MMXIII: Happy New Year

!نوی کال مبارک

Created in Tagxedo.

Peace. Hope. Prayers.

 !سال نو مبارک
!نیا سَال مبارک

Reflection and Introspection

Here in the UAE, we have the largest population of Pashtoons outside their homelands - Pakistan and Afghanistan, so everyday, I see plenty of people who are, as they say, rather familiar.

However, of late, I have found some things a challenge - separation from those you love and care about is foremost. There is something of a kind of hollowness to some parts of the day. Mealtimes for instance. 

It isn't the first time that I have been 'forced' to work away. In fact most of the Pashtoon guest workers here in the Gulf live just that kind of existence. They live, several men to a room, toiling their shifts to feed their families at home. Over Eid, for instance, I had that experience. I visited a cousin in Sharjah and had a couple of beautifully restful days, listening to people in their deira which serves as a hujra and enjoying their melmastiya. I met with my mother's first cousin (an uncle) and my great-grandfather's grandson, which of course would also make him, in the Pashtoon tapestry of things, an uncle.

I know that I am lucky. I belong to a slightly different social demographic so my 'struggle' is much more comfortable. Still, the heart is cruel.

There are aspects to my job that I very much find positive. I feel that I give and gain trust, but there are constant hurdles which slow down my aspirations.The hours are long and this leaves me less downtime - so here's my criticism - education which is supposed to bring hope and inspiration can end up bleeding that very hope and inspiration of those who work so tirelessly to make it bear fruit. I find myself in that place. 

I have learned a lot this past year and whilst I'm not sure of what happens next, I feel change. It is not yet winter and here I am, at a crossroads, looking, left, right, forwards, backwards and introspectively. 

خدا حافظ

We make plans, Allah makes plans - and Allah is the best of planners. I came to the end of a particular road yesterday. That is the way it was supposed to be. Beyond this, it's about choices and opportunities. This however, is true of every day as each moment that we live could in effect herald the end and every day that we live presents those very choices and opportunities. May we all remain protected and at peace and under Allah's guidance. Ameen.

Tareef Karun ...

One for a moment of nostalgia. Mohammed Rafi performs Ye Chand Sa Roshan Chehra (This Face with the Glow of the Moon) picturised on Shammi Kapoor and featuring Sharmila Tagore from the film Kashmir Ki Kali.

I love the line "Tareef karun kya uski jisne tumhe baniya" (let me praise the one who created you).

Prize for Peace

Something political is going on - I'm not the only one to notice the irony in offering the Nobel Peace Prize to a US President who is currently discussing an expansion to the war in Afghanistan.

Some quotes:

"I believe the Nobel Committee has not met the conditions of Alfred Nobel's will where he stipulates it is to be awarded to those who work for an end to militarism and war, and for disarmament. This is not the first time the Nobel Peace Committee in Oslo has ignored the will of Alfred Nobel and acted against the spirit of what the Nobel Peace Prize is all about," Mairead Maguire.

"He just became the president. Things are just the same as the way they were by the administration of Mr. [George W.] Bush. Things are not better, things are worse and worse." Obaid Alam, Afghanistan, "The number of U.S. Army [troops] has increased here. The number of terrorist attacks increased here. I’m kind of confused whether that Nobel Award [is] for all those things."

“Who, Obama? So fast? Too fast — he hasn’t had the time to do anything yet…For the time being Obama’s just making proposals. But sometimes the Nobel Committee awards the prize to encourage responsible action. Let’s give Obama a chance." Lech Wałęsa

"It's a joke. How embarrassing for those who awarded it to him because he's done nothing for peace. What change has he brought in Iraq, the Middle East or Afghanistan?" Liaqat Baluch

"To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace." President Barack Hussein Obama II

"But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."

Let's hope so.

Eid Mubarak - عید مُبارک

 اختر مو مبارک شه

Tor_Khan تور خان

Faith, Unity, Discipline

Teen Talwar = Three Swords symbolising Faith, Unity and Discipline.

Karachi Konnection - خوش آمدید

I am in Karachi.

My Grandfathers – both of them – left their villages to make new lives with their families in Karachi. It's a story as much tied in with the Partition of India as it is with a common migration destination for many Pashtoon menfolk seeking work in the then-capital of a newly formed country. My maternal Grandfather spent time in Bombay, eventually settling in Karachi where he was a career coolie, my paternal Grandfather spent his time in the commercial navy in Calcutta and later Karachi.

