllah next week for a brief fortnightly visit inshAllah with the family.
Project no. 3
Find a non-research oriented job- having trouble with this one, apparently I have discovered after much "research" that I am not a guy who loves sitting in the lab day after day-Althrough it does mean a lot of FB time.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
I believe I have discovered the most important barrier to learning...embarrassment. I mean think about it we learn the most when we are young and are toddlers and kids. However once we hit the age of puberty we become extra-conscious of ourselves.
Most teenagers just want to blend in and I believe this carries on into our adulthood years as well. In university when our lecturer used to ask us if we had any questions most of my class would look at the floor or at each other our eyes daring the other to ask, something...anything. I remember this was normally the case in our boring classes we would all search for questions and then start a conversation with the lecturer about things totally unrelated (but interesting) to the subject.
Anyway coming back to what I was saying about the whole learning and embarrassment thingy it just goes to show that Life is all one wants it to be.
If we can take the initiative and then the positive side of things we can learn so much. I have learnt a lot from watching my nephews and niece grow up (mashAllah). When babies learn how to walk they try and try till they get it and I am going to apply this babosophy(yes I coined it just now) to my life.
I have a dream and if God wills I will live to see it fulfilled by His grace and Mercy.
Most teenagers just want to blend in and I believe this carries on into our adulthood years as well. In university when our lecturer used to ask us if we had any questions most of my class would look at the floor or at each other our eyes daring the other to ask, something...anything. I remember this was normally the case in our boring classes we would all search for questions and then start a conversation with the lecturer about things totally unrelated (but interesting) to the subject.
Anyway coming back to what I was saying about the whole learning and embarrassment thingy it just goes to show that Life is all one wants it to be.
If we can take the initiative and then the positive side of things we can learn so much. I have learnt a lot from watching my nephews and niece grow up (mashAllah). When babies learn how to walk they try and try till they get it and I am going to apply this babosophy(yes I coined it just now) to my life.
I have a dream and if God wills I will live to see it fulfilled by His grace and Mercy.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Travelling by LRT is not my favorite way to travel. It so happens that today I chose to travel using the LRT early in the morning. Now to those of you who have never used the LRT early in the morning count your blessings. What happens is that Men and Women literally throw themselves into the carriages. I kid you not!
Here is what today at 7am in the morning: I was happily standing at the door and dreaming of the blue blue sky…when from absolutely nowhere a man(small in size) decided to disturb my dreams. Now the train is full-it is pretty obvious for everyone to see but still why should anyone give up a chance. When anyone sees even a small crack of space in between the backsides and frontsides of people they stick one foot there and press themselves against anyone and everything that stand in their way.
What happens next is a combination of skill and experience (obtained I assume from doing this on a regular basis) which involves holding one’s breath and again pressing one’s body against any and everything that gets in one’s way until the LRT doors slide shut. This is then followed by everyone around that individual heaving huge sighs of relief as then the well experienced individual presses against the closed doors of the LRT leaving a few atoms of space for everyone to breathe in.
All of this is fine as long as no-one coughs/sneezes.
However if someone who has been holding in a sneeze for an extremely long time decides that he/she’s nose and chest simply cannot bear the torture anymore and they then decide to let it go resulting in a huge ACHOO!!! The surrounding individual turn and look around at that poor helpless soul and stare for extremely short periods of time but I guess to the individual it must seem like eternity. Also with the H1N1 virus around the world it doesn’t help the case of the hapless sneeze driven individual.
I am dreading the journey back!
Here is what today at 7am in the morning: I was happily standing at the door and dreaming of the blue blue sky…when from absolutely nowhere a man(small in size) decided to disturb my dreams. Now the train is full-it is pretty obvious for everyone to see but still why should anyone give up a chance. When anyone sees even a small crack of space in between the backsides and frontsides of people they stick one foot there and press themselves against anyone and everything that stand in their way.
What happens next is a combination of skill and experience (obtained I assume from doing this on a regular basis) which involves holding one’s breath and again pressing one’s body against any and everything that gets in one’s way until the LRT doors slide shut. This is then followed by everyone around that individual heaving huge sighs of relief as then the well experienced individual presses against the closed doors of the LRT leaving a few atoms of space for everyone to breathe in.
All of this is fine as long as no-one coughs/sneezes.
However if someone who has been holding in a sneeze for an extremely long time decides that he/she’s nose and chest simply cannot bear the torture anymore and they then decide to let it go resulting in a huge ACHOO!!! The surrounding individual turn and look around at that poor helpless soul and stare for extremely short periods of time but I guess to the individual it must seem like eternity. Also with the H1N1 virus around the world it doesn’t help the case of the hapless sneeze driven individual.
I am dreading the journey back!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
A few days ago I closed a big chapter in my life. A chapter which had been going for more or less 4 years or if you want to start from the beginning 5 and a half years .The climax of which was my final year project (which as mentioned before was a major factor in my head losing its protective covering!).
However when I look back and ponder upon my 4 years I feel that I have been through a lot by God’s grace.
I mean losing my Dad, starting a part-time business, wrestling with mice, teaching English to students, helping in founding a committee that everyone predicted to fail but Alhamdulillah even with all its problems is still going on today, going to camps to train students, barely passing some subjects and making much doa and promises to Allah if he made me pass them, doing a research project that involved driving some 600 kilometres and back to get raw papayas, meeting people from all over Asia as part of a debating tournament , organising in part an Interfaith Dialogue that saw people from all faiths visiting the campus of a Muslim university for the first time, all of these events and more have made me feel that I am blessed to be where I am.
Even though I complain all the time about what type of a university I was in now I feel blessed to have been part of this institution and to have taken to some extent advantage of what was offered on the menu so as to speak.
Four years here have shaped and moulded me whether I like it or not .I have Alhamdulillah made some friends that inshAllah will stay with me for life and more importantly I have begun to some extent understanding that thing that makes and shapes us my deen i.e. my religion or way of life.