I generally look back a generation or two – my better times in Pakistan as a child arriving for the first time were in the rural (mostly mountainous north) - Hazara and Swat where my immediate ancestory lies. I would later return to Swat as an adult to the very house where my maternal Grandfather was born and raised - the beauty of the valley is entrenched in my mind forever. I don't know if we will get an opportunity to travel this summer, but without doubt, it is this stronger sense of Pashto language and Pashtoon identity that defines me, and not the human soup identity that is increasingly prevalent in Karachi.

My father has often romanticised about the village, Malla Kalyan in Attock where his forefathers had their holding, but in truth, over the years, he has tended to go back less and less. He has invested more time in Karachi and tends to introduce himself as a Karachiite, firming up what I call our Karachi Konnection.

Slumdog Hundredaire

Karachi is the Sindh equivalent of Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay of course and under the British was administered under an arrangement called the Bombay Presidency. Like Bombay/Mumbai, it is a city that has drawn in many layers of migrants – and is now a multiple layered society where communities jostle alongside one another, and occasionally break in rioting, turf wars and looting. Karachi is very complex – it remains a city that simmers with tension – on the ride home, I could almost sense it en route to my father's place in Shireen Jinnah Colony (named after the founder of Pakistan's sister). My wife pointed out the places in Clifton where she and our children were trapped during rioting that broke out a couple of years ago following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. There is something about the city that the residents here just accept as normal – from my eyes looking in from afar, there are obvious wrongs. The erratic electricity supply is one, but the thing that strikes is the slum-living conditions of many of the people here. Whilst very used to my middle-class trappings, it's humbling – I also have family in the more run down parts of town – and I have to be mindful. On the first night in town, I find myself sleeping on the floor in a corner of a room with no windows. This, dear readers, technically speaking, is home.

Khush Amdeed خوش آمدید

Kuch Dil Ne Kaha

I'm not a real Bollywood boffin and with exception, I have tended to avoid the newer, more western-orientated batch of popular films. I'm a family person, so the movies must generally fit that "viewing for all" criteria. There was a time, (think circa 1980) when my father would hire a video player from a place on Morley Street, Bradford, and a bunch of films that had been copied onto VHS. I distinctly remember seeing Gunga Jumna that way and maybe even Amar, Akbar, Anthony.

My father and my Mama* are compediums of knowledge when it comes to back and white Bombay Cinema - mixed in with recollections of their tales of growing up in Karachi - and can easily tell you all-you-need-to-know about the films of the time. Between them, they have a classic collection of films - mostly VHS (and some VCD/DVD), but one that would be a fine digital library if anyone took the time to convert. Anyway, the better impression of Bollywood that I have is of that classic era, so here's a clip. Lata Mangeshkar sings for Sharmila Tagore in the film Anupama (Unparalled), 1966. This song, Kuch Dil Ne Kaha (The Heart Said Something) is a personal favourite.

*Mama = Maternal Uncle

Chicken and Egg

Killer Chickens

I don't often get near chickens and so don't know much about collecting eggs. Besides I'm not sure I should get that close because I hear that if one coughs or sneezes on you, it means you might need to find a doctor fairly sharpish. I prefer my eggs - albeit free-range - to come carefully picked by some else.

That said, I have a little soft spot for a game that hit the circuit around the mid 80s where dodging chickens and collecting eggs was precisely the objective. Home computers were new and perhaps not understood too well beyond the gaming possibilities. My father, had this opinion that video games were a distraction but somehow I did manage to persuade him that an investment in a computer was like an investment the future. Result? An Acorn Electron, like a reduced version of the popular BBC Microcomputer soon became a popular addition to the family.

The Birds

Anyway, whilst for my father, we needed to be seen to be copying up a Basic program from the manual that came with the computer (darn good training!), my brother and I did eventually stumble upon a whole bunch of games that were popular then - Blagger, Escape from Moonbase Alpha, Killer Gorilla and so on. But my favourite platform game was Chuckie Egg. You got to play a farmer who had to avoid killer ostriches (chickens in some versions?) and a later on a flying phantom duck, whilst running around the screen collecting up eggs. The killer birds sound rather Alfred Hitchcock, but you could bounce all over the screen and jump from the upper platforms. Your farmer character was a pretty resilient little fellow. It's quite simplistic on reflection, but it sits honourably amongst the best of its time. One that brings back many memories ... 

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