Having said that there are still a lot of things that need to be done in order to change the way we Muslims perceive and interact with the world. Many a time I have sat down in a discussion and we all come to the conclusion that whilst there are many things wrong with the Ummah (Muslim Community) at large we as students cannot do anything bout it. I belive that this is a very wrong and negative approach as if we the youth cannot do anything about it then we will all follow in the footsteps of our predecessors which has lead us to the problems we are in today.
May Allah help us to become one ummah again, with one purpose and may he guide all of us and help to stay on the straight path (Ameen)
A few days ago I closed a big chapter in my life. A chapter which had been going for more or less 4 years or if you want to start from the beginning 5 and a half years .The climax of which was my final year project (which as mentioned before was a major factor in my head losing its protective covering!).
However when I look back and ponder upon my 4 years I feel that I have been through a lot by God’s grace.
I mean losing my Dad, starting a part-time business, wrestling with mice, teaching English to students, helping in founding a committee that everyone predicted to fail but Alhamdulillah even with all its problems is still going on today, going to camps to train students, barely passing some subjects and making much doa and promises to Allah if he made me pass them, doing a research project that involved driving some 600 kilometres and back to get raw papayas, meeting people from all over Asia as part of a debating tournament , organising in part an Interfaith Dialogue that saw people from all faiths visiting the campus of a Muslim university for the first time, all of these events and more have made me feel that I am blessed to be where I am.
Even though I complain all the time about what type of a university I was in now I feel blessed to have been part of this institution and to have taken to some extent advantage of what was offered on the menu so as to speak.
Four years here have shaped and moulded me whether I like it or not .I have Alhamdulillah made some friends that inshAllah will stay with me for life and more importantly I have begun to some extent understanding that thing that makes and shapes us my deen i.e. my religion or way of life.
Having said that there are still a lot of things that need to be done in order to change the way we Muslims perceive and interact with the world. Many a time I have sat down in a discussion and we all come to the conclusion that whilst there are many things wrong with the Ummah (Muslim Community) at large we as students cannot do anything bout it. I belive that this is a very wrong and negative approach as if we the youth cannot do anything about it then we will all follow in the footsteps of our predecessors which has lead us to the problems we are in today.
May Allah help us to become one ummah again, with one purpose and may he guide all of us and help to stay on the straight path (Ameen)
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Wonderful lyrics by Farhan Akhtar from the movie Rock On
Just think about it...
aasmaan hai nila kyun, paani gila gila kyun
why the sky is blue, why water is wet
gol kyon hai zameen
why this earth is round
sukh mein hai narmi kyun, aag mein hai garmi kyun
why there is softness in happiness, why there is heat in fire
do aur do paanch kyun nahi
why aren't two and two five
ped ho gaye kam kyun, tin hai yeh mausam kyun
why have the trees decreased, why are there three seasons?
chaand do kyun nahi
why aren't there two moons?
duniya mein hai jung kyun, behata laal rang kyun
why do wars exist in the world?, why does the red color flow?
sarhadein hai kyun har kahin
why are boundaries every where?
socha hai, yeh tumne kya kabhi
thought of it?have you ever thought of it?
socha hai, ki hai yeh kya sabhi
have you ever thought about it? what all this is?
socha hai, socha nahi toh socho abhi
have you ever thought?, if not then think now!
behati kyun hay har nadi, hoti kya hai roshani
why every river flows, what is light?
barf girati hai kyun
why does snow falls?
ladate kyun hai ruthate taare kyun hai tutate
why the stars break/fall?
baadalon mein bijali hai kyun
why is there lightning in the clouds?
socha hai, yeh tumne kya kabhi
have you ever thought of it?
socha hai, ki hai yeh kya sabhi
have you ever thought about it? what all this is?
socha hai, socha nahi toh socho abhi
have you ever thought about it? If not, think now?
sannata sunayi nahi deta, aur hawaaye dikhaayi nahi deti
we can't listen to quietness/silence, and can't see the wind
socha hai kya kabhi, hota hai yeh kyun
have you ever thought, why this happens?
aasmaan hai nila kyun, paani gila gila kyun
gol kyon hai jameen
sukh mein hai narmi kyun, aag mein hai garmi kyun
do aur do paanch kyun nahi
ped ho gaye kam kyun, tin hai yeh mausam kyun
chaand do kyun nahi
duniya mein hai jung kyun, behata laal rang kyun
sarhadein hai kyun har kahin
(socha hai, yeh tumne kya kabhi
socha hai, ki hai yeh kya sabhi
socha hai, socha nahi toh socho abhi) - (2)
Just think about it...
aasmaan hai nila kyun, paani gila gila kyun
why the sky is blue, why water is wet
gol kyon hai zameen
why this earth is round
sukh mein hai narmi kyun, aag mein hai garmi kyun
why there is softness in happiness, why there is heat in fire
do aur do paanch kyun nahi
why aren't two and two five
ped ho gaye kam kyun, tin hai yeh mausam kyun
why have the trees decreased, why are there three seasons?
chaand do kyun nahi
why aren't there two moons?
duniya mein hai jung kyun, behata laal rang kyun
why do wars exist in the world?, why does the red color flow?
sarhadein hai kyun har kahin
why are boundaries every where?
socha hai, yeh tumne kya kabhi
thought of it?have you ever thought of it?
socha hai, ki hai yeh kya sabhi
have you ever thought about it? what all this is?
socha hai, socha nahi toh socho abhi
have you ever thought?, if not then think now!
behati kyun hay har nadi, hoti kya hai roshani
why every river flows, what is light?
barf girati hai kyun
why does snow falls?
ladate kyun hai ruthate taare kyun hai tutate
why the stars break/fall?
baadalon mein bijali hai kyun
why is there lightning in the clouds?
socha hai, yeh tumne kya kabhi
have you ever thought of it?
socha hai, ki hai yeh kya sabhi
have you ever thought about it? what all this is?
socha hai, socha nahi toh socho abhi
have you ever thought about it? If not, think now?
sannata sunayi nahi deta, aur hawaaye dikhaayi nahi deti
we can't listen to quietness/silence, and can't see the wind
socha hai kya kabhi, hota hai yeh kyun
have you ever thought, why this happens?
aasmaan hai nila kyun, paani gila gila kyun
gol kyon hai jameen
sukh mein hai narmi kyun, aag mein hai garmi kyun
do aur do paanch kyun nahi
ped ho gaye kam kyun, tin hai yeh mausam kyun
chaand do kyun nahi
duniya mein hai jung kyun, behata laal rang kyun
sarhadein hai kyun har kahin
(socha hai, yeh tumne kya kabhi
socha hai, ki hai yeh kya sabhi
socha hai, socha nahi toh socho abhi) - (2)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A Tribute to Someone Very Special
This is dedicated to one person who in spite of what the world used to say always used to tell me that determination is key to succeeding and Alhamdulillah I followed those words of advice and so have reached wherever I am and a lot of credit goes to that one particular individual(May Allah Have mercy on his soul).Today marks 1 year and 1 week since he passed away, since my beloved father and mentor returned to Allah.
Indeed when he was alive I feel that there may have been times when I used to wonder how much do I love my father , what is the extent of my love for him yet I believe that we only know the true extent of our relationship with a person when we lose them forever or at least for this lifetime. The hole that is made when we lose someone close to our hearts can never be filled no matter how much and with what we try to fill it. The loss of a parent can only truly be understood by one who has lost one or both of their parents and I say this out of experience. About 2 years ago a close friend of mine lost his father and a few months before my dad passed away another friend of mine lost her father and to both of them I sent my condolences, trying to put myself in their feet and imagining that I was doing it the right way yet when I experienced it myself , I later realized that the magnitude of a loss like that can only be understood by someone who themselves have felt/experienced such a big loss.
I still remember the day as it were yesterday. The whole experience is still very fresh at times and yet at times it feels as that less stressful, more peaceful-ish life of mine was a long time ago.
Now everybody says that their father is special or wonderful and like everybody else I will say the same. However I can say this that I have only good memories of my father and for that I am grateful to my father for leaving me with such a high standard of who, what and how a father should be and I also thank Allah for blessing me with such a father, so Thank you God and Papa!
There is a multitude of songs and poems written about the importance of a mother and indeed this is true the importance of a mother is three times that of father as in the Sahih Hadith from the Prophet(saw).Having said that I feel that at times we tend to understate the role of a father in the upbringing of his children. As a father, husband, friend my Dad managed to have a certain bond of trust that continued even after he passed away and it was evident not only in the family(both immediate and extended) circle but also in the many people who spoke of his trustworthiness, honesty, humbleness and one quality which I strive to emulate above all his many, the ability to walk away from an unnecessary argument/fight or quarrel and still be patient with the provoker. As one family friend put it “Your Father was not one in a million but rather one of a Kind”.
I pray that Allah, The Almighty blesses the soul of my father with his Rahmah(Mercy) and grants him Paradise and the company of the most Righteous in Jannah (Heaven).
Ameen
Indeed when he was alive I feel that there may have been times when I used to wonder how much do I love my father , what is the extent of my love for him yet I believe that we only know the true extent of our relationship with a person when we lose them forever or at least for this lifetime. The hole that is made when we lose someone close to our hearts can never be filled no matter how much and with what we try to fill it. The loss of a parent can only truly be understood by one who has lost one or both of their parents and I say this out of experience. About 2 years ago a close friend of mine lost his father and a few months before my dad passed away another friend of mine lost her father and to both of them I sent my condolences, trying to put myself in their feet and imagining that I was doing it the right way yet when I experienced it myself , I later realized that the magnitude of a loss like that can only be understood by someone who themselves have felt/experienced such a big loss.
I still remember the day as it were yesterday. The whole experience is still very fresh at times and yet at times it feels as that less stressful, more peaceful-ish life of mine was a long time ago.
Now everybody says that their father is special or wonderful and like everybody else I will say the same. However I can say this that I have only good memories of my father and for that I am grateful to my father for leaving me with such a high standard of who, what and how a father should be and I also thank Allah for blessing me with such a father, so Thank you God and Papa!
There is a multitude of songs and poems written about the importance of a mother and indeed this is true the importance of a mother is three times that of father as in the Sahih Hadith from the Prophet(saw).Having said that I feel that at times we tend to understate the role of a father in the upbringing of his children. As a father, husband, friend my Dad managed to have a certain bond of trust that continued even after he passed away and it was evident not only in the family(both immediate and extended) circle but also in the many people who spoke of his trustworthiness, honesty, humbleness and one quality which I strive to emulate above all his many, the ability to walk away from an unnecessary argument/fight or quarrel and still be patient with the provoker. As one family friend put it “Your Father was not one in a million but rather one of a Kind”.
I pray that Allah, The Almighty blesses the soul of my father with his Rahmah(Mercy) and grants him Paradise and the company of the most Righteous in Jannah (Heaven).
Ameen
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Interfaith Disclosure
Sometimes the things we condemn, because of tradition, just might be the way to bring the message to people who otherwise might not be open to the opportunity to listen to the true message.
It is only God who guides us
It is only God who guides us
Four years on....
There are a few weeks left for my stay as a University Undergraduate to end inshAllah. It has been four years since I joined this institution or rather in April it will be four years. I still remember my orientation week, running around the campus in a batik shirt and then going from Mahallah (Hostel) to Mahallah. Coming late into the hall where we had our orientation and having the camera train its lens on us which resulted in about a thousand people looking at us on the big projector screens as we tried and might I add…unsuccessfully to sneak into the hall.
After that the briefing with our faculty and department heads, it was a great feeling. We have finally made it i.e. we made it through matriculation and into university. When any Aunty asked me “Beta, tum kiya parr re hu? (i.e. Son,what are you studying)” I would raise my head and proudly exclaim Biomedical Science. When further questioned on what such a subject is , I would mutter something about science and drugs and pharmaceutical research and try and run away at the first available opportunity as I also did not have much idea on what the hell I was studying.
4 years on – I have to admit at times I am still hazy but still now I can gorEng(make up something) more easily on how the world cannot survive without scientists and the future of mankind depends on research and blah..blah..blah.
However that is not the moral of the story, rather the moral goes something, like this-
“The times spent as an undergrad student has blessed me with the opportunity to make friends the like of which I never thought possible. As one friend if mine today said “Haris I’ll tell your kids that …”. The very thought that eventually inshAllah we’ll become parents and have children and these people will become family friend uncles to my kids is strange yet nice . This is the time just after finishing when some friends, Fahmi+ a couple of others are getting married InshAllah soon and maybe I’ll be at their weddings , maybe not but what I will tell their kids is all the crazy times we had as friends/roommates and indeed it will be strange , just as strange as it is for me to remember school and my friends at school. I hope that I do a better job at staying in touch with these friends than I did with my friends at school. But dear friends/roommates it has been a great time with you guyz and may we meet before the day of Judgment and on the Day itself I pray we will be in the shade of God’s grace and mercy and may we be in it together inshAllah”
Oh well now its time to get back to studying for the final finals inshAllah and working on that thesis due on the 28th.
After that the briefing with our faculty and department heads, it was a great feeling. We have finally made it i.e. we made it through matriculation and into university. When any Aunty asked me “Beta, tum kiya parr re hu? (i.e. Son,what are you studying)” I would raise my head and proudly exclaim Biomedical Science. When further questioned on what such a subject is , I would mutter something about science and drugs and pharmaceutical research and try and run away at the first available opportunity as I also did not have much idea on what the hell I was studying.
4 years on – I have to admit at times I am still hazy but still now I can gorEng(make up something) more easily on how the world cannot survive without scientists and the future of mankind depends on research and blah..blah..blah.
However that is not the moral of the story, rather the moral goes something, like this-
“The times spent as an undergrad student has blessed me with the opportunity to make friends the like of which I never thought possible. As one friend if mine today said “Haris I’ll tell your kids that …”. The very thought that eventually inshAllah we’ll become parents and have children and these people will become family friend uncles to my kids is strange yet nice . This is the time just after finishing when some friends, Fahmi+ a couple of others are getting married InshAllah soon and maybe I’ll be at their weddings , maybe not but what I will tell their kids is all the crazy times we had as friends/roommates and indeed it will be strange , just as strange as it is for me to remember school and my friends at school. I hope that I do a better job at staying in touch with these friends than I did with my friends at school. But dear friends/roommates it has been a great time with you guyz and may we meet before the day of Judgment and on the Day itself I pray we will be in the shade of God’s grace and mercy and may we be in it together inshAllah”
Oh well now its time to get back to studying for the final finals inshAllah and working on that thesis due on the 28th.
Monday, March 23, 2009
The last-last week was very stressful-Had to submit my FYP results to my supervisor and had to do them as we are trying God Willing to submit an abstract for an international conference in July. So anyway had to juggle my fyp results as well as the First Aid Course done in my Occupational Health subject which by the way was great!
I always complain about the syllabus and method of teaching in my faculty however in this case I raise my hat off to them for providing us with such a great instructor(Mr Hussein) and the course itself. It covered stuff like CPR, Choking, Spinal injury and how to deal with accident cases and overall patient evaluation.
The next week promises to be stressful as well with 2 exams lined up and the pressure of finishing all our biochemical analysis as well as Red Sirius Collagen staining by the 15th of this month.
Right now it is 5 am and I am trying to learn about Occupational Safety while listening to trance to keep me awake as the darn caffeine didn’t work again!
However I believe that the hard that was put in the FYP is finally paying off(all praise be to Allah ) albeit there is still more hard work to be done but all those nights and weeks which turned to months and in this particular month turned into a year of hard labour..umm…work and planning and strategizing is finally looking like it is going to pay some dividends off.
Speaking of dividends this is really not the year to graduate as the economic crisis and in resultant the unemployment rate is threatening to go from extremely bad to unimaginably bad-however speaking of unemployment we as Muslims believe that risiq or earning is in the hands of God and so if we are meant to get that Job and we work hard for it , then there is no way we will not get that job as God only helps those who help themselves.
May God help all of us(Ameen)
I always complain about the syllabus and method of teaching in my faculty however in this case I raise my hat off to them for providing us with such a great instructor(Mr Hussein) and the course itself. It covered stuff like CPR, Choking, Spinal injury and how to deal with accident cases and overall patient evaluation.
The next week promises to be stressful as well with 2 exams lined up and the pressure of finishing all our biochemical analysis as well as Red Sirius Collagen staining by the 15th of this month.
Right now it is 5 am and I am trying to learn about Occupational Safety while listening to trance to keep me awake as the darn caffeine didn’t work again!
However I believe that the hard that was put in the FYP is finally paying off(all praise be to Allah ) albeit there is still more hard work to be done but all those nights and weeks which turned to months and in this particular month turned into a year of hard labour..umm…work and planning and strategizing is finally looking like it is going to pay some dividends off.
Speaking of dividends this is really not the year to graduate as the economic crisis and in resultant the unemployment rate is threatening to go from extremely bad to unimaginably bad-however speaking of unemployment we as Muslims believe that risiq or earning is in the hands of God and so if we are meant to get that Job and we work hard for it , then there is no way we will not get that job as God only helps those who help themselves.
May God help all of us(Ameen)
Monday, March 02, 2009
This as my other posts is one day late
Yesterday(i.e. the 28 of february) was one of the biggest events that has ever happened in our campus in IIUM,Kuantan. The first IIUM Kuantan Interfaith Dialogue – we had invited speakers from all the major religions in Malaysia i.e. speakers from Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and of course Islam. It was massive as we had about 6oo people come into and fill the main auditorium in Kulliyyah of Medicine.
Yours truly was the moderator for the dialogue which coincidentally happened the day after my 21st birthday-and which I will get to later in my blog.
Anyhow we had a great IFD –it was a big hit with both the IIU student population and the members of the Public(most of whom were non-Muslims) in fact in the survey form which we gave to members of the public in the rating of 1-5 with 5 being the highest , most of them gave it 5. I believe that all the audience members thoroughly enjoyed Bro Shahkirit’s speech and also the way he handled the questions being asked.
The program was massive because of the nature of it i.e. religion in Malaysia is a highly sensitive topic and also because of the response that we got . Now coming to my birthday my roommates and gang i.e. Yusof ,Fahmi ,Muhammad ,Sardar and Hanaan came up with a surprise. All the speakers got a souvenir from IIU and these crafty guys got one made for me and were planning to announce at the end of the ceremony that it was my birthday the day before and here was my souvenir but the MC(Jaz) forgot and in the process saved me the embarrassment of looking shocked in front of roughly 500 people. A picture of the said plaque is shown below.
By the way they had planned it about 2 weeks ago and in celebration we later went out that night to Santai (a supposedly exclusivish restaurant with pretty decent food )
However what happened that was embarrassing was that in afternoon’s speech I was sitting in the audience and during Bro Shah’s speech I went to sleep and then he asked around where was the moderator and it was found that the moderator was asleep and lost in a world of dream a bunch of friends were trying to call me and SMS me while I was sleeping but to no avail – I suppose it was to do with the fact that I had only slept about 2 hours the night before as we were busy with preparations with the IFD. Anyhow I only woke up after all the action of looking for the moderator was finished and so was saved the embarrassment of the moment-however I have to say I didn’t find as embarrassing as I might have found it a couple of years ago-and for this All praise be to God.
Anyhow I remembered my previous birthday as in the evening I was sitting in my room in hostel when my late Dad(May God have mercy on his soul) called me up together with the rest of the family and wished me Happy Birthday-how was I to know that it would be my last birthday with him.
You don’t how your life can change in a matter of seconds so tell and show your loved ones how much you love them before it is too late!
Yesterday(i.e. the 28 of february) was one of the biggest events that has ever happened in our campus in IIUM,Kuantan. The first IIUM Kuantan Interfaith Dialogue – we had invited speakers from all the major religions in Malaysia i.e. speakers from Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and of course Islam. It was massive as we had about 6oo people come into and fill the main auditorium in Kulliyyah of Medicine.
Yours truly was the moderator for the dialogue which coincidentally happened the day after my 21st birthday-and which I will get to later in my blog.
Anyhow we had a great IFD –it was a big hit with both the IIU student population and the members of the Public(most of whom were non-Muslims) in fact in the survey form which we gave to members of the public in the rating of 1-5 with 5 being the highest , most of them gave it 5. I believe that all the audience members thoroughly enjoyed Bro Shahkirit’s speech and also the way he handled the questions being asked.
The program was massive because of the nature of it i.e. religion in Malaysia is a highly sensitive topic and also because of the response that we got . Now coming to my birthday my roommates and gang i.e. Yusof ,Fahmi ,Muhammad ,Sardar and Hanaan came up with a surprise. All the speakers got a souvenir from IIU and these crafty guys got one made for me and were planning to announce at the end of the ceremony that it was my birthday the day before and here was my souvenir but the MC(Jaz) forgot and in the process saved me the embarrassment of looking shocked in front of roughly 500 people. A picture of the said plaque is shown below.
By the way they had planned it about 2 weeks ago and in celebration we later went out that night to Santai (a supposedly exclusivish restaurant with pretty decent food )
However what happened that was embarrassing was that in afternoon’s speech I was sitting in the audience and during Bro Shah’s speech I went to sleep and then he asked around where was the moderator and it was found that the moderator was asleep and lost in a world of dream a bunch of friends were trying to call me and SMS me while I was sleeping but to no avail – I suppose it was to do with the fact that I had only slept about 2 hours the night before as we were busy with preparations with the IFD. Anyhow I only woke up after all the action of looking for the moderator was finished and so was saved the embarrassment of the moment-however I have to say I didn’t find as embarrassing as I might have found it a couple of years ago-and for this All praise be to God.
Anyhow I remembered my previous birthday as in the evening I was sitting in my room in hostel when my late Dad(May God have mercy on his soul) called me up together with the rest of the family and wished me Happy Birthday-how was I to know that it would be my last birthday with him.
You don’t how your life can change in a matter of seconds so tell and show your loved ones how much you love them before it is too late!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
This is what I wrote yesterday(16th February 2009) :-
We are defined by the choices that we make and as I prefer to leave things to the last minute my last minute stuff is best described by what my Mum calls “Hubber-Dubber” I strongly believe in this statement as when I began the day today I had no idea that it would such a hectic day for me. Normally I do things at the last minute metaphorically speaking but today was an example of day when I did things at the last minute literally.
3.00am- Woke up and started work on processing the Final Year Project Pictures
6.00am- Went out of N’s room in Gombak to look for a Musolla nearby where they might be praying Fajr prayer went into the nearest Musolla but saw three bodies lying there and sleeping.Did not feel like waking them and went back to N’s room.
7.00am-Went to M’s room to borrow the key of his bike so that I could ride his bicycle to the graveyard to visit my late father’s(May Allah have mercy on his soul) grave. Now normally I would walk around the from the back of the Gombak campus where there was a small opening in the fence which would allow me to go over and visit and all of this was done in about 20-25minutes. However due to university’s strict policy and not allowing students to “escape” without them knowing when and where to i.e. they have repaired the fence I had to go the long way using M’s bike. By long way I meant over hills and more hills which resulted in my unfit self pushing the bike more often than riding it.
7.50am-came back but was late so friend M ended up missing his 8 o’clock class.
8.00am-Rushed back to N’s room as he had an 8 o’clock class and I had the key to his room.
8.05am-Left N’s room with my bags as my day was packed and I would have no time to go back to the room.
8.10am-Called and met Hr(brother of Hn-friend in Kuantan ) so that I could get Hn a suit from his brother to wear during the IFD.By the way I should mention here that Hr had a class at 8.30 am and I had to meet him before that-which alhamdullillah I managed to.
8.15am-Went to T bhai’s room for breakfast as I had promised him that I would visit him before I left KL-went there and told him about my day so far we had a laugh about it and then I dozed off only to awaken 2 hours later.
10.15am –Had the breakfast that was slotted for 2 hours before and then took another shower.
11.00am –Left the campus for some work to do in KL city
12.00pm –Finished my work and then took the monorail to Bukit Bintang to get Md’s(room-mate) hard-disk .
1.00pm –reached Kl Sentral station –prayed and then stopped at Subway to grab a quick bite and then started work on my Final Year Project picture processing again.
3.26pm[present time]- Finished the bulk of the picture editing and the lot –all praise be to God.
5.00pm-Have to leave for the Titiwangsa(aka Pekeliling) monorail station where at
6.30pm have to get my bus for going back to Kuantan inshAllah.
6.30pm-Bus leaves for Kuantan inshAllah.
9.30pm-Bus arrives and get to campus
10.30/11.00pm –Continue Final Year Project result processing and finish preliminary
round
12.30am-Go and get Y from Bus Terminal inshAllah.
1.00am-hopefully sleep inshAllah.
Now that is a long day!
We are defined by the choices that we make and as I prefer to leave things to the last minute my last minute stuff is best described by what my Mum calls “Hubber-Dubber” I strongly believe in this statement as when I began the day today I had no idea that it would such a hectic day for me. Normally I do things at the last minute metaphorically speaking but today was an example of day when I did things at the last minute literally.
3.00am- Woke up and started work on processing the Final Year Project Pictures
6.00am- Went out of N’s room in Gombak to look for a Musolla nearby where they might be praying Fajr prayer went into the nearest Musolla but saw three bodies lying there and sleeping.Did not feel like waking them and went back to N’s room.
7.00am-Went to M’s room to borrow the key of his bike so that I could ride his bicycle to the graveyard to visit my late father’s(May Allah have mercy on his soul) grave. Now normally I would walk around the from the back of the Gombak campus where there was a small opening in the fence which would allow me to go over and visit and all of this was done in about 20-25minutes. However due to university’s strict policy and not allowing students to “escape” without them knowing when and where to i.e. they have repaired the fence I had to go the long way using M’s bike. By long way I meant over hills and more hills which resulted in my unfit self pushing the bike more often than riding it.
7.50am-came back but was late so friend M ended up missing his 8 o’clock class.
8.00am-Rushed back to N’s room as he had an 8 o’clock class and I had the key to his room.
8.05am-Left N’s room with my bags as my day was packed and I would have no time to go back to the room.
8.10am-Called and met Hr(brother of Hn-friend in Kuantan ) so that I could get Hn a suit from his brother to wear during the IFD.By the way I should mention here that Hr had a class at 8.30 am and I had to meet him before that-which alhamdullillah I managed to.
8.15am-Went to T bhai’s room for breakfast as I had promised him that I would visit him before I left KL-went there and told him about my day so far we had a laugh about it and then I dozed off only to awaken 2 hours later.
10.15am –Had the breakfast that was slotted for 2 hours before and then took another shower.
11.00am –Left the campus for some work to do in KL city
12.00pm –Finished my work and then took the monorail to Bukit Bintang to get Md’s(room-mate) hard-disk .
1.00pm –reached Kl Sentral station –prayed and then stopped at Subway to grab a quick bite and then started work on my Final Year Project picture processing again.
3.26pm[present time]- Finished the bulk of the picture editing and the lot –all praise be to God.
5.00pm-Have to leave for the Titiwangsa(aka Pekeliling) monorail station where at
6.30pm have to get my bus for going back to Kuantan inshAllah.
6.30pm-Bus leaves for Kuantan inshAllah.
9.30pm-Bus arrives and get to campus
10.30/11.00pm –Continue Final Year Project result processing and finish preliminary
round
12.30am-Go and get Y from Bus Terminal inshAllah.
1.00am-hopefully sleep inshAllah.
Now that is a long day!
Friday, February 13, 2009
I am writing this post as I am sitting in my CADD(Computer Aided Drug Design) class after having an extremely bad quiz. Well I normally don't not pay attention(*cough*splutter*)in class but I have to say bio-informatics , homology modeling and the sorts really is not for me.
Well the IFD stuff is almost ready-came up with a trailer that really is not very good but hey in my defence it was my first and also a video for the latest ISCK gathering which I will probably be putting up on the new blog that will be hosting my video and other creative technologies work inshAllah under my productions company i.e.Dari-Wala Productions.
Any way soon inshAllah I'll be putting up the url for the dari-wala productions after i finish writing the speech for the deputy rector who will be officiating the IFD program inshAllah .
Well its back to the world of facebooking...I mean Cadd work.
Well the IFD stuff is almost ready-came up with a trailer that really is not very good but hey in my defence it was my first and also a video for the latest ISCK gathering which I will probably be putting up on the new blog that will be hosting my video and other creative technologies work inshAllah under my productions company i.e.Dari-Wala Productions.
Any way soon inshAllah I'll be putting up the url for the dari-wala productions after i finish writing the speech for the deputy rector who will be officiating the IFD program inshAllah .
Well its back to the world of facebooking...I mean Cadd work.
Friday, February 06, 2009
I wrote this a couple of days ago
It is 3am in the morning and I have to get up in the next 2 hours to start working on my business that my rommies and I came up with. We supply egg and mayo sandwiches to the Kulliyyah(faculty) for the students to eat in the morning. Note how I have italisized the word morning as it doesn’t(sadly so…) refer to my definition of the word which is any time after 12pm and before 3pm but rather to the cruel cruel world’s definition. Now anyone who knows me knows that I do most of my work at night i.e. I sleep until 12pm if I don’t have any classes in the “morning” or at times even when I do. Anyway due to the “Egg n Mayo” sandwiches I have been awake at about 6am for the last couple of weeks and I have to say this for it “Business is HARD WORK!”. I now thank God that I have no interest in pursuing my career as a businessman as then the few remaining strands of hair on my head would then disappear .
Oh well my lovely bed calls and how can I refuse its embrace!
It is 3am in the morning and I have to get up in the next 2 hours to start working on my business that my rommies and I came up with. We supply egg and mayo sandwiches to the Kulliyyah(faculty) for the students to eat in the morning. Note how I have italisized the word morning as it doesn’t(sadly so…) refer to my definition of the word which is any time after 12pm and before 3pm but rather to the cruel cruel world’s definition. Now anyone who knows me knows that I do most of my work at night i.e. I sleep until 12pm if I don’t have any classes in the “morning” or at times even when I do. Anyway due to the “Egg n Mayo” sandwiches I have been awake at about 6am for the last couple of weeks and I have to say this for it “Business is HARD WORK!”. I now thank God that I have no interest in pursuing my career as a businessman as then the few remaining strands of hair on my head would then disappear .
Oh well my lovely bed calls and how can I refuse its embrace!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I am bored!
Now this is becoming sadly a habit-well for those who know me knowthat I become bored with something very fast! I guess that it has something to do with my exciting childhood where even going into the garden was an adventure.
I miss that -especially at the end of a day like yesterday where I spent 5 hours in the lab doing biopsy punctures on 16 mice-in which the only "action" part was when I had to wrestle with a few of the resistant mice who did not take too kindly to some one poking their belly area with a 32mm needle.
I have to say that sitting at 3am in the mornign doin an assignment I have no idea or interest in doing pretty much sums up how my last couple of days has been.
Oh well I have to say in spite of this bordeom I still have so much to thasnk God for -so Thank you Allah!
Now this is becoming sadly a habit-well for those who know me knowthat I become bored with something very fast! I guess that it has something to do with my exciting childhood where even going into the garden was an adventure.
I miss that -especially at the end of a day like yesterday where I spent 5 hours in the lab doing biopsy punctures on 16 mice-in which the only "action" part was when I had to wrestle with a few of the resistant mice who did not take too kindly to some one poking their belly area with a 32mm needle.
I have to say that sitting at 3am in the mornign doin an assignment I have no idea or interest in doing pretty much sums up how my last couple of days has been.
Oh well I have to say in spite of this bordeom I still have so much to thasnk God for -so Thank you Allah!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Indeed there is a difference between us human beings and animals.
Yesterday as part of my ongoing experiment I had to put around 10-15 mice to sleep in the chloroform tube thingy that they have in my faculty. I was thinking at that point that the life of a mouse must be very boring and subservient. I mean imagine being bred just so that 6 weeks later a human can anesthesize you and make a hole on the back of your neck and for 2 weeks apply an extract twice a day as well as have to wrestle with the human- every 2 days- who is a hundred times bigger than you just so that the human can take a picture of the wound on your back.
Even if the human is pressing down on your neck all you can do is not move your neck as somehow the human would naturally expect the mouse to hold its neck nice and stiff and pose for the lens of the Canon 5.0 megapixel Powershot Camera after it is nearly being throttled to death. I mean that is the most natural reaction for a creature if it is being handled in such a that manner.
Oh yes!
Occasionally if the human is being really irritating or is not holding your tail the right way you may just get the satisfaction of sinking your teeth into a hand that is covered by a latex glove that would probably leave you with a rubbery taste in your mouth.
After all those weeks of posing for the camera and those dreams of sinking your teeth into the hand that holds you from your tail and swings you around to subdue you before a photo shoot you end up in a tank filled with choloroform in which you run around till you eventually go to sleep! Forever!
To all those people who think life isn’t worth living for or to all those people who say “Why didn’t God make me a bird or a rock” here is your answer.
And also the fact that being a bird or a rock is extremely boring – I mean seeing as how rocks sit around all day either growing moss on them or getting a sun-tan I don’t really see how one could or would want to be a rock or bird which has to migrate every time it gets too cold or too hot.
All praise be to Allah! I am a human being who lives , talks ,walks and interacts normally- by the mercy and will of Allah I am able to live an ordinary and normal life.
“Then which of the Favours of your Lord will ye deny”
Al-Quran, Surah (Chapter) Al-Rahman(The Most Gracious) Verse 13
(Note :this particular line/phrase is repeated in this chapter many times)
Yesterday as part of my ongoing experiment I had to put around 10-15 mice to sleep in the chloroform tube thingy that they have in my faculty. I was thinking at that point that the life of a mouse must be very boring and subservient. I mean imagine being bred just so that 6 weeks later a human can anesthesize you and make a hole on the back of your neck and for 2 weeks apply an extract twice a day as well as have to wrestle with the human- every 2 days- who is a hundred times bigger than you just so that the human can take a picture of the wound on your back.
Even if the human is pressing down on your neck all you can do is not move your neck as somehow the human would naturally expect the mouse to hold its neck nice and stiff and pose for the lens of the Canon 5.0 megapixel Powershot Camera after it is nearly being throttled to death. I mean that is the most natural reaction for a creature if it is being handled in such a that manner.
Oh yes!
Occasionally if the human is being really irritating or is not holding your tail the right way you may just get the satisfaction of sinking your teeth into a hand that is covered by a latex glove that would probably leave you with a rubbery taste in your mouth.
After all those weeks of posing for the camera and those dreams of sinking your teeth into the hand that holds you from your tail and swings you around to subdue you before a photo shoot you end up in a tank filled with choloroform in which you run around till you eventually go to sleep! Forever!
To all those people who think life isn’t worth living for or to all those people who say “Why didn’t God make me a bird or a rock” here is your answer.
And also the fact that being a bird or a rock is extremely boring – I mean seeing as how rocks sit around all day either growing moss on them or getting a sun-tan I don’t really see how one could or would want to be a rock or bird which has to migrate every time it gets too cold or too hot.
All praise be to Allah! I am a human being who lives , talks ,walks and interacts normally- by the mercy and will of Allah I am able to live an ordinary and normal life.
“Then which of the Favours of your Lord will ye deny”
Al-Quran, Surah (Chapter) Al-Rahman(The Most Gracious) Verse 13
(Note :this particular line/phrase is repeated in this chapter many times)
Sunday, January 04, 2009
I speak English as my mother tongue/first language. I literally dream in English and according to psychologists the language that one dreams in is their mother tongue. Now having said that I also have to confess that English is extremely deficient in many ways .For example mother’s brother in English is Uncle and Father’s brother in English is Uncle. However if one was to look at Urdu the language of my forefathers one notices a clear distinction in addressing ones uncles for example. Mother’s Brother is Mammu and Father’s Brother is Chacha. There is in Urdu a word for nearly everything hence defining each object or subject extremely carefully and clearly-however this is not present in English hence giving a lot of people especially the politicians the opportunity to say that “I was misquoted” or a more common one Nowadays “I was misinterpreted” . Not that I am laying the blame squarely on the language used because as we all know dodgy people will be dodgy irrespective of where they come from or what language they speak but definitely it provides them with loopholes for getting away with saying absolute nonsense and then blaming it on third parties.
Having said that one cannot deny that the media has a certain slant towards sensationalist coverage and after all that is what sells. However one does notice a certain bias towards the side that favours the rich and powerful for example the massacre of young,old, male ,female Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This bias is apparent in the world’s media coverage of a certain “war” that is going on as I type this. Israel claims that it is targeting Hamas and that the civilians are being used as human shields by Hamas. Now while I don’t agree with a lot of Hamas’ policies I have to say that the justification for this attack on Gaza is flawed. It is flawed not because Israel is doing it but rather because the main purpose according to Israel is to wipe out Hamas. Now what they are doing is creating martyrs out of people based in the Hamas organization and hence creating a vision of people dying for the sake of Islam in Palestine. Hence eradicating the threat in the short term perhaps but creating more long term and hardcore supporters of Hamas whose only desire is to “wipe Israel off the map”.
Having said that all we can do is pray for our innocent brothers and sisters in Palestine who are being slaughtered day and night in continuous bombardments . To quote the words of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon “the use of excessive force must stop” and let me add here excessive and unnecessary force must stop today , now ,here and not tomorrow or the next day or the next week .The world has already seen so much blood shed in the last decade –and if we don’t stop it then tomorrow our children will question us and accuse us of being complicit in the dirty actions of a few. Let’s all start the new year with a resolution not to maim each other, not to kill one another and to live side by side in a society where each individual respects the rights of the other and does not impose draconian views upon the other and in a society which does not lead us to an apartheid state being formed in the 21st century. This is a message to all those governmental foreign policy makers who decide not only their countries future but at times also hold the lives of other citizens in their hands and on whose hands the blood of thousands of innocent civilians and bystanders lie if they choose to remain silent. For as we know remaining silent is the same as agreeing with the other party and by doing so being an accomplice in the crime!
An Update-
From an international reputed news agency's website
"The International Committee for the Red Cross said on Saturday its medical emergency team had been prevented for a second day from entering the territory.
The UN has warned that there were "critical gaps" in aid reaching Gaza, despite claims from Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, that there was no crisis and that aid was getting through.
At least 25 per cent of the Palestinians killed since Israel began its aerial assault nine days ago were civilians, the UN has estimated."
Having said that one cannot deny that the media has a certain slant towards sensationalist coverage and after all that is what sells. However one does notice a certain bias towards the side that favours the rich and powerful for example the massacre of young,old, male ,female Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This bias is apparent in the world’s media coverage of a certain “war” that is going on as I type this. Israel claims that it is targeting Hamas and that the civilians are being used as human shields by Hamas. Now while I don’t agree with a lot of Hamas’ policies I have to say that the justification for this attack on Gaza is flawed. It is flawed not because Israel is doing it but rather because the main purpose according to Israel is to wipe out Hamas. Now what they are doing is creating martyrs out of people based in the Hamas organization and hence creating a vision of people dying for the sake of Islam in Palestine. Hence eradicating the threat in the short term perhaps but creating more long term and hardcore supporters of Hamas whose only desire is to “wipe Israel off the map”.
Having said that all we can do is pray for our innocent brothers and sisters in Palestine who are being slaughtered day and night in continuous bombardments . To quote the words of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon “the use of excessive force must stop” and let me add here excessive and unnecessary force must stop today , now ,here and not tomorrow or the next day or the next week .The world has already seen so much blood shed in the last decade –and if we don’t stop it then tomorrow our children will question us and accuse us of being complicit in the dirty actions of a few. Let’s all start the new year with a resolution not to maim each other, not to kill one another and to live side by side in a society where each individual respects the rights of the other and does not impose draconian views upon the other and in a society which does not lead us to an apartheid state being formed in the 21st century. This is a message to all those governmental foreign policy makers who decide not only their countries future but at times also hold the lives of other citizens in their hands and on whose hands the blood of thousands of innocent civilians and bystanders lie if they choose to remain silent. For as we know remaining silent is the same as agreeing with the other party and by doing so being an accomplice in the crime!
An Update-
From an international reputed news agency's website
"The International Committee for the Red Cross said on Saturday its medical emergency team had been prevented for a second day from entering the territory.
The UN has warned that there were "critical gaps" in aid reaching Gaza, despite claims from Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, that there was no crisis and that aid was getting through.
At least 25 per cent of the Palestinians killed since Israel began its aerial assault nine days ago were civilians, the UN has estimated."
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